Boxing Day

We wake late with full tummies but I still manage porridge topped with chunks of home made Christmas pudding, drizzled in cream, which is utterly divine. After lazing around in our pj's for most of the morning, we spend the rest of the afternoon walking around Faversham's glorious countryside. Over stiles and railway tracks, through hops and strawberry fields, along muddy paths and wide open fields, popping into old churches and pubs as we pass them. Clouds loom but thankfully do not break, instead releasing occasional shafts of dusky golden sunlight on to the Kentish countryside below. 

My mister made a time lapse video to capture it, and added a sweeeet grade. Below are some stills from the video and the video itself. 

Me, chilly

This Christmas was a good one. My mister and I wanted to remember its details as it will be the last one involving only adults; the last food centric, boozy, slobby Christmas, the last before babies. And we couldn't have asked for more. Yes, there were stresses and strains, as there always are with family gatherings, but this one just happened to be particularly full of comfort and joy and good stuff, and for that we are extremely grateful. 

Christmas Day

We awake too early, outside the sky is still inky black and the birds remained silent. We hear the others stirring, coffee is ground and brewed; its bitter nutty fragrance reaching our nostrils and calling us downstairs.  Platters of lemony smoked salmon and creamy scrambled eggs are laid on the table. We drink ice cold furiously fizzing Prosecco in elegant glasses and toast Christmas in our pyjama's.

We pass presents around, gasp, laugh, cringe, smile. Christmas outfits are proudly shown off and the champers flows.

Then; Arbroath smokey fish cakes to start, followed by a divine three bird roast with sweet braised fennel,  crunchy roast potatoes and sprouts with pancetta and chestnuts. We sit, chins propped, and talk of past and present plans. We play a surprisingly competitive game of Extreme Uno, toast a flaming pudding, then heave ourselves onto the sofa's to watch Dr Who. Perfecto.

The presents under the tree

The chef

A very busy Kitchen

Rays cranberry relish

Arbroath Smokey Fish cakes- gorgeous.

The birds! Duck, Goose and Turkey. So so good.

Christmas dress!

Sprouts with pancetta and chestnuts

Braised Fennel

And a gratuitous cheesy Christmas day bump photo...

Christmas Eve

Just a short luggage-laden train journey to Ray and Phil's house for Christmas this year. Five days of long walks, long talks and exceedingly good food awaited us. 

On Christmas eve we stock up on Christmas essentials at Faversham's farmers markets before heading home for a fresh Crab feast.  Newspaper covers the table, candles are lit and champagne is supped, as we learn messily how to eat fresh crab.  We drink wine (just a wee bit for me) and sit talking at the table for hours. Christmas records play in the background and the scent of the clove studded oranges wafts around the room. We go to bed with very happy tummy's.  

Ray's Christmas decorations are amazing, aren't they? 

Christmas dinner party

A recipe. Take 14 friends that have known each other for a decade;  five courses including a whole belly of pork; a tea-urn of mulled wine, cocktails and a few rounds of silly games and cook in a two bedroom flat for 6 hours or so. You'll need utensils, serving dishes and crockery borrowed from elsewhere, masses of candles and all the tables and chairs you can muster. Serve warm, with Christmas seasoning. The result should be pretty perfect.

The benefit of planning in advance: I had time to make table runners using the last of my liberty fabric scraps and also a ribbon canopy.

A chance to use my vintage nut tray! 

Soup in teacups- perfect starter size.

Mmmmm

Cheers!

Candy Cane Martini's...yep.

A few of our lovliest

A rather dapper gent

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The full menu- with recipe's

Canapes

Prosciutto, Goats cheese and Fig

Smoked Salmon and caper on pumpernickel

Goats cheese and home made tomato tapenade on sourdough toasts

Starter

Parsnip and Sherry Soup with Hazelenut Pesto, 
served with Ciabatta toasts 
(the pesto is divine and made this soup sing)

Main

Roasted Belly of Pork with Orange and Star Anise 
(An amazing Ottolenghi recipe; so full of flavour)

Christmas spiced red cabbage (simple but oh so sexual)

Honey steamed carrot and swede batons

Roasted Courgette

Cocktail Course (ooh err)

Candy Cane Martini's 
(This almost made me weep for joy)

Dessert

Christmas Creme Brulee's 
(my own concoction; basically Delia with an added dollop
 of home made mincemeat at the bottom of the Ramekin)

Cheese Course

Coffee and Petit Four course
 with homemade chocolates and mince pies
(Delia all the way for the mince pies. I love her. Chocs recipe in a separate post)


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This is the fourth year we've hosted this Christmas dinner party. It has traditionally been quite cobbled together, a little last minute, a tad disorganised and quite messy but always thoroughly enjoyable. But this year, given the fact that it'll be our last before we're parents, we wanted it to be a much more relaxed and prepared soiree. Mince pies, soup, pesto and chocolates were made the week before, invitations sent out, recipe's tested in advance. Two courses became five, canapes were concocted, a cocktail course was introduced.  Plates vaguely matched, they were warmed, food was plated in the kitchen and we both felt, well,  relaxed. We are now evangelical about preparing in advance.


 Most importantly it was so good to have our nearest and dearest sat round the same table, clinking glasses, gasping at funny stories, gossipping and catching up with everyone's news, telling stupid jokes, whooping, cackling, becoming misty eyed and happily slurring. Just... perfect. 


A few more Christmas posts are coming up, there's lots to catch up on. I've been in a happy food coma for the last few days. I hope the season is treating you decently, cherries. 

Ethical gift guide and Liberty Christmas craft class: Grazia

Ho ho!

Just popping in to say that a couple of my pieces went up on the Grazia site today. The first is about a brilliant craft class I did in Liberty's private wood panelled craft room. (By the way a Spring craft class at Liberty would be am amazing last minute Christmas present- £30) The other piece contains my top 10 picks of the seasons best ethical gifts, from recycled rubber to sumptuous cashmere. I had fun pulling this together! Price tags range from £12 to £2800- I try to be inclusive?!

There have been some changes to the site at Grazia hence both are up a wee bit later than intended but better late than never eh?! I hope you like them.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve to you, lovely lovely readers.  x

Porridge...

Is there anything nicer on these bitter windy days? I'm already looking forward to my bowl in the morning.

Apple and cinnamon porridge, our favourite weekend breakfast

Whats your favourite porridge topping?

P.s I've been lost in a sea of fabric, buttons, jars, ribbon and thread  in preparation for Christmas (as well as the day job and writing work- equal parts stressful and pleasurable), but I hope to blog about our crafting, cooking and Christmas dinner party soon. Just as soon as I've finished everything and laid on the floor for a while....

Christmas with the Beach Boys

How awesome is that album cover? Imagine finding this in vinyl?!

We are currently obsessed with this 'Christmas from the Beach Boys' album (only £4 from the Amazon MP3 store!) There are some surprisingly beautiful barber shop melodies on there, as well as the more poppy uplifting stuff they're more well known for. 

As much as I like the 'Magic FM' Christmas classics, they become irritating when every radio station and shop plays them incessantly, so I love finding slightly lesser known Christmas music. As well as our recent Beach Boys find, our Christmas music loves are the Sufjan Stevens Christmas Album (beautiful chilled music, everything you'd expect from Sufjan), A Charlie Brown Christmas (melodic, jazzy, cool) and Vintage Christmas Tree (hits from the 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's). All come highly recommended.

Found any new Christmas music this year? What are your all time favourites? Do share below!

Christmas round ours

Christmas around our place this year looks a little like this: vintage doilies strung across pictures, washi tape Christmas trees, fabric scrap garlands, treasures from the garden, and the flickering shapes thrown on the wall from candle lanterns...

The tree is decorated in my patchwork Baubles, lengths of folkie ribbon and long garlands made of paper circles, cut out by hand (in bed no less, much to my misters disapproval...) None of the teacups you all seemed to love last year have made it on to the tree this year as I needed them all for a dinner party, but I may add them yet. 

Lots (/most) of my Christmas presents still need making (rising panic!) so there will be lots more crafting round these parts yet.

Both my mister and I are swamped at the moment. Juggling my day job with my writing job, a pregnancy, a dinner party for 14 (it was perfect, more on that in another post) and everything else that Christmas entails has been amazingly rewarding but pretty challenging and I am really looking forward to having an honest-to-goodness proper break over Christmas. 

But whilst it lasts, we're taking any opportunity we can to be indoors with the Christmas tree and candles, curtains shut against the raging weather outside,  revelling in all things Christmas because it will all be over so quickly. 

So, happy Christmas revelling to you!