Winter Wonderland

I got the chance to go to Winter Wonderland again this year. We went at night this time and the atmosphere was so much better! There were so many beautiful lights everywhere and the smell of food and mulled wine was so tempting. the rides seemed to be much bigger and faster too! After one round on the waltzers we all felt it was enough! It was a shame the ice skating was so busy, it would be nice to go back when its not peak time, the rink goes around a big band stand where live music is being played. But I think the best part of the whole day was the churros from Rosie's Donuts and Sweets stall. They were really hot and crispy and covered in melted chocolate. Yum.  I want to go back just for some more.

Christmas

We had a nice relaxed christmas and boxing day with family. We did the usual and played lots of games, filled ourselves with far too much chocolate and festive food and of course lots of wine. The Apple and Cranberry Christmas Chutney was a success, everyone seemed to like it at our christmas party with the cheese selection. I got lots of lovely presents this year, including a few beautiful books, which I will blog about at some point. I'm enjoying some well deserved time off work this week, roll on new year's eve!

Merry Christmas!

Mum has been using her crafts to make christmas cards again this year. Here are three she made for our family, they look so pretty with the sparkle and beads. Its also a good way to recycle christmas cards from previous years, keeping the patterns and glitter. I still can't believe its Christmas tomorrow, time has flown! Happy Christmas Eve to everyone, have a wonderful Christmas weekend!

Homemade Christmas Chutney

For christmas this year I decided to make some chutney to give as little presents. I saw this recipe on Kirsty's Homemade Britain Program. You can find the recipe here. The chutney includes lots of different dried fruits which makes it much sweeter than normal chutney. It took a while to make it, and the onions and cider vinegar stung my eyes alot! I bought the little jars from Lakeland and made my own little tags and decoration. I think I may attempt to make jam next, its fun and the jars look so sweet!

Cushion Crafts

Dear Santa, please could I have my very own owl cushion for christmas. I have seen many owl pillows in shops recently, they are definitely very popular, but there is something so wonderful about these hand crafted cushions. It is such a shame they are not for sale! I found these on The Pioneer Woman website. I would love to be talented enough to put together my own cushions from scrap materials and crafts. My friend Becki is very good at that, and is currently putting together her own hand crafted christmas decorations. You can see an example of her christmas tree decoration below. These beutiful crafts are for sale, you can view them on her blog here. http://rebeccagarrod.blogspot.com/