Hi,
Firstly - HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Well I did it!! I managed an anxiety free Christmas! There is a chance I turned down my stress-o-meter a bit too far.
I was sitting looking at my friend Kim’s Instagram stories, on Christmas Eve, watching her girls excitedly open their advent calendars…when it dawned on me I’d been so determined not to get stressed out I forgot to deliver Christmas presents to actual children!!
So a win for me, wasn’t quite the win I had in mind.
I am human. I am a work in progress!
Next year I might be anxiety free and do all my Pre Christmas duties!
We hastily popped over to them and gave them their presents. I checked my list - and transferred money to the other four children I had forgotten to get gifts to.
Okay, trying to chill out in the run up to Christmas didn’t quite pay off. But alls well that ends well.
My poorly gum after my tooth extraction nearly drove me to distraction. Dry socket has been one of the worst experiences of my life. It’s horrendous.
It’s now 3 weeks since I had it taken out. The first 7 days were horrific. By day 10 I’d turned a corner but still horrid. It slowly progressed well from there.
Then on Friday last week and big lump appeared on the healing gum. I went to the dentist yesterday (Tuesday), only to find out it’s a big pus ball.
I’m now on my fifth lot of antibiotics in 6 months.
I’m not in terrible pain (which I am very thankful for) but I have got the right hump it’s still problematic.
Right, a recap on Christmas itself. It was lovely. It was quiet and calm. And it was restful.
Chris and both my boys for that matter, all work in construction in some form. And in the UK, construction closes for Christmas.
Which means they all had 10 days off. And they are really precious days because everyone else is off too, they know everything is okay. No disasters, no one needs to get hold of them. It’s simply a case of go home and chill out.
Christmas Eve I decided to start as I meant to go on and got myself dolled up. Because I wanted to, not because I had to.
We didn’t have much planned. We did have the emergency present drop in the morning. Then later in the day Kaitlyn and Ben came round for hot chocolates and biscuits (cookies).
It was really lovely. And as close to perfect as I could have imagined.
We gave them their joint presents. One of their main gifts were tickets to see the Nutcracker ballet with us on 27th December. So a lot of the presents I bought for them were Nutcracker ballet related. (More on that later).
I bought them a children’s book, which has the story and the accompanying music too. Just so they were fully prepped on the story, amongst other bits and bobs.
My entire Christmas theming was centred round the Nutcracker ballet too.
I went full Nutcracker…
Dress from H&M, Shoes from Christian Louboutin, Tights from M&S
It was a wonderful day. I really enjoyed it. When you decide to take the stress out of something it really leaves room for a lot of joy.
Once Kaitlyn and Ben went Chris and I cracked open our Christmas Eve box! Yes, I’m fully aware that we are 48 and 52, but why should we miss out on this new fad! :)
I filled it with chocolate and treats. Most of which I can’t eat (food intolerance to chocolate. And couldn’t eat due to sore mouth). But I did manage to suck some fudge and let it melt down.
We sat tucking in and watching telly. And it was heaven.
Christmas Day arrived and I enjoyed every second of it.
Chris spoilt me. He always does now…now you say?
Yes, well after a few false starts in the early days of the Chris & Suzanne Show, he now takes time and care. It’s all I wanted.
There are absolute shockers, in presents past. So much so, some friends still cry laughing at them. :)
But luckily my face is a good way to measure my mood…it hides nothing! Hahahahaha
So in my new hat and Mitzah, amongst other bits and bobs, I sat playing with my new Sylvanian Families additions.
Chris started buying me these about 25 years ago. I have quite a considerable collection now.
I was about 13 or 14 when they first came out, and although I was always quite young for my age, my mum felt it was just a bit too late to start buying them at that age. So I missed the boat.
But the handy thing is, when you are a grown up you get to do wherever makes you happy. :)
I haven’t opened any of them they are all still boxed.
But maybe now Zak is getting that bit older I shall crack them open and play with them with him.
Christmas Day itself was perfect. Ben came, so did my mum and dad and it was smashing.
Christmas for the non religious is a family feast day. A day to say I love you and thank you for being there.
It was everything I hoped for.
I scaped the table…well, obviously! I scape for random days, so I’m definitely going all out of a particularly scapey day!
As you can see, I wasn’t exaggerating about how overly Nutcrackery my Christmas was.
It was all designed to lead to the big reveal! The ballet trip on 27th December.
Chris cooks Christmas Day lunch.
I cook the other 364 days a year…guess who gets an overwhelming amount of praise from my parents? Yes! you guessed correctly - Chris, for his one day!!
I’ve always says that if Chris and I ever spilt up he’d probably get to keep my parents! Hahahahaha
Anyway, as bitter as I am about the overly emphatic praise for his one meal a year, it was his best yet. So I was okay about it really. :)
Chris and I discovered a few years ago that the build up to Christmas food was causing all sorts of health issues. Nothing sinister, just gut aches, bloating etc etc. So we stopped mine pies and all the other junk and felt so much better for it.
We still have Christmas pudding on Christmas Day. But I think the key is moderation. Not something I am particularly fluent in.
We could get through a pack of six mince pies a day most Decembers. But not doing that has really helped not have dodgy guts. Unsurprisingly enough. Hahahahaha
We had such a chilled out day. My mum bought Chris and I some beautiful silk face masks to wear to the ballet. This Christmas was exceptionally ballet trip centric.
It was the perfect day, mainly because I put no importance on it needing to be perfect. It does make life so much easier.
Boxing Day came and Chris and I headed up to a hotel in London.
I wore my new Christmas present jumper that Chris bought me. I have lusted after this jumper for many years.
Princess Diana had one in the 80s. And as she is the only Royal I ever loved, she was a huge and iconic part of my childhood and growing up, I always wanted to be like her.
It’s now made by an American company. So be aware you will have to pay import tax. But it’s totally worth it. Oh, and the sizing is odd too. I’ve got the 2XL which made me feel wonderful as you can imagine. But it fits really well so that’s really all that matters.
Jumper available from Rowing Blazers. Online only. Which is a pain.
2XL is about a UK 12-14 if you want to order one.
I spoke to a girl at the company via the online chat option, and she’s a size 6, and wears an XL because she has quite big boobs.
I really don’t like ordering online. I like to try things on. But they don’t have any stockists here.
The jumper was designed by Gyles Brandreth and his friend George in the 1980s. Gyles is well known here for his jumper collection.
I tagged Gyles in my Instagram post and he replied.
That made my day. :)
Chris and I had a wonderful time in a very empty London.
We really love the hotel. We stayed at The Mayfair Townhouse back in the summer. So we decided to book it for Boxing Day. It’s a great location.
We roamed around. We scootered around. It was an amazing day!
Chris is taking me on tours of hidden gems in London. We go to London all the time. But we don’t really notice our surroundings.
He took me to see my first Banksy in the wild, which is just off New Bond Street.
He took me to a bench in Soho Square, which is in memory of the late, great Kirsty Maccoll. Especially apt at Christmas time.
We had a blast. We walked for miles. Unintentionally as it turns out. But it was a beautiful walk through Hyde Park so all was not lost. We just happened to miss the turn that lead to the restaurant we were booked into. Which meant we had to get a cab back after our rather long detour.
But all was not lost, as we went past the princess Diana memorial fountain. I’d not been before so it was rather apt I was in a jumper she had worn.
We made it to the restaurant with seconds to spare.
And we had the best meal we’ve had there.
I love Madhus Brassiere at Harvey Nics. I would definitely recommend it. It’s not fancy, you don’t need to dress up. It’s a restaurant in a shop after all. But the food is amazing.
We scootered, which I love, but Chris is terrified of, but he gave it a go anyway.
I will admit I’m weird. I won’t go on rollercoasters because I’m scared I’ll die or be maimed. But I’m perfectly happy to bomb about on bikes and scooters in London, which have a far higher risk of death. I’m complex, what can I tell you. ;)
The reason we went to London was to have a nice time, and to be up there for the ballet the next day.
It was whilst walking through the park on our adventure that we got a text message to say the show was due to unforeseen circumstances, now cancelled.
I was absolutely gutted. Yes, I know it’s a first world problem. I know I am lucky to have a lovely life.
I know all that. But it didn’t stop me being upset that the big crescendo of our Christmas plans, was now in tatters.
We decided to stay the night at the hotel anyway. And just enjoy the day.
We had a lazy morning then headed home.
With our now extra day at home Chris found a stately home that was having a Christmas event. We’ve never been to Anglesey Abbey before, but would definitely go again.
The name suggests it might be in Wales, the look of the building suggests somewhere in the Cotswolds.
But it’s actually only 50 minutes away from us in Cambridgeshire.
It is spectacularly beautiful. They had this event on called Tinsel and Tweed.
They decorated the rooms as they would have been in the 60s, when the last owner lived there before donating it to The National Trust.
The coloured lights and vintage decorations really made me yearn for Christmas past. The Christmas of my childhood, even more so than I was already.
I now have some actual heirlooms on their way. Some my families, and some I bought on eBay.
I’m very much looking forward to Christmas 2022. :)
We have been in London a lot. We like it there. I especially love discovering hidden places.
I have also been experimenting with trousers. I know, sounds daring right?
Well I love trousers and jeans. But I tend to avoid them for days out for fear of leaks.
Well, maybe I’m just older and wiser. But I’m fed up with restrictions. We are conditioned to restrict what we do, what we wear, what we eat, how we behave.
Well I’m sick of restricting myself. I’m done.
I will eat what I want, when I want, where I want. I will wear clothes in the same vain.
I will do as I please too. Who knows how long any of us have left? I don’t mean that in a miserable way. I mean let’s live the best we can, while we can. It’s very freeing. Is 48 to old to be playing on electric scooters? No it bloody isn’t!
Wear the jeans, eat the cake, ride around like children.
Do it all. And love doing it.
I don’t really believe in New year Resolutions. But I am energised to the idea of having more fun. And spontaneous fun is some of the best fun you’ll ever have. :)
We didn’t get round to seeing all the things Chris had intended to show me on the Sunday when we went for brunch at Bluebird with Kaitlyn and Ben.
We had a fantastic day. But ran out of time.
So we decided to go back the next day too. And why not. We only have each other to please (one of the upsides of having children young).