Festive Feelings :: 12 :: Winter Sales & My Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope everyone has had a splendid day! And is continuing to do so.

One of my favourite things about Christmas is the sales... Haaaaa! So tomorrow it begins. I try to not buy much until after Christmas Day. Tomorrow though I'm more excited for the cinema, rather than the shopping, heehee.

Today started off very sweetly. I had such a good sleep, waking up at 9:30am to some glorious sunshine and a blue, clear sky and getting half dressed for mass. After mass, we opened our pressies, then some breakfast with some festive music. I got a new flavour of tea, a book and an amusing mustache stick from my lovely friend Peachy. Pressies like these always delight me, as it makes me happy knowing that the giver knows me so well. My Mum gave some cute outfits. I apologise for not taking any pictures as they are all in the wardrobe. She and dad got me a big Mac selection of makup and brushes. I was surprised, let me tell ya! My parents and I left our brother behind to go into town to have a drink in a pub. Surprisingly enough we found one that was still opened.

In the evening, after our dinner, which was steak, we all spoke to my grandparents, aunts and cousin in Scotland, on Skype. We all had a great laugh, telling each other about our gifts. And telling funny stories about our family members.

There was movies on all day, but I strangely enough didn't watch any. It came to the evening, and so it was time to lie out on the couch with my blanket and get started. Along with the dessert; sherry triffle, vienetta and tonnes of chocolate there was Coronation Street, Miranda and of course the exciting Downton Abbey Special. My dad laughed at me when I kept tearing up. It was perhaps my favourite part of the day. I wish that I knew some of the characters.

So the following pictures were all taken on my phone, so not so great quality, but I did promise a picture of my dress from Topshop.

Let me know how your day went. Did you have your family special moments?

Was the food as good as you thought it would be? Mmmm fooood, heehee. I myself am now gonna get some cocoa pops and watch my brother xmas pressie from moi, 'Guardians of the Galaxy', honestly it's a gift to me as well.

Thanks for keeping up with this little series of blogmas. Hope you enjoyed!

Festive Feelings :: 10 :: Music Bringing Memories at Christmas Time!

Music makes everything even more special at Christmas.

I love how it brings memories of the times when I danced in the lounge area in my old house. Well it wasn't dancing, just spinning in circles to the music and had the heat from the range blaring at me.

I have many favourite tunes, but 'The Fairytale of New York' will always be my favourite. I love the traditional Irish instruments in the song. Even though it has plenty of swear words, it for me shows honesty. No mushy stuff. There are lots of ups and downs at Christmas. Fights about the dinner arrangements.

'Rocking Around The Christmas Tree' brings back memories of my dad cooking in the kitchen. 'Driving Home For Christmas' is the song I have a brief flashback to when I was little, sitting in the car, looking out at the Christmas lights on the streets in Dublin.

Even with the most more newish songs, like Michael Bubles, 'Santa Clause is Coming to Town', his voice is replaced with my friend Edel. I can always hear her singing it, with the twists in the songs melody. Music makes me happier. There's no song that gives me bad memories, which is one of the things that I love about music.

Since I've been alone these past few days, I've been listening to my new album 'Christmas at Downton Abbey'. It's been lovely. My favourite is 'In The Bleak Midwinter' by a wonderful, joyful choir. It reminds me of the time when I sang in an all girl choir recital in a hotel back in Ireland. My Gran, brother, mum and dad were all sitting in the crowd. It has always been a favourite of mine, especially as it was the first time I sang in front of a big crowd.

Are there any songs that mean something special to you? Do you feel that they can provide you with happy memories of Christmas?

Festive Feelings :: 1 :: Food & Hot Drinks!

Merry Christmas Everybody,

And so this is me, little old giggles of life doing blogmas. My sisterish-bestie EdelBelle! created this tag post last Christmas. For 12 days, she wrote what she enjoys most about this special time of year. So I thank her for tagging each and every one of us, but I was honored in her asking me personally ----- twitter that is, heehee. Feeling very special.

The rules
1. 12 blogs  each saying a favourite thing about Christmas.
2. A blog a day....so one blog everyday from when you begin.
3.Title wise its (Festive Feeling-'Insert favourite thing'). As for the picture each day, Edel had edited hers last year for everyday. So I will be using hers, but you can make your very own if you so wish.
4. And lastly Edels final rule was to have fun and get in the Christmas Spirit!!!

So, food!

I don't eat that much as I get full after only a few mouthfuls, but I do enjoy the taste of food.

There's the whole festive foods, such as my favourites mince pies. I remember laying them out for Santa with a glass of milk and two carrots for the reindeer's. Whenever Santa had some mince pies left over I would eat them, believing them to be special, bit like holy communion, haha! As a kid, that's how I saw it anyway.

Christmas cakes have already been stashed away in the press. I enjoy eating a slice with a cup of tea. The taste is strong, but the flavours are what Christmas is!

Then of course there's the Christmas dinner. Everyone usually has something like, turkey, goose etc. In my family for the past 20 years, it has always been turkey, ham, brussel sprouts, parsnips, broccoli, carrots, green beans or mushy peas, along with my favourite... cranberry sauce. Turkey sandwiches will then be breakfast, lunch  and dinner for the next few days.

After dinner we always have our traditional, Vienetta ice-cream (with either cake or jelly.) Christmas Day also includs our treats, Celebrations or Roses. My favouirte being Celebrations. Mmmm, malteasers... nice. Oh and finishing up on the advent calendars. Hey, I pat myself on the shoulder for whenever I complete it.

Drinks!!

This season, thankfully, I don't have to explain why I drink so many hot drinks. I won't get those confused looks I get in Summer. I love all sorts of teas, coffees, hot cocoas, lattés, mochas... it goes on!

Coffee shops, such as Starbucks and Costa have the festive cups as well, so when you go out shopping, you have the pleasure in carrying either a little snowman, reindeer or a Santa. Out of all the festive drinks, my absolute favourite would have to be the black forest hot chocolate from Costa and vanilla spiced latté from Starbucks. So my time recently has been spent in cafés, drinking a hot drink and writing down notes, in my diary or work journal, or perhaps reading or enjoying a good vlogmas from Jim Chapman.

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

Hello All,

Recently, the lovely Sinead from Dreaming Again tagged me for this beauty of an award... Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award!

Aww love, you have me all blushing! Thank you so much. I know I've been away for a while and it means a lot to me that you still value my blog.

The Rules are as follows:

• Thank & link the blogger who nominated you.
• Include the award logo in your post.
• Answer the set of 10 questions that the blogger who nominated you has provided.
• Supply your own set of 10 questions.
• Nominate 10 other bloggers.

Now onto the exciting part.

My answers to Sineads wonderful questions... *Countdown theme tune*

1 - What advice would you give to your younger self?

Work harder at school! Maybe study a little more, haahaa! Oh and let others in. Try to let people understand you a bit more.

2 - What is your favourite thing to do when you have nothing to do?

On my own that is, I would have the music (as long as it has a good beat!) blared up to the max and I would not dance but jump! And if I have nothing more else to do, I would either sing with musical accompaniment, watch a good movie or ring my Mum back in Ireland and have a nice chat.

3 - Why did you decide to start a blog?

Imaginary friends ---- heehee, joke! Well even though it may not look like it during these recent few months, with my life being a little on the busy side, I love sharing my interests and thoughts. Plus, instead of letting my photos go to waste, I get to share them with you guys.

4 - If you could live in any other country in the world where would it be?

Currently looking at the map! There's lots of places that I would gladly visit, but live? If I had to chose anywhere other than I am now in England, I'd choose... Australia.

5 - Would you rather spend £100 all on make-up or clothes?

CLOTHES!! I would wear clothes everyday (or would I?), but not make-up, heehee!

6 - If you could give one piece of advice to a large audience what would it be?

"Stop taking life so seriously!! You could get hit by a car when you leave this room or collapse from the poison I may or may not have put in your drinks! *crowd murmur* What I'm saying is, life is much shorter than we realise and here we are, wishing our lives were different with beauty or fortune! Be happy with what you've got!" I seriously get carried away in my own mind with these scenarios!

7 - Would you rather have to eat Chinese or Italian food for the rest of your life?

That much carbs!! No thank you! I'll stick to the Chinese. Aromatic duck, Mmmmm!

8 - If you could go on a date with one celebrity who would it be?

Ok, something you should know about me! I am more attractive to older guys! Not 70! Jeeze! But if it was down to either David Boreanaz or Hugh Jackman it would have to be.... erm... eenie, meenie, mineie, moe... Hugh Jackman. It was the Australian accent that pulled me in. Plus if he wasn't that even good of a date, I could ask him to play one of his movie characters! We all know he's a good actor, dancer and singer! Could be the perfect date, heehee.

9 -What specific character trait do you want to be known for?

Caring. I would like to be known for someone who cared genuinely and did all they could to keep their friends and family happy.

10 - What is your biggest pet peeve?

Hmm, well there's the whole people eating with their mouths open. As well as, people trying to be posh, or somebody they're not! Oh and also, when you open the dvd case and it's empty or contains a different disc! That frustrates me.

My questions for you to answer:

1 - What calms you down when you're stressed?

2 - Do you feel that blogging has made a difference in your life? How?

3 - With your lottery winnings of £5 million, how would you spend it?

4 - What is the most important trait you look for in a person (friend/partner)?

5 - When you think of your childhood, what pops into your mind?

6 - With Christmas coming, what is the one thing your most looking forward to?

7 - Can you recommend a must-watch movie / book that has inspired you?

8 - If you were a celebrity, what would you like to be famous for?

9 - Do you have any unusual, funny habits/ guilty pleasures?

10 - What about the weekends do you get most excited for?

I nominate:

a whole lot of chitty chat
being little
Dib-Dab-Debs
Cider with Rosie
Dear Ms Leigh
EdelBelle!
Lux Life
The Earth through a Lens
The Randomness of Unicorns
Things Tanith Did

Thanks for reading guys,