Gift Wrapping Service

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Hi! 

I just popped over to let you know that we have added a gift wrapping service to the shop now, to help you out with your Christmas shopping a little.

For £1.50 we will wrap your gift in cellophane, tie with rustic twine and add a little handmade tag with a stamped festive image.  Pop your gift message in the comments box and we will send it off pretty and pronto! 

Sunday 18th is really the last day for guaranteed Christmas orders but if you are desperate and would like us to ship extra quick then drop me an email or DM on any of our social media platforms.  I will do my very best to help you. 

I cannot believe that Christmas is approaching so quickly.  I have a million and one things to do! 

Happy shopping! 

Nicki X 

 

Making Christmas Memories

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These three photos sum up my festive mood at the moment:

1) a pair of ceramic house tea light lanterns bought at the Bath Christmas market last week,

2) a stolen afternoon for Andrew and me in front of the telly with Home Alone 2, tea and mince pies, 

and 3) my adorable little niece at the village Christingle service a couple of weeks ago.  

Things are not quite calm and bright yet but I feel as though we might be getting there. My workroom is finally straight after a thorough sort out on Monday morning - I just have a bundle of thread skeins to wind onto bobbins and then I will feel organised enough to complete the embroidered bookmark commission that I am currently working on.  

We are still eating ready meals, though, so I am planning a whole menu for next week (which I privately refer to as 'Christmas week') so that we can eat lots of seasonal vegetables and comfort food like mashed potato and risotto in the run up to Christmas Day.  We still don't have a tin of Quality Street in the house and I need to rectify that tout de suite! 

I have been out and about over the last couple of days; yesterday was Lizzie's Christmas-hairdo-day and then I went off to a watercolour class that I'll be joining weekly from February.  I have been looking for a good art class for months and finally managed to reserve a space at a Wednesday morning class.  I have got some homework to get started on throughout January and I have put some lovely sable paintbrushes and art supplies on my birthday wish list.   

This morning I went to church for my eldest niece's school advent service.  It was very sweet; there is something about children singing Silent Night or Away in a Manger that tugs hard on my heart strings and puts a lump in my throat.  This morning there was a mishap involving a small boy and his microphone - it gave my sister and I the uncontrollable giggles.  The more we tried to stop ourselves laughing, the worse it got until eventually Sarah erupted in a shout of laughter and fell behind the pew with her shoulders shaking and eyes streaming. My mum and grandma were there too and had no idea what had tickled us; in fact my grandmother looked a bit cross that we were misbehaving in church.  Makes me laugh just thinking about it now. 

After church, when Izzie had gone back to school, we all squished into Mabel (my little fiat), cranked up Feliz Navidad on repeat and navigated the winding country roads to a local garden centre for a full English breakfast.  It really was the most lovely morning; my grandma was in the front of the car with me having a little seat shimmy and sing-along.  It made me happy to see her so cheerful as she was wired up to a pacemaker on Saturday and is feeling a bit sore and sorry for herself.

Tonight Andrew and I are watching the football with a takeout pizza and I am going to give myself the night off with my knitting.  Back to the needle and thread first thing tomorrow morning so I can get my work done before Christmas.

Hope everyone is having a lovely week - thanks for stopping by again :)

Love, Nicki 

xOx

Christmas Preparation

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I had hoped to blog much more often than this but time is whizzing by.  I could do with a few slo-mo days to be honest.

There were lots of lovely photographs shared on Instagram and Facebook for my little 30 Days of Hygge challenge and I'll share some of those later in the month.  They will make you feel super cosy; check out the hashtag if you get a chance in the meantime.   I am planning another little challenge for January, to get through the winter months.  Emma at Silver Pebble always has a lovely 'making winter' hashtag on Instagram which I get lots of inspiration from and I can definitely recommend that you take a peek at that too.  

Anyway, we're all busy so I'll keep my news brief and to the point:

  • I had my eyelids flipped inside-out today at the opticians.  Super-glamorous optician was apparently checking the underside of my lids for allergies and irritants.  I was quietly appalled.  It was gross.  Who even knew you could tuck your eyelids inside-out and they'd stay put? Bleurgh.
     
  • I haven't cooked a proper meal since mid-November.  We are living on ready-meals which we never have.  It feels kind of treat-y.  And those packets of ready prepared vegetables; how luxurious!   Marks & Spencer Gastro-pub Shepherd's Pie is my absolute favourite. 
     
  • I have developed a penchant for Whittard's Christmas Tea, a box of which was gifted to me by my lovely friend Laalaa.  It is so refreshing and festive; delicious with a small slice of Christmas cake.
     
  • Speaking of festive bakes, Nigella's gingerbread and Cherry Menlove's buttercream mince pies are at the top of my To Do list next week.
     
  • I always have my eldest niece Izzie in the Christmas holidays and I am enjoying preparing for our day together.  We are going to paint Christmas cards, decorate gingerbread houses and watch a Christmas film. I am so excited! Mum is going to join in too, so we will have a lovely day. 
     
  • I am currently reading The Girl in the Photograph and absolutely loving it.  
     
  • On Tuesday I will be attending my first ever watercolour class.  I am excited and nervous in equal measure.
     
  • My grandmother is preparing to have a pacemaker fitted.  My sister and I had an interesting conversation tonight about what a pacemaker looks like.  I envisioned a kitchen timer, she thought perhaps more like a SIM card.  I was closer to the reality, which surprised me.

My biggest news is that The Little Green Door celebrated its first year of trading this week.  I am so proud that I have made it this far and built a good foundation for a second year of trading.  I haven't taken a salary at all this year so money has been tight but it has been so worth it.  

We are off to Bath this weekend for some quality time together and then I am attending a small local fair on Sunday afternoon before we pack away our stall for the year.  We will be processing website orders and posting them all over the Christmas break but if you are shopping for bits and pieces in time for Christmas then I would recommend ordering by Friday 16th December for guaranteed delivery.

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Nicki X