Victorinox Steak Knife Set

They say the best things in life and free...and as far as I am concerned they usually are! I was lucky enough to win a Victorinox Steak Knife set, in their Instagram advent calendar competition, and they arrived in the post today.

 I am certainly not disappointed, the vibrant colours make a fab statement feature in the kitchen. 

As you can see there is no steak present in my kitchen, but they are also fab for cutting veg and other meats. The blades are sharp, and the handle is sleek for easy use. 

Thanks +Victorinox AG :) 

It's the little things this Christmas

For me it really is the little things that all add up to make Christmas day perfect. My Christmas day largely consists of over excitement over a few presents, eating far too much at lunch and then spending the rest of the day trying too eat more.

Here are the little things that really make my Christmas day perfect 

Waking up far to early... Yes at 23 this still happens, the excitement of Christmas day is still far too much...If I am been perfectly honestly I still struggle to get to sleep on Christmas eve. 

What to wear... This is the first year that I have no idea what I will be wearing this Christmas, and I only have sixteen days to decide...This year I have set my heart on a Christmas jumper, having never owned one previously (unbelievable I know). However, each time I find a candidate for the big day my purse strings refuse to loosen. As a result I am still on the search for the perfect Christmas jumper, at the perfect price! 

This Reindeer Fairisle Jumper - £20 (currently with 25%)  is my current fave for Christmas day. 

Cute Christmas decorations...You can't have a perfect Christmas day without a cute little Christmas tree, or in our case a huge six ft fake Christmas tree that sheds a horrific amount of snow! We decorated our tree a couple of days a go, and is already making me feel all festive inside. I love the fact that each decoration brings with it memories, from previous Christmases or days out. 

Chocolate for breakfast...It is a well known fact (at least in my family) that Christmas day is the only day of the year that is acceptable to eat Chocolate for breakfast (I am not saying its the only day that it occurs). At 23, 21 and 19 me and my sisters still insist on a selection box each Christmas, primarily so we can have Chocolate for breakfast...and then proceed to sneakily  eat extra chocolate throughout the morning until lunch time!  

Advent calendar... Yes I am ashamed to say not only do I still get an advent calendar, but this year the dog has also got her very own!! My perfect Christmas day could not be without opening the final door of my advent calendar. Although I am slightly jealous of the size of the treat Tilly gets on Christmas day. I think she will be pretty disappointed on boxing day when there is no more treats! 

Secret Santa presents... Over the last couple of years we have started a family tradition of carrying out Secret Santa each year, rather then buying heaps of unwanted presents for family members we really were not sure what to get. We have a budget of £15, and you would be really surprised at how far £15 can go.  I think I have done rather well this year, and just hope the individual who has me as their Secret Santa agrees! 

Christmas day walk... There is nothing like a Christmas day walk to build up your appetite. And with a giddy Cocker Spaniel in the house the day is likely to involve several walks! 

Pigs in blankets... Making the pigs in blankets is potentially the most prestigious job in our household on Christmas day. No one will admit it, but it is the job that everyone wants (I have already set my sights on the position this year). It's the kind of job where suddenly everyone who has been avoiding the kitchen all morning, for fear of being asked to help, reappears. The simple task of wrapping bacon around sausages, is surprisingly very therapeutic and  equally rewarding, come Christmas day lunch. 

This is the year that my sister Sarah and her boyfriend Adrian had the privilege of making the pigs in blankets. 

Cranberry sauce...Perhaps the most important part of Christmas day lunch. I only discovered cranberry  sauce a couple of Christmases ago, but since then there really has been no turning back. With the quantity needed alongside my turkey and roast potatoes only getting larger each year!  

Christmas crackers...Christmas crackers bring so much fun to the table, with the ridiculous hats and even worse jokes. There is also an unspoken competitive edge to crack pulling, you don't want to be seen as the weak individual that never wins! 

Christmas TV special... Christmas tv is just fab. Upon till a few days before Christmas you can spend hours trying to find something decent to watch on the box, and then come Christmas eve it all starts and your struggling to pick between several programs to watch. I am particularly excited for the Downton Abbey Christmas special. My perfect Christmas day would require a happy ending, but I am not sure I can rely on Downton Abbey to provide that.

More chocolate...Yes more chocolate is required, this really goes without saying. But, in case any of my family happen to read this...Quality Street or After Eights please...preferably both! 

Merry Christmas! This post is my entry into the Tots100/Argos 12 Days of Christmas competition

Bedroom accessories

We have recently moved house, and are in the process of redecorating the entire house. It has been really hard work, but it is really beginning to pay off, with many of the rooms now complete. My bedroom was one of the first rooms to be finished. I am now at the stage where I am looking for accessories to fit in with my new 'grown up' bedroom. Yes, at the age of 23 I  feel I have finally achieved this, with my first ever colour coordinated bedroom, with not a teddy in site... My room is largely purple with a touch of silver here and there. So I have been looking for a silver throw and matching cushions for my bed for a while. Too my delight I found my dream combination on a recent trip to BHS...where I uncovered perhaps the softest, sungliest throw of all time! 

I loved the simplistic packaging, which is as elegant as the products themselves. The throw and cushion came at a bargain price of £5 for the cushion (ordinarily £8 outside of sale) and the throw £16 (with 20% off in the sale usually £20). I would like to emphasis that they are merely faux fur.

Tilly has taken to throw and now rarely leaves my bed...a sure sign of a great throw! 

Holidays are coming

My home town was really getting into the Christmas spirit this evening with a visit from the Coca Cola lorry. After years of seeing the Coca Cola Lorry on the annual festive adverts, it was an outing I really couldn't resist. So I braved the cold, wrapped in my 'snuggliest' winter wears, and lived my childhood dream to see the Coca Cola lorry.

Hat and scarf - Primark 

Gilet - Rampant Sporting 

Hoody - Republic 

Jeans - New Look 

Boots - UGG 

I can't go out on a winters night without my trusty UGGs, potentially the warmest and comfiest footwear I own...or will ever own. Even better they were free, as I won them in a competition last Christmas courtesy of Office.co.uk They are perhaps a little out of my usual budget, retailing at over £200 at the point of receiving my prize. This is the great thing about comping items that are usually unreachable are available to you.