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.

Twelfth Night...

The decorations are down, the tree is packed away and suddenly we are a week into January.... As you can imagine I had some help with packing away, as much as I had putting the tree up and throughout the duration of Christmas!

January is a gloomy month, the weather has been awful and my heart goes out to all those that have been flooded and damaged during this awful weather, here and across the pond.
I do have one Christmas present that each year I receive it makes me smile and brightens my year!. My GBF buys me each year the French rugby calendar .. Des Dieux Du Stade 2014. It makes the coldest day warm!
I have also been doodling ideas for different features on the blog this year. I would like to do some different things, but don't want it to become a blog full of promotions and freebies.  Some of the features you will see over the next month are:

• Arm Candy - what bag am I wearing, and whats in it!
• Beauty sprinkles - what beauty bits I'm loving this month
• Books to eat - what books I've devoured; did i love it or did it give me indigestion!
• Slices of London - what I've loved in London this month
• Seasonal supper - one recipe of what I've cooked this month.

What are you doing new this year?

Christmas in the Garden

Covent Garden has become over the last couple of years one of the most popular places to go over the holiday period. From its glorious tree festooned with red baubles and multi coloured lights, to its giant reindeer with a bright red bauble nose.

With the opening of Shake Shack in the heart of the apple market, it was always going to be on mt Things to Do in London list at Christmas, especially when they released their December custard menu and Eggnog featured on a Tuesday.
Coincidentaly New Year's Eve fell on a Tuesday, so an Eggnog custard was consumed prior to my late afternoon trip to the Royal Opera House for the ballet.

This year another pop-up appeared for a short period over the festive period, a Pierre Koffman craperie sponsered by Krug.... fabulous little red boxes, complete with fur throws and fabulous food & drink.... gorgeous.

Covent Garden was one of my favourite places to amble around over the holiday season, soaking up the atmosphere people watching, eating and drinking great food, entertained by chiors and street artists.... much fun! All this and a Lego London snowglobe!..

A bite of the big apple in London.

This year with no trip to New York planned I decided to see how much of NY i could bring to London on a day out in the city. A couple of years ago I did something similar, here  are my adventures from that day. My perfect day in NY would include Pancakes, Ice skating, Eggnog, a huge Christmas tree, and  a walk in the Park, finished off with a sweet treat.
My day started early with breakfast at the very american Automat, tucked down a side road in Green park, it reminds m very much of The Smith restaurant that I fell in love with the last time I was in New York. I ordered buttermilk pancakes with fruit compote and a side order of crispy bacon.... mmm delicious, along with large coffee it was perfect start to the morning.

A short walk through the streets of Green park bought me to the iconic Old Bond Street, complete with Tiffany's ... no-one can visit NY without a visit to this iconic store on 5th avenue and has been a key feature for many visits. As well as gazing at the beautiful townhouse scenes for this years windows, a fabulous horse drawn carriage was parked outside the iconic address waiting to transport little blue boxes across the city. I saw this on 2 further occasions during my day. gorgeous, romantic and very christmas in New York.

From Bond street I walked along the backstreets until I reached Piccadilly, a quick stop in wholefoods to stock up on some American sweet treats, it looked just like a grocery store on a side walk, complete with trees stacked up on the pavement. Really liked the Merry Citrusmas sign...

The lovely eros had been converted into its own snowglobe and Trafalgar Square 's iconic tree had a lovely blue tint to it this year.

From here I walked along the embankment to the historic Somerset House, where I whiled away an hour tentatively skating around the rink and enjoying lashings of hot chocolate and mince pies in the Skate parlour. This years rink was sponsored by the New York apparel brand Coach. With a huge decorated tree and lots of places to sit and watch the world skate by, this is London's equivalent to the  Rockefeller   centre.  I loved it... a London favourite in the holiday season.

Late afternoon after a walk through Covent Garden and a stop at the Hummingbird Bakery where I picked up an Egg nog cupcake I finished my day off in Brgr & co in Soho where I had Christmas afternoon tea burger style!

Cupcake was taken home and eaten as a late supper with a large Baileys coffee in my New York memories mug....
perfect.... what NY treats would you do in London?

Christmas Treats

Food is a huge part of Christmas and is often one of the first things we see as an indicator that the holidays are on their way. A number of huge brands are now an intrinsic part of the Christmas. This year 5 formed a significant part of my holiday countdown along with great gift ideas for friends and secret santas!
My 5 christmas food favs are;

1. Santa's Cornflakes.... perfect for Christmas morning breakfast & a great midnight feast! (guess what Santa got left out in my house)
   
2. Starbucks - from candy cane mugs, holiday coffee. Christmas is not complete without the Red Cup countdown, even my tree gets a Starbucks red cup make-over.
   
3. Eggnog - each year Eggnog becomes more popular in the UK and gives me instant memories of New York... this year I feasted on EggNog custard at Shake shack, Eggnog Lattes at Starbucks & Eggnog cupcakes from Hummingbird bakery. Along with some fab Eggnog stocking fillers   to take me into 2014... delicious.
   
4. Edible Coal from Santa!.... Santa left these little bags in some stockings this year, filled with edible coal from the fireplace. (honeycomb in black sugar... mmm)
   
5. Coca Cola - the Holidays are coming took on a whole new meaning this year, with Coca Cola's advert asking for us all to do 12 good deeds for Christmas....I'm pleased to say that I ticked everyone off my list on the countdown to Christmas...
   

• take time to listen to some Carol Singers - listened to the gospel choir in Covent garden
• offer to be designated driver on christmas night out - yes chauffeured friends to a festive party.
• give somebody a hand carrying their christmas shopping luggage - helped someone daily on commute with buggy & bags
• surprise someone with a homemade christmas card - designed digital card featuring Fitz & Darcy.
• reward good customer service with a thankyou note - box of chocolates and a BIG thankyou to the coffee boys in Costa who make my coffee and porridge each morning.
• thank bin-man, post-man paper-boy with a surprise gift - gave the girls in the local sorting office box of chocolates as they are look out for all my parcels.
• make friends / family smile by wearing a silly christmas hat for a day - delivered christmas parcels with a christmas pudding wooly hat on
• wish a stranger a merry christmas - yes several times...
• hold a door open for someone - yes several times
• recycle throughout christmas - everything recycled in christmas pudding recycle bags!

what are your must have holiday treats for the festive season?.....

Dear Santa.....

Before the close of 12th night I would like to share all my memories of Christmas 2013, my favourite bits and things i did during the Holidays.
Each year I send Father Christmas a small note of what would make up my perfect Christmas stocking.
This years list had 5 small asks!......

• a day with David Beckham
• an evening with Michael Buble
• Christmas at Claridges
• 2014 in New York
• and George Clooney at anytime!

alas my instructions could not have been clear enough as what Santa left in my stocking was:

• David Beckham table book - yes I could while away a day gazing at this!
• Michael Buble book & CD ... perfect for an evening curled up on the sofa
• Christmas at Claridges - novel by Karen Swann
• Kate Spade NY scarf & phone cover - I will spend 2014 wrapped in New York
• and the complete box set of ER.... George Clooney at anytime!!....

all fabulous, if a little muddled!.... joking aside I got lots of lovely presents, as did Fitz & Darcy so a really BIG thankyou to everyone.
Hope that Santa was as generous with you as he was with me!!
x

Christmas at Hogwarts

14 years ago a small paperbook written for children, captured my heart and the imagination of the world. Whether you are a HP fan via film or by falling into each chapter and page written, it has shaped the cinematic and literry world for the past 14 years. Whilst I type this the best 50 moments of Harry Potter is on in the background and tonight sees the premiere of the final film on terrestrial tv.
Just before Christmas I was lucky enough to go to the Warner Bros film lots in Hertfordshire and witness the magic of Hogwarts at Christmas. From the Great Hall, to the Gryfindor common room, Christmas is in abundance.

Harry Potter film lot opened a couple of years ago, and it truly is magical. It is a true testament to all the thousands of people who worked on and to design & build the sets. the attention to detail is mindblowing ....
Before you have entered the first room you have already encountered the Flying Ford Anglian, the packing cases & trolley awaiting the hogwarts express and the cupboard under the stairs.

A fabulous short film precedes the entrance to the great hall which is a wow. Filled with characters costumes and table sets you do feel that you are in the great hall but on a smaller scale.

 I can't begin to describe as you move from different sets how amazing they are... from Hagrids Hut, The Weasley's burrow, Dumbldores office to the Potions classroom, snippets of magic in one space.

 I gazed into the Erised mirror, at the Triwizard cup, onto the Marauders map.... so much fun. Smaller wizards get to have wand lessons and bigger wizrds get to fly broomsticks across the London & Hogwart skylines and even drive the Ford Anglian whilst being chased by the Hogwarts Express....all with a little imagination and lots of magic. With a wander past Privet Drive in a snow storm and a chance to drink butterbeer... it captures so much of the Potter magic.

Any Harry Potter fan, if they get the chance should do this tour ...  magical.

Nutcracker New Year!

Happy New Year to all.... I hope 2014 brings you health, happiness, love & luck in large amounts!. I'm not a huge fan of New Year and can usually be found under a duvet on the sofa with a good book, however this year I not only went out, but to different locations!
Early New Year's Eve was spent in the beautiful Royal Opera House in Covent garden watching the Nutcracker.

I have seen this ballet over the years in many forms and is one of my holiday traditions. The royal ballets version was magical and delightful, enhanced by such sumptuous surroundings, beautifully stunning from start to finish.  A simple story bought to life on Christmas Eve culminating in the dance of the sugar plum fairies... pure joy, all set to Tchaikovsky's magical score .

From the baubles and sparkle of Covent Garden I headed east to a friends flat in docklands where he was hosting a roof party, complete with barbecue (yes lashing rain & howling winds werent really condusive to this) and a rooftop view of the London landscape and its fireworks.
I had fun, it was great to see old friends I havent spent time with for a very long time and a very different way to see in a new year.

London really pulled the stops out for yet another fabulous firework display.... sit back & enjoy, even the weather couldnt but a dampner on such a fabulous set and backdrop.

May I take this opportunity to say thankyou for joining my journey of 2013 either on my blog, via twitter or Instagram, its been a joy... your comments, tweets have made me laugh, and i have made some new friends this year...i wish you all a fabulous 14.

Goodbye 2013... hello 2014.

As 2013 draws to a close its time for me to look back on my favourite moments. Its this point of the year when I look back that I realise how much I have done, what places I have been and the fab times that I have spent with loved ones.
All I can say is thankyou for blogging as my memory definitely isnt what it used to be!....
Here are 13 of my favourite things from 2013...

• Afternoon Tea at Claridges  last Christmas I received Afternoon Tea at Claridges at a gift. In March we went and had a lovely time. The venue, service and tea were fabulous... a perfect gift!
• Rugby Masterclass  Back in April  Jonny Wilkinson pulled on his Rugby shorts for the last time at Twickenham and I was there, front row to witness such delights!... a masterclass of perfection in so many ways!!! 
• Hollywood & Dames This year I was lucky enough to meet the lovely blue-eyed Paul Hollywood at a Bread masterclass and in the same evening watch one of Theatres Dames on stage - the fabulous Judi Dench.
• A day of Chocolate  one of the most inventive and fun afternoon teas that I have had along with an evening at the theatre with Charlie & Chocolate factory... a delicious treat for all senses.
• Summer theatre in the Park  Regents park became a firm favourite during the summer ... an evening watching To Kill a Mockingbird and Pride & Prejudice were two of my highlights on a summers evening.
• An evening with the Buble  a fab evening with friends old & new watching the supreme showman Michael Buble. An absolute joy ....
• Tea at the House  a behind the scenes tour a tea in the Houses of Parliament were fun, informative and a history lesson al in one go.
• Birthday with Bestie  co-ordinated diaries allowed for me to spend a fun day in London with Bestie, we laughed (lots) walked, gossiped, oogled and pretended we were both 14 again instead of 4*!!... 
• Pride & Prejudice and 2 kittens!... Fitzwilliam & Darcy came to live with me in July, 2 mischievous and naughty Kittens... so not like their namesake Mr Darcy!... 200 years after Jane Austen wrote the classic!
•  Hadley at the Hall  girl crushes don't abate even in you 40's!... Tony Hadley at the Albert hall was pure class, he crooned, rocked & balleted through the classics & 80's!
• The Savoy & a Songstress  a fabulous afternoon tea at The Savoy with two 70 year old ladies who have more energy than myself, followed by an evening watching a songstress Beverley Knight in The Bodyguard was pure class throughout.
• Thanksgiving with Friends  a new tradition for Teresa... Thanksgiving dinner with special friends... thankful for all. wishing them happier and healthier 2014 as December prooved to be worrying and unwell ... much love xx
• Christmas in Paris  A day in Paris during Christmastime was delightful, filled with sweet treats, lights and fun.

2013 has been fun, I got out and about lots, I loved exploring London in the sunshine (yes we did have a summer!) relaxing in the park with a good book, spending time with loved ones.  The Uk had Royal baby fever, we saw a Brit win Wimbledon for the 1st time in 60 years, and the Lions bet the Southern Hemisphere in the rugby.I look forward to seeing what 2014 will bring.
Looking forward to 2014....

• I would like to be more organised with life, blogging, and home.
• I hope to blog more (hoping my new wireless keyboard will assist with blogging on an ipad) and bring a little structure to my monthly posts. (more to come of this)
• Spend quality time with loved ones.... simple works for me as well as special treats... 
• A decade on from loosing a very special lady in my life I hope to mark this anniversary with love, memories and laughter across the pond.

Boxing Day bargain rush...

Boxing Day for me means an early start and a commute into London for one of the most publisised sales of the festive season.

It is the stores busiest trading day of the year, and this year didnt disappoint. With queues snaking around the stores block, many having been there since late Christmas Day night it is as much as a tradition as the festive day itself. With the launch of online sales and competitors trading their sales at the same time, it always amazes me how many people come out for the sales. This year 3,500 people entered the store as the doors opened for the sale having queued since the early hours.

After walking each floor prior to trade, the Operations director, Store Director and myself stand on the balcony of Hix restaurant overlooking the accessories hall and watch the doors open and the madness descend!... the Ops Director is interviewed by all the press and TV crews onsite to film the Boxing Day rush.

Finishing mid afternoon, an easy drive home is followed with Boxing Day dinner and a quiet night on the sofa cuddled up with the kitties.

Christmas memories...

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas spent with special people and loved ones. As most of you know Christmas Day is a day that I'm quite happy to sleep through. This year however I wasn't allowed, this year I spent the day with my brother and his family. Usually they go to in-laws or friends, but this year they stayed as home with the insistent that I join them.
My morning started early with two kitties eager to open their stockings, Santa was very good to me, some of which I will share in the next few days. My next stop was at the cemetery where I left some flowers and a christmas wreath for my nan & gramps, then onto the G household to open more presents with an excited niece and a 'cool' but secretly excited nephew.

With brother cooking the Christmas dinner, I was allowed to sit and relax watching the kids open their presents.
Dinner was lovely and we all had lots of fun with the crackers and charades at the table.
The afternoon was spent watching kids films, playing monopoly and building lego!... occasionally visited by nephew who's Xbox one was a bigger draw than the lego building!... His Armani PJ's from his auntie were a big hit!

The John Lewis rabbit may have stolen my heart in the Christmas ads, but i think the G family pet "Woody" comes a close second. My brother has trained him like a dog, here he is Christmas night getting his treats from his stocking.

I had a lovely day with the family, filled with fun, and love. x

'twas the night before christmas ...

With much of the country being battered by storms on the run-up to Christmas, the present fairy was always going to be up against time when delivering on behalf of Santa on Christmas Eve. This year I was even more disorganised than normal, and I'm not really sure why, but if Santa can get across the world on Christmas Eve then I could deliver all my parcels.
My day started with a 6am drive into London for work.... and finished with Florence finally got parked onto the drive just before midnight!...alas i still had some wrapping to do and a quick tidy before Santa delivered at Teresa's terrace.

It was lovely to see everyone, even if fleetingly and next year i hope that the weather is kinder and that I'm a little more organised!...

I have many traditions for Christmas Eve... one of my favourites is new PJ's for Santa... this years were found with much glee as they completely complimented my mittens theme...

What Christmas Eve traditions do you keep?....

driving home for christmas...

Much of the last couple of the weeks to Christmas is spent on the road, either driving into London to work ( mainly to fill Florence's boot with parcels & shopping) or running around delivering presents or visiting friends.
Over the last couple of years it has become much of a tradition for a "Happy Holiday's" playlist to be compiled for the car and I wait with much excitement to hear Whams Last Christmas on the radio. When driving into work I pick-up one of my team Jo who is Mrs Christmas! and we drive through London looking at the nights and singing along to the Christmas songs.... all before 7am. (Last Christmas is our favourite christmas song.... it may be 30 years old but we still love it... both had aspirations of a magical christmas in a ski lodge with friends & loved ones!.. minus the perm!!!)

This year we loved the Eros snow globe at Piccadily, the Magic & Sparkle of M&S, the red robin of Carnaby Street and the drive home is magical complemented by the decorated trees outside The Connaught hotel in Carlos Place.

Along with Wham, here are a few more of my must's on my Happy Holidays playlist!... pure cheese & smaltz in one place.(there is a lot of Michael Buble!!)
Michael Buble & Bing Crosby - White Christmas

Michael Buble & Mariah Carey - All i want for Christmas

Perry Como - Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas..

The Pogues & Kirsty Mccoll - Fairytale in NewYork

Michael Bolton - Oh Holy Night

what have been you favourite sites & sounds of the season?....

7 sleeps......

...... Until Santa and my To Do list is huge.

Every year I hit December and think I have Christmas under control, and then bam 1 week to go and I haven't got a bit of paper on a present, the tree is still in its box and and the only thing being unwrapped on Christmas Day currently will be the tin of quality street.......
Let the panic commence!.......

Holiday entertainment ...

I love the build up to Christmas and all that it brings.... and that includes the Christmas TV ads. An Christmas ad can make or break a brand and what is the most wonderful time of the year.

They form as much entertainment for us all as some of the TV programmes they segment. Every year it seems the competitiveness of the brands to get the most memorable christmas ad gets fiercer.
Here are my top 5 for this year:
1. Marks & Spencer - Magic & Sparkle - Alice in wonderland, Wizard of Oz, cute dog and David Gandy... What more can I ask for?.... Oh yes delicious red shoes!!!

2. John Lewis - the Bear & the Hare... JL's done is again... Heartfelt ad tugging in the heart strings.

3. Baileys - The Nutcracker - my favourite ballet and Baileys, a perfect combination

4. Morrisons - Go on its Christmas - Ant & Dec and a tap dancing gingerbread man.. Morrisons meets shriek & beauty & the beast!

5. Coca cola - share a gift this Christmas - holidays are coming... coca cola post to come, more to follow.

What's your favourite advert for this holiday season...?

Here's a little more of my favourite.... Complete with "Eye Candy Gandy"!!!!... Delicious...

12 reads for Christmas..

Over the last few years one of the things that I look forward to on the countdown to Christmas is a great festive read. My Christmas to read list has grown on amazon over the past few months and I have selected my 12 reads for Christmas. Nothing more perfect than curling up on the sofa when all the hustle and bustle has passed and relaxing with a great book, mug of hot chocolate and a slice of Christmas cake!

• Just for Christmas - Scarlett Bailey
• Wish Upon a Star - Trisha Ashley
• Christmas at the Gingerbread Cafe - Rebecca Raisin
• I heart Christmas - Lindsey Kelk
• Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe - Jenny Colgan
• Calling Mrs Christmas - Carole Matthews
• Christmas at Claridges  -Karen Swann
• Christmas at the Beach Cafe -Lucy Diamond
• Christmas at the Cresent - Veronica Henry
• Coming home for Christmas -Jenny Hale
• Meet me under the Mistletoe -Abby Clements
• Christmas at Carringtons - Alexandra Brown

Many authors have this year written short novellas either to complete previous publications or just fun christmas stories. These are perfect on my commute and I can easily read one a day. 
Thankyou Ladies for writing some fun, festive reads.... Pop back at the end of the month for my thoughts x

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!!!!....