Wednesday 2 January 2008

Happy New Year, make it a good one....



Where to start......???

New Years Resolution No.1 - Be a better blogger

Well first up, over december I've been a really crap blogger, only 2 posts!! I can also see that quite a few of you are back up and running after the christmas period, and I've got a lot of catching up to do, reading properly about what you've all been up to and not just skimming and looking at pretty pictures!

I'm feeling a bit reluctant to dip my toe back into normal life, although I'm sure I'll be ok soon, Ella's back to nursery tomorrow and Dan's back to work on monday (I really find it hard to get the normal day-to-day stuff done when Danny is off work during the week, he annoys me, even if he's doing the washing up!)





After a quick glimpse I can see that most of you had a lovely christmas, and so did we. We spent the week at my parents house, from christmas eve to friday, and had a fantastic time, christmas lunch for twenty-two, two turkeys, which my grandmother cooked and brought up to mum's along with her christmas pud, my cousin brought a ham, an aunt brought the cheese, I did trifle, and mum did all the vegetables and trimmings. I managed to get a snap of the dining room before everyone arrived.







We got some lovely presents too including the eagerly awaited "pink trainers" from Father Christmas, and my CK Roberts DAB radio from M&D, favourite station button set to radio 4. (I've said Danny can only use it to listen to talk sport when he has a bath)



I got a CK address book and polka dot purse from my brother, and my sister Libby made me an extra special screen printed tea towel that she designed using a picture of me when I was a little girl, which I absolutely adore. Although I don't think I'll ever use it as a tea towel, maybe I'll make in into a cushion or put it on to a canvas. She also screen printed Ella a set of four tops including this design too. How cute is the print, I think she should go into production!



Like a lot of parents with young children, New Years Eve for us was a stay-in affair, and frankly I think it is probably the worst night of the year to go out, if you can get someone to babysit, then it's expensive, the cab fare is double, you have buy a ticket to get in anywhere, or pay over the odds for your meal, I think the only thing worth doing is having a couple of friends over for dinner, or going round to someone-elses if you can stay the night.
So bottle of wine, film, and nice food was our evening, and I went to bed at 11pm, got woken up at 12 though with all the fireworks, I thought I was in a war zone!

By tuesday, I'd had enough of the tree, it's always a bit in the way, and it was starting to look a bit limp, so after carefully packing away the decs into their box and tucking them in with tissue paper, I dragged the shoe cupboard in from dining room where it had been banished to for the christmas period, and put things back to normal, if a bit more tidier.
I decided to put my new tooled metal candlesticks (another pressie) on it with a few of the vintage glass ones, and then I displayed the white miniature cups and saucers that where supposed to go onto the website this week, but I think that I might keep them now, well for a little bit anyway.



Oh yes, and I bought the white china rose from a charity shop on sunday for £1.50, I think it's handmade looking at the back, but it's beautifully done, it's a bit the like the candle holder ones that you can get at the moment, only no candle holder, completely useless dust collector I know, but pretty.



Goodnight everyone, and tomorrow will I wake to a dusting of snow?? We shall see, hopefully there will be plenty of winter wonderland photo opportunities for us here in the UK, I'm looking forward to seeing what all your cameras have captured.

15 comments:

  1. happy new year jessica! i hope it brings you oodles of creativity + good times!

    looks like you had a wonderful christmas. your parents house looked beautiful. i love how you all made a part of the dinner! x

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  2. Happy New Year Jess!
    It looks like you have had a fantastic Christmas. I love the pictures of your parents house. Fab Christmas presents too.
    xFaye

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  3. Great to hear from you Jess, happy New Year. Wow, what a beautiful Christmas, isn't your mum's house stunning! That print your sister made is fantastic, what a talented family you are. And Christmas lunch for 22?!? There were 10 of us and I was whacked. Love the doves and holly on the frame, really pretty. Looking forward to catching up with you this year. Hope its really successful for you, your family and the White Verandah.
    All the best,
    Stephx

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  4. Happy New Year! Your christmas dinner looks like a very elegant affair - how gorgeous. It looks like you got some great gifts, and I love the rose.
    Best wishes for 2008,
    Cathy XX

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  5. The rose is beautiful - was it a new tiem in the shop and if so which shop was it ie Help the Aged?? or was it a second hand find

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  6. I love your blog!!! The pictures are great and also the writing :)
    I'm off to tell some people. And your mother's painting is just great! Oh! And I have to go see your website.

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  7. Happy 2008! Your Christmas looked super!

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  8. What a lovely family christmas Jess, it all looked just wonderful and 22 of you wow.
    Yes the new years eve, not the best for most of us, by the time 12 gets here we are all so sleepy and can't be bothered.
    My oldest had the most fun up in London to watch the fireworks. We taped them for our little ones but they didn't seem that excited lol

    Happy new year to you and your family.
    Hugs x

    Catherine x

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  9. A very happy New Year to you! Your Christmas photos look very pretty and festive. And what lovely Christmas presents you received. I just adore the radio! Lucky you. And your sisters presents are very creative. How clever is she?

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  11. Happy New Year to you and your family too and yes I should also resolve to be a better blogger!
    cd&m
    http://catondarlingandmoore.typepad.com

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  12. you have some lovely things on your web site, lucky you getting all that ck stuff for christmas,

    happy new year : )

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  13. How lovely it all looks - I do hope you had a great time - it looks like you did.

    All good wishes for 2008

    Ax

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  14. I could have written most of what you've said myself - bad blogger during December, staying in on New Years's Eve and having enough of the tree etc by Tuesday:) You had some lovely presents for Christmas, the Roberts radio is so pretty. Love your candlesticks too.

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