Countdown to Christmas: Day 18

Another day on our Cornish holiday!

Coastal Walk

We went for a lovely walk along the coastal path today, into Lizard village and back again, saying hi to the cows near our cottage.

Ann’s Pasties

And at the end of the path... Ann's Pasties!

Serpentine Necklace

Also at the end of the path... Rob surprised me with a gorgeous serpentine necklace from J.A.R. Hill Serpentine Works in Lizard. It's made with serpentine stone quarried locally from the Lizard peninsula, and I love it.

Christmas Earrings

Another new pair of Christmas earrings! Today I was wearing candy canes from Keeks and T.

Christmas Pudding (Stage 1)

Time to start one of our favourite traditions... making the Christmas pudding. Today we mixed the ingredients and made a wish as we stirred. Tomorrow we'll steam it.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 18 in my Bird and Blend tea calendar... Gingerbread Chai!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 18 in my Avon jewellery calendar... a little crystal pendant!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 17

Still on our pre-Christmas holiday!

Lizard

Another day in our little cottage at The Lizard.

Mulled Apple Juice

I was mulling again today! This time, it was apple juice made with the mulling spice blend we got from Spicy Chameleon last month.

Abominable Books

I'm always so behind with opening my Abominable Book Club boxes, aren't I? Today, I opened my November box. I got Schrader's Chord by Scott Leeds, You'd Look Better as a Ghost by Joanna Wallace, some chocolates, bookmarks and a magnet, plus a mystery second-hand book (which was right up my street... I know this cos I already borrowed it from the library and read it last month... haha!)

Playa del Mar Cocktails

I made Playa del Mar cocktails tonight. I mean, we are right next to a beach and the sea (admittedly, the sea is pretty wild and the beach is at the bottom of a cliff).

Tiramisu

I made another of my holiday go-to desserts (and yes, it's another no-bake one)... tiramisu. It's Rob's favourite!

Wolfburn Whisky

We enjoyed a Wolfburn whisky tasting set this evening, a present from my little brother from last time he visited the distillery.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 17 in my Bird and Blend tea calendar... Candy Cane!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 17 in my Avon jewellery calendar... a silver triangle pendant!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 16

And we're still on holiday! Woohoo!

Lizard

Another day in our remote little cottage at The Lizard. I don't think I mentioned this before, but there are cows right outside the cottage.

Hannah’s Bookshelf 3 Minute Santas Special

By the magic of technology (and forward planning, of course), I was on air on North Manchester FM today. It was the annual Hannah's Bookshelf Pre-Christmas Christmas Special this afternoon, with festive flash fiction from this year's 3 Minute Santas writers.

West Country Scandals

I bought this little book, West Country Scandals by James Whinray, at a gift shop last year, but I didn't get chance to read it then. Of course, the real West Country scandal is that I drank Devon Cream Tea (from Bird and Blend) when I was reading it in Cornwall. Shocker!

Zombie Cocktails

I know tiki cocktails might not sound very Christmassy, but look how festive these Zombies look!

Escape from the Movie Studio

We brought a couple of little escape room games to play while we're away. Kicked off tonight with Escape from the Movie Studio and totally nailed it. We are no longer trapped in a movie studio.

The Last Snow

The next book I read on holiday was The Last Snow by Stina Jackson. I teamed it with Ceylon Bop from Tugboat. (The bookmark was a little present I bought for myself when I was Christmas shopping at St Ives Bookseller the other day.)

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 16 in my Bird and Blend tea calendar... Devon Cream Tea!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 16 in my Avon jewellery calendar... a gold joy pendant!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

Countdown to Christmas: Day 15

Our Cornish pre-Christmas holiday continues...

Lizard

Another day in our lovely little isolated cottage at The Lizard.

Christmas Earrings

And another new pair of Christmas earrings! A little pair of Christmas puddings from BadcatdesignByZoe!

Ann’s Pasties

When in Cornwall... Ann's Pasties are the best pasties.

Mince Pie Flapjack

Lovely mince pie flapjack that we bought from Flapjackery in St Ives yesterday.

Cinnamon Roasted Squash

I attempted a festive dinner tonight. Cinnamon Roasted Crown Prince Squash (with a squash from our most recent Groobarbs delivery) with mash and sprouts. I'm not sure I was a fan, but Rob seemed to really like it!

The Other Mrs Walker

The next book I read on holiday was The Other Mrs Walker by Mary Paulson-Ellis, one of the library books I borrowed in December. And I had a cup or two of Whisktea from Bird and Blend while I was reading it.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 15 in my Bird and Blend tea calendar... Jammy Dodgers!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 15 in my Avon jewellery calendar... a silver loveheart pendant!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 14

Our Cornish holiday continues! We come here every year, and we have a few festive traditions we like to enjoy each time. Today was all about those traditions, and so it was a super-Christmassy day for us.

A Trip to St Ives

We always like to have a day out to St Ives when we're staying in Lizard, so I get a bit of nostalgia for childhood family holidays. We usually do a bit of Christmas shopping while we're here too.

Lunch in St Ives

Even though we only come here once a year, we do have a favourite place to go for lunch... Scoff Troff Café. I had Welsh Rarebit and Cornish Mist tea (earl grey, vanilla and steamed milk).

Christmas Ice Cream

Can't come to the seaside and not have an ice cream. We went to Moomaid of Zennor (in what is now becoming an annual tradition), and I tried their Salted Caramel Christmas Pudding flavour.

Mousehole Harbour Lights

We went to see the Mousehole Harbour Lights this evening. There was no big switch-on event this year, but we arrived just in time to see everything light up for the evening. Absolutely love the Mousehole lights and we wouldn't come to Cornwall without seeing them.

Spicy Hot Apple Punch

And what better accompaniment to the Mousehole Harbour Lights than a Spicy Hot Apple Punch?

Music from the Rock Choir

Although there was no big switch-on ceremony at Mousehole this year, they have a whole programme of songs and carols during the time the lights are on (and we think this actually works even better). We decided to time our visit so we could see Rock Choir Cornwall perform at the harbour, which was very good fun. The choir were awesome and provided a really lovely festive vibe for the evening.

Seasonal Whisky Tasting

Back at Lizard, it was time for our big seasonal whisky night. All year, we've been buying each other seasonally inspired whiskies and saving them up to enjoy in the winter with a nice cheeseboard and some seasonal playlists (though Rob isn't impressed with the inclusion of The Wurzels on the Autumn Equinox playlist).

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 14 of my Bird and Blend tea calendar... Cookies and Cream!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 14 of my Avon jewellery calendar... sparkly crystal earrings!