Well. That is by far the longest I have ever left my blog without posting. I can’t really explain other than I had 10,000 words of assignments to write and then I’ve been relaxing and trying to build my strength back up. It has been an incredibly long term, with 12 weeks of lectures and reading, but it has equally been a successful term. I know I definitely made the right decision to transfer back home, I have not been feeling much better but it has been so much easier to deal with uni. Plus I’m grateful for the extra time with my family, it is something I should cherish whilst I am still here.

Those of you who know me well will know that I adore Christmas, especially the build up throughout the month of December. It’s such a magical time of the year, full of wonderful festivities. I have been decorating the house, baking, eating lots of mince pies and buying lots of presents. For me, Christmas Eve is one of the most special moments of the year. As a family we spend most of the day getting everything ready together, joining in with all of the fun and preparations. Because my mother is French we have our big Christmas meal on Christmas Eve. We all get dressed up, make up a beautiful table, light all of the candles and sit down for a delicious three course meal together. Each year I’m just as excited for it as the last. I don’t think I’ll ever outgrow Christmas…

Here a few photos from when we decorated the Christmas tree. It is another of my absolute favourite parts of the preparations, every year as we open the cardboard box of decorations and lay them all out ready to go up it brings back so many memories. Each year we buy a new decoration each and so they all have a special significance.

Because I won’t be with Tom on Christmas morning we decided to exchange presents yesterday so it was like having an early Christmas, buying Tom’s present is always something I spend a long time on, I want to get it just right. I think he liked it!

My presents from him were just perfect. Daisy is my favourite perfume and the Eau So Fresh is even lovelier, spritzing it on in the morning feels wonderful. Ali Smith’s Artful is the book that I went to see her talk about last month and is beautiful. It’s one of those fabulously bound books with several picture sheets at the end. I’ve just started reading it and it is so captivating. I’m feeling rather lucky for having such a thoughtful boyfriend!

I hope you all have an absolutely fantastic Christmas and enjoy the time spent with loved ones