Tree Fall

Happy New Year!

I hope 2010 proves to be a kind year.

Thank you to everyone that reads and comments and just stops by.

And thank you to my girls. I love you both more than life itself.

And Lily, no matter what, you are everything and more.

Whilst Christmas, in the sense of fun, was a definite success, Christmas in the sense of crafting, was not so much. The long list of decorations and gifts that I intended to make, ended up being whittled down to four things. The Princess and the Pea Set for Bella, a crocodile, Lily's new stocking and a pair of tutu's for the girls. The pompom wreath ( to be made using this) will have to wait until next year, as will a snow flake cushion and a special Christmas duvet set.  

I started working on Lily's stocking last Sunday, after putting together the pile of fabrics ages ago (again, here). But after half an hour of hemming and hawing I just wasn't feeling the love. Although I was happy with all the individual fabrics I wasn't inspired to create something special for Lily, that wasn't just a copy of Bella's stocking because whilst I wanted there to be a cohesiveness I also wanted it to be obvious who's was who's.

Bella's love of pink and florals is legendary but Lily, although a lover of dolls and make up, doesn't seem to have any huge preferences about colours or overly girly prints, so it took me a little longer to realise the one thing that would totally personalise her stocking.

Lily is crazy about birds. She can't talk, but can say the letter B and says it very excitedly every time she sees a bird. I absolutely covered the Christmas tree in jeweled birds this year, knowing how much she would love it and was rewarded with a chorus of very excited 'B's.  So it made perfect sense that her stocking also be covered in birds. Which was easier than I thought it might be, because it turns out I own a plethora of bird prints! Who knew?

 

It wasn't until after I'd finished the stocking that I dug Bella's out and realised that I'd embroidered birds on hers when I made it three years ago, as well as the matching deer of course, creating a definite link between the two. 

And yes, I was again rewarded with a flurry of 'B's when she saw it. I call that a success. Even if most other things fell by the wayside.

 

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. For the first time my parents came to us so there was no rushing to open gifts before loading up the car and driving over to their house. Instead we had a gloriously slow start to the day, that even included Jim, I and the girls lying in bed reading stories (I'd put a couple of new books in their stockings), before heading downstairs to see if Santa had visited us in the wee hours (I have it on very good authority that he finished 'visiting' us at 4am that morning!).

Then, because we had visitors and I wanted to make sure that the day was as relaxed as possible, we forewent the family tradition of everybody up, dressed and fed before opening presents and instead spent half the day in our pj's, opening presents in between eating, drinking, taking photo's and playing. 

Dinner was an equally laid back affair and I have to say an absolute pleasure to cook in my new kitchen, with no stress at all. I roasted a shoulder of lamb with oregano, lemon and olive oil and potatoes, parsnips and carrots.

After wine and coffee Bella and I sat down at the kitchen table and sewed a bag together, on her beautiful and very much loved, new sewing machine (yes it is pink!).

I can honestly say that we all had a marvelous day and I especially appreciated how relaxed, stress free and argument free it was. It was most definitely my favourite Christmas ever. I hope it was yours too!

Christmas has officially started, with the arrival of my brother from Berlin and the winding up of all things work related, for at least a couple of days. Unfortunately some of the holiday gift making has fallen by the wayside, but I have managed to make a few bits and pieces, including (finally!) a Princess and the Pea Set for Bella and of course a crocodile (for someone else).

I woke up this morning in full blown panic mode. Not only is it Christmas in 3 days time but in less than six weeks it's Bella's 5th birthday and I have done nothing towards sorting it. And it's an important one because it's her first since starting school. Aaarghhhh.

I do admit to stemming the panic slightly though by just walking in to my new kitchen. Finally having a room in this house finished feels so good - even if it does put the rest of the house to shame. And believe me, this one does! It's made such a difference to us all though and we're finding that we spend a huge amount of time in this one room, whether it's drawing, eating, playing with play dough or playing with dolls. It's the biggest room in the house and with it's new layout we can actually take advantage of that fact. I can honestly say that it's equally loved by all. And I'm especially proud that we managed it on such a tight budget.

 

I'm sitting here feeling a little like Billy Crystal in Throw Momma From the Train....the night was hot....the night was humid...

Thank you and sorry to the people that have emailed/commented/worried about us all. I didn't mean to be away for so long and I hadn't realised just how long it had been. I lost my blogging mojo last year and have never really got it back. And that, combined with hospital stays, school worries, developmental worries, financial worries etc has led to my disappearance.
But rather than going in to long winded explanations about my absence, I'm just going to try and jump straight back in. 

So here we are, the middle of December already. Bella's school holiday's started yesterday. It's snowing today and is just beautiful, and I'm trying to get ready for our annual Christmas party tomorrow.

(and that's a teeny tiny corner of our new, lovely, lovely kitchen - more to come, I promise!)