Photo Reflections Day 15

Today I have finally finished icing the xmas cakes. It was my first attempt at making them and I made 5 which, on reflection, was slightly ambitious. However, they're Christmas gifts and i'm sure that they'll be appreciated by my family. I haven't tried any yet so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that they taste ok. They've been 'doctored' with brandy over the past couple of months so if nothing else hopefully they'll make people slightly merry! And yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you. the one above does have two 'Merry Christmas' greetings on it, it's actually a rather large cake and is going to be shared between my Mum and Nanna. Hope they enjoy it!

Photo Reflections Day 14

I was invited for tea at my Mum's last night, it was lovely to sit around the table as a family and just chat, sharing good food and sipping tea. Tonight I feel slightly under the weather, I think i'm coming down with the lurgey, so i'm tucked up under my blanket with a hot water bottle watching The Hours. It's an amazing film, filled with so much emotion, it always takes my breath away. I wont give the plot away, all i'll say is that it's 3 stories beautifully merged into one, if you get the chance to watch it then I recommend that you do.

Photo Reflections Day 13

Today i'm dreaming of sunnier days, days when I don't leave for work and come home in the dark, days when I can get out in the garden for an hour or so after work and when I can let the chooks have a roam around. I love the opportunity to snuggle up in winter and the gentle glow of christmas tree lights but i'd still like to odd day of summer light and heat every now and again. Today i'm missing summer and looking at my garden pics from this year makes me miss it even more. For the moment I need to be content with my hot water bottle and snuggle blanket.

Photo Reflections Day 12

I missed yesterday's post as I was invited out for tea and then came home and got snuggled up in bed, it was blissful not to have to think about doing any work on an evening for a change. This evening is another fairly chilled out night, i've done my work and i'm now relaxing with a Guinness. It brings back memories of being a student and sitting around huge 'beer keg' tables in my local Irish bar, with good friends and lots of merry banter. I miss those carefree days and would love to try and recapture that feeling on a daily basis, the first step right now is to relax with a Guinness, lush.

Photo Reflections Day 10 and 11

It's been a busy but fun weekend. My partner came over and we cooked ourselves a Christmas dinner as we wont be able to spend Christmas day together. We put the tree up and exchanged gifts (the tree is absolutely gorgeous, this photograph really doesn't do it justice). We did plan to cut the cake that we decorated together but we were so stuffed that we really couldn't manage any (can you tell that we made the icing too runny?). I'm sure i'll enjoy a slice or two before she comes to stay again on the 27th.

Photo Reflections Day 9

I don't have much time today so all i'll say is - the chooks are still laying. Amazing!

Photo Reflections Day 8

It's been a busy day today, I was up at 5.30am and at work for 7.30. To say its been chilly is a bit of an understatement, it's been freezing! I was so cold and tired when I arrived home that I snuggled under my blanket on the sofa and had a quiet 10 minutes with a cuppa - bliss.

Photo Reflections Day 7

It was my first day back at work today and nothing could be more lovely to come home to than a homemade crumble. I made this yeasterday to use up a load of fruit that had seen it's best days, i'm pleased I did, it was lush! Perfect for a chilly winters night.

Photo Reflections Day 6

Decluttering and clearing space has been the focus of the last couple of weeks and pictured above is todays efforts. For the past two weeks I have been doing 15 minutes of decluttering a day. I started in the dining room and i'm still working on it (nearly finished though, honest). I've had day long bouts of decluttering before but i've found that the enthusiasm has very quickly worn off so i've decided to try and turn it into a daily routine, hoping that in the process it will become second nature and the clutter wont re-accumulate. Since the start of the week i've been ruthlessly decluttering my file boxes, it's amazing how much junk accumulates in there so i've been busily emptying one section at a time and shredding whatever I remove - it'll make great bedding for the chooks and I feel very virtuous for my recycling efforts. I feel so much better about my practical approach to clearing my space and the fact that I can see daily improvements is fabulous. I'm back at work tomorrow so I just hope that I can keep up my daily routine.

Photo Reflections Day 5

I love my driftwood clock. I bought it when I was on holiday in Cornwall and it really was love at first sight. It's made by a local artist called Dom Harvey, you can see some of his work here. This clock was one of the first really colourful things I bought for my home and since then i've started to introduce more colour into my life. My funky sweet table was inspired by it.

I've been conscious of time today, the day seems to have passed me by quickly as i've tried to get through my to-do list. I'm off work at the moment with labyrinthitis though i'm due to go back on Wednesday, so i've been trying to use my time wisely by getting a few jobs done. I've done quite a bit but it's surprised me how time, when you're ill and unable to do anything, ticks by ever so slowly, and yet when you're back on your feet time slips away oh so quickly. So this evening I'm going to try and savour what's left of the day and be conscious of every minute.

Photo Reflections Day 4

Whilst outside cleaning out the chooks I had a rather pleasant surprise. My outdoor tomato plants had provided me with this offering, I can't believe they're still growing, especially when the ones in the greenhouse have long since wilted and died. They've still got ripening fruits on them too so i'm going to leave them for a while longer and see if they manage to fully ripen before the cold weather really hits.

Photo Reflections Day 3

Today has been a day for wrapping xmas pressies. I've still a few more to wrap and a few more to buy but i'm nearly there and can't wait to put the tree up next weekend. I also had my first slice of xmas cake today so i'm feeling very festive!

Photo Reflections Day 2

I love candles, they make my home feel so much more, well, homely. It's been chilly today and i've spent most of the day snuggled under my blanket with a hot water bottle. I lit the candles and it made the room feel so much more cozy, perfect.

Photo Reflections Day 1

This is my little buddy Jasper aka the stray who came to stay. My first encounter with him was as a rather timid furball who was sat on the doorstep of our house before we bought it. The house was uninhabited at the time and as we approached he scurried away. I never saw him again until about 6 months later when we'd moved into the house and he started to show up begging for food. He gradually grew in confidence enough to let me stroke him while he ate and I was horrified to discover that beneath the fur he was flesh and bone. I've never really liked cats but I instantly made the decision, against my partners wishes, to take him in and it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. I love him to bits and he's been a fantastic buddy to me over the years, I wouldn't swap him for the world.

December intentions

I feel so much more focussed when I have a mini plan to follow so i'm going to set some intentions for December. I feel my life lacks creativity at the moment so i'm going to focus my December intentions on being more creative and mindful. So this month I will:

1. Take a photo every day - this must reflect some aspect of myself or my life (a photo reflection) and i'll post it to my blog.
2. Meditate for at least 5 minutes every day - I need to do this to start to centre myself as i'm feeling a bit wobbly and ungrounded at the moment.
3. Crochet a dishcloth - I want to learn how to crochet and I can't think of a better way to learn than to start off by making something that I will actually use.

So those are my intentions for December and now i've unleashed them into the big wide world i'll be much more likely to stick to them.

I borrowed this from the lovely Megg at Creating Wings, it really resonates with me at the moment.