Holidays are only 7 weeks away. Plans ?

[strictlysalsaclare Profile]

Well, my mincemeat is made. Plus I also blanched a load of carrots that Mr Strictly dug up yesterday before the slugs and worms got them too much. I will make sure we save on of the bags for Christmas Day and beyond

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Did you get your coat, Luca?
My J Lewis winter one I bought with you is still pristine.
But I do need a puffer coat, as my sale one from a few years ago is leaking more and more feathers. I've had enough.

And I possess £100 J Lewis voucher.
Who bribed me handsomely not to send something back that had a small bit of stitching missed, but to keep it. Of course I stitched it at home.

Strictly, good work "on the land".
I've cleared some space in the freezer, I usually do roasters in advance. Fish pie tonight, so that's more freezer space.

We've made progress, and bought an antique dining table (blond coloured wood). To be collected from Derby on Saturday, so we need to hire a van.
Looking for chairs now.

[Joanbunting Profile]

My 5 puddings are steaming right now - a confit clementine buried in each one. Just hope the gas cylinder doesn't run out when I'm not looking.

Glad you got your table Gill.

[Luca Profile]

Did you get your coat, Luca?
My J Lewis winter one I bought with you is still pristine.
But I do need a puffer coat, as my sale one from a few years ago is leaking more and more feathers. I've had enough.

And I possess £100 J Lewis voucher.
Who bribed me handsomely not to send something back that had a small bit of stitching missed, but to keep it. Of course I stitched it at home.

Of course you did.

I did Gill. I decided that it had to be practical and something I could take with me when going to my brothers houses in the country. Warm, with a hood and lined. Reduced from £140 to £66. I see the price has gone up!

http://www.gap.co.uk/browse/product.do? ... 0843489001

[Renée Profile]

I really like that Luca and you did so well with the price!

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Nice Luca!
I got a new down filled 3/4 length coat today from Uniqlo , also a plain knitted hat, something I've been seeking for ages, they had both cashmere and a wool / acrylic mix in several good colours - no furry pompom and because it has no ornament I can roll the brim up a long way to make it fit my narrow little head. I got sky blue cashmere

My old parka thing fell to bits, it looked great when new but they'd cheated and got the detailing and top stitching to lie flat by trimming the seam allowances to nothing, so it pulled apart

PS if anyone is searching for classic PJs for Christmas Uniqlo have them, I resisted

[Luca Profile]

I'm thrilled with it. Toasty warm and very comfortable indeed.

The thin coats at Uniqlo are great Sue. Very warm.

I'll leave the PJs thanks!

[Alexandria Profile]

The key to keeping warm is " layering " ..

Temperatures have dropped to " a normal seasonal climate " and it is quite cold in the early mornings .. Of course, it warms up approx. 11am - 12 Mid day, however, still chilly ..

Good luck with all your new wintery coats, jackets, hats, gloves etcetra ..

I have 4 pairs of black boots, dress boots with medium high heels, stack walking ankle length, thigh high black suede with a medium stack walking heel & riding boots in black with a mahoghany color trim, for riding horses and or with jeans ..

Now, for a pair of burgundy boots with a medium stack square heel ankle length and some more sweaters and scarves for my trip in January to Italia .. My husband and I are leaving on the 1st and shall return on the 7th .. We make a trip yearly usually to Italy or France during this week ..

Happy Holidays to all ..

[strictlysalsaclare Profile]

Mr Strictly has requested some feathered game for The Big Meal this year. Pheasant is looking likely this year as I can hopefully get hold of some at the Horsham Food Market on Saturday. His trip to our local branch of Iceland the other week was not very successful if you didn't want turkey, which they sold in numerous different ways apparently. We went shopping in Asda tonight and bought our ham joint, a bag of frozen raw prawns, some streaky bacon, pickled red cabbage and ground almonds to stash for Christmas.

We also stocked up on dried fruit for the cake I'll be making for Mr Strictly's supervisor again this year. She enjoyed the one I made for her last year so much that I'll use the same recipe, and I'll make that one for ourselves too. It keeps well and feeding it with booze isn't mandatory although very feasible.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Strictly, you must have a reassuringly big freezer. If we ever get a house with a garage, that's the first thing I'll park in there.

Luca
That coat is so you. I can just see you in it.
And may I congratulate you on your bargain skills. That's a steal.

I lost out on the puffer coat of my dreams for £80, by the time I'd dithered, it sold out of stock.

Thanks for the recommendation, Sue. I like pjs.

Alexandria, I've always liked burgundy coloured footware.
They go with everything!


Last time I made a ham, it was such a change for the between days.
I citrus glazed it with several froots. But not spiced with anything else. I shall definitely get a ham.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

My 5 puddings are steaming right now - a confit clementine buried in each one. Just hope the gas cylinder doesn't run out when I'm not looking.

Glad you got your table Gill.

Everything go swimmingly to plan, Joan?
Tony's requested a trifle this year. I can take or leave a trifle myself, but I'll make one nevertheless.

I have a feeling he's just trying to be interesting.
But he loves Christmas more than I do, so I like to go for whatever he wants.

[Alexandria Profile]

@ Gilt the Painter,

Yes, I am a grand fan of burgundy wine colored footwear and accessories .. Smart color and yes, it looks fabulous with black, charcoal, Pearl grey, Winter White, indigo and navy .. and jeans ..

Have a lovely lovely day ..

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I have a pair of burgundy ankle boots, they make a nice change

The down coat I bought is a dark burgundy, and I didn't realise until I got it home that it went perfectly with a Fair Isle scarf and hat set that has been sitting unused for a while, it has a light fawn background with two shades of burgundy in the pattern I keep doing things like that with colour, must be the way my visual memory works

Lovely sunshine here, have a good day folks

[strictlysalsaclare Profile]

Hi Gill

Unfortunately we don;t have a massive freezer - I wish we did but there is no room for one. Our garage is also completely separate to the house so there is not electric socket in it. Therefore I am going to have to make room in it somewhere for the game . We currently only have a small amount of space in the middle section/drawer. So we've got chicken pieces out for tomorrow night and I'll get some mince out to cook in the slow cooker on Saturday for a totally inauthentic moussaka for Sunday. We may have to have a seafood something or other on Saturday night.

[Alexandria Profile]

@ Stokey Sue,

Sounds fabulous.

Have a lovely weekend ..

[Joanbunting Profile]

Would everyone please stop singing "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas " please. We work up this mroning to a thick, for us, covering os real snow and a message from the restuarnt we were due to meet friends sayib=ng they couldn't get there so it was closed.

The Var Departement is on orange alert. The real problem is that, unless they are used to driving in the mountins for skiing the local are clueless about winter driving.

Anyway the friend who is going to take my cards and a couple of puddings tomorrow is now cominh here fro lunch. Soup is simmering and a crumble ready to go in the oven. very good job I can always provide food at short notice.

[strictlysalsaclare Profile]

we had a very localised flurry of snow where I work for about an hour, so it didn't lay thankfully. It's only about 15 miles from where we live but we had none at home.

[Renée Profile]

I'm sure that the price of your coat will come down again, Luca, but I see that it's still £159.99. I'm waiting!

[Alexandria Profile]

Friday, December 1st, was the 1st day temperatures plummeted to five degrees centigrade and winds had been howling their gusts ..

The wind chill factor was far below 5 centig. degrees.

Stay warm and have a lovely weekend ..

It would of been a seasonal day however, the winds were horrible ..

[Renée Profile]

Joan and Alexandria, I really wouldn't have expected you to have very cold weather and if it is windy, it is really hard to bear!

Back to milder weather here, but rain ... again!