I've Been Thinking... - Snow.

Hi!!!

Good afternoon, everyone. I know today's Blogmas post is going up a little bit later than usual but I do have a very good reason - there's snow outside. I thought it would be nice to share some of the many photos I have taken of the snow - and a short piece of writing that I've done. If you haven't got any snow where you live at the moment or you just love snow as much as I do (which is a lot) then I think you'll like today's post. Happy Blogmas Day Eleven!

I've said it before but Winter is my favourite season. The cold temperatures, the frost, the soft blue or grey skies, the bracing winds and most of all, the snow. Snow is my favourite kind of weather. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe has always been one of my favourite stories and to see the world transformed into a Narnian landscape fills me with joy.

 

 

I love how serene the world looks when it is covered in snow. I love the excitement you can see in people's faces. I love how snowflakes feel when they fall on your face. I love having snowball fights and I love building snowmen and I love making snow angels and I love taking the sledges round to the park and slipping and sliding down the hills. I love how everyone becomes children again when it snows. I love how grown-ups and little ones and grandparents all laugh and play and make memories together. I love how people become happier and become more ready to pass it on. I love how people are eager to help push cars off snowy driveways and I love how people want to tell you they like the snowman you've built.

 

 

 

I can't stop looking out of the windows. I can't stop smiling when I see the trees in the park. I can't stop telling everyone how much I love snow. I can't stop laughing at videos of us trying to make our sledges perform in a Winter Olympics style. I can't stop singing Christmas songs with lyrics that mention snow and pointing as I sing because we actually have snow at Christmas-time like they do in the films. I can't stop thinking about how lucky I am to live in a world where there is snow.

I won't stop thinking about how lucky I am to live in a world where there is snow.

Because I am.

And I feel that with every fibre of my being.



 

I hope you enjoyed this post!
Has it snowed where you live yet? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Leave a comment to let me know.
Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow for Blogmas Day Twelve!

 

I hope you have a wonderful, snow-filled day!

 

GingerSnaps xxx

I've Been Thinking... - Some of My Favourite Christmas Candles

Hi!!!

For Blogmas Day 3, I wanted to chat to you about some of my favourite Christmas candles. I've picked out some that I really love the fragrances of and which really remind me of Christmas and they are all available in a variety of sizes and a variety of price ranges - all of them can be bought for less than £17 depending on the size you opt for.

First up is, as I described it last year, "my number one bae of a candle" - John Lewis Winter Spice. I love this one so much. This has a traditional Christmas scent - I'd describe it as spiced orange, with a good balance between the fresh and fruity orange fragrance and the spicy notes cinnamon. When I first came across this one I was delighted because it really reminds me of Christmases from my childhood. I reach for this one time and time again because I know it will take me straight into a festive state of mind and because it really throws its scent around the room making it well worth the money.

The next candle I want to tell you about is Yankee Candle's Christmas Cookie. This is definitely one for those of you who like sweet smells - if Lush's Snow Fairy bath products are your go-to at Christmas, then I think you'll like this, but perhaps not one for traditionalists. I think the main scents in this are sugar (like pure sugar) and vanilla but there are some slightly less sweet notes that ground it and do give it the quality of sugar cookies baking in the kitchen (so it does what it says on the tin).

Another Yankee Candle that I really like at Christmas-time is one called Red Apple Wreath. The notes of apple make it quite a fresh and fruity smelling candle while also being reminiscent of Christmas punch as it also has top notes of cinnamon and clove and mid notes such as walnuts. It is a very homely scent and one that I think would make a lovely gift as I know plenty of other fans of this candle.

And to finish, one more offering from Yankee Candle - and a footnote that so many are here because I have received gift sets of their festive fragrances in the past. Candy Cane Lane is a great one to burn in the kitchen or anywhere where you're looking to make smell fresh. It really does smell like someone has crushed a load of peppermint candy canes and made a candle from them and so while it isn't necessarily the first scent you'd look for in a Christmas candle, it is still rather festive.

Thanks for reading my Blogmas Day 3 post - I hope you enjoyed it.
What are your favourite Christmas candles? Do you have any other comments or perhaps a suggestion for a post you'd like to see during December? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
See you tomorrow for Day Four. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Have a fantastic day!

GingerSnaps xxx

I've Been Thinking... - Snapshots of Winter.

Hi!!!

Hello everyone. As February draws to a close, and everyone begins looking forward to Spring, I wanted to share some photos I've taken this Winter. Winter is my favourite seasons, for so many reasons, and this winter has been a wonderful one. So, without further ado, I present Snapshots of Winter, a mini photo essay of works taken from November last year, to the present day.

The first photo was taken in December on my way home on a particularly drizzly day. The second was also from a journey home, but one earlier this month - views of canals are as staple of life in Birmingham. The third is from January, when I woke up to flurries of snow, which sadly soon melted, but that kept my half asleep self entertained for a good half an hour or so.  The fourth was taken at about quater to nine one morning in January. The fifth and sixth were taken in November, on the day we went to Chatsworth to see the Christmas decorations - the sixth is the view from the passenger seat as the car heaters and an ice scraper worked their magic on the windscreen. The seventh was taken on Thursday, while I was staying at my Auntie's house. I was watching the TV and then looked out of the window, saw the view and abandoned my TV show for my camera. Storm Doris might have caused a bit of trouble but it enhanced the view ten fold. I chose the blue sky for the final photograph because I think it is rather symbolic of where we are seasonally, and was taken last week.

 I hope you enjoyed these snapshots of winter. I've taken approximately seven billion photos since Winter began (OK, maybe not quite seven billion... but close), but I chose these ones because I think they go nicely together as a little collection.

What are your favourite things about Winter? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading.

I hope you have an incredible day!

GingerSnaps xxx

So, To Sum It All Up - December in Photographs

Hi!!!

How are you guys today? I hope you're all doing well. I spent December doing lots of fun things and I took a lot of photos and I thought I would share those things with you today - I figured that sharing some Christmassy snaps with you in January would be fine so long as I'm still in the Twelve Days of Christmas right now. I hope you like it.

Obviously I started my month by opening the first window on my advent calender - this one is the Cadbury one.

 I also opened a tub of Celebrations because Christmas. 

I went to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them with Elf Girl and one of our friends.

Elf Girl and I spent the afternoon in Costa - I had a Black Forest Hot Chocolate (one of many many more festive Costa drinks) - and taking photobooth photos until our friend could meet us.

We went for a meal at Chimichanga which I would highly recommend, for both food and decor (I had sea bass in case you were wondering). I enjoyed the film - I thought it was funny and charming.

I spent quite a lot of time Christmas shopping last month and went to several shopping centres on my mission.

The Bull in Birmingham was dressed up like a Christmas pudding which brought me far too much joy, and Coventry had some super snazzy decorations, shown below.

The beautiful ceiling lights were in Hemel Hempstead - I went shopping there while staying with my Auntie the weekend before Christmas.

December was filled with delightfully wintery weather, as showcased in these shots. I was running late one morning and cut through an alley way, but then got distracted by the pretty mist and fog and took photos - I made it with about ten minutes to spare so it all worked out fine. I just thought it looked really cool.

Later on in the month, while staying with my Auntie, it was really foggy again - it took us about one hundred years to complete the drive down.

Then of course there have been frosty mornings which I love having a walk around in.

There have also been some occasions to break out the sunglasses - I love those days when it's sunny but freezing cold.

I went for a meal with my friends before we all began our Christmas breaks. We went to a local Pizza Express and swapped gifts, ate pizza, pulled crackers and posed for photos, which was great.

We also had a walk around a local Christmas market and some shops (with plenty of time spent in Waterstones) before a final stop at Costa and heading home. I did all of these things wearing the paper hat from my cracker because those little hats make me so happy, I don't even really know why.

As I've mentioned, we had a pre-Christmas meal with one side of my family the weekend before Christmas.

We had a full turkey dinner with an array of puddings available to us which was lovely.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon exchanging gifts - watching my little cousins open presents makes me so happy! - catching up and eating enough olives to sink a ship (that last one might just have been me, haha).

I made my nails look all festive too - you might remember this from here.

I saw these Shetland ponies while we were there.

They were so sweet, I just had to show you.

My parents and I went into London while staying at my Auntie's. We went to see Hamlet and also to have a walk around. We went for a stroll along Bond Street to admire the window displays. We also went to Selfridges (which was a bit overwhelming on that particular day, I'm not going to lie - really crowded, really loud music...) and to Liberty where we bought Christmas crackers and I swooned over the pretty clothes.

We saw all of the Christmas lights on display. My favourites were these gorgeous angels on Regent Street and Jermyn Street.

Later in the month I went to Stratford upon Avon where I saw these lovely lights.

I ate this snowman cupcake.

I went to see a pantomime at the Birmingham Hippodrome with my Mom, Elf Girl, my Uncle B and Auntie A and had such an amazing time.

I love pantomime and the Hippodrome outdid themselves this year. It was so fun, so well performed and visually fantastic.

Oh and I had my first Starbucks since 2015.

It was a Fudge Hot Chocolate. It was really nice.

Not shown in photos:

Two of my friends celebrated their birthdays in December and I had so much fun at both.

I received some wonderful and thoughtful Christmas presents from my family and friends which I am super grateful for.

A relaxed, and very enjoyable, New Year's Eve.

And that was what December looked like for me.
What did you get up to last month? Do you have any other comments or maybe some suggestions for posts you like to see? Let me know in the comments.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for reading!

I hope your day is marvellous!

GingerSnaps xxx