All in all Christmas was great. One of my favourite ever, truth be told.
We had the obligatory mad Christmas Eve rush to Liberty to buy ribbon and then to the John Lewis food hall to replenish the stocks of Christmas food that I’d systematically eaten my way through in the preceding weekend. The queue in the food hall was all around the hall and half way around the glassware section too – anyone who is familiar with the Oxford Street store will know that this is probably longer than the queue around the perimeter of the Vatican at Easter. We got there in the end though, but without any bread which had been long sold out.
I spent pretty much all of the evening of Christmas Eve decorating the flat, which is why I’ve not posted about that yet. that took rather longer than expected. I assembled our Covent Garden Market purchases into garlands and vases, we decorated the tree and lit the fire. It was fun and the flat looked pretty good. Then we hastily wrapped some presents and went to bed. It was all a bit close to the wire but that’s half the fun of it really isn’t it?
It was so lovely to host Christmas in our new flat. Neither of us have tired yet of the deep joy of being homeowners again, renting just isn’t the same and we’re so happy in our Lilliputian flat. We had all of our parents staying with us in various denominations over the few days of Christmas. The AeroBed was up and down like a yo-yo. Richard and his Dad cooked a lot. I assembled a lot of bread and cheese and washed a lot of plates. I hate washing up. We lost my mum to ‘flu for one day, and then we lost Richard’s mum to Hay Day. Richard, Arthur and now Evan subsequently got struck down with that addiction too. But all in all it was a great success, I think.
Richard gave me a pair of antlers which is pretty much the best present anyone could have got me. They are awesome. Needless to say he didn’t wrap them but he did put some pretty bows on the tips.
Showing our new home to our family made us happy. We had lots of walks on Primrose Hill to show off the pretty view. It rained a lot.
And as nice as it was to have house guests for three days, and as much fun as we had, I slightly enjoyed hoovering them out of the house on the 28th and getting the flat back to normal.
Then there were two blissful days at home with no plans. We had a wander through Covent Garden to see the Christmas decorations and wandered down to the river to see the Tim Walker exhibition at Somerset House which was excellent. I wished there had been more of his throught process and more about how he constructed the sets, but it was great to see the huge doll, the skeleton and the spitfire. He really is quite extraordinary. What I really loved is how age-agnostic his view of beauty is. Women such as Dame Vivienne Westwood look as beautiful as any of the models on display and of course have years and years more character to their faces.
I think this quote of his is the best description of photography I’ve ever read.
I think about a secret room. Nobody knows where the room is because it’s hidden at the top of a tower in a very old house. Even though I’ve been there before, I can’t always find it, but if my intentions are true and my mind is clear, I may well find myself walking up the same spiralling stone staircase that leads me up to the door, that leads to another door, and maybe another door … Sometimes the doors are locked, sometimes they are open. Once inside, the room itself is empty but upholstered floor to ceiling, wall to wall, in a deep black velvet. High up at the furthest corner from the door, there is a tiny rectangular window with a highly sprung, small black shutter that opens and shuts with a very loud CLAP!
And that was it, Christmas was over in a flash and it was time to head down to Devon to see in the new year.
(One of the real joys of social media is the ability to feel that you are sharing in your friend’s celebrations all around the world, in some small way. It is such a lovely thing to be able to see realtime photos of friend’s christmas decorations, presents, trees and tables and see festivities played out on Instagram. I hope you all had a fabulous time.)
What a lovely Christmas you had! Just gorgeous! Our house was full to bursting, and I felt really proud of how it handled the masses of people (new bathroom!). That is nothing on how excited and proud you guys must have felt enjoying your first Christmas in your new flat. It looked just beautiful. Happy New Year, dearie. May all your wildest dreams come true! XO
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Oh your Christmas looked so lovely, it was so nice following it on instagram and almost feeling like I was there with you xx
‘years and years of more character to their faces’. What a lovely description. Makes me feel a bit better about not only having been given a sample for some cream to combat wrinkles, but another sample to combat DEEP wrinkles. I slunk away, avoiding all of the mirrors!
go see it mother you will love it I think, especially as Dame Vivienne is there!
Christmas has been absolutely heavenly this year – I don’t want it to end! I’ve taken the decorations down today, not that I really wanted to. I love the sparkle and warmth of Christmas at home. The kids broke up really late from school, but they’re loving all this time playing with their new toys.
Those antlers are super stylish, where are you going to display them? The sofa, cushions and panda print, go so well together too, such a great colour combination.
I too love being a homeowner! A home is something you can enjoy and put your heart and soul into. Yours is looking great already so I can’t wait to see the outcome when you work your magic.
You are planning to finish your course this year too? I’ve set myself a target to complete the first 3 modules this year, so we’ll see how I get on. Much better I imagine once I finalise the (yawnfest) questionnaire…
Happy New Year to you all x x x x
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Me neither but I had to go back to work today whilst R and the kids stayed at home playing. No fair
Oh thank you. shame those cushions and sofa don’t go with the rest of the room. Ah well, stuck with it all for now. The antlers are now above the fireplace but I’m contemplating sticking them above the bath.
Yes yes yes yes. My plan was for end of April but that’s not achievable. I am on the last one of M4 and can’t motivate myself to finish it as it’s really boring.
Happy New Year!
Family Christmas sounds lovely, we had that too although not at our home. I love your cushions.
Did you see Walker at the Design Museum few years ago? I am wondering whether the shows are similar…x
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No I didn’t I have to say I only heard of him a few months ago. I knew his work but didn’t realise it was all by the same person. I met him at his book signing in Mulberry a few weeks ago. The exhibition is free so nothing wasted if it’s a bit of a crossover x
I’m so impressed that you guys were still prepping right up until Christmas Eve without totally freaking out! I’d have lost it. I’m not the most prepared human being on the planet, but I was well ahead of schedule this year when it came to decorating and wrapping presents. J even got his wrapping done before Christmas Eve which is no small miracle, let me tell you. Though ours weren’t fancy with Liberty ribbon. Next year! I love the antlers Richard got you and would love to hear the story behind them
Obviously you asked for them, but what kind are they? Are they real?? I’m so intrigued! What did the kiddos get?
Your table looked lovely, you really have a knack for decorating and hosting. Hopefully you don’t come down with the flu after being exposed to it! Though it might be a good thing to have some bedrest to recoup after the holiday-madness. xoxo
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I didn’t ask for them! I was totally gobsmacked, I had no idea he would even know that I wanted some. They are new, they are made from red deer I think I came from Norfolk. They are a by-product so aren’t killed just for their pretty horns
That’s all I know.
I didn’t even buy a christmas present until the week before Christmas, it was so chilled out. I did most of it in one evening. I purposefully scaled back the whole operation this year as it was somewhat starting to lose its joy but this year was fun.
Ah thank you sweetie. I put a lot of effort into that table! Post coming soon…..
Kids got lego, lots of games and a remote controlled helicopter amongst other things.
hi annie, that all looks so lovely! that first photo reminds me of home (i have the tea light holder & bark vases too – though is yours a sheet of bark wrapped around a vase? fab idea if it is! stealing it for another year! haha)
i swear i don’t know where you get your energy, but you do cram a lot of living in! looking forward to hearing more of your adventures in the coming year! happy new year to you & yours!
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thank you sweetie. the tea light is from Niki Jones, do you have the same one? I snaffled them up as apparently they are stopping doing accessories which is a real shame as they do great ones.
Let’s rearrange antiquing xx
hiya, yes i have the same one… it casts such a pretty light! i didn’t know they were no longer doing accessories! dang! must keep an eye out for the sale then as i like their woodlands bits & the christmas baubles! actually, i like 99% of what they do!
sue recently posted..3*6*5 in 2013…
Hey Annie, lovely to have you back. Happy New Year x
Glad you had fun playing host in your new pad and it all came together in time for Christmas, just like you said it would. The foliage and decorations look fab love, didn’t they hold up well?
Congrats on the antlers too, R must have been listening closely.
BTW Hope your mum is feeling better now.
Excited to catch up with you soon x
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I adored the Tim Walker exhibition too Annie-as you say-extraordinary! Jon and the kids found it a bit too hilariously mad-which is obviously why it appealed to me. Was a bit gutted we couldn’t take any pics-especially with the dire quality of only 2 postcards on offer at a ridiculous price at the end! It’s been fantastic this year though-gradually letting go…! Happy New Year lovely xx
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Isn’t spending the first Christmas in your new home special? I have fond memories of the first Christmas in our house. Love how you decorated the apartment. I didn’t even have the time to pull out all our decorations this year. Hope your new year got off to a good start. Happy 2013 Annie!
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I haven’t had the chance to see Tim Walker’s exhibition. All my Christmas plans turned to dust after succumbing to flu for 12 days. Blech. Your new flat sounds divine. What a perfect location and being able to just walk over to Primrose Hill or Covent Garden.
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