Books I received for Christmas.

Some of the Books I received this Christmas.

I received some lovely books this year, some which will be really helpful with my blog.

The first was from my Gran-in-Law, she knows I love to cook but don’t have an awful lot of time in the evenings. So hopefully this Gordon Ramsay fast food book will be very helpful and delicious.

I also received a fiction book called ‘Chocolate Wishes’. This was from my blogger Christmas gift swap friend Shannon. I have written a separate post on that, which you can find on my blog. I am very excited to read this and I will write a review on it when I finish it.

I also received two great blogging books from my lovely Hubby. He has seen how much I have enjoyed my blog and since I only started it in April, less than a year I will take all the help that I can. So, these books look really good.

Blogging for Dummies will certainly have some great tips for me, but also I have found that some of the information in there I do already know. This made me feel like quite an accomplished blogger. Go me!! 😉

Blogging for Happiness is looking really good too. It does make me very happy, and so does reading. So the two will just go hand in hand. I’m really looking forward to reading this book.

I was also very lucky to have been given a years subscription to The Good Food Magazine. I have subscribed to this before, but ended it a while ago. I used to get so excited about the new issue coming through the door, now I will have that again.

Hopefully I will find lots of delicious recipes to cook and bake. Then I can tell you all about them here on my blog!

The last book is ” 101 Great Things Every Woman Needs to Remember”. So, for all you other great women out there, let me give you some good things to remember:

You are beautiful when you speak and act from the heart.

Your mental health is just as important as your physical health.

You’ve got a style all of your own….. and its cool.

I think I need to read this every once in a while to remind myself of all the positives and to behave and believe accordingly.

So, these are some of the books I received as gifts this Christmas. I still have plenty of other books on my to be read list, mainly from author / publisher requests. I will keep reading, keep writing and keep enjoying it all. That’s the best way, and the way I will be starting off my new year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY READERS AND FOLLOWERS.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ME THROUGHOUT THE PAST YEAR, I HOPE YOU WILL KEEP SUPPORTING ME INTO 2015 AND BEYOND.

I INTEND TO KEEP WRITING, I HOPE YOU WILL KEEP READING.

HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THIS LOVELY NEW YEAR.

AS QUOTED FROM ONE OF MY FAVOURITE BOOKS:

“Tomorrow is fresh, with no mistakes in it”    Anne of Green Gables.

 

#apovgiftswap. Christmas Blogger Gift Swap.

My very first blogger gift swap, and it was lots of fun. I am very glad that I joined into this and will definitely do it again next year. Firstly thanks to Viola from apieceofviola.wordpress.com  who organised this gift swap.

What a great idea and so well organised. Viola set us all up with a paired blogger and then let us get on with it, communicating with each other and agreeing on how we should do our gift swap. My paired blogger is Shannon from  shannonagains.com .

Shannon and I swapped email addresses and spoke to each other quite a bit via Twitter and email. Shannon is really lovely and I couldn’t have asked for a nicer blogger pair. Through our conversations, we agreed that we would spend £7 on each other, (not including the postage). And as a twist for something different, we decided that we would only shop in charity shops. This we hoped would allow us to get extra bargainous gifts. Funnily enough, before we had agreed on the charity shop idea, we had both already bought something small from a normal shop.  😉

We both sent our parcels away and both received them in plenty of time. When I received mine from Shannon, it was so nicely wrapped. It was lovely to have it under the tree until Christmas day. Shannon added a lovely little tag and a nice wooden heart tag. She really did put a lot of effort into the presentation. It made me look forward to opening it. I have to add at this point, when I was wrapping my gift to Shannon, my Husband was very sceptical that I was sending a parcel to a stranger and waiting for a parcel in return. I was very happy to show off my beautiful parcel to him!! ♥

So, Christmas day arrived and I joyfully opened my gifts while Christmas music was playing in the background and my Husband was with me with the camera. I was very lucky with regards all my Christmas gifts. But that’s another story!

Shannon was so intuitive with my gifts, it really felt like she got to know me and the kind of things that I like. I loved all the gifts that she sent and am really thankful to her for all the thought and time that she put into my gift. Here is what she sent me:

I received:

Cinnamon and Spice fragranced candle.

Botanics Set including, body lotion, bath elixir and a mini buffer.

Chocolate Wishes book by Trisha Ashley.

A Christmas Mug with a sachet of Wispa hot chocolate and marshmallow. *

I am very much looking forward to reading the book. On the cover it says ‘full of down to earth humour’ Sophie Kinsella. Sophie Kinsella is my favourite author, so that and the title of this book says it all for me. I’m sure its going to be great.

* When I picked up one of the gifts to unwrap, I got another little surprise as Christmas music started to play! It was the mug, when you lift it up it plays Christmas music. What a great Christmas novelty mug, perfect!

Thank you so much Shannon, great gifts. I will be burning my candle while reading my new book and enjoying a delicious hot chocolate in my fantastic musical Christmas mug. Perfect for my relaxing Christmas holidays.

Shannon will also be writing a post on what she received from me. Here is a sneak preview……. My wrapping was definitely not as creative as Shannon’s. But hopefully she liked what was inside. 😉

Thanks for reading. If you have participated in Violas gift swap or any other gift swap, let me know your thoughts and how your gift swap went.

 

The Festive Tag.

 

 

With December just arriving, I think its time to do my Festive Tag. I was tagged by Charlotte who blogs at http://www.charlottespeaksabout.blogspot.co.uk and Tweets @CharSwinhoe  

Thank you for the tag Charlotte, what a great way to start off December and enjoy the beginning of the festivities.  So, I have 15 favourite festive things to think of, let’s get started! ♥  

1. Favourite Festive Food: Well, anyone who knows me will know that this answer has to be chocolate. But I also love Christmas cheese and cranberry sauce, the sauce makes it more Christmassy for me! Yum.

2. Favourite Reindeer: I actually don’t know that many reindeer names? So, I think I will have to say Rudolf! That cute red nose. ♥

3. Favourite Day from the 12 Days of Christmas:  “Two Turtle Doves….”?? is that right?? If this question means the song, then that. If it means the actual 12 days of Christmas, then of course Christmas day, though I love Christmas Eve too. Err, bit confused there.

4. Favourite Christmas Song: I love The X Factor, so usually at Christmas I like whatever they have as their Christmas hit. Of the well known Christmas songs, I like ‘Mistletoe and Wine’.I love listening to Christmas music as I put my decorations up and wrap the gifts.

5. Favourite Christmas Present: I think my Kindle was my best recent gift, I use it everyday and I tweet A LOT from it! I have had loads of fabulous gifts over time. I have been very lucky. Honestly though, I think I give great gifts too!  😉

6. Favourite Christmas Film:  I love Mary Poppins, it just reminds me of Christmas. Chim chiminee, chim chiminee chim chim churoo!!

7. Favourite Cracker Toy: Honestly, they are all rubbish. I just like to pull them and win. I don’t care what the prize is, they are all bad!

8. Favourite Cracker Joke: Again, all rubbish!! The jokes are not as bad as the toys, the jokes can be so bad they are amusing.

9. Favourite Christmas Decoration: A very easy one this, it has to be the Christmas tree, I love to decorate it and I love to have all our gifts underneath it.

10. Favourite Candle Scent: Usually throughout they year, I like linen type smells. But at Christmas time, the scent of trees or cinnamon is best.

11. Favourite Christmas Advert : The Bear’s Christmas, by John Lewis. The song that went with it was great too.

12. Favourite Christmas Tradition: Well, this isn’t a worldly tradition, but its become a tradition for my Husband and I. We go to a market on Christmas eve, there is great festive spirit there, it stays open until midnight and its cheap! We usually get each other a last Christmas gift and have something nice to eat. I love it. 

13. Favourite Place to Spend Christmas: At home with my Husband. Cosy with lots of treats makes it perfect.

14. Favourite Christmas Fact: I like the fact that it is Jesus’ birthday. That’s the reason we all celebrate.

15. Favourite Snowman Accessory: The carrot! We don’t often get piles and piles of snow enough for snowmen, but when we do its great fun adding the carrot for its nose.

I’m going to throw the snowball to some other bloggers that I’m sure will be getting into the festive spirit of things. I hope you enjoyed reading my answers, I look forward to reading yours. Anyone who wants to join in, please leave me your link so I can read your answers.

I tag:

Kat from perksofbeingabooknerd.com  @Kat_thebooknerd

Cara from carawritesstuff.wordpress.com   @carawritesstuff 

Viola from apieceofviola.wordpress.com  @violahelen_

AJ from ajbookreview.wordpress.com  @ajcraftybox

If anyone else wants to do it too, that would be amazing. Lets spread lots of Christmas joy!  ♦

 

Viola`s Christmas Gift Swap.

 

 

I have been invited to be part of The Christmas Blogger Gift Swap, and YOU can take part too.

Its been organised by Viola  @violahelen_ 

http://www.apieceofviola.wordpress.com

She has come up with a great idea for us bloggers to celebrate Christmas between us and get to know our fellow bloggers a bit better. Its just for UK bloggers (sorry international bloggers, but its a cost thing I think – perhaps you could organise one in your country? Let us know).

Anyway, its a gift swap and a way to get to know other bloggers and their amazing blogs. You will get paired with another blogger at the beginning of December (by Viola). Then you have a bit of time to get to know them, before you can arrange to send them a lovely Christmas gift.

My initial worry was its going to be expensive! But, no you and your blogger partner can decide amongst yourselves if you want to set a price, or not, or even send homemade gifts? Its totally up to you! That’s part of the fabness of this idea.

WHAT TO DO.

Visit Viola’s site and fill in her google form.  http://www.wp.me/p4c9Ur-j0 

Write a blog post about the event. (within 3 days so we can get lots of bloggers involved).

Get paired up, get to know your blogger friend, buy gifts and send.

RULES.

• November 28th: Deadline for submission form.
• December 1st: Find out blogger friend.
• By December 17th: Send off your gift.

TO TAKE PART YOU MUST:

• Fill out the google form.
• Write a blog post about the event.
• Send a couple of nice gifts to your paired blogger by December 17th.
• Write a post about your gifts (include photos) after you have received them.
• Send links to Viola of all your blog posts.

Thank you to Viola for organising this, I love the idea and I hope you do too. If you get involved from reading my post, please let me know as I would love to know which of my followers are doing this. I look forward to reading all the further posts from this event…. and to meeting my blogger friend! Can’t wait to meet you!  🙂

Viola’s links here:

@violahelen_

apieceofviola@gmail.com

http://www.apieceofviola.wordpress.com

http://wp.me/p4c9Ur-j0

Its nearly Christmas, let get a great Blogger celebration started!!  Woo Hoo!