2014 has been a strange one. There have been some joyful moments: the day we got Bella; our camping trip to the Lakes; travelling to Northumberland with family; and starting this blog. As always, I've also enjoyed watching the seasons change, and have tried to live according to their ebb and flow, but it's been a struggle at times; I've never been busier. As a result, the vegetable patch has remained empty for parts of the year and time that should have been spent in the garden had to be allocated to other more pressing matters. Sadness ran through the veins of the latter part of the year, and sometimes just continuing with daily life has proved a struggle; yet despite these tough times moments of light and happiness have been frequent. As one year closes and another begins it's a chance to reflect on these junctures with a smile.

Spring

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Daffodils graced the green banks, dancing in the wind and bobbing their heads with the elements; I began the season by attempting to improve my bread making skills, which have sadly fallen by the wayside ever since; watching the sunset from a Northumbrian balcony; produce was plentiful in the first few weeks of the season.

Summer

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I've never seen or smelt such beautiful roses as this year; early evening sunlight cast shadows across the beginnings of wild flowers; the harvest was ready early after a hot few weeks; butterflies fluttered majestically and visited the bright pops of summer colour.

Autumn

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The season started early with seed pods and fallen nuts appearing everywhere; our apple trees finally started to fruit; a new addition to our family; the sky blazed as the evenings drew slowly to a close.

Winter

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A crisp frost to end the year with a chill; roaring fires warmed us as the nights drew in; zesty oranges and cinnamon sticks made the perfect Christmas decorations; early morning walks as the sun rose caught the best of the day.

On reflection, as Sinatra would say, it was a very good year.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2015!

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There has been so much festive loveliness swinging around the blogosphere this past week that today's lovely list has a decidedly seasonal feel about it, and I have to say I'm (finally) feeling it too. The tree is up and looks wonderful, I finished wrapping all the presents last night and I only have one batch of chocolate tiffin left to make to give as gifts before I'm ready for the big day. I usually try to make quite a number of gifts, but this year has been so hectic that it has been the tiffin plus some apple and cinnamon infused whisky and that's been it, but at least I've managed something.

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Let's get down to it then...

If (like me) you're still behind on your festive baking, why not try this Chestnut Bûche de Noël recipe - perfect for those of you with an aversion to the traditional mince pies or Christmas pudding.

The run up to Christmas can be stressful and manic and you can easily end up losing sight of what it's all about - check out these 10 positive things to do this Christmas week to bring you back to the moment.

Remembering happy moments and a wander to gather greenery seems like the best way to spend the winter solstice, don't you think? Head over here to read Steph's post if you agree.

The morning light at this time of the year is just beautiful. Nina's post here captures everything that needs to be said on the matter.

There's still time to get your home feeling festive, and if you're looking for some inspiration head over here for my favourite styling the seasons post yet.

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So without further ado, I best be off to finish making that tiffin! I won't be back on here until after Christmas and my birthday (the 27th!), so I hope you all have a magical few days. I will be singing carols with Mr CC, being joyful that I can spend so much time with family and friends and consuming far too many roast potatoes.

Merry Christmas!

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Well, what a chaotic few days! I succumbed to one of the worst winter colds I've had in a long time and spent a week or so just trying to make it through the hours until I could go back to bed, but I'm fighting fit again now, just in time (thank goodness) for Christmas! We had the work end-of-year meal last night and I'm meeting friends for a festive breakfast this morning so it's finally starting to feel a bit like Christmas. This time of year is so important in our family; we join together a number of times over the holiday season and are joyful in one another's company with just the food and few tunes to see us through. I like the fact we keep things quite simple, that my sister and I  have held on to annual traditions even after moving out into our own homes. So today I thought I'd share these Christmas traditions with you...

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Reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas just before bed on Christmas Eve. My dad read this to my sister and I every year, always putting on a dramatic voice as we approached the end of the tale. We've both moved out and live with our partners, but now they read the tale to us (with similar suitable dramatic voices of course!).

Stockings in bed. Christmas without opening stocking presents in bed just isn't Christmas! Throw in a clementine, some socks, a bag of chocolate raisins and a couple of other surprises and you've got yourself the start to our Christmas morning.

Elvis at Christmas. Creeping into the living room to see if Father Christmas had paid us a visit was a thrill when we were younger, and it was always accompanied by the Elvis at Christmas album and a roaring fire to warm through chilly fingers. We've now got the record and I make sure Mr CC has this playing before I venture down the stairs.

English muffins for breakfast. I know lots of people enjoy smoked salmon, some start the day simply with toast, and others break open the bucks fizz early, but we have always toasted muffins and devoured them with lashings of butter and a glass of orange juice - the perfect start to the day.

Seconds. And thirds. And fourths... We're not the sort of family to hold back on festive food, and from my Grandma's sausage rolls to turkey and roast potato sandwiches in the evening, Christmas is a constant flow of indulgence and gorging on homemade cooking. What could be better?

Do you have any Christmas day traditions? Are you hoping to start any new traditions this year?

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Autumn has flown by in a whirl of leaves and has reached its muddy end; we now welcome in the new season of frosts and revel as one year comes to a close and another begins.

So what's in store for the winter months ahead?

1. Have a festive film night and spend some quality time with family.
2. Set goals for the new year.
3. Enjoy the snow (if we get any) and the frost (if we don't), making sure to take lots of long walks.
4. Whisk up some pancakes for breakfast and have a leisurely start to a weekend.
5. Put together a photobook from the past year.
6. Have a spa day at home.
7. Try out some new wintry recipes.
8. Craft more. Make time for hobbies.
9. Do yoga, pilates, or meditate to avoid the stresses of the season.
10. Plan out the year in the garden.

"O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree! True symbol of eternity!Your boughs are green through out the year, Resplendent in a life sincere.O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree! True symbol of eternity!"

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Choosing our Christmas tree is an annual family tradition. We have journeyed to the same farm each year to select a tree that will remind us that nature does not succumb to the frosts and flurries of winter entirely, and that despite the elements we can house some warmth of the earth over the festive period. The smell of the tree is evocative of winter evenings as a child spent standing tip-toed on chairs trying desperately to reach the upper branches to hang stars and baubles before joyfully shouting in my parents to show them the finished result. As I have got older, the urge to decorate and string garlands of lights has only intensified, and this year is no exception.

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Over the weekend we selected a 7ft Nordman and it now stands in pride of place in the corner of our living room. We though Bella might find it a strange addition to the home, but so far she's not really paid much attention to it! We try to decorate quite traditionally, with some wooden decorations and a star for the top. My favourite baubles are those we have received from family members; there are a number that twinkle in the soft sparkle of the lights that originally hung on my grandparents' tree, and I love to look up and be reminded of happy times together.

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I use some of the lower branches for my Christmas wreath, adding only a few pine cones and a bright ribbon to complete the effect. For an easy wreath tutorial head over and read my autumn wreath post here.

What does your home look like at Christmas time?

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Since passing the first of December at the start of the week the blogosphere seems to have gone into Christmas overload - not that I'm complaining; I've been humming festive tunes and munching on mince pies for a couple of weeks now, and this weekend we have finally begun the festive season in the CC household by putting up our tree (see tomorrow's post for the finished result!). I have also succumbed to my annual winter illness, so as a result I have been wrapping myself up in cosy scarves, drinking cinnamon tea with honey and actually taking time out to rest and do very little (something I hardly ever allow myself). I have also found solace in winter walks, and yesterday's was so magical that I stopped every few seconds to take another photograph - it was the first hard frost of the season and looked just beautiful.

If you're looking to eat seasonally this month (as I write about here!) try this frangipane mince pie recipe - they  look absolutely wonderful and make a change from the normal festive fare.

Spindly winter stems and a brilliant blue sky for a midweek miscellany - I love this series from from Sarah and look forward to catching up with it every week.

If you're struggling for inspiration, check out these beautiful festive wrapping ideas from Leah - I particularly like the doily. If you're still on the lookout to bring some seasonal cheer into the home head over here for a table centrepiece how-to.

These photos are so evocative of the cusp of the seasonal descent into winter; they have an ethereal, magical quality that somehow Laura manages to capture perfectly.

Regular readers here will know that I love to bring nature into the home and use the seasons to inspire everything I do, and it seems as though lots of other bloggers follow a similar ethos - head over here for #stylingtheseasons inspiration for December.

What other lovely posts should I be reading that I might have missed this week?

December is the month of indulgence. It's the only time of year we can eat three desserts, wash them down with a glass of some fizz and not feel guilty the next day. It's the month of Christmas, my birthday and New Year's Eve, not to mention all those festive get-togethers where mince pies are consumed within seconds, leaving only a flurry of icing sugar behind. Whether you devour duck, goose or turkey for your main meal of the year, it's all about the roast; even vegetarians stick to this with their nut roasts and pies.

Over the Christmas week, leftovers are king. We relish the opportunity for  bubble and squeak with lashings of ketchup and cold meats. Gone are the squashes and marrows of autumn, and in their place appears a whole host of brassicas, their leaves slightly unfurled, hinting at their dense flavours beneath. Boiling or steaming works well, but for something different add cabbages to a curry, and don't forget red cabbage with your dinner on the 25th.

Decadent desserts are the order of the day, with trifles and tortes taking centre stage, using frozen summer raspberries to add a zing of bright flavour to the darkest of months. Drinks are festive too, with cocktails, eggnog and hot chocolates to warm our frozen fingers after a blustery walk in the snow.

But if all this extravagance leaves you craving something a little more healthy, try some cranberries in this wild rice dish - perfect served as a side if you're hosting family or friends, or as a main meal on those quieter evenings between Christmas and New Year.

Do you have a space to call your own? Somewhere that is just for you, where no one else will intrude and you can craft and create or write and review to your heart's content? Despite allocating a corner of the spare bedroom for this very purpose, I've deliberated for a while over what my crafting and writing space should look like. I had too many items strewn in the shelves under the desk, too many materials with no home and far too much going on in terms of colour and ideas. Not only did I need something to draw everything together, I needed some inspiration, some motivation to get me through those dark evenings we're slowing falling into now. Enter the Typography mural from 1Wall.

The kind folks there sent me this product from their new Creative Collage series and I used the mural as a basis for adapting the space. You actually receive all letters of the alphabet, plus a few spares, and a whole host of punctuation marks (64 pieces in total) but in the end I only chose to use 8 pieces for my mural, depicting one of my favourite sayings - Love Life. This year hasn't been an easy one for a number of reasons, so now more than ever I feel it essential to remind myself that there are so many elements of my life that are wonderful, and that I should embrace each and every one.

The mural was fairly easy to install on the wall as it used wallpaper paste and was applied just as normal wallpaper would be. I then rearranged items on the desk underneath and removed most of the clutter. The addition of a candle and a few sprigs of dried lavender brought an element of softness to the desk, and gave me the opportunity to display and use my delightful candle snuffer. The result is perhaps more simple than I am used to creating, but I love that about it; it's somewhere completely different I can escape to when the rest of the house is upside down and take a moment to myself to breathe and recollect my thoughts.

Of course, I still have 56 pieces remaining, and I actually have a number of ideas for re-purposing them; I've earmarked at least 8 to be framed and gifted as Christmas presents, and will be using a few in frames on our wedding day to depict our initials. What do you think? Any other ideas to use the rest up? I'd hate for any to go to waste!

If you like the look of the mural, I've got a lovely 15% discount for you all - just enter 'nuffnang15' when you checkout from the 1Wall website until January 31st.

P.S. This is a sponsored post, but I wouldn't be writing about it unless I felt the product was a good fit for me and the blog. Views are always honest and my own.

December is all about… carolling by candlelight, spending time with loved ones, the evocative smell of a Norway spruce, turkey and roast potato sandwiches and a long Boxing Day walk.

Something to eat: Other than the quintessential Christmas dinner, December is the month to try out a clementine cake or add cranberries to mincemeat. If you're looking for different ways to serve sprouts, try them wok-fried with ginger, in a soup with chestnuts and chorizo, or creamed with bacon. Delicious.

Something to visit: Visiting a National Trust property is magical whatever time of year you go, but Christmas seems to hold something special. Head over here to find out what's going on in your area - you can even visit Father Christmas at some properties!

Something to make: Christmas cards. I've tried linocut snowflakes and black and white photos, but this year I'll be trying out something a bit different; I'll be using words to inspire my homemade Christmas cards.

Something to celebrate: Christmas! Time to laugh, smile and be thankful for the year gone by and those you love.

Something to take part in: Welcome back light into the world and celebrate the winter solstice on December 21st. The focus remains firmly focused on Christmas at this time of year, but noting and reflecting on the shortest day is also an opportunity to feast and revel in this turning point of the seasons, and the triumph of light over darkness once more.

Something a bit different: We've all heard of (and have probably sampled) something mulled at this time of the year, but have you ever tried wassail? Traditionally, the act of wassailing is to sing carols with neighbours and loved ones while sharing a drink, and there are many variants of the latter. My favourite is the spiced cider (recipe here), which wassailers would have prepared, then soaked pieces of bread or toast with it to bury by the roots of trees to assure a good harvest the following year.

Good afternoon! I hope you're ready for today's second post on preparations for Christmas. Next up on the preparation list is creating our advent calendar, and this year I'm using inspiration from Country Living magazine to create a bunting-style calendar to hang on the kitchen wall. I've been collecting offcuts of paper and card to use for this very purpose, and have written out twenty-four festive thoughts or tasks for each day. My sister and I used to make each other tiny gifts for each day of advent when we were younger, and I had good intentions of continuing this theme, but time - as always - has slipped away and this proved impossible. However, making the most of the festive season is what I want to focus on this year and I feel this style of calendar really helps me to achieve that.

Step One

Start by creating a template for each piece of bunting. I used the template from here to help, but it was really very simple.

Step Two

Cut out twenty four identical pieces of bunting and fold together two sides of each triangle to form a flattened cone. Fasten with sticky tape / glue.

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Step Three

Place your thoughts/tasks inside the pocket - they are wide enough for a small chocolate if you'd like an early morning treat too!

Step Four

You can buy numbered stickers to fasten the bunting pockets, but I used labels and cut out a shape I liked before adding a gold number to the front.

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Step Five

Thread some string or ribbon through the top of each pocket so they can be hung, and you're all done!

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If you'd like to include thoughts or tasks like me, here's my list:

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I'll be posting a picture for each day of advent over on instagram and I'd love it if you joined in! Simply post your image on instagram or twitter using #CreativeAdvent and if a few of you join in, I'll put the best on the blog.

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It's that time of year again when, unless I am fully organised and ready for the festive season ahead, I start to get a little bit frantic. I am usually fairly well-prepared but this year others are putting me to shame, having already bought and wrapped all their gifts, ordered their Christmas food and got the tree up and decorated (still a bit early for my tree!). So this weekend has been designated the 'get on top of Christmas' weekend, and if I'm honest I'm relishing the idea of preparing for one of my favourite times of the year complete with warming hot chocolates and perhaps a festive film or two.

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I began in earnest last night and attended the preview of the Lincolnshire Food & Gift Fair at the Showground. Complete with the smooth dulcet tones of Jazz singer Molly Amour and a complimentary glass of wine from Steep Hill wines, it was the perfect opportunity to survey the best of what the county has to offer, and I left with a number of bags and a feeling of over-indulgence after tasting one too many Lincolnshire cheeses. The show continues today and tomorrow and features demonstrations and workshops for those wanting a little crafting or baking inspiration for the weeks ahead, alongside numerous stalls bursting with local flavours and produce.

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I managed to purchase another few gifts and some tasty treats for the fridge, so I left feeling very content that the preparation weekend had started so well. Head over here for tickets for the show (£5), or alternatively buy on the door for a slightly higher price (£6). Do not miss the baklava in the second hall; I had another for breakfast this morning they were that good!

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How is your Christmas shopping going? Have you been to any festive fairs yet?

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P.S. Check back later for a second preparations post on creating a Christmas advent calendar!

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I was going to post something different today - a more thoughtful and indecisive piece on things I have been considering lately - but when I woke up this morning I felt like it didn't fit, and happily I remembered that tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and so I was inspired. Although I do not celebrate the American holiday, nevertheless it provides a wonderful opportunity to consider everything I am thankful for, to take a step back from the chaos of today and realise that actually, life is full of positive people and moments to cling to and embrace. So here goes...

1. My family. I have a very close family and we stick together through everything; we celebrate birthdays, mourn losses and go on holiday together, and I am so incredibly fortunate to have this constant support network surrounding everything I do.
2. My friends. Some have drifted down south, some abroad, others are new friends from the past few years, but what they all have in common is that I know if ever I needed them they would be there. And that's a heart-warming thought.
3. My home and life in the countryside. This blog is evidence itself of the joys that living in a rural location bring, and the opportunities I am able to experience because of where we have chosen to set up our life together. The changing in seasons in the countryside is a joy to watch and be thankful for.
4. My job, and Mr CC's job. No matter how many lows we experience, no matter how many days we return and think - is this really worth it? - it is. At the end of each working week, we can both truly say that we have made a difference, and how wonderful is that?
5. This blog. Not only has it given me the chance to meet some lovely new people, it has also provided me with a creative outlet to share my thoughts and ideas, and to write on a regular basis.

So what do you have to be thankful for?

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