I hope it was a pleasant day for those who celebrate Christmas (and those who don’t).
Here it rained. And rained. And rained. Dark, grey, dreary (the odd picture below is the glass roof in my kitchen with rain).
We managed the meal very well. No real stress at all which was new. I still like the idea of a five-star hotel somewhere and Indian or Japanese food in the evening. Hopefully some year in the future.
The tree continues to look lovely (I think a decorated tree is one of my favourite things about the season, along with candles lit for Hannukah).
We do gifts first thing. This year was a sort of mish mash because neither of us really needs anything. I ended up with a great new candle (Cathedral by Edinburgh company Druid), new trivets and tea spoons (I’ve managed to break several tea spoons – go figure), and some great post earrings to go with the short hair.
Then, a late breakfast and making a start on the cooking. You can see the turkey in the oven.
I ended up choosing to wear Tauer Sundowner layered with Masque Milano Madeleine just because it sounded like a decent idea. Not a success. The Madeleine totally overwhelmed the Sundowner which was surprising given how strong the Tauer is. Candles for the day were Tauer l’Air and the new Cathedral. I decided the Diptyque Biscuit needed a day off.
We watched another episode of Alex Rider (a YA book series by Anthony Horowitz that I read to my son growing up which is being made into eight-episode segments — it’s got a lot of books). Very well done. And had slices of the Xmas cake (see below) with ice cream and whipped cream – wretched excess. Neither of us likes Christmas pudding – I did receive one in a hamper from the guy I work for which will get donated in some way. I expect we’ll be done with the food leftovers and the worst of the sugar by mid this week. We got these great fruit pastille things and nougat which I’ve been working my way through.
Today – Boxing Day – the sun came out. So welcome after yesterday’s deluge (it looked like the road into the village must have flooded last night – there was loads of stuff on it this morning). Dog and I walked in the neighbouring village. He got this wonderful new plush bunny from friends as one of his gifts which he now seems to prefer to his other toys.
Managed to get myself to do some German today. Finished the fifth entry in Ann Cleeves’ Shetland mystery/crime series. Very good. Well worth reading. Making more roast potatoes to go with dinner, will watch another episode of Alex Rider tonight with more cake.
Back to work tomorrow.
Hope you are safe and well and enjoying the holiday period. What perfume did you wear on the day?
Sounds like you all had a nice holiday in spite of the deluge. I wore vintage Joy edt on Christmas Eve day and evening, Marni edp on Christmas Day, and a new Bulgarian Rose essential oil by Eden’s Garden yesterday. I’ve been wanting to learn the different roses by nose, if possible. So first up: rosa damascena. Love the pure rose goodness of it. Today I’m wearing LAP La Chasse. I cooked London Broil flank steak, smashed potatoes, and buttered carrots for Christmas dinner. Easy compared to Thanksgiving! Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and fragrant New Year in 2022!
Interesting line-up for perfumes. Xmas dinner sounds great. I don’t eat much red meat but this sort of thing would do me quite fine. And certainly much easier than all the faff of turkey, etc.
Cinnamon –
Your house is LOVELY!!! and your day sounds as if it was lovely, too! That cake is cool!!
I had a very quiet day, wore a squickton of No5 and did nothing remotely Christmassy. It’s not my favorite holiday because of the intense pressure to ‘be’, so I’m enjoying not having to be present if I don’t wanna!
xoxoxo
Thank you on house. It was not always so. If not for covid a friend who had seen house as it was before work would have visited this week and we could have commiserated regarding the significant changes. For one thing, it’s a lot easier to cook now. Xmas … I have less and less oomph for this holiday. Indeed, you are right: the pressure to ‘be’ … cheery, enthusiastic, traditional. Feh.
What a wonderful holiday, thanks for sharing it with us! I love the ebb and flow of it, the photos, and that cake, which looks FANTASTIC … we watched a single (old?) episode of a GBBO holiday special and they had to make a microwave Christmas pud as their technical challenge, and no thanks. They also made panettone which I myself would cheerfully eat but the verdict among the bakers was that everyone should just go buy one if they want it, sounds like a pain to make.
Hope everyone got less busy and your Xmas was good. I recall comments about not making puff pastry or filo in addition to panettone and just buying it. The cake is particularly nice, as it’s not so very sweet. But, last night we ate too much of it. Definitely smaller piece tonight with the final Alex Rider segment.
I LOVE your kitchen ceiling window, so freaking cool.
Everything sounds fabulous, calm and fun where you are.
Ours was nice. I wore Five O’Clock Gingembre by Serge Lutens.
Portia xx
Thank you, Portia. It makes a huge difference to the back of the house. Glad your holiday was nice. What’s the temp there?
Xmas was warm at around 30C but it’s been cooler and rainy since. BOTH perfect for me.
30 is a tiny bit too high for me now. 25 or 26 is great. I wonder if this is about the meds I take because it was high 30s in the Maldives when we went a number of years ago and I felt fine. Now that would be a good Xmas: an island in the Maldives for a couple of weeks.
We had a relaxed Christmas involving a ton of food, mincemeat pie, books and sweets. We had real snow today!! In Seattle that means icy roads and cars slipping and sliding – quite the drama! I spent the holiday floating around in Caron Nuit de Noel – I am so sad they are no longer making this stunning perfume!
Oh, you are lucky regarding the snow. My son talks every year about having a ‘white’ Xmas (though doesn’t sound like the sliding around is any good). It’s always frustrating when houses stop making perfumes that are loved. Sigh.
We had a nice quiet holiday with my parents, it poured rain and was rather cold (10C). Barely had a few small windows to get the dog out without being drenched. Made a nice meal and some ginger snaps. I wore Nez Ambre à Lèvres.
It was so wet here the dog said I’ll go in the garden but not elsewhere. Glad you enjoyed the day.
The weather has been equally dreck at both sides of the Pennines, though there was snow “on higher ground” as the weather forecasters say. We got a few flakes but friends higher up had a good covering.
Our poor Jarvis developed conjunctivitis yesterday do has been to the vet today.
The upstairs loo ballcock cistern failed whilst I was doing lunch yesterday, overflowed & the overflow to outside also failed. We had a lovely waterfall inside the kitchen!
Still lunch & visits delayed a little, temporary fix done. Impromptu kitchen clean and no harm done.
The only new perfume came in my M&S Advent Calendar, Shay & Blue Talullah’s Camellia. I’m partial to a white floral but this??? I will have to try again when I’m less distracted because it lasted no longer than an hour & I have no memory of it.
May everyone stay safe & well. Here’s hoping for a healthier 2022 for all xxx
Oh, my, that sounds like a difficult day. Impressed you were able to just get on with things. I have not sampled any Shay & Blue. I expect one day I’ll manage it. Indeed, a better 2022, please.
Your Christmas looks so warm and cozy and inviting 🙂 Mine was low key, and nice-i had some presents to open, and like you I think the tree is the best part. I roasted a small turkey and it wasn’t too dry. I read and watched The Bishop’s Wife, which is a sweet film. I wore Eau d’hadrian-probably my favourite scent. It’s been part of my life for more than 20 years. I find the new bottles just as good as the old. And today I made one online scented purchase-the large L’artisan Perfumer candle in Tea et Pain Epices – think it’s the candle version of Tea For Two.
I love your pictures, Cinnamon!
It was sort of cozy though the rain was really annoying. We seem to have entered the rainy season now. That candle sounds wonderful. Will have to take a look.