beginning to feel like christmas

The tree is up and lights are on in my bedroom.. it feels more Christmassy now! I lit every candle in my room last night and and my room smelled like the most Christmassy heaven of cloves and cinnamon and ginger and I got under my quilts and watched Elf. Felt myself fully relax for the first time in such a long time! How cute are these Christmas lights by the way? They're teeny little lanterns, they used to belong to my Grandmother but a few years ago she decided to stop having a Christmas tree, and donated them to us. They're lovely and really sweet, I have them around my desk after they kept falling off my mirror.. haha.

How are you enjoying Christmas? Let me know in the comments!

the bigger fish

There is not much substance to this post except to say - look how beautiful my fish are getting? They're growing so fast and they all have their distinct personalities now, I am so, so, so attached. I have to say to anyone who is thinking about goldfish; as long as you're willing to spend a lot of money on a proper tank and a fancy ass filter: get them. They're so beautiful to watch and really calming, too (well, my mum says watching them when they're about to be fed tires her out cause they're so dappy and manic). 

I feel like a proud mother. 

do-it-yourself gifts - part three

image from shananigansblog, anediblemoasic and seasaltwithfood

This year, I want to try and make as many presents as possible, because I want to give nice things to my friends and family even if I am a bit poor this year, because they still deserve nice things. Over the next two weekends I am going to show you some of my favourite items you can do for friends - that will cute and thoughtful, and won't break the bank, particular now we're into December and time is running out to gather fancy ingredients.

Todays recipes are for those amongst you who have friends and family who are - I hate to say this word because it's a little cringey - foodies. My brother and his girlfriend love fancy restaurants and such, so I always think that if they would like any of this, I'm on the right track. These can also be done in batches, or would be great to fill out a hamper.

• Chili oil or chili jam; or any other kind of flavoured oil or jam. I just know that a bottle of chili oil goes down very well, and isn't that hard to make. It goes well in cooking or as a dressing for lots of things, and very nicely in stir-fries. The BBC have a good recipe for both oil and jam and so does thanksforthefood.com. However, you can do regular jam or marmalade, or something similar if the chili-thing won't go down well.
• Cranberry chutney; nothing, and I mean nothing feels like Christmas until I have had a brie and cranberry sandwich. There is something so perfect about gently toasted bread and melty brie with a sharp bit of cranberry chutney. It's also really good with ham and other cheeses and there is something about the fruity chutney that just tastes so good. I give you only one recipe: Delia's, because my mother only really trusts Delia! Of course, you could do thinks other than cranberry, or mix things with the cranberry if you're feeling adventurous. 
• Flavoured butter; this is a bit harder to gift, as it needs chilling, but it would be great to give to something who loves a bit of flavour. Baked in a foil bag with some fish, these can be really great to have in the house, ready to go to spice up any boring dish, so I think some people would really love them. Wrap in wax paper with some twine around the ends like a cracker, and make a little label, and try out these recipies from here and here.

gifts - part one

gifts - part two

How is your shopping getting on - getting there? No, me neither.. haha. I thought I was so organised last week!

bedroom snippets; greenery

I've recently put a lot of effort into re-decorating my bedroom, and getting my bits and bobs sorted - I'm hoping to make this into something of a feature, because I have lots of nice things that I want to show someone, as I'm quite proud of what I've done with the place. My room has had a few incarnations and I promised I would show you when it was done.. So here we go! 

First to show you is my small collection of plants.. I love houseplants and cacti and succulents and they improve the air quality (particularly spider plants and such) so I really love having them around. I have all sorts scattered around my room, and the house actually, but these are my favourites. I think I'm pretty good at growing them too, as the spider plant on the left in the bottom photo was a 'baby' that a friend had given me, and now has tiny 'babies' of its own. Pretty neat. (Cat ornament is something my mum had when she was kid and I love it haha.) 

vintage tins

I have a thing for tins. I'm not sure why, but I like little tin cases I can squirrel away little bits in. Like who'd have thought an old Elastoplast tin was the perfect size for my business cards? It's werid how things you have lying around forever suddenly become the most perfect vehicle. 

I picked up these awesome little tins at a car boot sale about a year ago, and now they all have inhabitants. I used to have lots of little plastic pots of pins or needles or things like that lying around my room - but since I've put them in these I display them a lot more. In the sellotape tin I have a load of fine pins and drawing pins and such, the blackcurrant tins has big magnetic nails for hanging my artwork in, the cinnamon tablet tin holds post-it note highlighter things. I have an old Paprika tin that houses ink-pen nibs too.