Christmas snippets...

Long time no blog posts...
It has been a busy time here this Christmas in The Humble Bungalow!
We have been totally immersed in the festivities...
lots of food, family and fun.

Gifts from afar...

unexpected and so welcome.

Dressed up

painted my nails

put on some vintage bling.

Went out to an annual Christmas Eve Open House at the home of dear friends.

The National Lampoon Christmas Vacation Moose Cups were on hand 

to sip single malt scotch from if that is your preferred tipple.

(Mr. HB likes it)

I polished the silver and dusted off the crystal goblets.

Christmas Crackers were on the table as they always are...

the only time we ever had a Christmas without the crackers was when we went to Palm Springs 

 we could find none despite scouring the town...

I was convinced that Jurgenson's would have some....

sadly not.

Simple setting with our Sophie Conran china.

Adults only for dinner as the grandchildren would be with us on Boxing Day.

The turkey was delicious...lots of veggies accompanied the "bird."

I was spoiled with lovely gifts.

Pearls and cashmere.

An Espresso maker and two new Emma Bridgewater bowls to replace the one that chipped.

Thank you Santa!

We met friends for lunch at The Bard and Banker.

Wine

Salad...

the first of many.

Statue of Emily Carr 

on site at The Victoria Fairmont Empress Hotel.

My walking partner and I met up for lunch downtown followed by some shopping.

R convinced me to invest in a new pair of jeans...

(long overdue I might add)

so I now have some new NYD jeans that fit and flatter.

It often takes a friend to persuade you to spend some money on yourself.

The Riviera yogurt glass jars have been re purposed as spice jars.

Tops were sourced online at the company's website and I wasted no time in getting the spice drawer organized.

There will be a lot more tidying up around here in January 

but for now we are readying the Humble Bungalow for house guests...

I will be away from the blog for a few more days

but will be on Instagram every day at least once if not twice.

Happy New Year

Cheers!

Wishing you a Joyous Christmas

Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow.
I appreciate all your comments and would like to extend warm wishes to you at this time.

Our Humble Bungalow

Glowing with the white fairy lights strung on the tree and the beams.

Just a few finishing touches and I am ready...

adding a bit of OPI polish.

One more sleep!

Christmas brings with it a mix of emotions...

memories bubble up and are powerful
thinking of those no longer with us
of those who may be ill or suffering

it is a time to spend with friends and family
and often we find ourselves far away from home

Christmas expectations might be set too high
you might be short of money
you may be lonely

I hope that you have someone that you care for to share your holiday with and that you are Joyful.

An unexpected gift arrived in the mail today

from a friend that I met on The Ooh La La Paris Tour

Merci Beaucoup!

Wishing you a Peaceful Holiday.

Hostess

3 days to Christmas ~ OOTD

Our weather has been a mix of sun and showers...

walking just the same as usual but wearing a warm down coat and carrying an umbrella.

I had to stop pull out my Iphone and capture this image so I could share it with you!

"HI"

The scenery has been quite varied and the evidence of the recent gale force winds is obvious on the beach...

Huge logs are lying on the beach 

making it a challenge to walk close to the waters edge.

I have never seen so many logs washed ashore.

They are stacked right to the top of the seawall in some places...making access to the beach difficult.

After the rains there are puddles...

Here you can see the sky above in the reflection...

There is a Christmas rose blooming by our front porch.

This is very unusual for this time of year.

The yellow rose bush beside the pink climber has several buds on it too!

I bought a bouquet of yellow roses to perk up the kitchen.

With the grey skies looming overhead Our Humble Bungalow just begs for a pop of cheer.

Nothing like a little splash of colour to brighten up a dreary day.

Light a candle and add some fragrance while we are in the mood.

My walking partner and I ventured out for a 5K walk and stopped for a delicious and healthy lunch when the weather became so blustery that our umbrellas were blowing inside out!

OOTD

Black Nygaard slim ponte knit pants

Grey Eileen Fisher top

Black Clark booties

(image taken with a goofy looking smile)

Three Days Left...until Christmas and yes I am counting!

Catching up on the laundry, finishing wrapping gifts, reading my favourite blogs and sneaking in a few chapters of my current novel.

Wee poinsettia perfect size for the powder room.

A pop of red and green... a classic festive flower.

Things are looking very Christmassy here in The Humble Bungalow.

Our tree is up and decorated with white fairy lights.

The beamed ceilings are all dolled up with strings of white fairy lights and there is a warm and cozy glow here in our home.

It is freezing cold outside 

the Stellar Jays are chattering with each other

we have suet hung for the birds and the hummingbird feeder is a busy place these days.

Hope all is Merry and Bright in your home.

Christmas count down....

Christmas in 5 days...
time to wrap presents, write out and plan the menus, shop for the groceries, and deliver gifts.
There have been parties and open houses all great excuses to get dressed up and be social.

Today I took some time to savour a cafe au lait...

and catch up on my blog reading.

Lisa at a mid life of privilege wrote a thought provoking post yesterday 

you might like to pop over and read it .

The grand children and I made a sleigh for "Santa"...

the porcupine on top of the sleigh is Santa.

(I point this out just in case you did not recognize him)

These two weary workers are "the elves"

I suspect that there are a lot of weary folks out and about these days.

It is difficult juggling work, family with the added responsibility of  Christmas

preparations.

Even Santa has his helpers.

These wee felted animals were a small gift to the grandchildren on our "play date" last week.

I popped over and had an afternoon of fun and games while our lovely DIL ran some errands and did some shopping.

The wee ones are so excited!

I can remember back to my childhood when my sister and I would lie under the Xmas tree with the Sears and Eaton's catalogues and dream about what Santa Claus might bring.

We were oblivious to the extra work that Mother was going through to make sure that Christmas would be memorable.

Every year she sewed us matching dresses...one for her and then one for each of us.

Velvet was the fabric of choice 

 ours had lace trim at the neck and sleeves and sometimes on the hem.

Bright colours were her passion and I recall dresses in fuchsia, teal, cobalt blue and red.

The cookie tins were filled with her traditional cookies, bars and squares.

Heavy fruitcakes with almond paste were baked and regularly doused with sherry...

kept in our cool sunroom until guests arrived for various parties.

Mother never seemed to be stressed or tired...

as kids we were oblivious on what was required to "make Christmas happen"...

We were rather distracted 

dreaming about our Christmas morning stockings 

filled with an orange in the toe

 a Cadbury Flake Bar 

a few small toys.

Such great memories...

Our Christmas will look slightly different this year

as we will be celebrating over two days instead of just the one with the family.

Our children are carving out some new traditions of their own 

making memories for their wee ones and partners.

Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Festive season snippets..all is calm, all is bright.

The festive season is in full swing...
socials, lunches, parties, shopping, baking, gift giving, concerts, Christmas Carols, decorations, egg nog lattes and gingerbread houses are just a few of the highlights that I savour and enjoy.
It is a busy time of year.

Maintaining balance and calm we like taking a drive in the country and having a healthy lunch in a waterfront bistro.

These beautiful swans look pretty content nibbling in the farmer's field.

You can see the pumpkins in the back ground and the raindrops on the window of Mr. HB's car.

Caesar salad with kale and romaine lettuce.

Served at Haro's waterfront bistro in the Sidney Pier Hotel.

I spy with my little eye a wee kitten in an Advent calendar...

in one of the shops along Oak Bay Avenue.

Felted animals...

I have a serious crush on these charming wee cute and cuddly creatures!

Christmas Tree in the lobby of the Laurel Point Hotel where we took in the annual decorated gingerbread house display.

The baking and decorating of the gingerbread displays is quite impressive.

I remember trying to make one years ago and it listed so far to the right that it fell apart!

Neighbours are decorating...

the streets looks quite bright and festive.

Oops 

a gold bauble blew down in the gale force winds...

I stopped on my walk to capture the image not realizing that I would be visible in the reflection.

I'll be posting sporadically over the next weeks as there are so many wonderful and engaging activities to enjoy.

Right now I have my nose firmly planted in Louise Penny's latest novel 

the Inspector Gamache mystery series..."The Nature of the Beast" is brilliant!

If you have never read Louise's books start with the first in the series and work your way up.

She uses the same characters and they develop over time.

Thank you for stopping by...