Friday 18 December 2015

In France for Christmas!

Happy Friday guys! Are you all excited about Christmas? Only a few nights sleep before the big day!!

Tomorrow I will be on my way to France to spend Christmas and New Year's eve with my family for a whole two weeks! How amazing is that?! Now, I won't be posting on this blog during this time, except of course on the 1st of January when I will be sharing the next wallpaper giveaway :).

I'm looking forward to some good food and great precious time with my family. After all, when you're an adult and the Christmas magic has changed, this time of the year is all about family and quality time with your loved ones. Unfortunately, I will be missing my amazing boyfriend as he will stay with his family in North Wales, but I guess we're lucky to be in an advanced technologic world and skype will be our best friend!

I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year! See you soon x


Tuesday 15 December 2015

Lately on Instagram...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We've been busy making our house look festive and cooking some comfort food to enjoy on the couch whilst watching movies with a blanket to keep us warm! We've also visited the magic little city of York and enjoyed the Christmas market and mulled wine in front of a fire in a tipi. My feed has suddenly changed into hues of orange, red and brown, and I love it! I can cope with Winter in North Wales just because of Christmas time to be honest ;).

How have you been getting all Christmassy during the past month? I'm always curious to know the little traditions that people have around this time of the year :)

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Thursday 10 December 2015

A Festive Weekend in York


A couple of weeks ago, we were lucky enough to get a bit of time off work and plan a weekend in York. It has been on our list for so long, and we realised that the best time to explore the town would be when the Christmas market is on!




We realised though that we wouldn't want to just do the Christmas market (Yes, we never stop). So we booked tickets for the Jorvik Viking Centre on the first day. It was fascinating! I love learning how people lived a long time ago and the staff there were really helpful and enjoyed a chat when they could. I would recommend to not go when you're feeling a bit under the weather as they re-create the smells as they would have been at the time, and let me tell you that it was not nice...!








The good thing about the Christmas market in York is that it's a bit everywhere. So after leaving the Jorvik Centre, we took our time and strolled around the narrow streets of this beautiful town, finding here and there some stalls and small huts with handmade goodness or crafty items.

At the end of the day, we had a few Christmas presents in our bag, and we felt really relaxed and content to be there. The atmosphere was just great. It's hard to explain but sometimes you just feel good about a place, and that was the case. We stayed in a B&B called the Lighthorseman just outside the centre, and it was perfect as it only took us 10 mins to walk back. Plus, the room was really nice for the price and the bed very comfy.

Not pictured here is the fabulous dinner that we had at Côte Brasserie... I still remember the tasty praline crêpe I had for dessert!







What I'm not showing here as well is how many beers Jason had during the night and how sick he felt in the morning! He couldn't even finish his breakfast at Café Rouge, so naturally, I sacrificed myself and ate the delicious baguette...!

Also, have you seen this morning light?! I was over the moon that the weather was on our side and that we actually managed to walk around town without an umbrella at the ready. York Minster was imposing and a treat to the eye. We didn't explore inside as we had to pay but I would definitely recommend it!






After breakfast, we hit the main market on Parliament Street and went straight after to Barley Hall as we'd booked tickets previously. Completely different from the Viking era exhibited at the Jorvik Centre, this stunning building has been renovated to show how people were living in York during the reign of Henry the VIII. There were loads of descriptions and details about their habits, diets, beliefs... And although I didn't read them all, the exhibition itself is enough to give you a good idea of the customs of the time.



We happily spent the afternoon shopping for more Christmas presents (Jason was feeling much better after a massive burger for lunch), and the moment it started to get cold, we found some warm seats together with hot chocolate and mulled wine at Thor's Tipi. No need to tell you how nice the atmosphere was inside the massive tent. Loud, joyful and warm. The best.




Before leaving, we made sure to walk around the park as the sun was going down. In a way we were pleased that it was getting dark as the lights around the historical buildings were really nice and they made them look even more theatrical.

Just talking about it now and seeing the photos again makes me want to go back immediately. What a great weekend! People, you need to visit this place!

Now, I'm going to watch another Harry Potter and drink another hot chocolate ;)


Sunday 6 December 2015

10% OFF Just for You

Happy weekend guys! Hope you're having a nice one.

We've decided to slow down this weekend and we enjoyed decorating the house with loads of Christmassy bits! We even had a warm glass of mulled wine and I baked Jamie Oliver's recipe for bread and butter panettone pudding. It was a great success! Completely delicious and indulgent (we actually paired it with brandy cream, yum)! Want the recipe? It's right HERE :)

Amazing cakes apart, today I have a very special offer starting on my Etsy shop just for you! You can now get 10% OFF on the entire shop until the 18th of December with the code  SAVE10. So go on, treat yourself and CLICK HERE to find some unique Christmas and Birthday cards!

Thanks again for supporting my work, always warms my heart :)


Tuesday 1 December 2015

Giveaway - 'Tis the Season wallpapers!





Happy first of December guys! Christmas is so close now! Can't wait to fly back to France for two weeks to enjoy some precious time with my family and some very good food! Eeeeek!

To come back to the giveaway though, I wanted to create some wallpapers that would feel Christmassy but not too much, as the aim is for you to be able to have it on your screens all along the month. It made sense for me to concentrate on a very known Christmas quote, hand-lettered and put together with some roughly illustrated stars and bright colours. The handmade feel is really important on this artwork as to me Christmas is all about those traditional wonky decorations that we would create ourselves as kids and cherish for years. I'm sure I'm not the only one that used to make some really bizarre paper sculptures and other crafty projects for Christmas! I think my parents kept them for a few years out of sympathy but really, some of them were bad.

So here it is, enjoy this amazing month of December as after all 'tis the season to be jolly!

Download:
WHOLE SET // PHONE 1 // PHONE 2