Christmas & Summer Holidays, Gardening and Easy Living…

home3

©Marley&Lockyer

Hi…Merry Christmas! How was your celebrations? I say that as ours isn’t just the day, but a three day affair. Christmas Eve is always at our house around an outdoor fire. Antipasto platter and some drinks and music accompany, then Christmas day is also at our house…this shot is in the late afternoon, working off some of the food with backyard Christmas with family and Boxing day is at my parents-in-laws for a big family BBQ – it doesn’t get any better! I am also officially on holidays…so I have been starting to plant out the garden. This little garden is yet to get mulched as I only planted it the day before Christmas.

©Marley&Lockyer

We are so lucky to live in the country like we do. It is a glorious food bowl and the boys and I went off to the local Hillwood Strawberry Farm on xmas eve to pick Strawberries, Raspberries…and have a sundae…we may have tested a few berries along the way…so, SO good. Next stop was the dairy farm to get some fresh Creme Fraiche and some vintage cheese and lastly to the Cherry farm up the road for the best cherries ever!

©Marley&Lockyer

©Marley&Lockyer

I didn’t do a lot of fuss decorating wise this year and I must admit it was lovely. We do a lot of ‘Family sharing meals’, where the food is served on vintage platters and everyone helps themselves, which is so much more of who we are as a family and I find it a lot more enjoyable. I just use white oven-to-table pieces to cook in then take it straight to the table…less washing up too!

©Marley&Lockyer

There was a lot more fresh greenery and candle/fairy light this year. Copper and silver accents and of course white.

home17

These copper fairy lights came from Father Rabbit in New Zealand and are completely wonderful. In my old DemiJohn, they sparkled even more.

©Marley&Lockyer

©Marley&Lockyer

I loved that as the day ended, that little corner glowed.

Processed with VSCOcam

homemade wreaths of fresh pine branches for the doors and windows along with white fairy lights was all that we needed.

Processed with VSCOcam

©Marley&Lockyer

The rooms were decorated simply too. In the boys room, a small tree and some white fairy lights along their fireplace mantel was enough and in our room some little silver wire lights in old amber bottles made perfect festive night lights.

©Marley&Lockyer

I turned one of my old crates into a night stand for a change and used a vintage wooden spool as a candle stick.

©Marley&Lockyer

This shot looks weird…I couldn’t catch the tree between flashes properly. A little glass vase from Ikea was filled with white lights and sprigs of fresh pine laid over the battery box to hide it. On top of the old silver platter it sparkled wonderfully.

©Marley&Lockyer

It hasn’t been all fun and celebrating…there was some work to be done at the local cafe. I made up their new menu board….can I just say that the soup with toast is the best I have ever had…amazing!

©Marley&Lockyer

…and this is our home today. Christmas was packed away on the weekend. I know a lot of people don’t take it down until the first of January, but I have been in Christmas prep mode with Marley & Lockyer since March, so I really needed a visual Christmas break. It is like the best Spring clean ever…mind and soul.

©Marley&LockyerThe sideboards and mantels are all re-done and it is like a fresh start all ready for 2014…

I am ready for it. xx

Comments

comments

Comments (6)

  • Hi Ness, it looks like you had a beautiful Christmas, I love simple decorations also and your house is just gorgeous.
    Wishing you all the best for 2014 and lots of continued success and creativity.
    Love Fiona xx

    Reply
    • Thanks Fiona. It was lovely. We love this Old Lady of ours.
      Wishing you the best for 14 too, gorgeous.
      Ness xx

      Reply
  • What a beautiful Christmas – it all looks absolutely stunning Ness! Wishing you all good things for 2014! xx

    Reply
    • A very relaxed one Naomi. Wishing you all the best for the year xx

      Reply
  • I too kept it simple this Christmas and the decs come down today as I just want less red and white and more colour all of a sudden 🙂

    Happy New Year Ness I hope 2014 is a fabulous year for you x

    Reply
    • Im with you there. The simple Christmas was great and that fresh, clean feeling once it all comes down is lovely too xx

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Ness Lockyer Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Verified by ExactMetrics