[our christmas...]

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Hope you all had a fabulous day on Sunday.  Daniel San and I hosted Chrissy lunch this year with his family at our newly painted little unit.  I went for a natural and lace theme with a subtle splash of pink and navy.  Be sure to stop by here to find out how to make my doily Bon Bons.

 

I glazed my first ever ham this year which I'm delighted to say turned out a treat!! I found this easy-as-pie maple glaze recipe here - Taste.com of course!  Served with a side of maple dutch carrots and crushed hazelnuts - yum yum!

For starters we had prawns and these baby bocconcini, basil and cherry tomato bites.  Just toothpick together and enjoy!  Really fresh and flavoursome!

Dessert was Becky's delicious berry passionfruit pavlova and my limoncello trifle - again, Taste.com.

Anything with lemon curd has my heart!

And this was our little Christmas corner.  After lunch, like most of you I'm sure, we slept off our food babies.
Have a relaxing week everyone!
Jx

[doily bon bons]

I struggled to find Bon Bons for Christmas day that fitted my "theme" for this year...
So I made my own....

They were oh so easy and a great deal cheaper than bought Bon Bons.

To make my little ones, all you need is...

Bon Bon Snaps (about $2 for 12)

Cardboard roll cut into desired lengths 

Brown paper cut to A4 size

Sticky tape

Little paper doilies cut in half 

Brown twine

Wrapped lollies

Short jokes written on paper (the more corny the better)

- Tape the snaps inside the rolls

- Roll the brown paper around, secure with tape in the middle

- Tie one end with string

- Fill the roll with lollies and the little joke

- Tie the other end

- Tape the half doily around the roll (as above)

... and this was my favourite joke:

Q. What do you call a sheep with no legs?

A. A cloud

Three more sleeps!

Jx

[it's daniel san's birthday!]

Happy Birthday Daniel San!!!!

You make life fun!

Jx

[white and wood]

After buying my little unit my brain went into overdrive with dreams of the beautiful spaces I'd design and all the amazing unaffordable furniture I'd soon buy.

Then reality set in and I realised... I have NO money!

Therefore, most of my furniture is hand-me-down, thrifted or kerbside collected...

...like the turned-wood dining table that I remember eating potato and cheese dinners off as a child.

Over the years each and every chair met its fate.

I then began looking for some inspiration to turn my preloved table into a nice dining set... on a string.

via here

via here

via here

This was the look I went for - White and wood.

The chairs are from Ikea, lovingly allen-keyed together by yours truly.

The bows are in place early for Christmas lunch - I can't wait to show you my table setting for the day!
Hope all your Chrissy plans are coming along swimmingly.

Six more sleeps!

Jx

[bake me banana bread]

As promised, here's the recipe for the banana bread I baked for the pink ribbon breakfast I held a couple of weeks ago.  It makes the house smell sooooo good!

The photos are courtesy of the lovely Louise from A Pot of Tea Under a Tree.

Banana Bread

100g butter

1 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup mashed banana

2 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

- preheat oven 180 deg.

- grease & line loaf tin

- cream butter & sugar, add eggs and beat between each

- stir in banana, vanilla & cinnamon, then flour baking powder/soda & salt

- pour in tin (sprinkle with raw sugar if you fancy)

- bake for 1 hour or until firm

- cool on wire rack

...and here's another little pic of Louise's that I adore!

 Queen St mall at Christmas.

Isn't it pretty!

nine more sleeps!

Jx

images via a pot of tea under a tree

[the sweetest gingerbread house]

I had planned to do it all this year.  The recycled paper garland, the handmade bon-bons, the shortbread Christmas tree and my first ever gingerbread house.  It's not looking likely.
Instead I'll just appreciate someone else's creativity and time management skills which I clearly am lacking.
How adorable is this gingerbread house!

Rustic tasty goodness!

She's from here at Fryd + Design.

Her house makes me oh so envious - not just her gingerbread version!.

Ten more sleeps....

Jx

images via fryd + design

[this year's pretty chrissy wrapping]

Every year I get a little thrill out of chosing my gift wrap style for the festive season.  It's not always peachy - I have been known to get a little frustrated when the particular look I've dreamed up (usually at some ungodly hour, keeping me awake) hasn't worked out because they don't sell yellow candy striped paper by the roll at this time of year.
This is what the cluster of prezzies under our tree will look like this year...

Simple brown paper

A strip of colourful floral fabric around the middle

Brown twine wrapped randomly over the top

This was my sectret santa prezzie at our Christmas picnic in the park.

Think I might make these little gift tags again for the others.

Looks cute no?

Jx

[christmas lunch - picnic style]

I, like many of you out there, have a few families to catch up with over Christmas.  To spread the joy and avoid the hectic Christmas day run around we'll often have Christmas gatherings early.  On Sunday it was my Dad's side.

We had a "traditional" roast lunch in a park overlooking the bay with turkey and lamb on the portable webber.
I was the designated early bird to snag the table in the morning and set-up before everyone else arrived.

 

It was a fun little challenge to dress our Chrissy table whilst keeping with disposable picnicware for clean-up ease!  I chose one of my favourite colour combos: Red, baby blue and white.

I dressed a tree near our little gazebo where we placed our secret santa prezzies.

<  Dad seemed pleased with his gift (which he probably bought himself)

My nephew made these gorgeous little reindeer bags for gift wrap.  >

Keeping with a traditional Christmas lunch we all consumed our bodyweight in food.

All the excitement was a bit much for one little man!

and here's my gorgeous step-sisters!

Here's to many more fabulous blended Christmases!

Twelve more sleeps!

Jx

[peonies... sigh]

These are the lovely peonies that were a gift from AL.

So lovely!

The flowers are nice too.

We had super busy weekend full of Christmas parties and post-engagement catch-ups with friends.

One of the family Chrissy gatherings was yesterday in a park over looking the bay.  I had great fun styling up our picnic tables! Stay tuned for some pics.

Have a great week everyone!

Thirteen more sleeps!



Jx

[vintage trunk find the second]

One of the best things to come out of our trip to Noosa last weekend (second to getting engaged... and seeing turtle) was finding a mate for my vintage trunk.

I just love the natural weave.  I've never seen one like it before.

I found it in the cutest little shop called Lamington along Hasting Street- I could have bought the whole store!  Well worth a look!

Now I just need to find a baby trunk to sit on top and I'll have a perfect little vintage trunk family - keep your eyes peeled for me!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

Enjoy the rain!

Jx