In Holiday mode for a wee bit longer....

Greetings from The Humble Bungalow.
I am still very much in holiday mode but thought I would share a few of the holiday snapshots with you.

Our faux tree with simple white fairy lights.

Boxing Day 

before the gifts were opened...

(most of these parcels are for the grandchildren)

Fraser Fir candle adding to the ambiance with the scent of a real tree.

Our tiny living room

Dining Room 

lunch table set 

food prepared 

we are ready for the family's arrival.

We had a fun filled day and the grand children were such fun to watch.

We had a small turkey with all the trimmings and a kale salad.

 Grammy's home made macaroni and cheese as the wee ones seem to like it!

This Hostess is quite pleased as Santa decided it was time to replace our 15 year old Volvo with a newer one!

That's Kyle, the salesman at Volvo of Victoria, standing beside me.

The staff at Volvo of Victoria are very knowledgable and helpful.

They made our purchase experience so relaxing and easy...

V60 Cross Country

The car has so many wonderful safety features...

and is a quiet and comfortable car to drive.

It's a fun ride.

If we are lucky 

it should be another 15 years before we need to buy another car...

Volvo's are made to last a LONG time.

So that's it for now...

I'll be posting more soon.

If I don't manage to write another post until after New Years...

Wishing you a healthy

and 

Happy New Year!

Thank you for reading my humble blog.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Seasons Greetings...

The Humble Bungalow is dressed up with twinkling white lights.

We are ready for the Holidays.

Food has been purchased, presents have been wrapped, the baking is finished.

This year

Our Christmas tree is a faux one.

 (blame the naughty cats who climb the tree, drink the water and munch on it)

The faux tree came with lights and has a handy foot pedal that turns it on.

There are 11 different programs for the lights,

 I prefer to have them on old school style rather than waving on and off or pulsating!

We have been enjoying casual seasonal get togethers and creating some new family memories.

Baking 

Gingerbread Men for the grandchildren to decorate.

We had fun decorating the cookies!

Many of the candied decorations were munched before they made it onto the gingerbread cookies...

This Grammy had such fun...

we will have to arrange to do this again next year.

This week a friend and I met for morning coffee in town.

Later

we went to a book store and this book tree caught my eye.

Many of our neighbours have dressed up their gardens with lights and baubles.

The holiday spirit is very much alive in our neighbourhood.

Walking along our street I noticed that more homes are decorated 

than those that are not.

I love that people take the time to participate in making our street a wee bit brighter.

Colourful lights look so pretty strung up in a tree...

a simple idea that really adds ambiance.

Our holidays in The Humble Bungalow focus on the things money can not buy.

It is not all about gifts, but rather the memories...

those that we create today and those we remember from years gone by...

the people who are no longer with us always have a way of popping up in our minds at this time of year.

We toast to their memory...

stories follow

some are funny, some sad

the stories are not all "happy" 

but 

they are part of our history

our festive season is made brighter by 

 connecting with friends and family...

 if your family is far away

unable to get home

you can give of yourself 

with so many opportunities out there 

it fills ones heart to help the less fortunate

or 

you can invite a group of other friends whose families are unable to get together this year and celebrate with a simple meal

it could be a pot luck event

keep it simple.

Festive food and feasting...

treats, baking, chocolate.

Friends, who now live in France, sent us some chocolates.

We nibbled a few last night and they live up to their tasty reputation.

BETA5 is one of the top 5 chocolate makers in all of North America!

With all these extra treats I will need to be vigilant and keep up with my walking,

perhaps walking longer and farther to compensate for these delicious seasonal indulgences.

Weight Watchers will still be there for me after the holidays!

This post is a bit discombobulated and I am trying to rein it in,

 in a cohesive way,

 but I think it has gotten away from me so I had better close.

I am grateful that you are my audience and that you visit and listen...

Thank you so much for reading The Humble Bungalow blog.

Your comments and emails throughout the year are really appreciated.

Wishing you a Joyous and Festive Holiday. 

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Holiday dressing ~ Hostess Style

Today I want to chat about my thoughts on dressing for the holiday season.
Views are strictly my own and I am not professing to be an expert on fashion...

Hostess Style aka Grammy Style,
is an honest, comfortable, and affordable way of dressing.
I have new, vintage, and thrift shop finds in my closet.

Essentially, I dress to camouflage my figure flaws,
drawing focus on the better bits and minimizing the mid section!

My wardrobe is small, curated, and bordering on spartan,
and it leans decidedly toward conservative...
The colours tend to be mostly black and grey.

Black is so versatile that I keep getting drawn back to it time and again.
It looks dressy in daylight and elegant at night. You get a lot of mileage out of black clothes as they go with everything...that's the "practical" coming out in my personality!

Black is rather like a backdrop,
a black canvas perhaps, just waiting for accessories.

The iconic LBD is still as popular today
as it was when it was first introduced many decades ago...

I own several little black dresses and they are so easy and effortless to wear.

I recently purchased a simple black skirt that sits slightly above the knee.
It will get worn quite a bit over the holidays and can be dressed up or dressed down. I already own several pairs of black shoes; flats, kitten heels and pumps as well as Chelsea boots.
This budget friendly addition is a welcome garment for the festive season.

At this time of year I like to add a bit of sparkle...

St. John black knit top with beads...

great with my new skirt or pants.

Can you imagine this top worn with my boyfriend jeans

black leather "moto jacket" and Chelsea boots?

Vintage wool and sequin top from Woodwards,

It's party time!

Sparkly jewels

J Crew necklace and two vintage Sherman brooches.

Festive dressing can involve a few bling-y pieces and at this time of year I like to play at bit more with accessories when dressing up.

I also like to take some extra time with my skin care regime.

A morning spent quietly sipping tea and giving myself a facial 

is my idea of luxury.

Sleep has been hit and miss for me for the past few months 

I go to sleep but wake in the night and I do not fall back asleep easily.

Unfortunately this pattern of waking seems to show up on my face...

it is actually bugging me as I used to be such a great sleeper.

As a result 

I have been focusing more on healthy eating 

making sure that I stay hydrated

taking time to set aside a few minutes to meditate

and focus on my breathing

I also think that I need to get back to practising Yoga in the New Year.

Bone broth with turmeric

Nourish, just as its name suggests, serves healthy nutritious food. 

Many of the options are dairy and gluten free.

Poached eggs on a bed of kale, mushrooms and sweet potatoes 

topped with a cashew cream hollandaise.

Nom Nom!

So how do you like to dress for the holidays?

Are you drawn to bright colours or do you prefer neutrals?

What, if anything, are you planning to add to your wardrobe?

I like to add a splash of scent everyday

and two of my favourites are

Mitsouko by Guerlain and Jour d' Hermes

Hope your week is off to a great start...

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Snow Day...

We enjoyed a dinner out with friends this week,
on the drive home we marvelled at the large orange moon hanging low in the sky
it looked like it was suspended just above the houses
and the reflection on the ocean was just so beautiful...

Not quite the image that I was hoping for...

it was difficult to capture the detail with my IPhone.

I cannot believe it but we have more snow...
we awoke yesterday to a light dusting and it continued to fall all morning.

This was the view on my walk the other day and I thought for sure that we would be enjoying warmer temperatures.

I noticed that there were a few late forming rose buds...

they must be frozen and ready to drop by now.

A study in black and white

Black Mondo grass poking out of the snow.

I decided that some comfort food was needed so I made a chicken pot pie.

The Food network had Ina Gartens' recipe.

Fresh and hot from the oven.

Can you see the snow outside?

Mr. HB put up a string of white lights on the Climbing Royal Sunset rose.

They look so pretty at night

I can see them when I am working in the Humble Bungalow Kitchen.

reminds me of a string of lustrous pearls

We went to an open house and a birthday party last night,

held in a heritage home of a young family.

There was quite a crowd and I think that the children outnumbered the adults.

This black cat clock hangs in the kitchen and the eyes move from side to side.

The young children are quite taken with it...as are many of the adults who have memories of these vintage clocks.

I've woken up with a stuffy nose and a scratchy throat and I am hoping that it does not turn into a cold. Today I plan to lay low, drink lots of fluids and keep warm.

Fortunately 

I have a great book

The Midwife of Hope River

by Patricia Harman

I am halfway through and enjoying it immensely.

Have you had a good weekend?

What's new?

Are you busy with all the Christmas preparations?

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

What's happening here in the Humble Bungalow...saying thank you to Jamie Cat Callan

Cold weather has been hanging around here in Victoria for the past few weeks with no signs of warming up. Our zero and minus 4 degree days make for a chilly outing if one is not adequately dressed. This morning, for example, Victorians living on the west shore awoke to a burst water main that closed the Trans Canada Highway into town! The traffic was snarled for hours and now only one lane is open.

Hat, gloves, scarf, warm down coat over top of layers of tops and socks have been necessary when venturing out of the house...
imagine the "Michelin Man" puffy coat
worn with a woolly hat that covers my ears,
a scarf
with just my eyes peeking out
and you get the picture...
BRRR
the usual 60 minute walks are just not happening.
(I may need to resort to mall walking!)

I finally broke down and purchased a heavier pair of tights so that I could wear my skirts and dresses with my Chelsea boots.
I have not worn heavy tights since I retired from the school district and I was surprised when I looked for some...the prices are much higher than I remember.
As part of my job I was required to do outdoor supervision at recess and lunch and because I feel the cold I dressed like I was going to the North Pole...
Comfort wins.

OOTD...

Grey Boiled wool skirt

wool, rayon and spandex tights

Chelsea boots

grey top

(not visible)

It is a wee bit of a risk posting a picture

 I am such rubbish at taking selfies.

 BTW

still patiently waiting for my hair to turn completely grey...

in the meantime I have embraced grey clothing with a pop of colour.

This is what I think of now as

 "Grammy Style"

plus

I love knitting, cooking and taking care of the wee ones...

officially and unabashedly grandmotherly!

Sitting in The Humble Bungalow Living Room

gazing into the twinkle lights

sipping a cafe creme

is where I start my day.

Currently reading The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman 

I loved her other novels.

Patricia is a very gifted writer..

 she has a new one coming out in January

"Runaway Midwife"

already reserved at the library.

I have read oodles and oodles of books over the years

and I have so much respect for writers 

and 

their discipline to their craft.

I regularly consider, and wonder, if I could ever write a book.

Recently on Facebook

Jamie Cat Callan 

hosted a writing contest 

the winner would receive

a copy of her

 "Writer's Tool Box" 

check this out!

Thank you Jamie

(I was fortunate in winning one of her Tool Kits)

After reading all of Jamie's books

I met her on her Ooh La La tour in Paris...

Jamie is energetic

enthusiastic

loves life

is fun to be around

she is

  a totally delightful woman

her 

"joie de vivre" is positively contagious.

Jamie is currently working on a new book...

which I am so looking forward to reading it when it comes out next year.

Chester demands my attention when I sit...

often he pushes my book away before settling into my lap for a cuddle.

OOTD

party version

Sitting in the peace and quiet

dreams are formed

hopes

wishes

destinations farther than my front garden

a leap of faith

who knows what the future will bring?

Thank you Jamie

You continue to inspire me everyday.

I will always remember my trip to Paris.

If it were not for Jamie

 I am not sure that I would have ever realized my dream.

So many thoughts bubble up 

so many of those feelings that lay dormant 

before I embarked on that amazing trans formative journey.

In gratitude...

Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings!

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~