On December

Definitely not my footprints, but those of a giant!

I am writing this snuggled up, after finishing the first season of The Crown (so good), seated at just the right angle to be able to watch the snow. I absolutely love snow; it is my all time favourite form of weather. As soon as I realised it was snowing, I wrapped up and went straight out into it. I love the crunch it makes and the glisten when it lays untouched. 

Here are some things I have been loving lately. 

Reading - I have always read a lot and since commuting I get through about a book a week. I have recently just finished His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. I never read the second two books when I was younger but I got completely lost in them last month. I also highly recommend The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell; it was such a lighthearted, easy read, perfect for an afternoon. 

KeepCup - I ordered one of these a little while ago after Boyf found it and thought it would be something really useful. This is such a great company; essentially they are trying to revolutionise the way we currently go to coffee shops by promoting using a reusable cup instead of the paper ones (which are horrendous for the environment). I got a Long Play which keeps cold drinks cold and hot drinks hot - and you can design your own!

Nigella Lawson - Have you been watching At My Table? I have re-discovered my love of Nigella. I recently met her at Stylist Live after watching her speak, where she was actually quite inspirational. In her new book, she writes about how complicated life can be and how it is so nice to just gather around a table and eat food which isn't complicated. She deifnitely advocates a very nice way of living!

Fortnum & Masons - I love Fortnum's. I subscribed to their emails a little while ago and everything they do is crafted so wonderfully. They make such simple things seem so luxurious; I have been over the last couple of days really enjoying their Christmas Spiced Tea. Definitely a little Christmas luxury in it's beautiful tin! 

Christmas at Southbank - We went here last week to explore the Christmas market, expecting it to be fairly standard. However, it was so much better than expected! It has the usual little stalls of crafted goods, food and mulled beverages, but it also goes all the way through into an Alpine-esque Ski Lodge with fire pits. A really lovely smaller alternative to Winter Wonderland. 

Christmas is only 15 days away (!) as is 2018 drawing ever closer. I am about to write my Christmas cards (which I am making myself this year for a lucky few!) with some classic Christmas music in the background. I hope you are all enjoying the snow (if you are experiencing it!) 

Here's to the last few weeks of weeks 2017!

xoxo

On Barbeques

Beer Can Chicken. BEER CAN CHICKEN!!!

Boyf and his family are really big into bbqs. Now I am going to preface this with the fact that I had never really had proper bbqs, thus my opinion of them was pretty narrow minded. All I had ever really had were sausages and burgers cooked at parties. Not proper meals just your typical British trying to be outdoors despite the weather bbq nibbles.

Boyf mentioned early on that he is a big bbq fan and I thought oh...hmm. (He may also have mentioned that we would have some issues if I wasn't :') ) But now I can happily announce that I am a fully fledged barbeque convert. BBQ steaks, bbq paella, bbq spatchcock chickens, BBQ BEER CAN CHICKEN (DID EVERYONE ELSE KNOW THIS WAS A THING!?). I want it all! 

Roast Sunday dinner with bbq lamb? Yes please. 

Lamb Kofta with halloumi? Yes, three please.

They make everything, meat, vegetables, cheese, just taste so good. Not to mention the, of course, smokey flavour that they add to everything. They are definitely a way to spice up your meals if you feel like everything has become a bit meh.  

I feel like I was the only one not on the barbeque bandwagon, so my attempts to convert anyone else will be futile as I was the one in the minority. Now if only my parents could get onto the barbeque deliciousness... 

Are you a barbeque fan?

xoxo