Christmas 2012

Hi all,

Hope you all had a great Christmas. I had such a lovely day, lots of scrummy food and time spent with family. Here are a few pics I took through the day...

Starting from the top left hand corner:

- Macaroon making set from my great friend Sophie. Some very tasty looking recipes, that you shall be seeing in the new year.

- Christmas dinner spread. YUM

- Mittens from my godmother, off piste, or the other way around. hehe

- Yum christmas dinner!

- Garland on our fireplace in the dining room.

- Little key chain I got as a present.

- Finally christmas desert, a cranberry and almond tart made by my mum, which was really tasty.

xox Niamh xox

Christmas Cake

Hi all,

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE! (just one more sleep!!!)

So this is our christmas cake of 2012. This year was the first year that I was completely in control of what the aesthetics of our cake would be. I thought that it would be fun to do holly leaves and berries, kind of cascading over the cake.
My mum made the cake, a 10 inch square traditional fruit cake. She also put almond paste on it, and from there on out it was my time to go crazy.

I used royal icing to make the holly leaves and berries, as the floral paste was too thin, and I wanted a more cartoony effect. I used gel colouring (christmas tree for the green, and claret for the berries) The only other thing I added was gold edible glitter which I mixed with water to form a wet paste, and then I painted it onto the leaves and berries to make them look kind of vintagey and sparkly.

Here it is...

I have no idea how we are going to eat all of it 

(I think I may be delivering it to some of our neighbours)

xox Niamh xox

Christmas Ornaments

Hi all,

So you have seen my christmas tree. Now I am going to give you an insight into some of my favourite christmas ornaments that are hanging up on the tree.

This really beautiful ornament was given to me by a friend last year. It is a gold glittery phenix type bird.  Its so sparkly!

This little angel was carved out of wood by a carpenter in corfu. It was given to us (for free) after we bought a few things at their shop.

We have three of these little clip on red and gold birds. I think they are so cute with their little fluffy tails. I love hiding them on the tree and seeing who can find all three first.

And finally, the one decoration on the tree that defies the red, green and gold colour scheme. This little silver leaf angel was given to me by a very good friend many many years ago. It always reminds me of her.

So those are some of my favourite decorations gracing out tree this year.

Hope you enjoyed

(2 days till christmas!!)

xox Niamh xox

Room Decor Update (2)

Hi all,

So there has been a lot of progress made in my bedroom decorating plan. The carpet has been put down, all the painting is done, and the furniture is slowly making its way back in. All very exciting. I am loving the way the colour scheme has turned out, and am very pleased that the bedding, wall colour, carpet and furniture all seem to work well together!

Here are a few pics of the carpet going down. I will post again with pics of the furniture and things, but I am in the process of organising everything into how I want it.... so it might take a little while :)

Bare floorboards exposed!!!

Ta da, here is the new carpet. It smell really nice :)

Hope you enjoyed!

xox Niamh xox

Christmas Tree

Hi all,

We put our Christmas Tree up!! I am head of the decorating committee at our house (well..I am the committee) I didn't get the joy of choosing the tree this year, but I think my dad did quite a good job following my instructions: tall and bushy!
I have a few pics of the decorating process, the theme is red green and gold. First I put on the lights. We have white lights and red lights, but I only use the white ones. Then on go the bead chain (gold). And from there on out I put the ornaments and baubles on. The angel goes on the top last.
It only took me about an hour to do, dancing around with strictly come dancing in the background.
Here are the pics:

The before shot. The tree is all nakey!!

On go the baubles.. one .. by .. one.

Ta Da!

Hope you enjoyed

How do you decorate your tree?

xox Niamh xox

Sorel Joan of Arctic Boot

Hi all,

I found these super cute boots in a shoe shop near my college, and I was soo tempted to try them on. I loved them so much, but they are quite expensive, so I didn't buy them. I was thinking they would be really great in cold snowy weather.. then I realised that where I live doesn't really get much cold snowy weather.... we just get cold wet weather. Ah well. Here they are:

They come in loads if different colours, and are soft on the inside. I did read the reviews on the website and they were quite mixed. I think that kind of put me off them a little, but nevertheless these are some pretty cute boots!

xox Niamh xox

Bedroom Decor (part 1)

Hi all,

So, this is basically the start of a few posts I am going to do on my bedroom and bedroom decor. I had my room the same way for a few years, and I fancied a change (not to mention that the paint was beginning to look very tired) So my planning of the re decoration started in the summer.

(Disclaimer : please note that I am not bragging at all in any of these posts. I am very lucky to have my own space that I can decorate how I would like, and I really appreciate all the things I have)

But first here is a look at what my bedroom used to look like... I didn't actually take pictures before we started painting, these are from a while back, when I had different furniture. But it gives an idea of the colours and what not...

So the main feature wall was this dark peacock colour, the other walls were an off white.

This is the other side of my bedroom. I no longer have this desk, or the drawers and wardrobe. The storage shelves are from ikea and they have loads of space in (which I mostly fill with books...) Oh and please don't judge, I have porcelain dolls on the top of the shelf (I used to collect them when I was younger) 

 So that is what my bedroom used to look like (before new furniture)

Now onto the decor planning. So as I mentioned I started planning in the summer, after my A-Levels when I spent way too long staring at those four walls when I was trying to revise! I got bedding in the summer which was in the summer sales. This started my new colour pallet. I am going for a more subtle  look, with neutral walls and bedding, and I am going to make new cushion covers in mustard, burgundy and cream.

So here is the bedding, the Sanderson bedding was in the sale at House of Fraser, and the throw is from Ikea, which I got a few weeks ago. Its dark grey, so should go with the ensemble quite well.

And here is the new paint scheme. I have to give my parents a big thank you, and they have done so much of the painting (I did some of the edges, hehe) 

The paint is from Farrow and Ball, and its called Elephants Breath!! I loved the name, and I love the colour. Its a really nice paint to paint with, it goes on really smoothly. We did need to do 3 coats with the rollar to get the best coverage.

This carpet was put down when we moved into the house, almost 17 years ago. We are getting a new carpet laid next week, which is so exciting. Its going to be cream, and has quite an interesting weave.

So that is what has happened so far. I will give more updates later

xox Niamh xox

Gingerbread Men

Hi all,

So, around Christmas time I bake Gingerbread men. I usually only bake them this time of year, so they are extra special. I found this recipe a few years ago on the BBC website, and it has been my fail safe recipe. The gingerbread (people) always come out crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside, which is how I like them. They are really quick and easy to make, and if you want to you can go all out decorating them too. (I did this with a group of kids at my old school and they really enjoyed it)

So read on to find out how to make these delicious christmas treats...

Ingredients:

1. 350g plain flour
2. 1 tsp ground ginger
3. 1/2 tsp ground cloves
4. 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
5. 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
6. 100g butter
7. 175g soft brown sugar
8. 1 egg
9. 4 tbsp Golden Syrup

I have all of my ingredients ready!
 Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 5.

1. Mix together the flour, spices and bicarbonate of soda. (I am using a food mixer, but you can easily make them with a wooden spoon!)

 2. Rub in the butter until it looks like breadcrumbs.

3. Add the sugar.

4. In a separate bowl mix together the egg and golden syrup then add to the dry ingredients. (or just put them straight into the bowl with your dry ingredients, it saves washing and tastes exactly the same!)

5. Mix together until it forms a dough. Tip out onto a clean, floured work surface and knead for a minute or two until it is smooth. 

6. Roll out the dough to the depth of a pencil (approx 5mm) and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. If you want to hang them on tree remember to use a straw to punch a hole in the top. (If you have any problems with the dough sticking, just use a little more flour on the surface)

7. Lay the biscuits on a greased baking tray (or a baking tray with baking paper on) and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. (This is how I space them out.. too close together and they end up holding hands.. and heads.. and feet...)

Now your gingerbread people are ready to be decorated... or not if you don't have time because your too tempted to eat them!

Hope you enjoyed and that you give these ago

xox Niamh xox

My Top 3 Christmas Films

Hi all,

Christmas films in my opinion really get you in the mood for the holidays. A good heartwarming story line, with some comical characters and a cheesy ending never go amiss. I have been trying to work out what my favourite christmas films are, and I have whittled it down to these three, in no particular order:

1. A Muppets Christmas Carol

I have loved this film for soo long, and used to watch it every christmas...until we switched to DVD.. Anything with the muppets in is a hit in my opinion, but throw in the christmas story, some great songs and singing mice, and you know your onto a winner!

2. White Christmas

This was our family christmas film last year, and I can't believe it took so long to get around to watching it. I love old movies, they give you a warm fuzzy feeling that films nowadays never really do. And with the great songs and dancing, and the odd comical moments it kept me smiling throughout. Not to mention that Bing has the most amazing voice (listening to all his christmas songs on my I-Pod!)

3. Miracle on 34th Street (1994 version)

Everybody's favourite actress Matilda. I used to be compared to her when I was little, apparently it was something to do with the mischievous glint in my eye :) I love this film.. more so than the original black and white version. Such a great story line where Santa is brought to justice. The best part of the film for me though comes right at the end when they go to the AMAZING house! I use it to inspire me before I decorate the house.

So, those are my top 3. What is your favourite Christmas Film?

xox Niamh xox

16 days till Christmas

Hi all,

How are you all? Good? I am sorry my post have been infrequent... I have been super busy. Yesterday I tackled my grade 8 violin exam, which went really well. I had really upped my practise time in the lead up to it, resulting in me developing serious tension in my back :) Not too fun! But the chiropractor will be sorting me out this week.

Our house is a little jumbled up too. My bedroom is being re-decorated which is super exciting, but I have moved temporarily into our spare bedroom, with all of my things.... it turns out I own a lot more books than I realised! hehe.

So I have two weeks left of college before I break up for Christmas, in which I have to finish preparing my portfolio and send of my University application. Lots of things to do.

I am going to try to be organised with blog posts, I have a few ideas lined up which I hope you will like. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them!

- My award winning Gingerbread men (well maybe not award winning, just really good!)
- Update on my room decor
- Prep for christmas, tree and house decorating
- Some more style me vintage posts
- Christmas crafts, cakes and cards

So, I hope you stick with me for the next month of Christmassyness!

xox Niamh xox

Bath Christmas Market

Hi all,

So the season of christmas is now upon us, and to start the celebrations I went to the Bath Christmas Market (which is based on the German christmas markets) It was soo cold, but I really enjoyed going around all of the stalls. We didn't buy too much, just food things... Cheese, chutney, caramel almonds and toffee apple juice (all really yummy!) Here are a few pics from the day (well evening)

Thats me in the white wooly hat.

Here is the window of one of the shops in the square. They pack so many things into the shop window, and it was so christmassy looking!

My favourite cheese stall, we go here every year. Snowdonia cheese, my favourite is the black bomber, which is straight up strong cheddar. My second fav has to be bouncing berry, which is cheddar with cranberries. Soo good!

We stopped off for tea at Sally Lunns Bun Shop, which is famous in Bath.

And this is what I had.. hot chocolate and a Sally Lunn Bun with cinnamon butter. Really yummy!

xox Niamh xox

Wrap up for Winter

Hi all,

I don't know about you, but the weather in England has started turning really cold. Time to bring out the winter woolies. I have been surfing the web for the perfect winter accessories and here are some of my results in the form of hats, scarves, gloves and ear warmers. December is right round the corner, so wrap up warm!

xox Niamh xox

Luly Yang Butterfly Dress

Hi all,

Here is a beautiful dress created by Luly Yang. The Monarch Butterfly dress is from her metamorphism collection. I think its stunning, and I love the colours and the movement.

 “It all started with a butterfly,” Yang says, “and now, 10 years later, we’re back to our roots with an entire show focused on the journey of the butterfly, which is so similar to my own as a designer.”

xox Niamh xox

Apple Cider Cinnamon Rolls

Hi all,

So last year when we went to New York, in the airport returning home my mum picked up Taste of Home Fall Baking magazine. There are some really delicious recipes in it, and we promised ourselves that we would make them when we got home.... so 1 year later I finally got around to making some things from it. I started with the Apple cider cinnamon rolls (pictured on the front of the mag) they turned out sooo good!! They are seriously delicious! I had to stop myself from eating them all. They are not too heavy, and not sickly sweet. (Mmm, mouth watering...)

I didn't put the glaze on them, because the filling went all caramel-like and made them sticky enough. I guess I also cheated as we have a bread maker at home, so it made the dough for me (so I didn't have to spend a while kneading it)

So here is what they "looked" like:

I will definitely be making these again (maybe adding raisins aswell). So below find the recipe so you can try to make them yourself:

Hope you enjoyed

xox Niamh xox