SantaSantaSantaSantaSanta!!!!!

Guess who got to go and see Santa Clause today? ME!

Yay!!!

Of course, I had to drag the grandchildren with me so as I wouldn't look silly standing in the queue with hundreds of little kids screeching for the Man himself... but we all know the visit was just for me really :)

The kids got the gifts... and I got to have hugs from the real Father Christmas... really is him *lol*

He smelled like pine trees and christmas cake... and I could have quite happily stayed snuggled into his fur trimmed coat for a few hours - without the grandkids though *lol*

Next year, however, I shall not have orange hair, and hopefully be back to a more natural, blonder look.

I'm so excited though...

I saw Santa

:)

CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even More Sprucing!

I think I have a bit of an obsession with shelving.

I asked Hubby to make a high shelf for the dining room so I could put all my favourite books out of the reach of sticky-fingered grandchildren and paper-chewing moggies - he did brilliantly!

Then I asked for a shelf above the cooker in the kitchen so I could have my most-used cookery books within easy reach... and he did that too!

After the shelves I asked for the bedroom, and the shelving for the cupboard under the stairs, I am beginning to wonder if I have a problem *lol*

My kitchen is tiny - wee-tiny! I've had to put an extra freezer in there at the moment, to store the food I'll need to feed the 14-15 people I have coming on Christmas Day... and I've had to put the freezer in the front of the dining room door! Still, it'll be back in the shed after the big day, and then I can start to thnk about what else I need doing to the kitchen... being an ex-council house, the rooms are somewhat functional rather than pretty - and I so desperately want to hide the massive boiler that takes up so much room! But... the architect and designer I had visit said that unless I want to rip out the kitchen entirely and start again from absolutely nothing, I'm stuck with it how it is... and we all know how tight I am with that sort of money. I'd much rather 'make do and mend' than 'splurge out and buy new'.

At least the pipes are boxed in... so it could be worse :)

And the freezer, although in the way, is a handy box to put a little spare Christmas Tree on :)

Christmas Cake!!

I decorated my cake! Yay!!!

I actually decorated it the same as last year, but instead of having gold ivy leaves, I handpainted the leaves in green.

Now I just have to stop the kitties and the mutt from sneaking bites *lol*

Remote Controlled Candles

Just a quickie... I wanted to show the candles I purchased at The Range - but they don't seem to have them online :( Anyway... The Range is where I bought them (set of 3) for £9.99. They are flickering, wax outer with inner bulb, do have a simple 'on-off' remote control and are vanilla scented.

I don't rate The Range as much as I used to - the prices have shot up and the quality crept down, though  have to admit that the majority of the staff are absolutely amazing. I am shopping there again though... and my next purchase is this gorgeous table piece.

It matches the mirror I bought for the bedroom. I have no idea where I shall actually put it - I just know I like it :)

More Sprucing...

More little piccies of my home-improvements. I'm sure no-one is really interested in how I decorate my home... but I am just so pleased with all the little touches I have added in the recent weeks.

A little while ago, I had to re-paint the top of my jewellery chest - I had ruined it with nail-polish remover by accident! Unfortunately, the unit is not white, but more of a winter-white sort of tone - so I couldn't match the colour. Never mind, thought I... and went ahead with white gloss and gold-coloured rubbing wax. I did go over-board with the gold - but I did want quite a heavy-handed feel to it really :)

I also bought the little round mirror - quite a bargain at £10. Hubby was pleased, as he thought I wanted a full-length mirror at quite a high price... I hadn't the heart to tell him that I plan on him buying one of those after Christmas :)

I also did something I thought I would never do at all... I got rid of my sleigh-bed. I had wanted one for so many years, and last month I gave mine to my eldest daughter. I now have a much smaller white metal-framed bed that fits my small bedroom much better. I have hanging in my bedroom a picture my mum gave to me - but it had a pine frame, so I painted the picture-frame white and used the gold-rub on that... and found some more words for the wall too...

I bought some dark purple rugs for the sides of the bed (to cover up where my daughter burned the carpet with hair straighteners! - cheaper than a whole new carpet), new bedside cabinets (which I have to find new handles for), gave away a large wardrobe, and invested a little money in a thin, tall set of drawers.

It's all been done on a budget really... finding cheap alternatives for the expensive design items I originally wanted... up-cycling old furniture, and plain old elbow grease for cleaning carpets and walls.

I had an orangey-pine shelf that I up-cycled... giving it the white gloss and gold-wax treatment. I'm pleased with how it's turned out - though I am in the process of making three little boxes for the middle shelf instead of the wicker basket that sits there at the moment.

I added little hooks to the underside so I could hang little odds and ends from them.

I had generously been given some curtains that matched perfectly with my flowers that I've had for about twelve years (on top of the tall chest of drawers)... and found a matching lampshade for just £4.

The candles on top of the chest of drawers are from a set of three that includes the one I placed on the top of the re-vamped shelves - they were an extragavance - battery powered and remote controlled, they cost me £10. The third candle I placed in a half-birdcage - it's quite effective and pretty.

So... that's how I've been spending the weeks running up til Christmas... I've had a lot of spare time with all the present-buying, wrapping, and tree-decorating already done.

Tomorrow I decorate the cake... scrumptious!

Sprucing...

I have been sort-of decorating... not the full-on wallpapering and painting the walls sort of decorating, but more of a 'shjuzzing up' sort of thing. Sprucing up my home. Eight years I've been in my little home... and it's finally beginning to feel like it's all mine :)

I found a temporary frame for the little embroidery that my Nan had done...

Ideally, I'd like one a bit thinner and longer... but this was a little charity shop find that will do very nicely for now. In the same charity shop I found a perfect little cushion and cover in a gorgeous deep red - brand new for just £2.50... bargain!

I found something I always wanted for my home too... words. I wanted to paint words on the wall, going around an inner corner of the front room... but never found anywhere that would lend me an overhead-projector to get the writing perfect... then I came across some word stickers that were almost exactly what I wanted!

Of course, when I had the original idea, we had a moderately sized television that sat nicely in a wooden cupboard... now I have a monster on the wall... but then, I suppose that Hubby has to have some things his own way in his home :)

I've done loads more... just little things to make this house feel like it's my 'forever home'. I loved my old house - though I only lived in it for about ten years, and didn't think I'd ever really love the home I have now. But things change... and though my house is a concrete little end-of terrace box on a council street, I feel like I am home.