Christmas wishes

December is a busy time of year, not just for me but for everyone. So I will be taking a break from blogging until the new year so I can spend time with family enjoying this magical time. I arrived in Wolverhampton yesterday and will be visiting Ryan's family in Chelmsford from Boxing Day and we are taking a trip to London too... Plenty of future blog content! But for now I am happily snuggled in my pyjamas at my parents house, stealing all their orange creams :P

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Image from the December issue of The Simple Things

Five Things: December Edition.

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It's December! The Marmite of all the months, but I most certainly love it. It still feels like Autumn here in Cornwall as I haven't seen a drop of snow anywhere and it's been firmly above freezing point. Despite the mild weather, December has been as magical as ever so far...

One: Decorating the Christmas Tree. 

 This year I got to have my first ever real tree. We went for a potted tree so that we can bring it in every year and watch it grow and grow. We picked a little tree from the nice-smelling varieties at Bodmin Nursery. It fits just perfectly in our little living room in the cottage.

I didn't want any tinsel or sparkly stuff on our tree because it's not really my style. Instead we went for a shabby-chic/nature look and opted for a mismatched effect, buying ornaments from different places. I got a couple of Gisela Graham ornaments from a cute shop in St Austell and the Gingerbread men were from The Clementine in Fowey. I really liked the variety in Wilko and bought the floral baubles and leaves from there. The Christmas bunting was an ebay find and we topped the tree with a willow star from the Eden Project Shop.

Two: In fact, all things Christmasy!

Ryan's Mum has been here in Cornwall all week so we have been doing the touristy rounds with her which has been really fun. Everywhere has pulled out their Christmas programmes so there has been plenty of new things to see and do. The Lost Gardens of Heligan had a reindeer trail and a postbox where you could write letters to Santa. As well as Christmas crafts, Heligan are also offering free entry on certain evenings to see their Christmas lights. As an Eden employee I can get people in for free (one of the many perks) so we obviously had to check out the Enchanted Rainforest! Eden always has one event or another happening so I like to wander round and see whats happening now and again. It was awesome to see the reindeer and witness the bizarre sight of snow in the rainforest.

Three: Winter Drinks.
I am a massive fan of hot drinks and can't get though the day without a cup of tea. Now is the time to put down the Pumpkin Spice Latte and opt for a Gingerbread or Toffee-nut flavour instead. I've already had myself some mulled wine and spiced apple this year and I'm sure there will be plenty more! You can try and make your own mulled apple juice using this recipe from BBC GoodFood. Innocent drinks also have a recipe in their Hungry book for a warm spiced milk that is perfect for bedtime.

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Four: Winter Walks.

 I love going for walks any time of the year because there is always something beautiful to behold. It has been gorgeous round here with plenty of Winter sun! We have been making the most of the lack of rain/snow and getting out and about to plenty of different places. As most families do, I usually go for a Boxing Day or New Years day walk. I love wrapping up warm and feeling the cold bite on the end of my nose.

Five: My Birthday
Yes, I am one of those irritating people that have a birthday really close to Christmas. Though it's not quite as bad as my Uncle who was born on Christmas day! It's a bit of a tradition to go to the cinema for my birthday because there is usually something awesome out.. this year it's the final part of the Hobbit!! As my birthday falls on a Monday this year, I've asked Ryan if we can have a day out in Totnes, checking out the markets and unique shops, the weekend before. Usually I come up with a list of things I'd like for Christmas and I have money for my birthday that can be spent throughout the year so I might spot something I like in Totnes. Most of my birthday money has already gone on this gorgeous Seasalt waterproof coat. It's hanging up outside my bedroom door and I just can't wait to wear it!

Five Things: The Potter Edition

It is no secret that I love Harry Potter, anyone who knows me would be able to tell you that. Ever since I picked up Philosopher's Stone from Tettenhall library I have been hooked and I probably always will be. After the release of new material on Pottermore I have been re-reading the books and feeling particularly magical, so I decided to blog five things I love about Harry Potter. This list could have been endless but I managed to whittle it down!

One: I love the amount of female role models in the story - Hermione, McGonagall, Luna and Ginny just to name a few. As the geek of the class growing up I obviously identified with Hermione. Top marks in class was what I lived for and reading was most certainly my thing. Even as a teenager (and an adult) I would rather be a brainy weirdo like Luna than a Pansy Parkinson. 

Two: It is a window to a whole magical world where you can escape to for a few hours. From chapter one I was sucked into the alternate universe where spells were real and post came by owl. The books are so descriptive that the films were exactlly as I imagined they would be. Even now the magic goes on, if I am feeling down I will stick my nose in a book and revisit the familiar adventures.

Three: I learned so much from reading the books. Honestly, Harry Potter can teach you important life lessons. I'd rather live in the Burrow than Malfoy Manor, I wanted to join S.P.E.W and the D.A, and I wouldn't dream of calling someone a mudblood. I am still pinning Dumbledore quotes on Pinterest because he gives the best advice.

"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."

Four: I have grown up with it. It all began with a borrowed library book that I must have raved about a lot because my Mum soon got the box-set of the first four books. I remember being Hermione for book day in year five, reading Goblet of Fire in Consett at my Grandad's and going to see the first film at cineworld when I was nine. It doesn't stop there, my teenage years bought anticipation for the new books, discussions about Snape's loyalty during GCSE science lessons and getting early access to Pottermore. My love continued through university with fancy dress, riding the Hogwarts express, visiting the studio tour and watching the final film with tears in my eyes. I'm pretty sure I will never grow out of it :)

Five: Because JK Rowling is a genius! The books are so well written and thought out. After reading them over and over I still find new connections. Grindlewald features in Philosopher's Stone on a chocolate frog card but doesn't come into play until Deathly Hallows. Same with Gregorovitch but Ollivander drops his name into conversation with Krum during the wand weighing in Goblet of Fire. 

Harry Potter will never cease to amaze me.

Lone Adventures

This week I am at home all on my own as Ryan has travelled back up to Yorkshire for 10 whole days! Really I should be okay with this because when I was at university I managed a long distance relationship and I spent a lot of weekends on my own too. Lots of my friends went home at the weekend or had to go to work or their boyfriends were visiting so I used to see the weekends as 'me time' where I could relax and do what I wanted. I think that's originally how my Sunday Blog was created! So, now I have this whole week ahead of me and I do live somewhere with plenty to do. However I am soooo rubbish at being bored, I like having things to do. Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day here in St Austell so I just couldn't stay inside!

Firstly I went to check out Cornish Market World as we have been driving past it and laughing at the cheesy name for over a month now. It was actually a really good indoor market with areas specific to crafts and antiques. I was impressed with the range of stuff you could buy from there but only walked away with a small bag of honey and cinnamon cashews for a treat. Next stop was The Lost Gardens of Heligan, which is another project by Tim Smit who created the Eden Project so I can go for free, yippee! I like this staff benefit the best because the gardens at Heligan are beautiful and there's so much to see and do there. We visited in the Summer so it was nice to see how it has changed with the season.

Usually on days out I like to take a few photos, some for my blog and maybe I will Instagram some of my favourites. I normally take it in turns with Ryan to do a silly pose and the self timer only comes out for pictures of both of us - we aren't the best selfie takers! As I was on my own and it was so quiet at Heligan, I had chance to play around with my self timer and get some photos of me. I quite like the challenge of precariously balancing my phone on a log or my bag to get the right angle. Thankfully I didn't drop it through the rope bridge to the jungle swamp below!

My Kindle even came along for the ride because I knew I'd find a quiet, secluded spot where I could sit and read. There was even a little robin that came and sat next to me for a while but he was camera shy and soon flew away when I tried to sneak a picture. I've been re-reading Harry Potter since the new material was released on Pottermore at Halloween. I am so excited for the new films to come out, I even signed Ryan up to Pottermore so I could find out what house he was in (my boyfriend is a Hufflepuff for those who want to know). I'm sure that I will have plenty more time to spend being geeky this week as I am left to my own devices. Today I am going to do some yoga at home and then pop into town to do some Christmas Shopping. See you next week if I'very not gone crazy from boredom! 

Snapshot

Enjoyable and relaxed are two words that best describe this weekend. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I want to share a selection of Ryan's awesome photographs from our weekend :) We had some Autumnal fun at Lanhydrock on Saturday and walked around Mevagissey harbour, taking in the sea views, on Sunday.

You can find Ryan's blog here and he is also on twitter.

 

 

 

Happy Weekend!

xxx