Hello again,
Well, we’re on the run up to the big event! I can finally say the word Christmas without people groaning and saying it’s too early for all that.
It’s always been amusing to me that people feel their opinion on when to decorate for Christmas is the right one.
Like bedtime, Christmas decorating is entirely up to the individual person. Do it early, do it late. It really doesn’t make any difference to anyone else’s life.
I love Christmas decorations more than I like actual Christmas. So for me the earlier the better. It’s not a religious festival for me, because I’m not religious.
I endeavour to live my life in a way that I care for others, but that comes from a deep sense of doing the right thing, because 1) I am able to, and 2) quite selfishly, it feels good.
I’m happy to admit I am selfish, rather than selfless. Even though I may look like a do gooder, and I guess my volunteer work for many and various causes looks that way, but the main benefit is for me.
Giving to others feels nice, so really I am a do gooder, but it’s me I’m gooding. :)
Charitable acts are very good for the soul, and lifting low mood. I discovered it helped when my friend, and then my cousin both died within 5 weeks of each other, and I struggled terribly with survivor’s guilt. (it’s definitely not a cure for depression, but giving back can be uplifting).
And mostly I work on the premise of “Do as you would be done by”. I’d want someone to help me if I was in need, so I do it for others for good karma.
Anyway, what have we been up to? And what have I been wearing;
Top from M&S, Jumper from DKNY, Jeans from Tesco, Shoes from Ugg
We had a cold front a little while ago, predictably as ever the weather became the main focus of the news.
Winter is cold is not the scoop they think it is, the reasons behind the changes is, but they don’t tend to mention that bit.
I want warm and cosy all the way. It’s sweater weather yes indeed, it’s also thermal vest weather too. :)
We’ve started our Christmas catch ups and events. I prefer to do them in late November/early December because I fear germs, so much so that I factor in the possibility of catching them with arranging my Christmas get togethers.
I won’t ever do anything close to Christmas Day, I don’t care what it is, or who is inviting me.
I’d never do it to myself again, because I know it’s just not worth the anxiety it will cause. We’ve had too many ruined Christmases with god awful viruses and bugs to risk it.
(The only caveat to this is if Dick Van Dyke invited me over for dinner. If you ain’t Dick, I ain’t coming. Take that as you want). 😬
We’ve had a few events lately, which have been really good. I love getting dolled up… I also love being in my pyjamas a lot too. A good life is about balance. :)
Top from Ralph Lauren, Jeans from Topshop, Shoes from Russell and Bromley (about a hundred years ago, but I felt they deserved a night out).
The little skin cancer is on its way out. So hopefully I can just get on with getting healthy skin, ready for next year.
I wore the bracelet my mum gave me the other day. I guess it’s classed as junk jewellery, it has no monetary value. But my mum got it for her 21st birthday from her friend, and I’ve always loved it. It’s so beautiful, and reminds me of when I was a child and I’d sneak a look in my mum’s jewellery box and try it on.
(Its surely no shock that I am a very big nosey sneaker).
It looked great on, and the colour matched beautifully with a pair of Chanel earrings Chris bought me a few months ago.
You can’t put a value on sentimental things. The value comes from inside of you and the feeling it brings.
It’s 55 years old and still as lovely and loved.
It was very cold, so I snuggled up.
Cardigan from Ralph Lauren, Top from M&S, Jeans from M&S.
We had a really fun day out planned the weekend before last.
A bit of shopping, a little lunch, and Chris, Ben and I went to The National Gallery for the Van Gogh exhibition, while Erin went to the big Boots at Piccadilly Circus, because she’s not a fan of Van Gogh and is a fan of the massive Boots.
Everyone’s a winner! :)
Top and Skirt from M&S, Boots from Jimmy Choo, Bag from Goyard.
I chose these boots because it was such a cold day, but what I hadn’t factored in though was the fact they weight a ton (over three and a half pounds as it turns out, I weighed them when I got home). I was exhausted after walking round London in them all day. It was like wearing ankle weights.
Thali at Madhus Basserie in Harvey Nic’s helped keep me going. If you want me to do something, incentivising me with curry is your best plan.
I saw this Christmas decoration in Harrods a few months back, I really wanted it but it was a bit pricey. So I scoured the internet to find it cheaper, to no avail.
Anyway I went back to get it, thankfully I was in time, as they only had one left. And the label on it says ‘Exclusive to Harrods’. Which would have been handy if I’d read that in the first place because I have wasted a considerable amount of time looking for it elsewhere.
The Van Gogh Exhibit at the National is incredible! They have some really big show stoppers on display.
I would definitely recommend it if you are a fan of Van Gogh, totally worth the ticket price, and if that’s not up your alley then the big Boots at Piccadilly Circus is also worth a visit! ;)
I have said many times that I hate gardening, but I make a few exceptions for this rule.
I like growing pumpkins for Zak, and Christmas trees for me.
And this year’s tree was fabulous!
When Chris cut last year’s tree down it was a bit of a nightmare.
It was raining, he had a chest infection, which wasn’t helped by laying on the wet ground to saw down the tree, with a very blunt saw.
Well, I’m all heart, so to avoid one of those issues cropping up I bought him a new electric saw solely for cutting the tree down this year. I know, I’ll probably get a Nobel Prize for being such a humanitarian. ☺️
Look at her!
Home growing isn’t an exact science, so my beautiful tree does take up most of the dining room, and the angel is having a bit of an unfortunate time of it.
My tree is a beauty though!
She is my nostalgia tree, decorated with the decorations my mum gave me that she had for her first married Christmas in 1969. Some of the lights too!
This tree feels like Christmas to me. I love all my trees and decor, but this one is really very special.
So far I have 6 Christmas trees. I’m not sure if I need more, time will tell. Hahahah.
Top tip. Buy the rooted potted trees, Tesco had reduced theirs to £12.50. Then plant it in the garden straight after Christmas, and hey presto! Seven years later it’s ready to be cut and used).
The boys are super excited for Christmas this year! It’s their first one after all.
Quite a few people have said to me that they’ve never seen me as a ‘budgie person’, and I have no idea what that really means, so I asked.
And mostly, apparently it means a mad /eccentric old granny….🤔….
Hahahahahahahah helloooooooo!!
I’m choosing cosy comfort over aesthetic value for the most part. It’s cold and I want to be warm and snuggly.
Dress from Primark.
Top and Jeans from M&S
The cold nights mean we are craving comfort food too. So I actually made some actual food.
Which is a rare treat, because usually it’s salmon, boiled new potatoes and veg….and apparently the other diners here (Chris) are a bit sick of that! Hahah.
What can I tell you, I like easy, I like quick, and I like the fact that it’s nutritious and helps keep my weight down.
But he was right as usual, he chose well to be fair as it was delicious.
We had our final client entertaining of the year, well, Chris has more, but this was my final one.
And it was spectacular as always.
The Belmond British Pullman trains are my very favourite day out ever. And the Christmas ones are especially good.
It’s such a special day out, and all of the clients we have ever taken have really enjoyed it.
This particular one was really good because it was with a client of Chris’s that I hadn’t met properly until an event we went to in the summer, where we really hit it off, she’s so nice and good fun to spend time with.
It was so good to spend time with her and her partner.
The train never fails to impress, it is a fantastic experience.
I wore an outfit that I had put together a few weeks ago. And I was very pleased with how it turned out.
This dress was a lot shorter than I remembered it being, probably because I’ve only ever worn it with thick tights before, but as I wasn’t wearing any on Saturday I changed from my tiny knickers to my big girl ones, because firstly it was very draughty, and secondly I had visions of me tripping over and showing everyone my arse, which I think we could all do without.
These shoes are my current faves ~ another Meghan Markle inspired purchase. She is a big fan of Aquazzura, and I am too after spending a day in these, and not having any feet pain. A very pleasant and unexpected surprise.
I did think I’d wear them more than I have to be honest, but I live in such a disappointingly rainy wet climate that it’s not always possible to wear suede shoes a lot of the time.
Cape from Burberry, Bag from Dior, Shoes Aquazzura, Dress from Zara (it’s absolutely ages old, but it seemed like the perfect dress to pair with the shoes and bag).
When I first had the skin cancer removed from my leg in the summer I was worried I’d be bothered about the scar it left.
Would I still feel confident and comfortable with bare legs on show?
I have great legs, I appreciate them very much. Visually I don’t have any varicose veins or anything like that. They are a decent enough shape and size ( if I had one complaint it’s that they are a bit short, but there’s not much I can do about that).
I’m pretty pleased with them overall, so I did wonder how it would affect me to have a considerable size scar at the front of one of them now.
But as it turns out, like everything else in life, it isn't even something I give a second thought to.
It’s a scar, it shows, and so fucking what?!
They're still great legs, they hold my body up fabulously well, I am very lucky.
So no, the scar hasn’t made any impact apart from the fact it seems bit of a shame, but not insurmountable.
They still get me from A to B, which for me is the main thing. Besides, it would be a bit odd to be crushed by a scar on my leg, when I’m not bothered in the slightest about having to wear a bag of poo glued to my abdomen. Hahaha.
Sunday was such a fun day, we had a very chilled morning putting up some more outdoor decorations. And then headed into London for some we had booked a few weeks ago.
I saw it advertised on instagram, and thought it was worth a go.
Usually we go to Kew Gardens for the Christmas light display, but having been a few years running we realised they don’t really change them much. So we had decided not to go again.
But I do love something sparkly and Christmassy. And then I saw the London open top bus tours advert.
They take you all around the shopping areas where the light displays are. It’s genius really.
Unfortunately for us it was absolutely pissing down all day. But not to be disheartened, we wrapped up warm and went anyway.
And most unlike me, I thought ahead and took with us some disposable rain ponchos we had hanging around.
I thought we might need them for the trip around town, but it had stopped raining by then, but the open top bus seats were soaked. So we opened up a poncho, covered the seat and were smuggly snuggly all the way round. Unlike the rest of the passengers.
It was a very cute little date night.
Then once we finished on there, we realised we hadn’t had dinner, or any booking anywhere. So we chanced walking into a restaurant that we have passed by so many times, and every single time I say I’d really like to try that place. But it’s in an out of the way area, so we never bother to go.
They had a table for two available and it was so good. I love Indian food the most out of all foods, followed by Thai food, followed by big standard English food.
Thai Square by Trafalgar Square was really very good. The Thai Green curry had a really nice kick to it. And the massaman was really flavourful. Would definitely go out of my way to go back there again.
Top from M&S, Trousers from Holland Cooper, Boots from Jimmy Choo
I wore the 3 1/2 pound shoes again. And walked another ten thousand steps in them and I can confirm my legs were shaky and numb yet again! 😂
I may not be book smart, but stick with me kid and you’ll be dry and warm. :)
We have a few more nice things booked before Christmas, before I go into self imposed lockdown, to hopefully prevent getting any bugs before Christmas.
I’m looking forward to them, but will be equally happy avoiding the world from the 18th December hahahahah.
I have completed my Christmas shopping, and once again, I’m feeling quite smug. 😂
Top from Ralph Lauren, Jeans from M&S, Shoes from Ugg, Bag from Dior
I wish you a very healthy and happy December. Xx