Alternative advent calendar #19

Check out the Christmas jumper on Julian!  Not only that, check out the Topshop pose he's pulling off so well!  As part of our work Secret Santa lunch everyone wore a fantastic array of Christmas jumpers, tinsel and Santa hats.

Everyone got a present, whoever was my Secret Santa knew how much I love good wrapping paper :)

There was certainly a touch of Christmas magic in the air, by this point in the term everyone at my work is shattered but everyone kicked back and enjoyed an extended lunch with an enormous buffet and presents :)

Alternative advent calendar #10

I am very much a fan of brown paper as wrapping paper for every occasion but appreciate it can be a bit dull.  Once again I have turned to Pinterest for inspiration here are a few ideas that caught my eye...

Click here for image sources

Alternative advent calendar #6

JOY!  I have been adding to my vintage Christmas decoration collection.  Back in early November when MozzyMa and our Jim came for a visit we went to Exmouth for a stroll and stumbled upon a flea market, hazaar!  I found these beauties for a fantastic 50p, the second weekend in December is decorating the house weekend so I plan to put these up on the mantlepiece.

Alternative advent calendar #5

Look, actually look at these (slightly blurry) photos of Cribbs Causeway in Bristol.  If I was a kid I would have LOVED this, how Christmasy could they make their shop look??  

Can you top this, if so I would love to see the photos!!

Alternative advent calendar #4

Good ol' IKEA.  MoMa and I have made it a tradition to do our Christmas trip to IKEA at the beginning of November just to get in there early and to get the good stuff.  This year was a bit of a disappointment really... but that might be because I promised MozzyMr that I wouldn't come back with anymore wrapping paper and the decorations didn't really rock my world.  Nevermind I did kit out the bathroom with fab new turquoise shower curtains and the like.

Alternative advent calendar #3

I always get a bit reflective at this time of year.  The past 12 months have been a real mixed bag for me and MozzyMr, frankly it hasn't been an awesome year but there have been a number of firsts this year that I am really chuffed with:

• First visit to Ireland
• First visit to Dublin
• First time celebrating St Patrick's Day (in Ireland)
• First time being on strike and attending a union rally
• First visit to Turkey
• First visit to Istanbul
• First time being a manager
• First ETSY shop selling stuff I made rather than vintage items
• First (and hopefully last) cracked rib
• First time I have been blown away by a cultural experience (The Drowned Man)
• First time celebrating Norway Day
• Witnessing my nieces first holiday abroad
• First time I attended a march against the EDL

How about you, what firsts have you experienced this year?

Alternative advent calendar #2

Every year I convince myself I am going to become a Christmas baking champion.... it never really happens but I can scan Pinterest for inspiration....

Are you planning on baking your way through Christmas, if so what will you be making?

Click here for image sources and recipes

Neon Noel

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Ok so there is no denying that this is a shameless plug for my little ETSY shop Neon Noel but I feel a tiny bit confident that I'm not the only person on the planet that might like these garlands for Christmas?

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Alternative advent calendar #24

Well thank you if you've stuck with me for the duration of the alternative advent calendar, I've loved the challenge of posting everyday but think I might just stick to my day job!  

I hope you all have a really fantastic, restful, generous, happy, tasty, glittery Christmas and I will see you on the other side!

*kiss on both cheeks* MozzyMrs xxx

Alternative advent calendar #23

Content at this stage of the alternative advent calendar can be a little difficult to find so when I found this tag on Cherry Pie I thought I would give it ago!

1. What is your favourite thing about Christmas?

I absolutely love decorating the tree and the house, when that happens it means we're in the final stretch in the Christmas countdown.  Also MozzyMr and I made advent calendars for one another this year and it has been genuinely exciting to open each door, each little drawing has been hilarious!

2. What is your favourite makeup look for the festive season?

Hmmm anyone who knows me will know that I don't really do makeup looks, if I had to choose one, smokey eyes? Having said that I once made myself up with the smokey eye look, thinking I looked ace I met with a friend and her boyfriend and he asked me if I had been punched in the face!  I haven't attempted the look again.

3. Real tree or fake tree?

Real tree all the way!  They look ace, they smell ace and for me it just wouldn't be the same with a fake tree.

4. Giving presents or receiving presents?

Tricky one especially this year.  My family all agreed to not buy one another presents this year, we're all skint and don't need more stuff.  MozzyMr and I think it's a good decision and we have extended it to the rest of our family and friends, it has taken away loads of stress and our finances are still in check which is a miracle in comparison to last year.  But in answer to the question probably giving presents, especially when you get it right.

5. Do you open presents on Christmas Eve/Christmas morning or evening?

We open them on Christmas morning, but our definition of morning is more like midday!

6. Handmade Christmas cards or bought?

Handmade, I start with a flurry of enthusiasm making cards, get bored, stop making them and resort to buying cards in the end.  One year I might actually make cards for everyone I need to send to!  Maybe.

7. What is your favourite Christmas film?

Elf.  There aren't any other Christmas films that match it are there??

8. What's your favourite Christmas food?

Oooo warm minces pies with a dash of custard, om nom nom.

9. What is your favourite Christmas song?

'Last Christmas' by Wham!  Poor Moz I sing it at him quite a lot, I have to ignore his wincing but I'm sure he'll come around to the fact that it's an awesome song one day.

10. What's your favourite Christmas memory?

I'm very lucky to have a lot of good Christmas memories to choose from but probably the anticipation when waking up on Christmas morning to see if Santa had left a stocking at the end of my bed.  My childhood stocking was a green and red striped affair and looked a bit like a snake.  Some years I half woke and through my blurry sleep ridden eyes I would get a fright before realising that it was actually my stocking, wasn't going to bite me and was full of presents!

How would you respond to these questions?

Alternative advent calendar #22

I've been wrapping presents with a little help from Mewster....

Alternative advent calendar #21

A number of blogs I follow have featured 'a photo an hour' posts that I just love, so I thought I would give it ago for my Alternative Advent Calendar.  Being on holiday I thought I might have something interesting to show you..... yeah.. sorry about this.

9am - Not an early start, but then I'm on holiday and I'm not a morning person, so meh who cares?  Starting the day right with a proper cup of coffee POW!

10am - I only seem to get to the studio when I'm on holiday and so getting a painting finished is a long and arduous process. 

11am - Progress being made...

12am - I forgot my lunch so had to be satisfied with two cans of diet cokes and a peruse of The Brownie Guide Handbook.

4pm - (ok not quite a photo an hour but surely there is only so much of this you can take?) So after six hours in the studio it was time to head home, there is only so much staring at a canvas and scanning the internet on your phone you can do...

7pm - MozzyMr and I these days don't seem able to get our timings right, we once turned up to a Birthday party a week early.  So this is me cutting out snowflakes to attach to gifts to be sent via last courier today.  Panic!!

8pm - I've been toying with getting this for ages now but the cheapest I could find it was £29.99 which I'm just not prepared to pay for a board game, but I found this on Wednesday in WHSmith's for £17 which I was happy with.  The thing is Moz is convinced he is a shoe in to win, I however know that this is my time to shine!  I'll let you know how we get on...

Alternative advent calendar #20

I was tasked with getting table presents for a work lunch we held last Wednesday, as the costs were coming out of my pocket I really didn't want to spend more than a tenner.  Having searched Hawkins Bazaar, WHSmiths, Wilkinsons, and Paperchase it became clear that there are no cheap presents on the High Street at the moment, literally none so I was heading home present-less and a bit hacked off when I remembered Fizzy Wizzy Woo on Fore Street in Exeter.  These fab bags filled with sweets and little gifts were 99p each, looked great and everyone seemed appreciative, hazaar!

Alternative advent calendar #19

MozzyMr has a real bee in his bonnet at the moment because I say I don't really like food.  The thing is... I don't really like food.  A few years ago I developed an intolerance to lactose *cue rolling of eyes* which makes food a bit of a nightmare.  I'm the awkward one who has to check everything if we go to a restaurant, the awkward one people are terrified to cater for (eggs?!  Can you have eggs?!), the awkward one who has to check every packet before I buy anything at the supermarket and the awkward one who usually has to stick to the same narrow selection of food because I know it won't make me ill.  So, no I can't really be arsed with food that much, it's just fuel to get me through the day.  But MozzyMr's argument that I do like food is based on the fact that I love cookery programmes, especially Christmas cookery programmes.  Nigella, Jamie, Hugh, Lorraine, Heston, Delia and the Hairy Bikers are great!  I'll even watch the hybrid chef/hobbit Nigel on occasion, but I draw the line at Gordon.  They're all part of my Christmas countdown, it's rare that I'll make any of their recipes but ooo the twinkly lights!  The lush looking Christmas baked cheesecake!  The Christmas jumpers and the obligatory trip to Lapland where the chefs cook up a reindeer!  Love it.  Now I'm off to have a dry piece of miserable toast, ta-rah!

Alternative advent calendar #18

Meet our office secret Santa, sexy huh?  We had our work Christmas party last Friday, this year the food for us was free so everyone ordered three courses and completely over indulged.  In fact I think I've only just come out of my food coma....

Alternative advent calendar #17

OK this is a weird one, but the Christmas edition of the Radio Times coming out equals the home stretch in the Christmas countdown.  For the last couple of years MozzyMr and I have had a Christmas at home and it has been lovely.  Work for both of us is always hectic at this time of year so on Christmas Eve we get to shut the door, put the jammers on and relax.  No doubt a Christmas film or two will feature in the festivities this year and BOOM that's where the Radio Times planning comes into play.

Alternative advent calendar #16

A walk home post for you today, well technically this was a walk to work on a frosty morn.  I'm lucky to have these views on my commute, I wouldn't have it any other way and frankly you can keep your stressful car or train journeys thanks.

Alternative advent calendar #15

Gemma Correll, always awesome, check out her fantastic blog!

Some cat related Christmas bits and bobs from that there t'interweb for you to enjoy this Saturday!

You have to love Pusheen, it's just compulsory!

Once again The Meta Picture have come up trumps!

Alternative advent calendar #14

Tree purchased it has been on with decorating the house, from indestructible decorations, via the shooting star outdoor light I bought at a car boot sale last March which looks great on the side board to the 1950's plastic Nativity set a colleague gave me several years ago.  Things are looking fairly festive in the Mozzy household, we're both very much looking forward to just chilling out over the holiday and what better environment to do that in?

Alternative advent calendar #13

Woop woop! Christmas tree time!  For the last three years we've purchased our tree from Halden Christmas tree centre, the smell of the place is amazing and really gets me in the festive mood.  I'm sorry to those who like an artificial tree but for me it has to be a real one, it just wouldn't be the same for me if we had a plastic one!

Last Christmas I saw on Pinterest this idea for storing decorations, the baubles pictured here used to be my MoMa and MoPa's and I think MoMa even said they might have been Mo...Gran (?)'s previously.  Sadly I won't be able to use these baubles until Mewster the cat learns that destroying decorations doesn't win you salmony treats.