Bliss

A deep feeling of peace and calm. The slightest of tans. Feet polished by sand. Pure, utter relaxation.

S and I have spent the last week with my family at the beach. We drank champagne and ate oysters watching the sun set. We took long, leisurely walks on the beach. We ate a massive feast for Christmas Eve, then did it again on Christmas Day and not to be put off, had a whole second Christmas on the 28th. I read 4 books, probably as many as I had managed to read all year. It was bliss.

I don't really have the words to say how after a hectic, draining year, the last week has replenished my soul - so here are some photos. I hope your Christmas has been as truly wonderful as mine.

Sparkle all the way

How is everyone's Christmas preparation going? I have to admit that December is flying by at a real rate of knots. Just one week of work left till my Christmas break and it is feeling very festive.

In the spirit of festivities I've been sharing one of my ornaments each day on Instagram. Here are a few of the gorgeous decorations that make me smile every day.

You can see more by following me @lisablithemoments.

I hope you are having a sparkly festive season too!

Christmas Baking

There are many things I enjoy about Christmas but one of them is that it gives me so many opportunities to cook for others. Taking full advantage of the season, I spent much of this weekend baking up a storm for my colleagues.

After a couple of years working in very small offices, I now work in an office with about 30 staff. It is a fun and friendly place and people often bring in things they have made. Last week a delicious Christmas cake was demolished in about half a day and so I felt inspired to join in.  Tomorrow I will be taking my colleagues a platter of festive biscuits. They will be getting:

Lemon scented shortbread stars

Shortbread is just one of those great Christmas traditions. This is a traditional recipe, I just add quite a lot of lemon zest when creaming the butter and sugar together and sprinkle the stars with raw sugar before baking. In the past I've made little cellophane bags of these tied up with tinsel. It is just one of those perfect tastes of the season.

Gluten (and diary) free Gingerbread

I know a huge number of people with issues with gluten, so when I discovered this gluten free gingerbread recipe I had to give it a go. I added quite a bit more spice than the recipe asks for, probably twice as much ginger and half again as much cinnamon and nutmeg. I also made 1.5 the quantity but doubled the egg so it was a bit less crumbly. It isn't quite your traditional gingerbread but it is yummy and perfect if you or your crew have allergies.

Vanillekipferl

I've written about these hazelnut delights before. They almost didn't happen this year though, as ground hazelnuts, in fact hazelnuts full stop, seemed impossible to find. Luckily the 4th supermarket I tried (Coles if you want them) had them in stock and now I have a whole tray ready for the office. We will see how many we still have by tomorrow, they are very moorish!

Have you been enjoying Christmas treats in your office?

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone.  I hope you are having a truly marvelous day filled with everything that brings you joy.

I thought I would share with you my favourite Christmas song.  It sums up exactly how I feel about Christmas.  I love it, but it isn't about religion for me, it is about love and family.  Being away from my family today makes it just that bit more poignant. Plus it is one of the few Christmas songs that evoke what it is like being in Australia at Christmas - there is no snow or chestnut roasting here, it is all about the sun.  The only thing I would add is the sound of cicadas and the smell of sunscreen.

So without further ado, have a very merry Christmas and please enjoy Tim Minchin's "White Wine in the Sun" ...

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve in front of the Christmas tree the year before I started school.  I got my uniform and backpack for Christmas that year.

This year, for the first time in my whole life, I'm not with my parents on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve is our family's big celebration.  Based on European tradition, the 24th of December is the time we have always gathered for a special feast and given presents.  While Christmas Day is still special, in my family it is all about the night before and it is a very strange feeling being away from those traditions.  I know that a thousand kilometers away my Mum and sister will be cooking up a storm.  There will be no room for table decorations because the giant mostly cold smorgasbord of salads, meats, cheeses, seafood and more will fill the entire table.  Most years, even with the table extended, we can't fit the bread or something similar on it.  There are a heap of other traditions, but I want to reflect on one that, due to the lack of small children in the family, doesn't really happen at the moment - the Santa hunt.

As the majority of children receive their presents on Christmas morning, Santa has plenty of time during the night to deliver all the presents while they are asleep.  However as we got ours on Christmas Eve, he had to sneak into the house during the evening.  The time was pretty well known, so after dinner my sister and I, accompanied by a number of adult guests, would head out of the house to see if we could spot Santa as he came to deliver the presents.

We would search along the street, scanning the skies, looking for the telltale red light of Rudolph's  nose.  However he always managed to elude us and after awhile we would look up at the house (which is high above the street) and see the curtains were open and the candles lit on the tree and the Christmas ornaments which meant Santa had been there.

We would charge up to the house to find a mountain of presents had suddenly appeared under our Christmas tree.  My sister would interrogate Dad - did he see Santa.  Unfortunately Dad always seemed to have been in the toilet at the crucial moment of Santa's arrival.

The Santa hunt was really made special by the adults who accompanied us.  As the youngest in the family, and with special guests in always attendance, there were plenty of people on hand to take us looking while Mum and Dad "cleaned up from dinner".

My cousins were brilliant at helping with the search, one year they even managed to find sleigh tracks and reindeer footprints in the dirt at the end of the street.  But the best person to take us on the Santa hunt was Uncle David.  David was a slightly curmudgeonly ex-electrician.  He was a smoker and would use his cigarette lighter to illuminate dark spots where Santa might be hiding.  I can clearly remember crouching next to him looking into the drain, wondering why Santa would be hiding down there.  He would nearly always spot a red flashing light in the sky that he assured us was not a plane, it must be Rudolph.  He made those night walks absolutely magical.

As we grew older and Santa stopped delivering to our house the Santa walks were replaced with a stroll around the neighborhood to check out the Christmas lights.  The walk also doubles as an attempt to digest some of the excessive amounts of food we have eaten before having presents and dessert.  I really enjoy that post dinner walk, but somehow it lacks the excitement that only a 5 year old searching for Santa can have.

I'm extremely happy being with S's family this year, but it is strange being so far away from my own familiar traditions.  I think I might need to encourage S to take a walk to hunt for Santa tonight anyway.

Me and my sister, I'm guessing aged about 6 and 4 in traditional German dress after a Santa walk (you can see our excessive mountain of presents behind us).

Advent Calendar

Continuing on with the Christmas theme, I was shocked when I brought out my advent calendar to find that S had never had one.  I guess they weren't quite a common when we were children but we always had them and to this day my Mum buys them for my little cousins.

If, like S, you are not familiar with the advent calendar concept, it is a calendar that counts down from the first of December to the 24th. Traditionally they are a sort of cardboard picture with little perforated doors you open each day.  The doors are numbered, so each morning you would find the number that corresponded with the date and open that door to see what was behind.  When we were small there was a different picture behind each door but when I was about 7 or 8 they started coming with a little chocolate behind each door.  The chocolate itself was awful compound chocolate that was often slightly smushed as it must have been melted in transport, but it was ours, we didn't have to share, and there was a new one every day.  It was very exciting.  I remember hearing that other children would open all the doors and eat all the chocolate straight away.  I was shocked, that is not how they work, did those children not understand.  I really thank my Mum for instilling that sense of occassion in me.  Even now if I get birthday or Christmas presents early I like to wait and open them only on the appropriate day.

My sister and I were super spoiled however, as not only did we receive the normal commercial type advent calendar, we got a home made one from our Oma (Grandmother) each year.  These consisted of a long piece of ribbon with a little present tied to it for each day - although I don't think she did the full 24.  They were tiny presents, things like a new eraser, hair accessory or a single chocolate.  To make things fair we would have the same presents on each of our strings so we took it in turns to pick the shape of the present to open - otherwise you knew what half your presents were before you had opened them.

The advent calendar tradition petered out when we were in early high school I think.  Oma had become too old and frail to go buying all the little gifts and we had become too grown up to have the cardboard type.  Then a few years ago, Mum resurrected it by giving me and my sister the most gorgeous wooden advent calendars.  Behind each door is a tiny ornament that you hang on the "tree" that makes up the body of the calendar.  It is one of my favourite Christmas decorations and each evening I call S over and we open a door to see what is behind it.  He says he joins in because of how much joy it gives me - but I think he enjoys it too.

Did you have advent calendars as a child?  And were you the type to open the doors in advance to get the chocolate or did you wait for each day like me?

Christmas Baking

I've been reading lots of posts about the yummy things everyone has been baking ahead of Christmas so I thought it was about time that I joined in.

My baking, as with many of my Christmas traditions, is influenced by my German background.  These days having access to the German founded Aldi means that it is pretty easy to get those favourite Christmas treats stollen (similar to Christmas cake but better) and lebkuchen (a sort of gingerbread but better).  However one thing that has to be homemade because it tastes so much better super fresh is Vanillekipferl.

It seems that every European country has a crescent shaped biscuit or pastry, many of which are nut based.  Vanillekipferl are said to have been created in the shape of the Turkish crescent to celebrate the victory of the Hungarian army over the Turkish in one of the many wars between the nations and they are traditionally made at Christmas, although you can find them in Viennese coffee shops year round.

One of the main ingredients is ground nuts, usually either hazelnuts or almonds.  I prefer hazelnuts, but that is simply a personal preference, ground almonds are delicious too.  I'm sure they would be tasty with any nut, so really you can use any ground nut you like.  Another ingredient is Vanillin Zucker - or vanilla sugar.  I like these little packets which I add to the icing sugar because it has a very strong flavour.  They are pretty easy to find in good supermarkets and delis but if you make your own vanilla sugar you can use it.  You just want your icing sugar to have a nice strong vanilla flavour.

The mixture is very crumbly, but by working balls of it in your hands you warm and soften the butter and it will come together so that you can pinch it into the crescent shape.  It is important to sprinkle the icing sugar mixture very thickly as soon as they are out of the oven and then leave them to cool.  This way the icing sugar sticks properly.  I always store them in the leftover icing sugar to really coat them well.

They are super tasty, if somewhat messy to eat- be careful to tap off the extra icing sugar.  Perfect with a cup of tea and great to have on hand for all those extra festive season visitors.

Vanillekipferl
250g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 cups ground nuts
2 1/2 cups plain flour

Approx 200g icing sugar
3 packets

Cream together the butter and sugar.  Blend in the nuts and flour.

Take a small handfull of mixture and work together till you can form it into a crescent shape.  You can lay them quite close on a baking tray as the size won't change while cooking.

Bake at 160oC for 20 minutes.  

Mix together the icing sugar and vanilla sugar.  Once out of the oven sieve the icing sugar mixture very thickly over the biscuits and leave to cool.  Enjoy!

That crazy, frantic, joyous time of year

I know you have seen him before but I just love this little Santa - he is actually a bell!

Sorry about the break in posts, I'm having computer issues and on a happier note the last few weeks have been packed with social activities.  The dark circles under my eyes required extra concealing today and while I would have loved a few extra hours sleep, I wouldn't have given up all the fun I had over the weekend.

I always find December a strange time of year.  There is a certain frantic atmosphere as people rush about, finishing projects, organising presents, cooking feasts and treats.  There is a certain sense of fatigue as it seems the effect of a year of work piles up.  But there is also a certain joy in the air.  A sense of celebration and frivolity.  People walk around in Santa hats and with funny Christmas themed t-shirts.  There are parties and gatherings.  Christmas cards arrive in the mail and there is the anticipation of what lies in the brightly coloured parcels under the Christmas tree.  It is a time of year where amidst jostling crowds of harried shoppers, Christmas carols and the excited squeal of a child who has just spotted Santa makes us all smile.

We attended three Christmas events over the weekend - two end of year parties for our dance schools and a Christmas themed BBQ.  Each event was full of happy people.  When talk turned to work everyone seemed to heave a tired sigh but in no time at all the conversation returned to holidays and fun plans.  I caught up with a friend who I haven't seen in a year and it was like no time had passed at all.  I'm exhausted after a couple of very late nights but my spirit has been lifted by the celebration.

All in all, it is a wonderful, crazy, frantic, joyous time of year.

I love the growing pile of presents under our tree

Christmas Tree Time!

S has been away for work for the last few days so I have amused myself in the most appropriate way I could think of for this time of year - I put up and decorated our Christmas tree. 

It was good timing as we don't quite see eye to eye on the topic of Christmas decorations.  He thinks that as we will be away at Christmas there is no need for a tree but I don't see why that means I should get to enjoy several weeks of gazing at a beautiful tree - plus all the other ornaments around the house.  He also thinks that a good Christmas tree looks like a tinsel monster threw up all over it, while I don't usually have any tinsel on the tree.  However he does love it once it is all up, so I feel I used my time wisely.

Along with the heavily laden tree we have decorations all over our lounge room.  Christmas comes just once a year but I'm going to enjoy the prettiness for as long as I can!

I hope you enjoy these snippets of our Christmas tree - it is guaranteed to put a huge smile on my face every time I walk through the door.

Christmas Eve

My family is of German and Austrian descent and as a result our Christmas follows those traditions.  The key one is that our big celebration is held on Christmas Eve, not Christmas day and like anything to do with my family, it is centered around food.  Around a feast to be precise.

The photos never do the spread justice.  So to give you an idea of just how crazy it is, here is a list of what the 6 of us ate:

• Potato Salad
• Spinach Salad
• Pumpkin and Eggplant Salad
• Roasted Capsicum Salad
• Tomato and Boconcini Salad
• Cucumber Salad
• Coleslaw
• Asparagus
• Seafood - prawns, oysters, smoked salmon
• BBQ chicken
• Ham
• Cabanossi
• Procutto with melon
• Eggs - plain hard boiled and deviled
• Homemade Pate
• Cheese - brie and chedder
• Two types of bread

 

That is right, 6 of us ate that - and a pav for dessert!  There were plenty of leftovers which Mum and Dad happily took possession of and will feed them for a week.

Everything was washed down by an excellent bottles of champagne, white wine and red wine.  As a result things did get a bit silly at some points, my sister modelling the new fashion for Christmas hats is an excellent example.

As per tradition after the main meal we went for a walk.  When my sister and I were small the walk was to look for Santa.  We would hunt up and down the street, checking the sky for a red light that would be the telltale sign of Rudolph's nose, until eventually we would see the curtains of our house open and the candles lit, the sign that Santa had somehow snuck past us to deliver our presents.  These days the walk serves the important purpose of allowing us to digest the vast quantities of food we have just eaten before we get stuck into dessert.

It was a gorgeous night.  After the feast of food there was a crazy number of presents.  My sister's little dogs were even in the swing of things with their tinsel collar accessories.

And of course seeing that we do all of this on Christmas Eve that leaves Christmas day for my sister and I to head to our partner's families to partake of the English traditions.  We really do get the best of both worlds.

I hope your Christmas was as special as mine.

The World Record for Christmas Lights

If someone asked you to guess what country held the record for most Christmas lights on a house, most people would probably think of America.  They would be wrong.  The record is held by Australia; in fact, by a house in Canberra.

The house in question is located in Forest.  Those who know Canberra will realise how incongruous this is.  Forest is one of the poshest, most elite suburbs in the city.  The kind of suburb where manicured hedges hide genteel houses.  It is a suburb of quiet tree lined streets, the sort of place where the only traffic is local.

However in the middle of this quiet oasis of the wealthy, one couple has created a mammoth Christmas lights display that attracts hundreds of people a night.  Cars line the surrounding roads, there was actually a mini traffic jam on their street.  Not only that but the 331,038 lights are coordinated to the music that is played, creating a noisy, brightly flashing display that is brilliant to see but must be a nightmare to live next to.

S and I made an impromptu visit on our way home from another event.  We didn't actually know the address but once in the suburb we were easily able to follow the continual stream of traffic and once we were close the overwhelming display made it clear which house we were visiting.

It is hard to describe.  There is a 25m tunnel made of closely woven strands of LED lights.  A huge tree is wrapped in them, the house is adorned.  It is overwhelming really and the photos do not do it justice.

We arrived at about 9.30 and parked a couple of streets away.  The actual street was in gridlock and there were people thronging in all direction.  The display takes donations which are given to SIDS and Kids and I think they would make hundreds of dollars each night.

I can't say I would want to be their neighbours, but I have to say, it is an awesome display and I admire the work to achieve it.  The display is clearly a labour of love but it is one that brings a huge number of people a lot of joy.

Busy times

Sorry about the break between posts but it 'tis the season to be busy, busy, busy!  Work is full on in the lead up to leave (yay!), there is the all important gift purchasing and other shopping needs plus my social life is as full as can be as everyone fits in their Christmas activities.  Sleep has become a precious commodity.

This weekend just gone had end of year parties for two of the dance schools I attend.  They were great fun, loads of dancing, not to mention having the chance to catch up with people who we haven't seen for quite some time.  S and I probably spent more time chatting than dancing, but it was just perfect for this time of year.

The party on Saturday was at 8pm and while it included finger food, some friends of mine and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try the new Dumpling House at the ANU.  We were somewhat overdressed for the occasion, but the food was just delicious.  Given that we were about to go dancing, we limited ourselves to just a few baskets of dumplings, although having seen the extensive menu I'm keen to go back and try more.

We ended up eating the Shanghai fried beef dumplings, the fried pork dumplings, steamed prawn dumplings and steamed vegetarian dumplings.  The boys were a bit taken aback at ordering the vegetarian ones, but I think they ended up being everyone's favourite!  They were generous serves and while I'm sure we could have stuffed ourselves more, we were all happy with that selection and at $11 a person, it was good value too.  Dinner also came with complimentary tea.

We had a great catch up over dinner which was much needed as we haven't had much of a chance to see each other recently - as evidenced by the fact that they bought me a birthday present (my birthday was 2 months ago).  Lauren has a business doing high quality artificial flower wedding bouquets.  Her work is gorgeous and she made me this stunning posy which was just perfect for an antique green and gold vase that has been sitting in the cupboard, just waiting for something to be put in it.  That is right, all the flowers in these photos are artificial.

If you are looking for someone to do your flowers for a wedding, or you are just after a special and permanent flower arrangement for home or the office, check her out at http://www.acapitalaffair.com.au/ her work is beautiful.

Opening Doors

Have you been opening your advent calendar doors?  I'm firmly of the belief that one is never too old for such Christmas traditions, which is probably helped by the fact that I have an extremely cute advent calendar.  It was a present from Mum a few years ago, my sister has one too and we love them.

Each day I open a door and get a new little decoration to hang on the tree.  When I pack it up in January I always put them away in a random order so that I surprise myself with what comes out on each day.

The house is feeling very festive.  Every night I put the lights on the tree and sit in semi-darkness admiring it.  Gosh I love a Christmas tree.

But the rest of the house is decorated too.  From the wreath on the front door, to the little ornaments on shelves and coffee tables.

I love blue and gold, so even in my red themed home I have a special place for a crystal bowl of blue and gold baubles in the middle of my dining table.  Isn't the runner great?  I got it for $3 from the Reject Shop this year.

Do you decorate the whole of your house, and where do you set the line between tasteful decorations and OMG the house vomited tinsel?

Tree Finial

I had a few people over this weekend and my tree attracted a fair bit of attraction, particularly its topper.

No star or angel for me, I have a finial on my tree.  Based on the architectural look of a spire on European churches, it is a different look but one that is very familiar for me - it is what we always had on our family Christmas tree.  It took a lot of searching to find one, although they seem to be becoming more and more popular.

For me it is normal but my friends think it looks somewhat a spaceship!  What do you think?  And what tops your tree?

Christmas tree time!

This year has rushed by and seems to be picking up speed as we head towards the end of the year.  There is lots to get done and not much time to do it.  However the end of the year does herald my absolute favourite time - Christmas!!!

Last night I decided it was about time I really got into the spirit and I put up my Christmas tree.  It still needs some work, it is feeling under-dressed to me (as far as I'm concerned more is more with Christmas trees), but it is standing, sparkling and the sight of it makes me very happy.

I don't do tinsel on my tree.  I feel it takes too much space away that could be filled with baubles.  I also don't do much silver, I'm more gold themed.  And it is white fairy lights only on my tree.  I have 8 settings, but I prefer solid on, I'm not much for the twinkling look.  In other words I'm rather fussy when it comes to tree decoration.

I do have some beautiful decorations though.  Most have been gifts from my Mum.  She loves Christmas as much as I do and has always made it a wonderful time.  Most of my strongest childhood memories revolve around the wonder that was Christmas in our house.  I think we would both pick Christmas over our birthdays if we could only celebrate one of them. 

This angel is so sweet, although heavy, you need to pick a good solid branch for her.  The gold ball below her came from the wonder that is the Bredbo Christmas Barn.  Well worth the drive for anyone in the ACT region.

I think this lovely snow bubble of a bauble was originally a decoration on a Christmas present.  I always try to hang it where a light will shine though.

And what about this gorgeous fat Santa?  He is actually a bell.  I love his chubby little face and shiny round body.  He always gets a position of prominence.

So be prepared for many Christmas themed posts in the next few weeks.  I warn you now, I adore this time of year, the decorations, the food, the present selection and best of all, relaxation time!  It may be early, but Merry Christmas everyone.