Merry Christmas Everyone!

Merry Christmas everyone!! I was actually hoping on posting this in the afternoon but I took waaaaaayyy too many photos and it is taking me forever to edit them! I hope everyone had a great holiday. Yesterday we spend Christmas with my mom's side of the family, and we don't see my dad's side for another few days, so Christmas itself was a rather quiet day spent around home. It was rather lovely just lounging about, in my new pajamas, looking at all my presents, drinking some fancy new tea and eating violet creams (these were a Christmas gift. I'd never had any before but I am officially in love!).

Warning, this post is a little picture heavy...

Christmas Eve:

These are soooo yummy. Recipe found here. I used white chocolate instead of icing
so they were easier to transport.  These snowflakes are giants!
We had to split one cookie between about 3 people!

Chocolate candy cane hearts.  I found the idea somewhere on Pinterest...
They look really good but were a little difficult to eat. 

Not what I was originally planning on wearing, but it was very comfy and warm.
The red peaking out is actually a Victorian style petticoat that I have hiked up to wear as sort of a slip.
The belt is part of the dress, which I have threaded through the space between two buttons. 

 Christmas Day:

My new nightgown set! I actually finished sewing it about a month ago but I was saving
it to wear on Christmas morning.  The pattern I used is actually the Vintage Vogue
 reprint of a 1930's evening gown and jacket, but I thought it made a lovely loungewear set. 

And now the presents! I didn't take pictures of everything but here are some of the more "vintagey" items. I used the handmade quilt I got as a backdrop for these photos. 

This is a stunning Edwardian brooch my parents bought me (which I picked out)

Signed copy of Maureen Jennings new book (she wrote the Murdoch Mysteries series).
 My mom bought this for me  when we went to her book signing a month ago. 

The only two seasons of I Dream of Jeannie I was missing! I now have every episode :)

Some cute pendants (that will soon be earrings) from Michael's new "Deco Chic" line of
jewellery making supplies. 

Stunning book of Art Deco illustrations

Four sewing books and one hairdressing book. All are reprints of original 1920's and 1930's books.
They are just fabulous!!

Gramophone sticky notes!

 The next few gifts were a complete surprise. They are all from my grandmother and are all family heirlooms or things she has bought over the years. I am definitely going to cherish these forever!

Not sure how old this one is, but my grandma bought it on a trip to Scotland. 

Also a piece bought by my grandma.

Also bought by my grandmother on a trip to Scotland. 

My grandfather wedding ring from 1947. The inside is engraved with the date and my grandparents names.

Beautiful ring that belonged to my great-grandmother. 

A pair of earrings from the 1800's (in their original box!)

I hope everyone has as good as Christmas (or whatever you celebrate) as I did. 

Happy Holidays!!

That's All

What I Normally Wear, Birthday Gifts, and Some Projects

I was going to do a proper post but instead here is a collection of photos of things from around my room. I've been taking lots random pictures of stuff with the camera by parents gave me for my birthday.

I will do a real post when I'm less sleep deprived, I promise! I actually do have some stuff I want to post about, including a blog award from the lovely Nabby. I haven't forgotten, just too tired to do a proper post! Also apologies for my lack of comments on everyone's blogs lately. I promise if I follow your blog I really do read every post. I've just been too busy and tired to come up with anything clever to say (although my "clever" comments normally sound something like "Lovely outfit!"...)

 Left-over chocolate butterflies are lovely with fresh local strawberries!

I knit myself some slippers from here. I think I just liked them because of the name!

I have plans to embellish them a bit but who knows when I will get around to that.

 When I was home on the weekend I managed to sew myself this fancy little 1930's top from one of the Vintage Vogue patterns. It looks rather purple in the picture but it is actually a light smokey grey colour. Now I just have to come up with an excuse to wear it... 

 I used to keep my sewing pins in a box but I wanted a pincushion too. This jar pincushion is the best of both worlds. Tutorial found here.

A couple of my birthday gifts. Ok, the Bob Hope boxset was actually a gift to myself. My dad wouldn't buy it for me. He thinks I have awful taste is movies :p 

 I am completely in love with this 1959 Needlecraft book I also got for my birthday. I actually have an earlier edition from 1947 and it is really interesting to see how the information and style of the book changed. The earlier version assumes the readers have a lot more knowledge and provides lots of "inspiration ideas" but very few real tutorials. The 1959 version assumes you can't sew without a pattern and provides a lot of easy projects! 

I always think it is interesting to see what bloggers wear on a day to day basis. Often only "interesting" outfits get posted, but I thought it would be fun to take a picture of what I normally wear to class. As much as I love wearing dresses and skirts, when I'm getting up at 6am for class it is rather the last thing on my mind. For my long days of classes (8am until 9pm!) I often opt for mens-wear inspired items.

Blouse and Vest: Smart Set

Trousers: Winners

Earrings: Made by me

Tie: Shamelessly stolen from my dad last time I was home

What do you wear on a daily basis?

That's All. 

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope everyone's holiday is going well. I am finally enjoying a much needed rest. Yesterday we hosted the Christmas celebration for my moms side of the family. We were supposed to be visiting my dads side of the family on boxing day, but due to my uncles work schedule, we are no longer sure when we will get to see them.

Anyways, yesterday went better than expected. My cousin was recently married, with means there was a lot more people to entertain than normal. After scrambling to try and find enough table settings, chairs, and food for about 11 people, we settled down to a nice evening of chit-chat and food.

I was going to wear my Grandmothers old dress but due to fear of my uncles and cousins dogs accidentally tearing extremely delicate fabric I decided instead to wear this 1950s dress from Adelines Attic (and avoid the dogs as much as possible).

Not enough matching plates? A neat trick is to use a few plain white ones and place a small plate from the main set on top. This allows for a cohesive look, without needing to buy new plates!

I am always in charge of dessert making. This year I did a Gingerbread cake with Eggnog sauce, a Cherry Candy Cane Jello dessert (for lactose intolerant family members), and various other little chocolate goodies.

My parents, grandmother and I gathered around the tree to open our presents this morning. I got some lovely things (including some vintage dresses!). Here is a quick snapshot of a few things and one of the lovely wrapped gifts. I went eco-friendly this year and wrapped all my gifts in magazine pages.

Now I am off to stuff my face with left over goodies. This has been a very lazy Christmas day, and I couldn't have asked for a better present.

That's All.