Hello Saxon

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mama, papa & Saxon

mama, papa & Saxon

A belated welcome to my beautiful little nephew Saxon, who was born on 2nd January. He's just a little teeny fella but already full of wonder and enchanting all of us - especially the squids, who are desperate to see their new cousin whenever they can, and then sit gazing at his perfect little face and expressing their amazement at the super softness of his hair as they stroke him. The love, devotion and instinct to protect him that is already very noticeable in Indy & Pablo is so incredible to witness, and their keenness for him to grow so that they can gather him into their little band of mischief & teach him all their tricks is gorgeous. It's also strange to be reminded of those early days, cosying down indoors as a little family, feeding and recovering and getting to know a whole new little human, it's so difficult and so magical all at once, I can't decide whether I miss it or not! Well done Xander & Zara. Love love love...

Christmastime 2013

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Sparkly mince pies, breakfast cronuts, prezzies galore, venison feast, baked alaska, dancing, wine & merry times… Happy Christmas 2013, and hello 2014!

Home sweet sweet sweet home

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Pablo has been on a mission to get a candy cane unwrapped, under any circumstances, and he finally hit on a successful angle when he begged to build another gingerbread house ("mum! The candy canes need to be the gateway!") Last year we bought this awesome mould from Lakeland and had so much fun decorating it, so I couldn't refuse! Plus the candy canes do make a perfect gateway... This year Indy joined in too and they both took the whole thing VERY seriously, with only the occasional pretend cough to sneak a sweetie or murmur of "mmmmmMMMM!" as Indy licked yet more royal icing from her fingertips... If you can get your hands on one of these moulds from Lakeland they really are fantastic and make the whole process very easy and painless, with beautiful results. If you're feeling brave you could also just make your own templates! I added some cute little clay figures and deer from my grandmother's Christmas cake tin, and the kids decorated with sprinkles and sweeties galore, plus some glittery pumpkin seeds. 

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We made doughnuts...

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Sickeningly easy, and luckily we had a BBQ to attend so a good excuse to gift them to someone else before we ate them all... 

If you're hunting for a good recipe for raised doughnuts I highly recommend Lara Ferroni's. Or you can make yummy English jam doughnuts via this post on my blog... 

crush of the week

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I've had a holiday from blogging whilst we had two actual holidays, with some lovely family-wide flu and birthday mayhem in between. But now I'm determined to get back on track - though we have been in the UK two days and already both the squids are up to their eyeballs in snot and I'm spending most of my time fixing hot lemon, cinnamon & manuka honey drinks for them (Indy is most perplexed by these concoctions...)​

​photos from The Selby

​photos from The Selby

​Meanwhile, in my fantasies, I shall be purchasing these dreamy sheets from D. Porthault seen in the snaps of Rita Konig's magical little home on The Selby. I'm trying to hunt them down in the UK - God forbid I have to end up making a trip to Harrods. Also I have discovered they cost an extremely large amount of money and were inspired by the Duke & Duchess of Windsor. Visit the D. Porthault site at your peril - pretty much everything on there is gorgeous and you'll probably end up contemplating selling one of your own children to own a crisp new set of their sheets. Or even just a washcloth.

little one

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We had a beautiful first birthday & naming party for Indiana and so many gorgeous friends and family came along. ​Rebecca, Theo, Mark, Katie D and Katie C were made godparents and helped fill a time capsule for her to open at 18. Lots of pink treats to eat and drink, and Indy adored being the centre of attention and swanned about flirting with everyone all day. 

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