Christmas in August...

Yes I have written the C word in my title and I am talking Christmas!....  Back in July I had hinted that I had been scrap-booking and crafting and over the last couple of months I have finally completed my Christmas album from 2014.
For the past 4 years I have completed December Daily / Journal Your Christmas with Shimelle, but haven't blogged it or shared much... Here is my Christmas in its entirety for 2014.
Had a lot of fun compiling my album and pages.
August also saw the Christmas shop open at work... this years Selfridges shop is all about  blue, gold and stars.

July / August also saw multiple Christmas press shows across the city - Selfridges included .... very odd seeing fake snow Christmas trees and Reindeers in St Christophers Place on one of the hottest days of the year.
This Christmas be prepared for a Star Wars take over..... more to come nearer the time.

# Project Life ~ October

Its hard to believe as I sit ad type this, that it is November and currently 18' outside.... October was glorious, filled with occasional rain, an even more occasional cold day and oodles of  autumnal sunshine.  With the weather being so warm, its hard to realise that Christmas is now only 7 weeks away......
October for me was gorgeous, I had some much needed time off work and I spent some it chilling and enjoying some sumptuous surroundings. It also kicked off Christmas and time for some planning... here's some snapshots from my October.

 

• Destination Christmas Selfridges wrapped the store windows for a week to complete its holiday window install. Unveiling over a night to reveal the Selfridges Christmas story filled with fairytales, magic & wonder.... and 1000's of sparkly lights.
• Fitz & Darcy have become familiar with the cat carrier this month as they have had weekly trips to the vets this month; they are now inoculated, micro-chipped, flea'ed and their boy bits chopped!... both have been exemplary patients.
• Sunshine... glorious sunrises captured at different parts of the month, favourite being from the Savoy and standing on the station platform waiting for the train.
• Kit sitting... this month I looked after Fitz & Darcy's brother and mum whilst friends were on holiday...  the kits are going back to spend the week with mum & bruv whilst  I am away next month.
• Christmas & 2015 planning..... with so much in my diary I spent some down time planning and organising the next few months.
• Starbucks Red Cups ... with the launch of Christmas at work, they also secured and exclusive with Starbucks to release their holiday range on the same day, along with an exclusive gold range of eats & treats.

• A Sunday at the Savoy ~ overnight stay at The Savoy ticked a big box on my bucketlist. An glorious hotel full of glamour, old school charm and exemplary service. Had a truly magical stay.  Room was gorgeous, and the late night drinks were divine in the American Bar.
• New York Planning ~ with 4 weeks to go until I'm in the big Apple!.... have 62 things on my 'must' list which I need to condense into 5 days!... think that I need to streamline the wish list!
• Remembering loved ones passed... October saw Nan's birthday arrive, she would have been 93, although I go weekly to cemetary, for birthdays & occasions I have taken to picking my mum up and visiting together.. this allows us to grab a coffee after and spend sometime togther ( a rare occasion)
• A night in Memphis - preview seats for the new west end musical Memphis, was fabulous. Beverley Knight & Killian Donnelly stealing the stage in presence and voice... a must see,great night out with me and the 'olds'.
• Afternoon Tea Mr Selfridge style - Theatre pre-fixed by a scrumptious tea Mr Selfridge style in The Corner Restaurant of Selfridges ~ a hidden gem on the 2nd floor overlooking Oxford street.
• Tony takes Drury Lane ~ Sunday night at the Savoy entertainment from Tony Hadley... an all round old school entertainer... sung a repertoire of songs spanning decades accompanied by a 50 piece orchestra... filled with glamour, charm and the occasional JD, all in beautiful surroundings.

So as we say goodbye to October, here's to a memorable November...... alas no trips to the Savoy planned this month, but with a trip to New York 4 weeks away, and Christmas 3 weeks after that, I have a quiet month planned!

Blogging & Planning for the Holiday Season...

Its the last week of October, the clocks have gone back which means officially that we are now in the winter season. However with the sun still shining, blue skies and the autumnal colours in bloom its hard to believe that Christmas is 58 days or 8 weeks away.
Last week the holiday season arrived at work and with this launch I decided it was time for a blog overhaul for the winter season..... sticking with the styling of the spring/summer palette I've opted for creams, golds & green with Kate Spade accessories!....
Its a colour palette that you will see lots of over the coming weeks...
Selfridges unveiled its Christmas Story for 2014 ... this year the big yellow store has taken inspiration from Christmas classics, magical fairy tales and enchanted stories to create a store of wonder, surprise and be the ultimate destination for Christmas in London... Its main theme of storytelling will run throughout the store, with its windows being the front cover to this magical story.

I love the fluttering pages of the Christmas story which glisten with gold down the central atrium, with words jumping of the page and lit paragraphs dancing across the escalators and ceiling.
I will be sharing the story over the coming weeks as we continue to countdown Christmas.
Here's some previous posts from Christmas hall and Foodhall.

With Christmas 8 weeks away, my planning has now stepped up!...  I have a bucket list for Christmas and my forthcoming trip to New York, along with the usual present & food planning.
I have a number of Pinterest boards for different activities including a Dear Santa wish list! and a New York 2014 bucketlist (see below)
The big yellow store also negotiated in collaboration with Starbucks to launch red cups & some exclusive christmas lines along with the store launch... so have been loving Latte's in red cups!... the holiday's are definitely coming now!......

 Follow teresa's board New York 2014 on Pinterest.
 Follow teresa's board Dear Santa ... My Christmas wish list for 2014.... holidays are coming! on Pinterest.

10 weeks today...

and it will be Christmas Day!.... working in retail Christmas is planned a year in advance, but there is always a ripple of excitement when I exit Bond street station and see that the Christmas wraps have gone up around the legendary big yellow store windows. This means that the final countdown has begun and that Christmas will land across all floors within the store over the week, culminating with the big window reveal.

This years Christmas has a story book feel with the windows being the front cover to the Selfridges story... filled with wonder, excitement, fairy-tale legends and some special guests!.... pop back over the coming weeks for a sneak peak into the Enchanted Christmas on 400 Oxford Street.

 

With the Christmas shop opening in the summer, last week it was time to launch Christmas within the Foodhall, complete with a new signature brand range.

The foodhall is now festooned with signature yellow, green and gold decorations, foliage swags dripping with baubles and 8ft trees embellished with large crackers. Large pulled crackers spill out from the ceiling, over the signature tables which are plump with puddings, mince pies, panettone, florentines and gingerbread. I saw some of these product way back in July and the press show and completely fell in love with it.....Favourites include the jar of Gingerbread boys & girls, the giant Mr Selfridge gingerbread. The mince pies are amazing along with the florentines; flavours including chocolate orange and salted chocolate caramel and the golden mini Christmas puddings are decadent and delicious... I'm sure Mr Selfridge would have loved them all......check out some of the range here....

......lots of these will be falling in stockings and gift boxes this year...a little slice of yellow in world of green & gold.... gorgeously delicious... it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! 

90 days.....

and its Christmas Day!...... yes I am talking Christmas!

 The big Yellow store opened its Christmas Hall in August and held its Press Show in July.
 ...I have been in Christmas meetings since Easter and are now on the last 3 months countdown!....
I can already hear my friend Ali screaming at this post as she has a hashtag running on twitter of #keepchristmasindecember ... I wish I could only think about in December, but in retail its all about the next 3 months...  I have already received 2 Christmas brochures in the post, and I imagine that Boots will launch theirs next week.... the reality is that its 3 paydays away!

Santa arrived in his shorts and sunglasses to kick start Christmas...
Over the next 90 days I will share some of amazing Christmas treats of Selfridges during the holiday period.
Christmas is sited on the 4th floor and is phased across themes and colour palletes... there are so many lovely things... I really like this mix of Gold & Silver colourways,  it looks like the paper pompom style decorations will be on trend again this year.... the VM team does a fabulous job of styling.

Love the ice-skates styling.... will definitely be using my vintage skates as a feature for my Christmas at home. One of the most popular themes during the August period is the London range... the tourist market love it and the Selfridges Union Jack is one of the favourites.

 Santa in the Telephone box is proving to be a Selfie favourite.... the pastel range is also a big talking point and gives a completely different feel to Christmas .... really love this, but will not co-ordinate with any of my plans this year!.... yes I already have planned out theme, styling and look!

 Traditional is always a must..... really love this display and covert the chair, hat &personalised santa sack lots! Green & Gold will feature lots during the Christmas countdown...

 So with 90 days to go, I hope that you have enjoyed my start to Christmas, each week I will post a little more of Mr Selfridges Christmas 2014!.... let the countdown begin.

Hello December, the countdown has begun!

So the Festive month is upon us as we say Goodbye to November and a warm Hello to December. december is already looking like a whirlwind of activity for me and somewhere in there I have to squeeze in Christmas!...
Alas no trip to New York... But so far my December calendar is featuring  trips to the Ballet, Paris, Afternoon tea's, London, and Claridges!!... So lots to blog about over the next 4 weeks and a catchup of Teresa's Thanksgiving ... ( a new tradition on T's house)

Today I will be embarking on a little seasonal shopping at the home of Mr Selfridge!....  The big yellow store has gone rose hold for the festive season, complete with an Advent shop...

this  has featured advents from the standard and still my favourite Advent candles to the chocolate confections,  with some surprises in the mix..., gin & whiskey (perfect for frazzled folks , not sure a bottle of the favourite tipple is ideal for early morning opening!) the ever popular climate nail polish, and been a big yellow store itself.
December 1st also sees me start my December Daily (journal my christmas) with the lovely Shimelle ... This is my 4th year and absolutely determined to finish it earlier than mid 2014!!!!,.... I love this project and its become one of 'Teresa's traditions for the festive season'.....
Happy 1st December...... The holidays are coming!!!!....

Destination christmas windows

The big yellow store launched their Christmas windows 3 weeks ago and they are proving to be a big hit!.... Stepping away from the usual Christmas scenes and lots of product, they have selected key pieces of Christmas and made them into huge gifts for Christmas... Selfridges theme this year is destination christmas a gift for everyone all under one roof!.... As with everything that Selfridges do they showcase everything from the stocking filler to the luxuriest of treats.

The giant gifts that the windows feature are; Fornasetti candle ( complete with toy train set & the scent of the candle as you walk past the window)

YSL Cassandra clutch bag ( complete with swinging tassel)

The windows also feature parachuting Kenzo Christmas jumpers, Santas boxers on the line, Givenchy hi-top trainers. Louis Vuitton handbag, large magnum of champagne,huge bose headphones and a large pot of Playdoh

The gifts are showcased in snow scenes which when you look close up feature a host of activity from Father Christmas and his friends in the North Pole. It's like when you went to the model village at the sea side when you were very young... It's not until you really lo that you start to see the fun!...

I'm loving the snowmen that have turned red in the Playdoh, the drunk penguins ice skating in the champagne spills, the aviating Santas amongst the parachuting jumpers to the BUDDIES (from the Christmas movie Elf!) in the trainer window.... So much fun for the big kid in all of us.

Destination Christmas....

I can now officially blog Christmas as the Oxford Street lights have been switched on and the holidays are definitely coming as I have seen the Coca Cola advert....
Selfridges was the destination store for the Oxford street light switch on which was very exciting. Hosted by Capital Radio's Dave Berry & Lisa Snowden it was a showbiz spectacular with sets from Conor Maynard, James Arthur and Jessie J.

Tuesday night saw Oxford street become traffic free and a winter carnival atmosphere was alive along the street.
Oxford street has new lights this year, snowflake balls are strung across the street, with trees lit with white sparkling lights and shooting icicles it really does look magical.

Selfridges Christmas theme this year is Destination Christmas; a gift for everyone all under one roof... It really is open to all, from luxury to stocking fillers the gift emporium will amaze, surprise & amuse you.... Just how Mr Selfridge would have loved!.