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!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 13

We're on holiday! Woohoo!

Lizard

Another day in our lovely remote little cottage at The Lizard!

Pumpkin and Red Pepper Soup

I made Pumpkin and Red Pepper Soup today. Most of the ingredients were from our most recent Groobarbs delivery, but would you believe that the mini ghost pumpkin was from our Halloween pumpkin picking at Dunham Massey Ice Cream Farm? It lasted perfectly and tasted amazing.

Cherry and Ginger Banana Bread

I've done some baking! I made Cherry and Ginger Banana Bread this afternoon, and enjoyed a slice of it with a cup of Bird and Blend's Mascarpone and Sour Cherry tea.

Chocolate Pots

Chocolate Pots are a holiday go-to for me (though it's another no-bake dessert). 150g of melted chocolate mixed with 150ml double cream, and then anything festive I can fling at them! Top tip: make them the night before so they have plenty of time to chill in the fridge.

Daisy Darker

The next book I'm reading on holiday is Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney. I bought it for my mum for Christmas last year, and she lent it to me in January after she'd read it. I've been saving it since then, because I really wanted to read it while we were in Cornwall. And I'm having Rose Conjou tea from Tugboat in Truro while I read it.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 13 in my Bird and Blend Tea calendar... Christmas Cake!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 13 in my Avon jewellery calendar... a star pendant!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 12

We're on holiday! It's our annual pre-Christmas Cornish getaway!

Lizard

First day waking up in our isolated little cottage at The Lizard.

Christmas Rainbow

I saw a rainbow this morning. I'd like to think it's a glimpse of Bifröst, and that Heimdall is preparing to visit us for Yule. Speaking of which...

Yule Island

The first book I'm reading on holiday is Yule Island by Johana Gustawsson, which I'm enjoying with a cup of Snowball Hot Cocoa tea from Bird and Blend.

Americano Cocktails

I made Americanos (Campari, sweet vermouth and soda) on a whim tonight. And it accidentally turned out to be a massive wave of Christmas nostalgia for Rob! Hooray!

Black Cherry Cheesecake

One of my holidays was that I was going to bake loads, as I'll finally have time to do that. And so, the first thing I made was... a no-bake black cherry cheesecake.

Ledaig Whisky

Enjoyed a dram of Ledaig 10 year old from Tobermory Distillery tonight, a lovely pre-Christmas gift from my friend Irene.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 12 in my Bird and Blend Tea calendar... Mulled Cider!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 12 in my Avon jewellery calendar... candy cane earrings!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 11

We're on holiday! Of course, this meant that most of today was taken up with packing the car and driving to Cornwall, but we managed to make the drive as festive as possible (apart from the bit where I fell asleep).

After Eights Hot Chocolate

Festive pit-stop on a long drive. I assumed the After Eights Hot Chocolate would just be like vaguely minty cocoa, but it actually tasted like a cup of melted After Eights!

First Holiday Dinner

Our first tea in our little holiday home was just pasta and pesto, but we had some absolutely delicious radiatori from Northern Pasta Company that we'd been saving for a holiday treat.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 11 in my Bird and Blend Tea calendar... Oxford Comma!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 11 in my Avon jewellery calendar... Christmas tree earrings!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 10

Our pre-Christmas holiday starts tomorrow, so this evening was completely taken up with finishing off jobs from the to-do list that needed to be done before we go (which I almost managed). During the day, I was running an event that wasn't strictly speaking festive, but I stuck a Christmas badge on it anyway. As is my wont at this time of year.

Virtual Writing Retreat

Today was the final Virtual Writing Retreat of 2023 for my Hannah's Bookshelf gang. As I say, not strictly speaking a festive event, but I still added a little bit of Christmas.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 10 of my Bird and Blend Tea calendar... Irish Cream!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 10 of my Avon jewellery calendar... a silver moon pendant!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 9

As we're going away on Monday for our big festive holiday, a lot of the day was spent getting ready and finishing off some jobs that needed to be done before we go. However, we did have a very special annual event planned for the evening.

Christmas Diffuser

We lit our new Christmas wax diffuser for the first time today! The first incredibly festive wax melt we tried was Dickens Carol from Olive and B.

Christmas Dinner on the East Lancs

Tonight was our annual trip to the East Lancashire Railway for Christmas Dinner on a steam train. The weather was pretty wild tonight, so we were slightly disturbed (but fortunately not derailed) by what may or may not have been a werewolf attack. But I had my second festive wellington, and my second Christmas pudding, of the year!

Christie and Whisky

Also an annual tradition... when we got home from the train, we watched And Then There Were None, accompanied by a lovely dram of Kingsbarns whisky (a pre-Christmas present from a friend).

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 9 in my Bird and Blend Tea calendar... Rudolph's Night Shift!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 9 in my Avon jewellery calendar... a pair of pearl earrings!