Goodbye 2011

As I thought about putting this post together I couldn't help but think what a good year I've had and I love looking back through my blog to see what I was able to share with you!

Of course this year saw the arrival of 3 gorgeous little ladies, Sophie (whose birthday we celebrate today!), Evelyn and of course my fabulous niece who my brother and SIL already fear is a mini me!

I failed miserably at going to the gym, might have put on a little weight but in the process discovered a new style of dressing and purchased my first pairs of trousers in years!

My flat welcomed new furniture and was rearranged to my liking, becoming the cosy little palace I've always wanted and is currently undergoing further transformation!

There was the discovery of Tumblr where I reblog fabulous images and quotes that make my heart sing when there isn't the brain power to put a "proper" blog post together

I said goodbye to brace face and my braces were removed revealing some gorgeous nashers!

After years of talking about participating in vintage fairs I finally found myself sharing a table with Rose once or twice throughout the year

The arrival of an unexpected new car which I'm collecting today!

And the most important thing has been sharing some fabulous days out, parties and lunches with family and friends, from my mini breaks to my brother's home where they've entertained me like a visiting Royal, attending the polo alongside Peter Andre & the cast of TOWIE to too many bottles of wine over lunch with the girls at work - there have been some fabulous times!

So many wonderful things have happened this year and there is already much to look forward to in 2012 including more babies, weddings and a holiday to Florida!!

Tonight my plans are a night in with a few DVDs, some lovely pork belly from M&S and maybe a glass of wine or two!

Happy New Year to you all 

Painting Progress!

Last night I decided to start painting my front room

Still much to do when painting a room that you "live" in most of the time, filled with furniture it's a lot of shifting around but I promised myself I'd do this makeover slowly but surely!

Tonight I have an evening of eBay listing and decluttering - I do love the lazy days between Christmas and New Year when they still manage to be productive!

Bye Bye Christmas

Today I finally finished packing away all my Christmas decorations

and my tree is ready to put away for another year

Hmmm I need to sort out those fairy lights if I don't want a struggle next Christmas!

Cabin fever is setting in this evening having spent 2 days at home tidying, sorting and decluttering!

I've removed my ugly curtain rails from the lounge so my windows have gone from this

to this

I don't know if it's just the feeling of space having a 7ft Christmas tree no longer taking up room but I'm loving how open removing the curtains and rails makes my lounge feel

I will be adding blinds rather than curtains in due course and can't wait till I can get to the stage of dressing the window sill

Cracking Christmas

Well that's it, all over for another year but it was a good one!

I started my festivities on Christmas Eve Eve with a night out with family and friends

With age comes wisdom and we've all learnt that celebrating on Christmas Eve leads to trouble so we all decided to avoid hangovers on Christmas Day!

It was lovely to wake up on Christmas Day hangover free and enjoy a cuppa in bed before arriving at my parents welcomed by a sea of presents

Mum always wraps my gifts in Victoria Secrets packaging we've saved from our trips to the US over the years

My brother was happy posing with his new t-shirt!

Christmas cuddles with nanny

and auntie wants one too

Then it was Boxing Day fun for the family where I enjoyed playing with Violet's toys!

whilst Violet played with mine!

Fabulous!

Happy Hampers!

This year I was once again lucky enough to obtain a Fortnum & Mason hamper from work

This is my best one yet, fabulous size and ideal for the post Christmas declutter and organising I have planned for next week! Certainly worth the battle bringing it home on the underground this evening!

I am now finished with work until the New Year and can't wait for one or two lie ins - it's been a hectic month!

Rihanna Tuesday evening was FABULOUS!

What a great Christmas gift!

Now it's time to finish off wrapping presents, plan tomorrow's last minute bits and pieces and prepare for the big celebrations!

Decking the Halls

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about my Christmas decorating this year but once again I couldn't be happier!

I started with  a beautiful wreath from a local florist - the only difference being all creations are from artificial flowers

The shop is wonderful and I will be returning after Christmas and buying a few displays to use in my home to save the cost (and quick death!) of real flowers!

The latest ornament to adorn my tree is a New Zealand All Blacks Santa

A gift from my friend Ben on his return from New Zealand - I do love decorations on my tree that tell a story!

And of course the red sofa covers are back with new cushions as I showed in earlier post but you will see some festive friends have appeared!

Betty Boop as an angel is keeping watch over me

Whilst the Grinch keeps an eye on my festive DVD collection

I hope you enjoyed that little tour... and yes you can see a Gingerbread Hello Kitty peeking out above!

I hope you are all enjoying making your homes festive.... this time next week we'll be stuffed full of turkey!

Baby Showering!

Today I'm off to the baby shower of my good friend Maria

We've been very excited about the impending arrival of her little man in the new year and watching as her bump grows bigger every day!

It's certainly something to look forward to in the usually depressing month of January!

Festive Family

Here are some lovely photos of me with my niece and nephew last weekend and my newly decorated Christmas tree!

Frock

Frock is a word I'll always associate with my dear nan and I certainly think my recent purchase wouldve been met with her usual joke 'I'll borrow that when you're finished with it'!


I popped into monsoon this week to see if I could take advantage of their seasonal discount. I love monsoon clothes but do find them a tad on the pricey side! 


This dress had £25 off making it a more palatable price to pay for a dress that I'll get a lot of wear of during the festive (there's that word again!).




It'll be perfect for work when I'm off to some christmas 'do's' and even better looks good with flat ballet pumps so I can dance away! 

I'm also thinking this will be the dress to wear Christmas day as it'll be comfortable enough to accomodate a big dinner!!


Have you brought yourself a new frock for Christmas yet? 

Review | Radox Spa Range

I was contacted once again to test and review some new products from Radox, specifically their new Spa range which was timed perfectly with my being unable to use my bath (my taps broke!) and relying on the shower!

The Radox Spa range has been expertly blended with natural ingredients to create rich shower and bath creams, purifying body washes and exfoliating scrubs, promising to deliver caring results for  your body and mind.

And I have to say they've done a great job. You will know I'm a big fan of the "high end" bath products but this Shower Cream was fabulous and met my high standards. Sometimes I do find shower products can feel "slippery" but this literally felt like a cream on my skin and I would definitely recommend you give it a try as my skin truly did feel smooth after.

Last night was the turn of the shower scrub with fig extract and neroli oil and wow did this smell and feel good! My skin still feels smooth today and I haven't applied any body lotion.

If you fancy giving these products a try nip down to your local Tesco or Sainsbury’s where you'll find them for the affordable £2.21 

Festive Fun!

It's been a thoroughly "festive" 3 days for me and this Sunday evening I couldn't be happier!

Fun started on Friday afternoon with a trip to the local high streets Christmas market and there was excitement when a bus broke down on the roundabout causing no end of trouble! 

Thankfully Ben armed with community spirit helped direct traffic whilst we waited for them to move the bus

We rewarded ourselves with coffees after all that hard work!

Saturday I bribed my brother and his family with cinnamon pastries to come round and decorate my Christmas tree

Brody was shocked at what he was going to earn for his efforts!

Violet preferred selecting decorations with Nanny to add to the tree

Tree decorating was taken very seriously by me from the look on my face!

Until I started enjoying myself!

Monumental putting of the fairy on the top of the tree

Then we packed ourselves up and headed to a Christmas Market

Where we caught in a snow storm!

and then back to my brothers house for fish and chips

What a perfect day continuing today with a jaunt around the local shops, collecting Christmas presents, buying Christmas cards and a GORGEOUS wreath which I'll share in another post as I think this one is becoming photo heavy!!

Once again I hope you're all getting into the Christmas spirit this weekend!