Christmas feeling...or not

It was not easy to get him to pose in front of the tree...

The tree is up unusually early this year. It was pretty drama-less for a change.
I am not big on Christmas things...but at least pretty lights make the house a bit more cheerful!

Too big

 I try to keep busy. I cook a lot. I have made Xmas pancakes (recipe here), banana bread, I tried a new butternut recipe - butternut squash with cuscus, oyster mushrooms, parsnip, the recipe called for nuts but I forgot - entirely and accidentally all vegan :) It was nice but way too much.

Sugarpill makeup

I haven't written my Holidays cards yet, not sure I will. Have only bought one present (for mom)...unless you count this Sugarpill + Little Twin Star makeup set I got for myself  on Cyber Monday (but haven't opened yet). I love that brand as it is vegan and cruelty free, and pretty good quality too (unlike most cruelty free, cheap,  makeup I usually get).
I am SUPER ready for the new year... (especially since we get a new Doctor Who episode on January 1st too).

Secret Santa 2016

One of my Etsy teams organized a Secret Santa gift exchange. I was spoilt (again) this year.

I received all those nice things from Karin ( her shop is CreativeCrochetShop)
and that was a double surprise as I've known Karin for a long time and she is always helping me with German translations for my shops.

Two cute keyrings

A horsie soap...I almost bit into it thinking it was marzipan...

A chocolate Santa, Xmas spice cookies (there was a whole box...), Indian spice mix, and a cool tea advent calendar. There was also a lovely pesto style mix that had already been eaten by the time I took the photo..

Karin probably didn't know, but I looooove advent Calendars. And this one is  just gorgeous and so original, you get a different tea every day. I can't wait to get started. 

There's a little booklet with a story about every tea...and that will make me work on my German too! 

Last month of Christmas discount! Don't wait!

15% off  on all orders over 10 Euros valid till November 30 in all the shops.
New items added daily! Christmas items are in!

DAWANDA
DINA FRAGOLA ETSY
CAPTAIN COSMOS ETSY
ALITTLEMARKET

Early Christmas shopping - coupon code

 15% off  on all orders over 10 Euros valid till November 30 in all the shops.
New items added daily!

DAWANDA
DINA FRAGOLA ETSY
CAPTAIN COSMOS ETSY
ALITTLEMARKET

My Alice in Wonderland collection - Christmas

 As you can imagine, I have some Alice Christmas decorations. Unfortunately, breakable ornaments and cats are not a good combination. So many pieces are in the "to-be-fixed" box ( and they usually just stay in there as I have very little patience).

 The 4 ornaments above belong to a 6-piece-set. The  Mad Hatter and March Hare have to be fixed ;)

They come in this nice book like box. They're from the late 90's.

A pretty blue glass ornament. I don't remember where this one comes from. Probably Japan though.

 This is a china ornament from Disneyland  45th  Anniversary.

  A mini sock from the Disney store (late 90's)

The full size one.

I also have a couple of plush  toys that already have been featured here and here.

Before Christmas

View from the sofa

 It has been unusually warm for December. Temperatures reached 17° Celsius several times last week and we had only one frosty night back in November.
This spring weather got me on holiday mode much earlier than usual. I pretty much only packed orders and did fun things the rest of the time. I went to the movies, baked, watched TV and DVD's, cuddled the cats, went window shopping.
I hate being cold so this warmth has put me in a very good mood.
A nice relaxed December.

YAAAAWNNNNN

Yeah, the tree looks good upside down too

I'll sleep on these,  don't put them up in the tree.

I am way cuter than bread anyway

Favorite ornament

Pink tree in the study...and Finn

Is that turkey time yet?

Wake me up for the turkey.

My favorite Christmas films

Ho ho ho  who  would have thought I have favorite Christmas films? ;) 

* A Charlie Brown Christmas

  Because it's sweet, cute and...well perfect really.

UFS

 *A Muppets Family Christmas
  If only for this memorable scene where Kermit realizes he is under the holly ;)

Henson/Disney

 * Meet me in Saint Louis
    The classic musical by Vincente Minnelli starring Judy Garland. One year in the life of a family at      the beginning of the 20th century. You may not be familiar with the film but you must know one         its songs, "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas".
   Ultimate nostalgia attack...

MGM

 * Scrooged
   Starring Bill Murray before he got "trendy". This is a modern take on Dickens A Christmas Carol.
  Corny, full of clichés ...but it works...and I always ROTF when one the Christmas ghosts smashes Scrooge's   head with a toaster.

Paramount

*  A Nightmare before Christmas
   A versatile movie if there ever was one. I suppose it'd work for Easter too as the Easter Bunny has a   cameo ^_^

Disney

*It's a Wonderful Life
  Classic feel good tale by Frank Capra.

RKO

 * Gremlins
  My absolute favorite...full of references to the It's a Wonderful Life. I make a wonderful singing Gizmo impression, but you'll have to take my word for it!

Warner Bros

So have you got any movies you like to watch around Christmas time?

Wordless Wednesday

© BBC

Bouquettes de Liège, Christmas pancakes

Traditional Christmas pancakes from Liège. This is my gran’s recipe.

You’ll need :

500gr white flour
2 eggs
150gr raisins or 200gr  red cherries
20gr of fresh yeast
½ liter water
½ liter milk
2 large tablespoons of breadcrumbs
a teaspoon of brown sugar
pinch of salt
pinch of nutmeg
cinnamon (as much as you like)
oil for cooking
sugar

 First dilute the yeast in some warm milk (that you take from the ½ liter) with the brown sugar. You then soak the raisins in warm water (or warm strong alcohol, original recipe mentions “Peket” a local beverage similar to Genièvre). If you prefer cherries, you can also soak them in alcohol. But I use water, I am not keen on hard liquor.

Beat the egg whites.
In a large bowl mix the flour, water, milk, yeast mix, yolks, breadcrumbs, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add the egg whites last with a wooden spoon.

Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes in a warm place.

Warm oil in a pan and pour some dough, add as much raisins (cherries) as you like. Flip and cook the other side.

Sprinkle each pancakes with sugar and pile them up in a plate. Eat warm or cold, they stay good for up to a week (and get even better when older).

Friday favorites

 A cool Pip Studio sweater...supposedly a pyjama top but I'd wear  that out, no problem...

 An incredibly cute bunny plate from Thestorybookrabbit on Etsy.

Juno Bunny With Blackberry Floral Vintage Illustrated Plate

 Super fun cat gloves from Felissimo, Japan. Go watch the demo video on their page, too funny ;)

 A beautiful plant and flower sweater from Esprit.

And being cheeky again, a mega-ultra-super cute Captain Cosmos necklace ^_^