"Tis the season to be jolly...'tis folly to be stressed.

'Tis the season to be jolly...
try to keep that in mind while others are running around in a panic.

Lists make a huge difference for me when planning for Christmas gift giving and shopping.
I try to shop local in small stores near where we live.
For many of our friends I opt for consumable gifts...at our stage of life we have most things that we need and many of us are thinking about de-cluttering and downsizing to smaller homes and condos.

I also make a list of things that I need to do...
my current lists looks like this:

~ order turkey
~ write out Christmas cards
~ wrap gifts
~ pick a date for the tree decorating/pizza night
~ buy stamps
~ make a swag for our door
~ make rum balls
~ make chocolate bark
~ go shopping for grandchildren with lovely DIL

Things are looking festive and bright...

The Laurel Point Inn on the Harbour is all dressed up for the holidays.

Sun set and all is calm on the water.

My sister and I took Mom to see the annual decorated gingerbread house display at The Laurel point Inn last week.

It was well worth seeing as many amateur and professional bakers rolled up their sleeves and got very creative...

it was most impressive.

The only time that I ever tried my hand at making a gingerbread house it was a total disaster!

The house tilted sideways and the walls collapsed.

It tasted good...

Look at the attention to detail.

Many many hours went into these houses...

The Baggins residence was my favourite of all the entries...

There was a Dental themed entry with a toothbrush, floss and toothpaste.

a good reminder with all the sweets that are around at this time of year

There was a mouse house...

aren't these adorable?

There's even a Santa Mouse visiting the house!

Looking out at this beautiful scenery reminds me that we need to keep calm when so many people around us are showing signs of stress and becoming impatient and cranky.

I have been mindful of others and have made every effort to allow others to go first in line ups and have politely yielded to merging traffic.

I usually do these things but I feel that it is even more important to be patient and kind when there are crowds.

Take time out to refocus and relax.

Keep things simple.

Stay hydrated get a good nights sleep.

Walk in the fresh air and breathe deeply.

Stay focused on the positive...

don't be tempted to go into debt buying presents

live within your means

make some or all of your gifts

give a gift of your time

offer to babysit for a busy mom

visit an elderly relative or shut in

be kind to others 

 give to those less fortunate.

"Tis the season of giving after all.

Give yourself the gift of a stress free holiday.

Choose peace and sanity and savour the little things.

OOTD and a few tidbits...post # 1111

What can I say? I have been too busy to post on the blog.
Living life fully in the moment supersedes time spent sitting at the computer.

Here we are hamming it up in front of the camera...

we both bought the same T shirt at Aritzia in Mayfair Mall.

#FullOfHeart

OOTD 

(on the Hostess)

Wilfred black tee

g21 skinny jeans

Timberland short boots

We stopped for a bite to eat at Pure Vanilla in Oak Bay to refuel on our Christmas shopping mission.

Skinny decaf latte for the Hostess

Lovely daughter has been helping me choose Christmas gifts for the family.

I love a second opinion and she has a great eye for fashion.

On December 1st

 I lit a Diptyque candle.

Nothing like a fragrant festive aroma to put me in a happy mood.

I've been trying to stay one step ahead of the house keeping as our cleaning gal is vacationing in the warmth of sunny Mexico and I really miss her help.
She takes such good care of the basic domestics allowing me time to polish the silverware, tidy up the drawers, cupboards, wash and iron the clothes and generally enjoy "fluffing" our space.

The weather has been freezing with a dusting of snow and the sidewalks have been icy.

Walking has taken a back seat and I have been focusing on indoor activities.

I like to have hostess gifts on hand so I made a batch of marmalade...

Seville oranges water and sugar.

I like looking at the fruits of my labour...

if you want to see my recipe for Scotch Orange Maramalade go here.

Chester has been spending too much time at the window watching/scaring the resident hummingbirds

while they drink at the feeder...

Mr. HB and I have tried to keep him from pestering them as they need to keep their strength up in this frigid weather.

I really enjoyed this book and thought that Betty was particularly honest about her shopping habits.

I loved reading about her life and am so impressed that she continues to work as a personal shopper at the ripe old age of 86!

(I give it 5 stars)

I might be the last person I know to read this book.

 Better late than never...

a well written book which is keeping me up late as I cannot put it down!

I'll be back soon to show you some of the highlights of the Gingerbread Houses on display at the Laurel Point Inn.

Hope you are getting into the festive spirit and not getting stressed...

remember to take it one day at a time and don't forget to breathe.

Hostess

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...and the giveaway goes to...

My sister and I took Mom to see the "Festival of Trees" at the Empress and we were most definitely impressed.
I thought you might like to see the pretty trees...

The lobby of the Empress with a grand tree...very "Empressive!"

Love the white lights on the tree outside the hotel.

The Crystal ballroom.

I've never considered decorating a tree with shoes...

a little window shopping...

I think this coat is sumptuous.

Cashmere makes a great gift for those on your Christmas list...

socks, a scarf or perhaps a sweater.

Oodles of luxurious gifts...

and speaking of gifts it's time to draw for the giveaway.

I chose our Finel modernist bowl which is made in Finland.

Wrote out the names of those who entered the draw...

All the names went into the bowl and after a good mix up of the entires 

I pulled out this one.

Congratulations to Madame La-Bas, the author of the blog New Year New Dreams.

Please email me your mailing address at bungalowhostess@gmail.com.

Hope you are all keeping cozy and warm...

we awoke to a dusting of snow

which is so pretty

but cold and icy.

Winter coats, cashmere socks, down vests, lined boots, gloves and wooly scarves are required 

when we venture out for a walk and we need to tread carefully as the ice is very slippery.

I'll be back soon.

Hostess

XO

Wardobe oxygen ~ Orange you glad you tuned in?

Let's just get one thing straight...I love black, grey and white.
I have considered that there may be some "merit" to inviting a wee bit of colour into my closet.

A bright bold and vibrant shade...
Orange Crush,
my current fave
that may have been influenced by Hermes boxes

or perhaps my need for Vitamin C.

Fasten your seat belts...

Cashmere cardigan

from Lands' End

Ribbed sleeve detail

pockets

a longer length which is cozy with skinny jeans.

Getting "friendly" with the fridge!

The cardigan might be just what I need to grab on a cold rainy day.

I can think of pairings with my classic Lanvin scarf...

or with some beautiful roses!

or a lily

I will be wearing this cashmere cardigan to French class...

I forgot that this Coach scarf had orange in the pattern

it was a lovely Xmas gift from my son and his wife many years ago.

 If you could only see how chic my French instructor is you'd understand why I am studying not only the language but her Parisian style.

She wears simple understated clothing...

tosses a scarf on in a way that one might think she just "threw it on"

wears a minimum of jewelry...

(a wedding band and beautiful pearl or hoop earrings)

she wears flats...and not just the iconic ballerinas...loafers too

her trench coat looks vintage as does her Max Mara wool coat...

she is not reed thin, she has womanly curves

she's a brunette in the style of much younger Catherine Deneuve.

I am most impressed by her haircut...

it reminds me of Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina when she returns from Paris...

it looks like she didn't do a thing other than wash it

but I am sure that cannot be true.

She exudes Parisian Chic...

I am learning a lot in French Class...

much more than I signed up for!

She tells me that our trips to Paris will overlap for a few days and that we should meet up for coffee!

A bientot.

Don't forget about the Humble Bungalow giveaway...

details are in the previous post.

Bonne Chance!