The domestic novice

Hello there. You would think that with all this time on my hands I'd be more than capable of posting at least once a day. Apparently not. We've had a busy couple of weeks. Mr M has been to the States and back, baubles have been hung, sprigs of spruce and bay have been wedged around the picture frames, paper chains made from old copies of Waitrose Illustrated have been artistically draped, the mistletoe is up to greet those that pop by to say hello and the presents have been bought and finally wrapped.

I am a real sucker for wrapping. I love it. I do have to keep my wrapping passion in check - I could quite easily spend a fortune on all the trimmings. This year it's brown paper, hand printed tags, white paper ribbon, white paper stars and some snowflakes thrown in for good measure (I got a little carried away with the snipping). A little sprinkle of Scandinavian - no offence intended!

To add some sparkle to the festive cheer we've been filling the flat with the wonderful aroma of mulled wine by burning some great winter tealights and eating our way through bags and bags of German biscuits courtesy of Mr M's mother - my favourite are the dark chocolate gingerbread fingers with big crunchy sugar crystals. Delicious. We ate our way through the entire packet whilst watching Will Smith in Hancock. And I couldn't resist buying a box of jewel coloured nectarines for Mr M's return. Amusingly, I can't eat citrus fruit but I can admire their beautiful colour.

Oh, and I thought I would have a go at growing some Paperwhites. It's the first time I've had a go and they are doing fantastically well. The photo above shows their progress over 4 days. They certainly seem to be loving their spot in our bedroom above the radiator. Can't wait for them to flower!