December Round Up

And that’s a wrap folks. The end of the year is has come and gone, and I have to say, it’s been a truly lovely one for me. There have been times when work has been stressful and the house has been carnage and I’ve wondered how on earth we are going to afford the work we’re having done, but when I reflect on the year that isn’t what stands out to me. What stands out is all the lovely trips we’ve taken and time spent with our favourite people, that endless, glorious Summer we had, making our house feel like a home and of course most importantly, our engagement a couple of months ago. This year has really been a gem, and December has been no different.

As always, the month’s activities have largely consisted of eating and drinking! We began the month by driving over to Bristol for a friend’s 40th Birthday. As luck would have it, we also had dry runs of one of our newest restaurant openings happening – a collaboration between our Miller & Carter steak house Brand and Marriott Hotels – so we were lucky enough to swing an invite and have a little sneak peak! I also had a team night out planned a couple of nights later, which consisted of a huge curry, far too much rum and more than a little dancing. It was a great way to kick off the party season, and a great practice run for our office Christmas Party which fell the week after. It was not, however, a great practice run for the Gin festival I was attending the next day, let me tell you…! That first gin was a difficult one to get down for sure, but I ended up having a lovely night with some of my favourite people so all was not lost! But anyway, the big party! Obviously working in the hospitality trade means we do pretty great parties and this years didn’t disappoint. As usual our suppliers came in to provide us with delicious food and yummy cocktails, and this year’s theme was The Greatest Showman, so as well as circus themed decor, candy floss and popcorn, we were treated to a contortionist show and were serenaded by a bearded lady! A fabulous night was had by all, but I must admit I was grateful for the day off I’d booked for the following day! It was not much fun Christmas shopping with a shocking hangover however…!

And just like that, we were in the run up to Christmas! It’s crazy how we spend so much time and energy focusing on that one day of the year, rushing around trying to get everything sorted, spending an extortionate amount of money, stressing about arrangements and making sure everything goes smoothly – then just like that it’s all over! The run up was a lot of fun too though. We got to see all of our friends and catch up on life, had countless trips to the pub, a few lovely meals out and I managed to wear an awful lot of sequins! After all the chaos of preparing for the big day, we had a pretty low key Christmas this year. We were spending Christmas Day at my parents house, so on Christmas Eve, after a morning at work and a couple of drinks with our colleagues, Dan, my sister, her boyfriend and I spent an our dropping off gifts and catching up with my bestie before getting ourselves a slap up Chinese meal! The plan had always been to go out for a few drinks afterwards, but we decided to stay in instead. We all got into our PJs, watched Gremlins and were tucked up in bed at a reasonable hour ready for Santa! The next day was pretty traditional – after we woke up Dan and I gave each other our gifts (and Bonnie of course – yep, I wrap up some gifts for her too!) Dan got me tickets to see Wicked in a few weeks time along with some other treats, and in March I’m taking him to the Thatchers Cider farm for a tour and a nice night away so we have plenty to look forward to this year already! Then we took the dog out for a walk – I looked a plonker in my festive outfit of course, but would you expect anything less of me? And after a delicious brunch and some gift opening with the rest of the family it was time for a nap (please tell me you all do this too?)! We have always had dinner late in our family, Daddy’s famous Christmas dinner did not disappoint, and was the perfect start to an evening of dozing on the sofa snacking on chocolates and watching Christmas movies. Boxing Day was round 2 for us, and after a traditional breakfast at our local pub we rushed back to our home to put on a buffet for Dan’s family, featuring a chocolate orange Rudolph cake that, I have to say, I was pretty darn proud of! It was also a great excuse to give our new bar a dry run – I can’t wait to share a post with you soon on how it’s all looking!

And then of course came Twixtmas, that strange period of ‘in between’ where the days all start to merge together and you can’t quite remember what real life looks like! We were working, which helped a little, but on the days off I did have I made sure to make the most of the quiet time and a chance to finally get some rest! After all of that rushing around we decided we wanted to see out the year in a calm and relaxing manner, so instead of going out and partying as we would have in our youth we headed over to spend the evening with our friends around the corner and their baby girl. We had a lovely chilled night watching TV, eating too much cheese and finally toasting in the new year.

Here’s hoping it’s as good as 2018!

Love,

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