December on my mind

It's the end of December, and even if it's been an incredible month, it's with mixed feelings that I look back on it. I started already at the end of November preparing for first of advent, and then most of December has really been a run up to two days of Christmas, that fly by far too quickly. When you're done with all the practical things that are needed - decorating the house, getting and decorating a tree, making home made truffles and goodies, cooking etc, there's nothing so cosy and relaxing as coming home from a Christmas market, lighting all the candles, sitting down with some mulled wine (or Glögg in my case), wrapping some presents and just enjoying everything around you - and I've definitely enjoyed every second of December.

Tradition is an important part of Christmas although most of us probably tweak traditions a little to suit our needs best. This year we had my family joining us here in the UK, which means that we celebrated two Christmases - one in Swedish style on December 24th with all the traditional foods; pickled herrings, smoked salmon, gravad lax, eggs, Janssons Temptation (a potato gratin with anchovies and onions), ham, meatballs, ribs and sausages, beer and schnapps and we also opened our presents then. As if we hadn't already eaten enough on Christmas Eve, on Christmas Day we then also had a traditional British Christmas meal with turkey, cranberry sauce, roasted potatoes, stuffing, brussels sprouts with chestnuts and bacon, and Christmas pudding, none of which I eat by the way so now we have enough left overs to feed a small army! Ultimately Christmas is about spending time with your loved ones over a massive plate of food and it's been amazing to do just that.

I just wish that Christmas wasn't over so quickly and if it was up to me I would keep the Christmas tree and all the lights all year around, and just swap the decorations to be more seasonal e.g. having Easter eggs in April, flowers for Midsummer, a pumpkin or so in October etc... No? Ah - just me then... After my family went back to Sweden, Him Indoors and I have also managed to get some quality time together with nice meals, cinema and of course some shopping in the Sales, and I plan to show you the stuff I got in a post in January.

Not only is it the end of a wonderful month, it's also the end of the year and I guess it's only natural to reflect on what has happened in 2013. For me it's been a very eventful year; I've been fortunate enough to do a bit of traveling and despite the fact that I live in a different country than my family and many of my friends I've managed to see them a fair bit, which I value a lot and we've also been good at appreciating and celebrating the small everyday things that you can quickly forget, but that after all is what life is all about. 2013 has also been filled with lots of new undertakings and one of them obviously is this blog, which I'm really looking forward to continue to focus on next year when I'll also introduce some new kinds of post and more fashion related content as well. But before we throw ourselves into 2014, I'll be celebrating the New Year tonight with some Japanese food and barrels of champagne before I take a few days break and return with new posts on January 5.

I wish you all a Happy New Year with lots of new and exciting things to look forward to! Xx