Sunday, December 19, 2010

Getting in the Spirit

I absolutely adore Christmas, but this year you'd never know it.  The holiday has barely registered with me.  I've been preoccupied with work so my kitchen has been cold for an uncommonly long time, the holiday parties I've attended have been fun but oddly devoid of Christmas decor, and although I've been haunting the department stores in search of a wedding dress it's the massive shoe sales that have caught my eye rather than the holidays windows.

But somehow this weekend the tide turned.  I'm headed to California on Tuesday, so now that I'm preparing for the trip it's really feeling like Christmas.  I spent the weekend running about doing last minute shopping, and taking full advantage of the very serious sale at Kate's Paperie and a considerably smaller one at the Conran Shop which has the cutest gift tags ever.  I spent Sunday morning wrapping presents with my loot from the shopping trip




and appropriately enough, Nigella's Christmas special was on at the time.


Now that is a woman who knows how to do Christmas.

In addition to her be-lighted and be-boughed townhouse, she's preserving dried fruits in booze,


roasting prime rib,


icing cookies (I was absolutely jealous...I barely even have bread in the house now)


and entertaining her sparkling circle of friends effortlessly.


After watching that show I was well and truly on the holiday bandwagon.

Now that my Christmas spirit has been ignited, my gifts are in order, my laundry done, my apartment clean and my work in hand, I'm free to revel in the holidays on the fairer coast with my family.  I'm looking forward to that roaring fire, the scent of the tree, the poppyseed bread on Christmas morning and that lazy time with my nearest and dearest.

I can't wait!  Happy Holidays to you all!

4 comments:

aurora raby said...

Great to hear you're in the swing of things and off to California. I had one of my best ever Christmases there.
Have a great time and lots of fun.

I need to shop summer stuff in the sales. Will I be lucky? Off to india in January!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS and safe trip!

Laura said...

Aurora you must tell me how your trip is! I'm heading to India in April for my honeymoon and would love some tips...

Millie said...

Enjoy your Christmas break Laura & Happy Holidays to you & Paul.
Millie x

Unknown said...

I'm glad you took pictures of the gorgeous wrappings you created. They were really too beautiful to open.

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