BLOGMAS...Day11 My Christmas Pinterest Boards (obsession)

So by now we have established that I love Pinterest (serious addiction/obsession-I would say!!) So thought I would share my little obsession with you all. So I have just under 170,000 followers on Pinterest, I have pinned about 25,000 pins, I think in total 93 boards (public and private.) So I have been doing this for some time but the problem is sometime you end up not being able to remember what pins you have pinned or finding them again. Any way, I do need to go through my Christmas board and split it into more specific boards, Christmas Trees and Decorations, Christmas Crafts, Christmas Home. I have one massive board which is currently called just Christmas but it's such a mixture of stuff.

So I have chosen some of the stuff I have pinned at the top of the board or I will be here for hours. So I have pinned different styles/themes for decoration recently, I am loving the white snowy look (I'm sure I mentioned that in another blog-sorry for repeating my self in my old age.) I also love the traditional red and gold which I kind of went for this year and then sneaked in some white decorations. I like the bauble with writing on, I love this because my hubby is a journalist so I would love to cover a bauble with the story about the story he wrote about my trek (back when we first met!) This would be super personalised which I also love all the handmade Christmas decorations and home decor, which is feel is the country Christmas which is my fav look!! Rustic and Country Chic (the British versions!) But this is the look that is very in this year with almost every home magazine showing the new Hygge style, Lots of pretty flickering candles and fur throws creating a very cosy atmosphere which is brought to us by Scandinavia. This is the look I will be working towards for our house from Jan!!

I have also included some decorations which most people will think that they are just represent the angels at Jesus' birth but for me they also are a little nod to those who are no longer with us. My late dad and my donor who I want to just have a subtle gesture to them. I will be thinking of them both as Christmas Day approaches!

I also put some festive pics that I loved like the vintage car with all the presents on the roof. I have noticed that a Vintage car and a tree on the roof has heavily featured in this years decorations. I think people are feeling nostalgic and wanting the retro Christmases.

So of my favourite Christmas food ideas came out of the 70's, I love the prawn cocktails and brandy snap baskets/cigars. A lot of the food was fun and didn't take it self too seriously as well as some interesting classic cocktails which are also making a come back. So these are some of the festive food I wanted to pinned, in preparation for hosting Christmas in years to come. I say why not go old school/vintage it makes people feel nostalgic and takes them back to their childhood/glory days!!



And lastly Christmas Fashion, I asked a fellow blogger (who does a fashion blog) what would there go to Christmas out fit be.

Should you go Glam or Novelty? Well I game up with a compromise that Christmas eve when it is just immediate family you can do novelty, because you want to be comfortable while doing last minute tasks and Christmas day go more Glam. So I have pinned a few outfits, I love the sparkly/sequinned dresses-especially the lovely Champagne Gold look for Christmas Day (unfortunately I have sparkly dress I will be wearing already but maybe next year!!) I think also travelling to family all over the country you want to be comfy so I love the very relaxed jumper and jeans with a tartan scarf-Love love love tartan especially our family tartan on my side. Very festive!!

Right I'm off to cook flambe crayfish risotto and make this ginger bread house!!

So Toodles my Little Ginger Bread Houses xx

BLOGMAS...Day 10 New Years Resolutions

So I think it's pretty well known in my family that every year one of my New Years Resolutions is the same and has been since I was in secondary school! OK let's just say that I'm not the most organised person in the world but I'm defiantly getting a bit better since I have restarted blogging again. I think that's because I am planning blog posts and writing my ideas down.

So my New Years resolutions are:

1. Be more organised-I am determined to crack this one this year (2017)!
2. Work on the house and get it to how I want it. De-clutter in Jan to start! 
3. Do more activities with my hubby-enjoy our new beginning together (do all the things we couldn't do when I was ill.)
4. Go and compete in the British Transplant Games in 2017 (need to train hard and lose weight to be able compete)
5. Continue to Blog-although might have a little break in the beginning of Jan to have a rest-it's a lot of work Blogmas!!
6. Have more dinner parties!! (This is just a fun one but I do want to use the Vintage Tea Party book more for parties!)
7. Go back to work full time eventually and start doing some courses to progress my skills!!

These are all things that I think that will be important to me in 2017. I feel that these are all achievable and realistic. ONE is to be more organised and I think for me I have already started this with my planners on my fridge which I update each week of what I have got planned and what meals I will be cooking and then a list of jobs around the house I want to get down (that's really for the new year.) This has helped me to be much more organised, I also now use my diary to write in everything I am doing. Normally I would just try and remember appointments and meetings etc in my head. Who am I kidding, I have the worst memory ever so that technique was obviously not going to work. My plan is Jan is going to be sorting out our filling system because let's be honest I don't really follow it at the moment-bad Kat!! 

I think to also help get organised we need to de-clutter and clear out draws and give everything a proper home. I will also look through this book again which I got one Christmas I believe. It's got loads of great tips on how to have a tidy and organised home, so this is definitely my homework/bedtime reading in Jan! I am cross with my self that it has taken me till I am 30 to really try and be organised! 

So number TWO is to work on the house, I want to get some new bits for the house, including a washer/dryer, a corner sofa, some kitchen stuff-like new utensils as ours are a bit old, a new shelving unit for the bathroom and a shelving unit/ bracket to mount the Tv to the wall. All these thing will help make the house a bit more homely and then repaint the whole hoguse, and eventually do all the floors, replace the bathroom and kitchen units and then finally put in a summer house in the garden for what will hopefully be my art studio/ my hubbies little bar area so he can have mates round for BBQ's and have the drinks ready to gbo! This is obviously over a few years, I don't think I could get that all done in 2017 but it would be amazing if we could. I'm going to start with the basics first and then work on the bigger stuff!!

Number THREE is the one I am looking forward to the most, weekends away, day trips, holidays and mini adventures these are all the things I've wanted to do but couldn't because I was ill. I am most excited about going on my first holiday-I can not wait and some mini weekend trips away!! I really want to go Italy and Edinburgh next year so I am hoping I get at least these two done.

Number FOUR is my personal goal because only I can train and go to the gym and not eat all the Christmas Chocolates!! I did buy new trainers and I did get new gym clothes so I need to increase my visits, I actually got a text from the gym saying that thadn't seen me in a while-that's a bit awkward, I felt like I was getting told off-😭! You might eventually see me running along the beach (when it's much warmer and I can run-that would be a good start!)

Number FIVE is continue to do my blog, maybe not every day but regularly, although I have already thought about some blogs I can do in the new year already. I am hoping that THREE and FIVE will work together to give me content already to go!! I will blog my journey to the Transplant Games too so that will be a few good blogs.

Number SIX is to throw more dinner parties!! YAY!!! I have millions of ideas on Pinterest and when I was ill all I wanted to do was host parties, mostly themed ones including, a Hawaiian, Downton Abbey, Murder Mystery (currently in the middle of writing the plot for it), Bond, tea party, garden party-to name but a few!! I think because I couldn't do any cooking, standing or much socialising, it was quite difficult but I think might give this ago in a few months once I've got to 6 months, so weirdly that's right around our birthday's-what a coincident lol (just a small gathering though for the first one!!) I had hosted one Christmas Dinner party several years ago when I was ill but stable and it was hard work-not going to rush into a big 20 guest dinner party just yet lol! There is a book I defiantly want to use when I am going to be hosting, it called Vintage Tea Party Year and it has so many fabulous ideas and unique ways of hosting parties.

And Finally SEVEN which is to go back to full time work and start doing some courses to possibly become a lecturer. This is something I'm considering at the moment, becoming a lecturer.  Obviously plans may change who knows but these are my New Years Resolutions for now.

Right Toodles my little Stollens xx

BLOGMAS....Day 9 Edible gifts

So a few years ago I made limoncello and a chutney from my favourite and most pretty Christmas book Kirstie's Christmas Crafts. I went straight to her Edible Gifts section, who doesn't love edible gifts? I picked what I thought were easy options, the limoncello and the boxing chutney but lets just say this is not for the faint hearted or someone on a budget-Vodka and tones of dried fruit are not cheap plus all the jars and bottles!! It was a lovely idea and my family did enjoy their gifts. The following year 2014 I had tried to do the same thing until I ended up in hospital and by the time I was able to go home the chutney was ruined!! All that effort wasted and I missed Christmas. So I had previously said that when I got my transplant I would try and make up for the disaster of 2014!!

So this year was that year!! I have been watching many Christmas cooking shows and I was watching the Hairy Bikers (who I love) Christmas Party (2013) and they were making a last minute chutney,. I thought that the recipe seemed quite easy and not to much complicated/expensive ingredients. The only thing is if you need certain ingredients then shopping in Lidl or Aldi isn't the best idea because they don't have everything need. Also if you're like me, you then go back to get more and it has totally disappeared or disapparate (people will only get this if you're a HP fan.)

Any way back to the recipe (from BBC FOOD), it had quite a simple list of ingredients and I thought it sounded like it had some really tasty flavours. I couldn't find cinnamon sticks in Lidl (that weren't for decorative use only) or whole nutmegs, so I was naughty and used mixed spice and ground cinnamon. They had the spices in them but just not quite how they recipe wanted-oops!! It's was an easy recipe to follow as only being (just under 3 months post transplant-couldn't deal with anything too taxing!) The only thing is, I wish I had got my bloody blender out sooner so I didn't have to go through the torturer of chopping onions and crying (EVERY TIME-Seriously what is that about?)

So I was also naughty because I added a few dried pears-Shocking I know!! The other things I did  is doubled the cooking time because there was a lot more vinegar to reduce and I added a bit of water to loosen it up near the end because it was getting a bit gloopy (my technical words are fabulous!)

So you may notice that this is only for two jars so me being me, I was like crap well I'm just gonna double everything and hope for the best!! This be why I wasn't aloud to take cooking at GCSE!! Any way the update is that I got a least 6 jars and one for us (hehe!) So going to do a second batch with my friend on Monday!! I did have a cheeky taste of it today and I've got to say it was yummy with a nice strong cheddar and a few speciality cracker (the kind you eat not the ones you pull-that would be weird, just for the clarification.) Thanks Hairy Bikers!!

Any way I'm hoping that my family will like them because they took bloody ages and I was so nervous about doing it totally by self!! Scary (can't blame any one else-poop!!) I'm all grown up now I've made a chutney by self. It's defiantly a chutney that Kirsty Allsopp would be proud of or even the WI I think!! So the last pic is me giving it my thumbs up in approval!!

I do have to admit something very bad:

I borrowed my pans (I used) from my mum back in 2013 (I believe) and never gave them back-sorry mum!! There mine now lol!!

Right on that revelation, Toodles my shiny north star xx

BLOGMAS...Day 8 Making Christmas Cards

So this is the first time I've ever managed to send out cards to any one let alone make them and do personalised cards for different people. So you can see a sneak peak of what I have sent to all my lovely relatives on my side of the family and to my lovely in-laws on the other side.I have also surprised a fellow transplant friend with her own card to put a lovely smile on her face.

The only problem is I have run out of the cards with the hole in them (aperture cards-I think they are called!) So I will have to do an emergency order off hobby craft and hope it arrives soon so I can get them sent. I also have a card which needs to be air mailed so I will have to go back to the post office tomorrow.

I have used a program called Paint.net and I found it quite good to edit these pics on. I was going to use Photoshop on my old mac but it looks like the computer has finally given up the ghost (definitely time to get a new Mac-yay!!)

So my family will probably remember the pic I made them all took a few years ago but I never got round to actually doing anything with it. Well I managed to Photoshop some Santa hats onto everyone and then I added the snow balls and then made them a bit blurry (can't actually remember what I did for that bit!) and then I added the trees in the background from google and added the snow drift at the front of the picture. This one was quite time consuming but I think it looks very effective. I then used decorative paper on the flap of the envelope, each person will have different paper picked especially for them. I then stamped our intials on the back of the card using my little letter stamping set (totally had forgotten about till I was rummaging around looking for something else and found them!)

So the ones above were a bit easier to do because I had remembered how to do it and I was using the same pic of us but with just different backgrounds. I did however have to combine the pic of the adults with the pic of the boys because I couldn't quite get a shot of all of us together which was a bit of a challenge. worked out though because they are actually covering my hubby holding a drink which I only noticed one I had started editing it-not that festive!!! In these pics we are actually all wearing real Santa hats, I had got some from Poundland the day before (otherwise I would have been editing them on and that would have taken aaaaaagesss!) I chose the background with the Santa illustration (from google) and my sister-in-law chose the more frosty/snowy scene and my friends pic, I picked a inside festive scene with Frosty the Snowman in the background. I thought it would be a lovely surprise for everyone. So then I put stamps on them all and took them to the post box to pop them in!! In reality they didn't quite fit in that post box so I had to take them round to the post office-oops!!

If you're really lucky you might be able to post your cards in one of these gold post boxes-this one is in my home town-very festive!

I'm looking forward to both families reactions!!

Right Toodles my little Panettones xx

BLOGMAS....Day 7 Christmas book haul

So most people who have come to our house may have noticed I have a few (OK a lot) of Christmas books, cooking, crafts and general festiveness. So I decided to do a little blog on them.

So I think my FAVOURITE Christmas book is my Kirstie's Christmas Craft book (which I got from my hubby as a secret Santa- at our Christmas dinner party we hosted.) It has some great ideas and I have actually used a couple of the recipes in it. Once Christmas I made Limoncello and her chutney recipe for Christmas presents one year. They were great and I love just looking back over her book because I enjoy refreshing my memory and trying new things. Be prepared though some of the ideas may set you back a few (chocolate) pennies!!


My other book that I absolutely love, which is my Christmas cooking Bible is my Perfect Christmas book (with recipes and crafts-the whole package.) it goes through all the dinner courses and how to create them, It's got vegetarian dishes, buffet, party food, all the condiments and trimmings, puddings, baking, edible gifts and festive cocktails and mocktails.

Then they have another section for decoration and gifts for Christmas. They included, Christmas crafts, natural crafts, tree decorations, , cards and wrapping, kids crafts and party games. I have to say that if you only have one Christmas book you could defiantly pull off an amazing Christmas with Perfect Christmas!

Now you might be amazed hear that I don't currently have a copy of every home cooks bible-Delia Smiths Christmas Cook book (although I have been offered a copy-so I can add that to my collection soon-yay!!)


So I have a lot of Christmas books, the top pic has my favourite books with all my December magazines from: 25 Beautiful Houses, Ideal Home, Country Homes and Delicious!! I love looking through my Ideal Home magazines (on subscription) especially in December to see all the Festive looks and the Christmas tree themes each year. It's my little tradition to sit down and read my magazine with a lovely cup of tea (preferably a hot one that I hadn't put down and forgotten about-very annoying habit of mine!!) I also love reading the Country Homes magazine because that really is the dream to live by the sea in the country side. Being a country girl, I love the rustic look and less show home look that you see in a lot of magazines-I'm not that kinda women!!

Country Homes mag have amazing festive themes and looks which are rustic but still cute. Cosy blankets and brown packages tied up with string-well that's how the song goes but actually that's not fare off!! It's a lot of hand made decorations and more artisan which is defiantly my kind of thing. Ok-I may have realised I might be quite quirky from that previous sentence!

So my last book that I want to mention is I heart Christmas by Lindsey Kelk - she's one of my favourite authors (she does the 'I heart' series) I find I can reread this over and over again. How ever I did see soooooo many Christmas themed books like this one in The Works-defiantly going to raid the book section in Jan to help with the January Blues!! So with every good book you need a good bookmark and I think this one was in my stocking when I was really young and I still have it- I love it! It's also really good to mark a recipe in my cook books.

I actually there is another book which will feature in another blog post but there are two pics of pages that I loved. The pic by the limoncello, the one of brandy snap cigars (we used to have brandy snap baskets when I was younger-immediately texted my mum to ask her to buy some for Christmas!!) I also like the little Christmas invitation which you could scan in and then print off multiple copies-great for those hosting- I'm not 😭!! If you can't tell I am desperate to host a Christmas but I need to probably prepare for a whole year before I do!!

At least I can keep adding to my Christmas book haul!!!

Right Toodles my little pigs in blankets xx

BLOGMAS...Day 6 Stockings for the Womens Kidney Ward-giving back

So in 2014 I was in hospital over Christmas and New Year and I felt like I had missed all the fun. I also felt like missed all the traditions that my family do over Christmas. I think to be honest that being in over Christmas is probably the worst time to be in hospital out of the whole year-no one wants to be away from their family.

So Christmas 2015, I decided I would do stockings for the 6 women on the kidney ward at the hospital I was in. I also wrote a card and tried to explain that people were thinking of them and that I had been in that situation only a year ago. I went to Poundland because I have a lot of people to my for as it is and my budget was small. I got the ladies a little tea cup and saucer in different colours. I also got them a cute reed diffuser in a festive scent I think and a little note book. I also put all their gifts in a cute stocking.

This year I already had the stocking (magically-don't remember buying them!!) I must have squirrelled (haha-family in joke) them away ready for the kidney ward.

So this year the stockings are sparkly red or silver. I hang them on my dresser so they are part of my Christmas decorations now until I give them to the ward. This year I again bought them a tea cup and saucer but they were floral, yellow, pink, purple and turquoise. I've gone on the law of averages that hopefully all or most will drink tea, coffee or hot chocolate. I have also bought them year planners for next year. which I thought was different to last year and they were particularly cute. I just need one more item for each person,

I would say buy larger stocking or measure items you may buy before hand in case you end up wedging items in and slightly breaking one of the stocking like I did, which I will now need to sew up-bit annoying-Blogmas has not run smoothly the last two days!!! So I am going to have another look at my Blogmas list, I might swap out some things I had planned for less complicated ones, so I can sort out the bigger blogs and get them organised!!

I was going to get fluffy socks but they only had 4 pairs left-bit annoying but might pop back in later in the week or I might hold out and see what's in Tiger Or as I like to call it Tiger Tiger because they print their name over the shop front windows twice!! I can't include any food because kidney patients are on restricted diets and some are also diabetic, so its easier if I don't.

I enjoy doing this for the ward because it's close to my heart and I feel that even on a small scale I'm showing those in hospital that people to care. I think this will be my giving back tradition each year and I might start buying through out the year for this so it's done by the time December has arrived. After all Christmas is about giving!!!

Well I hope they like the little gifts and it makes them smile.

Toodles my little Christmas stockings xx

BLOGMAS....Day 5 Top 10 Christmas films

So I love Christmas films and I could actually watch them all year round possibly (I know shocking.)

I have picked my top 10 films that I like to watch over the Christmas period and I will probably watch more than once!!

1. The Grinch (who stole Christmas)-one of the funniest Christmas films I have ever watched. I would watch this through out Blogmas but also this would be one of my Christmas Eve favourites. It's about a Character Called the Grinch who steals Christmas and try's to ruin it and there is a heart warming message at the end of the film about what Christmas really means. 
2. Love Actually-This is a great film, it makes you laugh and cry and makes you feel warm and fuzzy by the end. This about 8 couples and there different experiences of love around the festive period-very British (love it!) 
3. ELF- This is also a very funny one and I feel this is good for through out Blogmas but also would be great on Christmas Eve too. (it depends who's in charge of the remote.) This is about a man who is raised as an elf in the north pole but struggles to fit in, he then goes on an adventure to New York to find who is dad really is.
4. Home Alone-Any of them would be good but I think the first is my favourite and it would be Christmas with out it! An 8 year old is accidentally left at home during a Christmas holiday but he has to defend his house quite creatively against burglars. 
5. Christmas Land-I loved this, is often played on Christmas 24 channel. Never had the dvd of it. A womens plans change after she inherits a Christmas tree farm and meets a lawyer (Rom Com!)
6. Hats off to Christmas-I loved this one too but this another Christmas 24 channel film but still brilliant. I think is great to watch over Blogmas. A women who works at a small town Christmas Hat shop is shocked when she gets asked to train the bosses son but they clash and with an ill son will she get her Christmas Miracle?  (Rom Com)
7. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)- Is such a lovely version of it. It is an older film but it still holds it's own amongst the newer films. A man claiming to be Santa needs help from a little girl and a lawyer to prove that he is Santa. 
8. Jingle all the way-This was nominated by hubby actually, I can't say I've seen it but it looks good and I would look out for it. A man has promised his son to get him the latest toy - a turbo man but he has to hunt all over the town to try and find one.
9. 3 Holiday Tails-Is another Christmas 24 Channel but it was a lovely film and a great rom com. A couple reunite at Christmas time in Florida but one is already engaged so they get the help of the next door neighbours dog to help them get back together. 
10. Silent Night-Is a really moving film and I was in floods of tears. Great classic film though. This is about the a women taking in German and America soldiers to have a Christmas dinner, leaving there weapons outside.

Some of my choices some of you maybe like what film is that but I just watch Christmas 24 Channel and they seem to pop up on there so if you want a bit more variety then check it out.

Oh one film I do want to see is The Holiday which looks good-my kind of film.

My other Christmas time films are:

1. Four Christmases-New (not seen yet)
2. Frozen
3. Ice Age 1,2,3
4. Night at The Museum 1,2,3
5. Bridget Jones's Diary
6. Spector- Jame Bond

They are not all Christmasy but they are some of my films that I enjoy at any time of the year or especially in the festive season. I may have a bit of fight on my hands to get my hubby and brother to watch Frozen, Bridget Jones, Four Christmases so might watch them before I go and that's why I have included Spector as a guy-friendly film. The plan is to do a film night soon with the girls for Blogmas so you can see then what I've been watching.....!!!

So this is a bit late, I was going to upload a baking/making blog but didn't get all I needed (read the box of the ginger house kits, that's what I say-as somethings are not included-oops epic fail, I was so organised up until today😭! I also tried to make something else and the scales had ran out of batteries-nightmare-basically nothing went to plan and because I was on my feet all day yesterday and today decorating the tree and house my feet were killing and then I walked to Lidl-need a lie down!!!

Yep epic baking fail. Never mind, I hope I can try again tomorrow. 

Right Toodles my little snow angels xx