Christmas Day 2023

Christmas Day was a nice one for us, very quiet as there were just the four of us. We have had Christmas Day without my grandma before, but it was different this year given that she died in January. We had a nice day, eating as we usually do with starter around 1pm and lunch around 3.30pm and we didn't eat pudding until about 7.30. We played some games and Lee and I played Super Mario Wonder together which was fun. I've been playing it for weeks and have nearly finished it but Lee hadn't played it at all. 

I had mushroom terrine to start with which was only okay. Then for my main I had a parsnip and mushroom wreath thing, but honestly it wasn't that nice and I wouldn't bother again. For dessert we had a chocolate orange cheesecake but it hadn't set properly so my mum had put the topping in the freezer so it was like ice cream and biscuit, but it was really nice. 

I got some lovely presents, including some boots and some sparkly Converse from my mum (which she got on Vinted!) and a mini sticker printer from Lee! I'm looking forward to taking that on holiday so I can print off photos and journal them as we're going! It'll be so cute to use in my bullet journal. You can print words, too, which is good. 

I made a cheese sauce to go with the cauliflower which I usually do, I don't have many skills but that is one of them. I also made the bread sauce and made the table look fancy. I joined in a few Christmas swaps as usual so I'll show you those at some point.

I was wearing this Simply Be dress from a few years ago, I love it and it's so fancy so perfect for Christmas. I was wearing sparkly tights from Snag which I've worn all the way through December really. 

Bucks Fizz in the morning, a lovely way to start the day

Lee got me this Barbie print which I will have to put up on the wall

And he also got me this yarn kit to make a Christmas blanket with, I may leave it until next year though!

My friend Philippa got me this print which I really love and which will also have to go on the wall haha

Lee bought me Elastica on vinyl. We listened to it on Boxing Day and it was great

My mum had seen this mystery book thing at a craft fair and decided to get me one as she was intrigued

And this is what was inside! I will read this as I bet his life is interesting

Lee got a dinosaur

The table looking all fancy before we started eating

We sort of got all four of us in to one photo

These are the boots my mum got me. We bought them in Sheffield when we were there at the beginning of December

I bought this t shirt for Lee as this is in fact exactly who he is

He got me Martha Wainwright on vinyl. I used to love her but hadn't listened to any of her stuff in a long time. So I'm looking forward to sitting down with this

The Converse my mum bought me! Aren't they ace?

Here I am making cheese sauce

And here's my dress in a better view, I love it!

My parsnip and mushroom wreath

Here's my plate! I love Christmas dinner!

One of the swaps I joined in with and I have to say both these books look ideal for me

Ice cream and cheesecake bottom - really yummy if just a bit different from how we planned it

A sticker I printed off!

Here's the printer itself, isn't it cute

Christmas Eve 2023

On Christmas Eve we had a lazy morning because we hadn't got back from Durham until really late, so we just relaxed and got ready, and then drove over to my step aunt's in Doncaster. I mainly wanted to see my step cousin N, who I've hung out with a few times this year. We have a nice relationship I think. But it was also nice to see her mum and dad and her brother, and also her grandma, who was up visiting from Somerset. We had a buffet and it was really lovely. 

Lee and I got home about 8.30pm I think and quickly got everything packed up to go to my mum's for Christmas. This included taking all the presents and also the cats! At my mum's we helped her get stuff ready for the next day and then we just relaxed until late. I was wearing my What Would Dolly Do t-shirt and this wintry skirt that used to be a dress. The top of it didn't fit me so my mum made it into a skirt for me as it fits fine on my hips. 

It was a weird Christmas Eve but still a nice one! 

Here's Nirosha and I, she insisted on the MySpace angle haha

Here's Nishan and I - I haven't seen him in an absolute ice age so it was nice to 

It's never Christmas until you drive past the cranes near Meadowhall and they have their Christmas lights turned on

When I'd been past before they hadn't been on (not sure why) so I'm glad they were on Christmas Eve!

I was wearing my DM boots as usual and dark green tights from Better Tights. They fit me okay but they're not as comfy as Snag. Nice colour though

And here's my outfit in the evening before we went to bed

Saturday December 22nd

Lee's mam threw her customary Christmas party on the Saturday before Christmas and I think there were at least twenty of us and maybe as many as twenty-five, although not everyone was there at the same time. Lee is the eldest of five so that's a lot before you even start!

We left Lee's dad's just before noon. I was wearing a velvet Simply Be dress that I got a couple of years ago but save for Christmas. I was also wearing Snag tights with cobwebs on - they're cute but not the easiest to wear so it's sort of ideal if you're sitting around wearing them instead of walking around. 

Lee's mam made a veggie curry with Quorn, a chicken curry, a vegan curry, lots of rice, and then loads of buffet stuff. Lee's friend Paul and his wife Lianne always come to this family gathering and they're vegan but Bev had catered for them excellently. Lee's brother in law made a Biscoff cheesecake and it was lovely, and there was a lot of wine at the same time! We talked to everyone and I persuaded my eldest niece into a selfie with me before she left. 

At some point we sat in the front room and Lee's mam and stepdad and one of his brothers gave us our presents and vice versa. From Andrew and Libby I got a book I wanted and from Lee's mam I got some Lush shower stuff that I wanted and a bottle of Baileys, and some other bits, which is all lovely! One of Lee's other brothers and his wife put together a huge hamper for us which is lush, I've enjoyed eating bits of that over the holidays. 

We played Heads Up and Lee's brother in law made espresso martinis which I love so I appreciated a couple of those! It was absolute chaos the whole day. Lee's cousin turned up because I asked her because I like to see her little girl, so that was nice. Lee's sister in law Gemma let me take a selfie of us only when she had had a few drinks! Haha. 

Everyone had left by 10ish so we stayed for a little bit longer talking to Lee's mam and stepdad as we don't get to see them often. We left about 11pm. Lee doesn't drink so he was fine to drive home then as long as I stay awake to talk to him. He was hungry so we stopped at McDonald's on the way home, like you do. We got home just after 1am and unsurprisingly just crashed into bed!

Simply Be velvet dress and Snag tights - I love the colour of the dress

Face all made up ready for the party - my earrings were from Claire's and they're really cute Christmas trees

Quorn curry, it tasted a bit like Chinese takeaway curry

Here's me and Leah, I try to get a photo every year - she is nineteen now and so grown up!

Biscoff cheesecake!

Oh and this cake was made by Bev's neighbour and it was so simple and delicious!

Here's me and Lee's friend Paul who at this point is basically one of the family

This is his wife Lianne and I'm really happy she's been integrated too! She's a really lovely person

This isn't the best photo of Lee's brother Chris but it's the best one I got so it'll have to do!

Me and our soon to be sister in law Libby - she and Andrew get married next October!

Lee and Andrew and Libby

Lee and Andrew and Libby and their sister Kim

Paul's present... 

My youngest nephew Tommy. I have another niece from here too, Tommy's twin, but she refused a photo. Which is fine, she's allowed to say no!

I make all the siblings get a photo with their mam because it's not often they're all together

Their stepdad Gary got in, too!

Playing Heads Up - it was great because Tillie and Tommy could join in (they're 10)

Espresso martini! I love these and this was so nice!

Finally here's Gemma and I when she agreed to a photo!

Friday December 22nd

As is customary for Lee and I before Christmas, we headed up to Durham to see his family. We generally go for a couple of days, but because his dad was busy on Christmas Eve we had to go on the Friday and the Saturday instead. Lee was working Christmas Eve technically so we weren't able to set off straight away. Instead I went out to meet Chloe for coffee and lunch in the morning. December was incredibly difficult for me and she really let me just talk which was so lovely of her and really helped. I had had the same the day before too when I met up with my friend Katie - it was really nice of her to invite me over and it was really nice to see Chloe too. 

I got home just before 2pm and we packed our overnight stuff and set off about 3pm or something like that. The traffic was fine and we arrived at Lee's dad's at 4.30pm. We sat around and chatted for a couple of hours and then got ready and went out to an Italian restaurant in a pub nearby. It was fine, but there weren't a lot of vegetarian options for me. Plus there was an entertainer on and she was really loud and couldn't sing particularly well. Oh well! It was still nice to see Lee's dad and stepmum. 

We went to bed about midnight. As it was just a few days before Christmas I was wearing my Christmas nightie - it was from Yours a few years ago and it's longer than most of my other nighties and thicker too, so it's cosier. It has this lovely candy cane motif on the front!

When we went out for the evening I was wearing a Scarlett and Jo dress but I forgot to get a photo of it. D'oh! But earlier in the day I was wearing my Merry Kissmas t shirt and a pleated skirt from New Look - this is one of my favourite Christmas outfits and looks so glam but is also so comfortable! 

Festive t shirt and burgundy pleated skirt

Here's me in the restaurant

And Lee!

And then I made him pose for a photo with his dad - they are similar looking for sure! 

And here's me and Mary. She is the loveliest person

My nails were painted with this lovely red polish from Avon. It lasted well but it stained my fingers horribly when I took it off

My pasta arrabiata. I wouldn't normally choose this but like I said veggie options were a bit thin. It was actually nice - spicy and creamy. I had a starter too but I utterly cannot remember what that was

I was wearing this festive pin badge on my cardigan, too. It was really warm over Christmas so I only really needed a cardigan when we went out most days instead of a coat too

And finally here's my nightie last thing!

Lunch Out on 17th December

On the 17th of December Lee and I were at a bit of a loss as to what to do. We didn't have anything planned and we could have done literally anything! We both had jobs to do later in the day (including wrapping each other's presents) so decided to not go too far but to go out for lunch. I decided we would go to Fox House Inn which is on the way towards Holmfirth past Millhouse Green. We've been before - two years ago we went on Christmas Eve and it was just a lovely piece of calm during all the madness. It's a really lovely country pub, in the middle of nowhere, that serves immense portions of home cooked food. It sounded like just what I wanted. 

We got there about 11.45 and it wasn't yet open so we sat in the car for a bit longer. It was blowing a gale up there! A few other parties started to arrive but I knew we would get a table as it's quite a big pub and it wasn't that busy. We were told to sit wherever, so we sat at the table we sat at least time as far as I remember! The pub has a really nice atmosphere and the staff are really friendly. 

Lee and I both had Yorkshire puddings with onion gravy to start with and then Lee had roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings and I had a mushroom stroganoff with chips. The food was absolutely gorgeous and we just had a really nice time chatting to each other and just relaxing. When we got home we tidied up the bedroom a bit and then did our chores each, but I'm glad we took the time to do this. I would recommend the pub if you're in the area!

I was wearing my red leopard print dress from Very, as it wasn't that cold of a day and I put my cardigan on just in case it was colder in the pub, but it wasn't. I was wearing some sparkly Snag Tights that I've been wearing a lot as they're so festive, and this patent pair of boots that I bought autumn 2022 but which I had put away because I've been wearing my Dr Marten ones! They popped up on Timehop so I dug them out again. They're really comfy and just look a bit fancy. 

The Christmas tree in the Fox House Inn looked absolutely lovely! 

My boots and tights before we set off

I took this picture of Lee and didn't realise until I got home that he had his eyes shut! 

Here I am

Oh yeah I had a lovely glass of red, it was recommended by the bartender and it was nice!

Yorkshire puddings and onion gravy, oh my

Lee's roast turkey

My mushroom stroganoff

And here's me in my Very dress!

Brunch with Gillian

On Friday the 15th of December I headed to Mirfield to meet up with my friend Gillian. I hadn't seen her in absolutely forever and she's one of my favourite people ever, so it was well overdue. We wanted to swap Christmas presents too, and I had gifts for her from a mutual friend too. We were going to go closer to my house but her husband had to get to his work Christmas do later on in the day so we arranged to meet at 10.30 near to her house in Mirfield. It was fine by me as I enjoyed listening to a podcast on my way over.

Gillian had suggested Cupushi which is just on a random street in Mirfield. The menu looked really nice so I agreed. I managed to park right outside, which was good too. The inside of the cafe is really cute with a bit of an industrial feel. We both went for smashed avocado and chilli flakes - Gillian had salmon and feta on hers and I had egg and feta on mine. I also had a really yummy hot chocolate. 

We decided to have crepes for dessert too, as we hadn't been sure if we wanted sweet or savoury... so we had both! I had mine with banana and Nutella and it was absolutely gorgeous. We inadvertently matched in pastel rainbows, too! I got this cardigan from Simply Be a few weeks previously to this when I got the purple and green checked one and the pink zebra print one too. This one is chenille and it's really cosy. It wasn't too cold of a day so I just wore this in the car instead of my coat as well. I've been wearing it round the house a bit too because it's so warm!

I was also wearing my "Express Your Elf" t shirt that came from Simply Be years ago, and an old Scarlett & Jo skirt. Perfect easy winter outfit!

Avocado toast with a fried egg and feta - so delicious!

And then my gorgeous crepe

Gillian and I in matching pastel rainbows

And here's my outfit when I got home