Happy Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Holidays!

Ayyyeeeeeeeeeeeeee, I'm so behind with my blogging!! I just haven't had the time to sit at the computer and indulge in a bit of wittering. Firstly there was New York, then came the snow which left hubby stranded in the US and me home alone with the small boy and a snowed-in car, then hubby finally managed to get home and then we headed ooop north for a week over Christmas and then we came home and I fell into a post-Christmas stupor and now here we are, 2011 and I've so much to catch up on! Deeeeeep breath.

Anyway, this is simply by way of saying - I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and here's to a healthy and happy 2011.

I promise to do some retro-blogging very soon to catch up on what happened in December, if only to get it straight in my own head.

Secret Santa!

I finished making the last item for my Secret Santa parcel last night; now everything is wrapped and ready to go! I can't tell you who will be receiving the parcel as that would spoil the surprise, but suffice to say it's going to a different country without going overseas... I hope the 'lucky' recipient enjoys their gifts.

Lending a Hand to the Global Economy

On Friday hubby & I celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary and where better to celebrate than back in the city where we got married - New York! Yay!!! And we are child-free for the entire time. Yay again! (much as I love the little blighter, shopping til you drop with a buggy and toddler is not such an easy feat.)

So, tomorrow afternoon DC is toddling off to Grandma and Grandad's and then very early on Friday morning we will wend our weary way to Heathrow to board a lovely BA flight for the city that never sleeps. It's pretty much a whistlestop tour and a bit of an odd one because on Sunday evening hubby and I will be going our separate ways as hubby flies off to San Francisco for business and I stay in NYC for an entire 24 hours ON MY OWN!!! Well, on my own WITH A CREDIT CARD. And an empty suitcase.

Birthday Haul

'Twas my birthday on Monday. Don't tell anyone, but I turned 39. Also known as 34 because when I turned 37 I decided I was going to go backwards in years and see how long I could get away with it, so when I was 37, I was actually 36; when I was 38 I was 35, and now I'm 39 I'm only actually 34. Get it?!

I had a very lovely day indeed as I decided to do absolutely no work whatsoever (the joys of working from home, flexi-time!) So, while hubby took DC off to nursery, I sat in my pyjamas, drinking coffee, watching Ugly Betty on Sky+ and flicking through Christmas catalogues.

Upon hubby's return I opened a very fine stash of birthday presents, many of which had been sent from Cath Kidston, which I thought was remarkably kind of her. She must be a very busy lady, even more so at this time of year, but how nice that she realised what I would most like and delivered it to my very front room.

About 10am I summoned up the energy for a shower, after which I toddled in to town and had a very pleasant few hours wandering round the shops, buying a few Christmas pressies plus some new gloves and hat for DC to ward off the Arctic chill (he already has some but hubby felt an upgrade was required.) A leisurely stop in Starbucks for a venti Peppermint Mocha, before a little more shopping and then, treat to end all treats, I got the bus home! Oh yes, that may not sound like much, but I always walk home from town - but not on my birthday, no sireeeeee. Then it was over to the health club for a back, shoulder and scalp massage - blissssssssssssssssss, before returning home to a roaring fire and still another hour or so of child-free peace.

But the best moment of the day came when DC arrived home from nursery clutching his very first piece of 'art' (word used in loosest sense, for I am not one of those mothers who sees a spark of genius in everything her child does), or at least the first piece that nursery thought it safe to let him come home with.

What luck that DC had got me this lovely wire heart for my birthday, so that I can display his art in all its glory...

After DC had gone to bed, hubby cooked me a birthday request dinner: toad in the hole with cauliflower cheese, followed by strawberry shortcake birthday cake.

All in all, a tippity-top day. I'm a very lucky 33 year old.

Tidy House

That makes a change.

We're putting the house on the market in the new year but decided to use the opportunity of DC and hubby being away for the weekend to get the estate agent round to take photos. On Wednesday the cleaners came and made us all spick and span, then on Thursday hubby & DC toddled off for a long weekend 'oop north'. I spent the rest of the day tidying and stuffing things in cupboards/under beds and plumping cushions and packing away dust collectors and generally prettifying the house. Then on Friday morning the estate agent came round and took photos and in the afternoon we had our first viewing, even though the house isn't officially going on the market until January! Apparently the lady who came round really loves it and wants to bring her parents round next week to give her a second opinion (they are lending her the money, hence their interest.) How wonderful would it be if she decides to buy the house? Mostly because it would mean we won't have to keep it tidy for much longer because, believe me, it's hard work. But it is lovely being in such a tidy, clutter-free house.

The living room

The kitchenThe room where I work and DC plays (would probably be the dining room for anyone who doesn't work from home/need a playroom for a child with too much brightly coloured plastic)Main bedroomNurseryNo photos of the third bedroom because, although tidy, it's not pretty. And no photos of the garden either because it's foggy.

Country Living Christmas Fair

I'm amazed that it's a whole week since hubby & I made our way to wet and windy London for a (separate) day out. We travelled together as far as Baker Street, where hubby alighted from the tube for a visit to the Cabinet War Rooms, while I carried on to Angel and then battled through the rain to the Business Design Centre - luckily not far from the tube station - for the Country Living Christmas Fair.

I was very excited to be here and spent a good few hours perusing the stalls, buying a few bits and bobs and making the most of the free tasters in the food section - I didn't need to buy any lunch!

Would you believe that I forgot to go to the cashpoint before I went in?! My heart nearly stopped when I realised I only had just over £10 in my wallet and could see pretty quickly that it might not go very far. Luckily, most of the stalls were equipped to take credit/debit cards but in the end, I only needed to get my card out once as, although there were lots and lots of stalls selling many, many lovely things I did find that there wasn't much I wanted/hadn't seen before. While there were plenty of hand made, original items there was also a lot of "same same" high street fare - Cath Kidston, Gisela Graham, East of India, Susie Watson, so my hard-earned cash stayed in the bank. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed my time at the fair and would definitely go again. And, I expect you'd like to see what I came home with:

This robin was my first buy - he was on one of the very first stalls I came across (can't remember the name of it though.)I picked this lovely little metal tag on the same stall for just 50p - could be used as a tree decoration or a gift tag. Wish I'd bought more now. Always the way, eh?I thought of DC when I saw these - they combine two of his great loves: tissues and buses. Strange but true.And these fairy cake cases were a small gift for hubby, who is chief baker in the W household and a great lover of all things Christmas.And my last purchase of the day was this lovely heart for just 3.50 - bargain!

More Exciting-ness

Tomorrow I'm off to the Country Living Christmas Fair in old London town. Hubby & I are having a day out together, separately. After we drop DC at nursery we shall catch the train into London together and then go our separate ways, me to do girly shopping and oohing and aahing at pretty things and him to do boy stuff, possibly at Imperial War Museum.

That reminds me, I really must go to the cashpoint...

I wonder if I'll spot any fellow bloggers there? Is anyone else going tomorrow? Say hello if you see me!

Fabulous Autumn Swap!

This week I received my very first swap parcel; looks like I lucked out with my swap partner (Tracy of Mad About Bags), and I feel like I did her a real disservice with the things I sent since only one of them was hand made. Note to self: be a better crafter for next swap.


When the post arrived, I hastily opened the envelope to discover a whole host of gifts wrapped in gorgeous autumnal paper

and accompanied by this sweet handmade card

First out of its wrapping was this lovely woolly brooch which will look absolutely perfect on my brand new black coat:

Next came this giant pincushion which, as you can see from Tracy's note, will be perfect when I finally get my sewing machine set up in what has been designated as my office-cum-craftroom at our new houseNext, an autumnal cross-stitch tutorialAnd finally a notebook which will be very handy for writing down all those things I need to remember!

There was also a lovely book entitled 'The Autumn Garden' which I've forgotten to take a photo of, but which will be very useful for the garden at our new house which is much, much bigger than any other garden we've ever had to cope with!

Didn't I do well?!

Holidays Are Coming

I'm very much looking forward to being able to enjoy my peppermint mocha out of one of these little beauties very soon!

Overexcited

How excited did I get when this little beauty fell with a less-than-graceful thud onto the doormat just now? Very, very, overexcited.

My first Christmas magazine.

(so far.)