December

I don't know what I did with the entire month of November, other than watch way too many old episodes of Lost on Netflix and make jam. I know I was busy.......productive, no...but busy....yes.
I did a couple of Christmas markets, sold lots of my jams and jellies and had tonnes of fun doing it.
No excuses though, just letting you all know I'm still alive and well. I don't have cabin fever just yet!

So lets just pretend like November didn't exist and just jump head first into December shall we?
Firstly, a quick update and some pics from the last month.

We are finally seeing some snow on our side of the mountain which in turn is bringing out the Christmas spirit in the Simpson household ( I must admit we've been a little Grinchy in these parts, with the hubby being away so long).

The kids are getting excited, thanks to our nightly visits from Kevin the elf. He has been a naughty little elf lately, getting into all kinds of mischief, stealing my lipstick, eating and drinking from the pantry and making little elf messes all over the house. What a fine example of what NOT to do for the children.

I finally caved in and dragged the Christmas tree out of storage yesterday. The girls and I had a great time deciding on our color scheme and making a start on our decorating. We still have a long way to go but it's nice to get started.

Get a load of the size of the Narcissus bulb we planted. I potted it up mid November and it looks as though it will flower in the next week or so. I've always wanted to plant one but never got around to it.

I'm hoping to feature it in a lovely table centerpiece for the holidays. 

I've been working quite a bit at Simply baskets with Brenda in her new location and now that she has expanded her business and added the florist, I've been lucky enough to get some floral training and some much needed hands on experience. So stay posted for some more pics.

Next up...holiday baking. I'm thinking butter tarts, as always, but have been scouring pinterest for some new family favorites to add to the ever expanding cookbook.

If anyone was some favorite recipes they are willing to share I'd love some new inspiration.

I also have some great recipes I want to share soon. Like this one.... Magic crust custard pie. 

The girls and I made this lovely, simple dessert tonight which reminded me of the delicious custard tarts you get in the bakeries in Australia. Although, we couldn't wait for it to cool down so we ate it warm with fresh blackberries and a dusting of icing sugar. The only thing it was missing was a dollop of whipped cream.

The girls devoured it and we've already planned future alterations to the recipe using some passion fruit pulp. Yum.

Anyhow, it's after midnight and I had better get myself off to sleep. Just wanted to say hi. I hope you are all well and feeling festive, can you believe there's only two weeks until Christmas? Eeeeeeeeeeeek!!