2011 is leaving us, bring on 2012!

This year saw my niece get her masters degree and her first internship in London.  I made it to one year in my job and we got a new boss who is just fantastic.  Amazing what a difference a good manager can make to a work place.  I was also very lucky this year and got my garden and driveway done which has made such a difference to everyday life.  Christmas was lovely spent with friends and family, lots of yummy food and my first real Xmas tree.  Oh and the cinema for our town centre finally got the go ahead which will be great for all the young families, no more trekking for miles to see the latest kids movies.

All you wonderful people in blog land have continued to inspire me and there is something quite lovely about sitting down with a nice cuppa whilst popping round to see what you have all been up to.  My blog is a place where I write about things that I have seen, done dream of and it still amazes me that people take the time to pop by and leave me sweet comments.  They really do mean a lot to me, thank you.

To all my lovely readers out there, a big Happy New Year to each and every one of you!!  May 2012 bring you happiness and good health.

lolo xx

Testing blogsy

Have had this app on iPad for ages but never tried it.  This is fun!  The cake above is one my sister made for her friends 40th birthday a few months ago.  Didn't it turn out great.  

Definitely going to try posting this way every now and then, I feel all technofied now, if there is such a word!

Lolo x

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Christmas wishes to you all, thank you for taking the time to pop by and read my little blog over the past year.  It really means a lot to me.  Enjoy!  Lolo xx

Ready for Christmas

It's Christmas Eve and all that is left to do is put out a snack for Santa and Rudolph.  I may not be under the age of 11 anymore but I am still a big kid at heart, like most of us I suspect.

I used to have these little silver doves when my tree was more cream and gold but I like them too much to hide them away.

What it is really about at Christmas time.

My darling sister got me this gingerbread chef last year after I oohed and aahed over her one.  Now if he could just jump down from the tree and help me with some baking.

This silver bell reminds me of the film Polar Express, one of my all time favourite films to watch at christmas and it was on this afternoon.  I sat and watched it whilst wrapping my pressies, definitely Christmas now.

Another heart, because you can never have too many.

My first real Christmas Tree.  No needles have dropped yet, I've got the radiator off behind it and have been watering it regularly.  It doesn't look so 'real' in this piccie but you get the idea.    When Christmas is over I shall put it outside in the garden until it's needles drop then my sister can have it for her woodburner.

Soon I am off to my beddy byes, this Christmas preparation lark has all but worn me out.  Hope you are all more or less ready for the festivities, don't forget to feed Santa and Rudolph.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Lolo xx

Baby Bottom Butter

Okay I am about 3 years behind on this one, but there might be some of you out there like me who completely missed all the hype.  I am talking about Waitrose Baby Bottom Butter, how cute is the name first off.  And the packaging is oh so clean and relaxing to look at.

On a glowing recommendation from my friend I went and purchased my first pot of this to try a week ago and have been in love with it ever since.  First off the smell is divine, slight vanilla but not too overpowering.  When you open the pot you just want to sniff it for a while.  Once done smelling it I tested some out on my hands.  It is a butter formulation so it's solid in the pot and you only need a tiny amount as it is very rich.  I found it great for my cuticles and those dry bits you get down the side of your nails.  It is a little greasy so you would have to wait a while for it sink in before doing stuff, perfect for night time use though.

For skin as soft as a baby's

A few days later I tried it on my face, I have normal/combination skin so did this at night.  Wow!  The next morning my face and neck felt sooo soft I couldn't stop touching it.  I've only used it on my face for few nights but it has made a real difference to how my skin feels with make up on.  I don't have those dry bits round my nose and stuff and it feels like velvet now.  My tired little feet are going to be given the bottom butter treatment next, they deserve it!

At £2.85 a pot this will be a beauty staple for me from now on.  It is also going to appear in the Xmas stockings of my female relations!  

I'd be very interested to know what experiences you have had with this product.  

Lolo xx

6 More Sleeps to Go!

Till this little fella drops down our chimneys!

I love that Santa is given a bottle of coke.

Things are slowly taking shape round here now and I feel slightly less harrassed and almost, dare I say it, organised.  Food deliveries are arriving tomorrow evening when I get home from work, life saver.  House is now looking like it's christmas, picked up my first real tree on the weekend.  The lights were another story though, a bit like gold dust round these parts.  Did everyone buy new sets this year?  The ones that were left were these new fandango LED ones with that scarey bright white light!  I can't be dealing with that so made do with last years in the end.  Am hoping to have some piccies to upload although a bit tricky when it's dark so early but I'll give it a go.

Are you all set for big day?  

Lolo xx

It's Catching Up With Me!

It's all catching up with me real fast now due to my house looking like this over the past 3 weeks.

Mental note: don't book decorators in before Christmas, especially when they over run by a week.

I've yet to get any of my decs out of the loft, little sister will be called upon this weekend, you see I can't go in lofts on account of 2 steps up a ladder and I get vertigo.

A trip to my local garden centre is needed to choose my real christmas tree.  This is a first for me as I usually go the artificial route but I'm fed up with spending over an hour putting it together before I even put any decs on it.  I'm told that the Nordman Fir as the way to go, no sharp needles, good when you have cats and the needles don't drop so much either.

Am also thinking I may have lost my chance to book an online delivery slot, what are the chances of any being left?  

Yep, still in the bag!  Can you see the theme running through here, told you I was way behind.  I did manage to order most of the christmas presents online last night, thank the lord for the internet.  It was a lovely feeling knowing that some nice man will deliver them all to my house ready for me to wrap in pretty paper.

What I need is to sit down with one of these and a notebook.  Lists need to be made to help clear my mind of all the jumble.  Yes I'll feel much better after this I'm sure!

Hope all your plans are going well, I've been popping round blogland and it's all looking so lovely and festive.

Lolo xx

Don't stress it

Just love this.  Don't know if you are anything like me, but when stressed I can find myself comfort eating.  And now I know why, lol!!

Lolo xx

Kirstie's Handmade Christmas

Friends house, check. Comfy clothing, check.  Delivery pizza, check.  Yep my friends and I will be on the sofa at 8pm tonight watching the lovely Kirstie and getting all christmassy.  I know she is not everybody's cup of tea but we love watching her programmes, yes some of the things are a bit set up, but hey it's christmas and we are allowed to indulge ourselves.

Programme Synopsis - Channel 4 - 8pm  7 December 2011

If you want to get crafty this Christmas, here's a festive two-parter with C4's very own Mrs Christmas, Kirstie Allsopp, who turns her Devon home into a winter wonderland.

We all love a snow globe and Kirstie makes her own, as well 
as fancy-but-tasteful garlands and wreaths and handmade presents. There are lessons in the art of gift-wrapping and how to get the wow factor from your tree - all the while, the smell of freshly baked gingerbread fills the house. Kirstie even finds time to pop over to New York to shop in the Christmas markets - will she pick up a stocking filler for Phil?

Now where's that pizza leaflet.

Enjoy!

Lolo xx

Favourite Thing on a Friday

CHRISTMAS!!

Yep, it's December and that means I can have my first mince pie, yippee!  The scoffing of my first mince pies will be taking place tomorrow at our towns christmas carol concert where there will be plenty of these babies and mulled wine too! I'm really looking forward to it, we've got primary school choirs singing some of my favourite christmas carols, an opera soloist and our local folk group.  It's a real community event organised by the Mayor's office which is liitle ol me!  There will be nervous butterflies in my tummy tomorrow afternoon as it's my first one and I so want it to go well.

Oh yes indeedy, just looking at this picture is making me salivate.  Best way I like mine is warm from the oven with brandy cream draped over the top that slowly melts with the heat.  Or sometimes I like brandy butter, or even brandy sauce, pretty much anything really so long as its got brandy in it!  I can feel my waistline growing already.

Then there's the mulled wine, which shockingly I have never ever tried before.  I know, what is that all about!  Not to worry this will be properly rectified tomorrow evening as I am definitely going to try me a glass, or two, or even three.  Well it is Christmas.

So that's my favourite thing this Friday, pop on over to Mimi's blog and see all the other lovely bloggers who have joined in this week.

Christmas wishes to you all.

Lolo xx