Farewell to Guests and Yuletide parties

 This Christmas has been a memorable one, usually we are quite low key and the only day that we celebrate is Christmas Eve.  It has been lovely celebrating with a huge number of old and new friends over a number of days and reading this post at Badinage, made me realise it is hasn't been the glitz and the glamour that is the best bit, it's just being with people that we care about that matters.

There weren't too many photos of Cliveden, I am sure that Cynthiawill do Alice far more justice than I have in this.  She was the belle of the ball, quite breath-takingly beautiful in her Cinderella dress. The consensus was Grace Kelly at her best, the young man to her right thought so too....

 The little guy also concurred, although he is less steadfast, he spent the later part of the evening dancing with two ladies in their 30s...

Dinner was tasty and we got our very own close quarter magician, his balancing acts were more successful than the card tricks...

 Cynthia and I relaxed after dinner and watched the young on the dance floor...

 I was tired after three days of partying, our poor guests also had jet lag, I am not sure they ever really knew what time of day or night it was.

We picked them up at 6am to return to the airport.  It was a beautiful time to be in London....
This was our first sighting of the Christmas lights this year, and they were spectacular...

And Claridges isn't bad either...

The trip to Heathrow was an easy run and we only wished that they could have stayed longer.

Now we are back at the cottage, with oodles of cakes and mince-pies, settled in front of the fire, waiting for the snow to come...(Miss B engrossed in Country Life) 

But she will always look up for a photo....

 I hope that you are warm, cosy and relaxed as Christmas draws to an end.

Boxing day ball

Christmas eve drinks went in a bit of a blur, I managed the whole night in Michael Kors caged heels, lower than the Sergio Rossi Mermaid ones, but just as sparkly....

 My favourite photo bomber...

...was less keen to be photographed...

Got this last pic before the madness started...

At midnight Miss B retired to bed, it's so exhausting being the Belle of the ball...

Tonight we are all going to a Boxing Day Ball at Cliveden.
In less than an hour I shall be collecting my two Cinderellas from Claridges and we will head out to the country....

This is a Valentino number from TK Maxx, I think it was from their bridal range, but at 50 quid I am not too worried, it is pure silk and beautiful chantilly lace....

I am fully blinged up, just don't look too closely at the diamonds, muggers would be disappointed...

And shod in Rene Caovilla with an Anya clutch.  Plus the beautiful flowers from Cynthia and the lovely Alice.

I have to run so that we are not late, tonight I'll try and be better with the pictures.

 I hope that everyone else is having a magical Christmas time.

I can't believe it is Christmas Eve....

....and I am blogging. The last week was hectic with winding down from work. I must have shifted 500 boxes, and then I pulled a tendon in my hand wrapping presents and may have broken a finger.

I have 30 tonight for drinks and 12 for lunch tomorrow, so no time for A and E, it is strapped up and and Nurofen is this year's top Christmas tipple.

Last night these amazing roses arrived, so they became the focus of decorating...

Except for the Nativity of course...

There were a lot of roses...

We filled vases.....

Even small ones were conscripted to work....

And more vases and coffee cups....

And a giant gold urn.....

And a bucket.....

More glasses at the ready for tonight's festivities...

Lovely Cynthia and Alice have made it, things are fairly calm, there will be more pics of the soiree soon.

Have a beautiful Christmas and New Year! xxxxx

Courchevel, Megeve, school fairs and a night at the Chiltern Firehouse

I mentioned to the husband that we have never been to Courchevel, he looked at me blankly and said 'But you don't ski and you hate the cold', he didn't actually say 'Spoiled cow' out loud.
He is completely right, snow is a lovely idea in pictures, but the reality is always a little different. At Christmas time it is nice to look at pictures of the snowy destinations, but in truth, I am more drawn to the cosy fires and the juxtaposing of fire and ice than the ice itself.  All these destinations are advertised in the August issues of the St Tropez magazines, so I have this vision of fur clad bikini babes rocking the slopes with music blaring and champagne bottles topped with sparklers.

For the fantasy Courchevel trip I would hang out at the K2, or go old school to Megeve and visit Les Fermes de Marie, sister of Villa Marie in St Trop....

Spot the gold swimsuit in the spa pic, it could live up to expectations...

We headed out to a school Christmas fair at one of the UK's top prep schools. It is a huge school with an enormous and illustrious alumni. Tom Hollander who is now quite an 'A' list Hollywood actor opened proceedings.  My kids didn't go to the school, but it is so vast that we bumped into loads of their friends.

The whole place was teaming with people, it is quite hard to give an impression of the sheer numbers that were there as every part of the school and grounds was being used for the event.

My two spent most of their time paying for balls to throw at the plates. No prizes, no skill, just vandalism, they loved it.

And the pretty young teacher in charge of ball distribution probably helped.  After having visited the wreath making stall and potted bulbs (via sushi and dumplings), we found this room.
In light of the morning's conversation, it made me smile, the days of guessing the weight of the cake or the number of sweets in the jar are obviously numbered...

It was Christmas party time and back to the Chiltern Firehouse.  I wanted to put a bit more effort in this time so tried on a few outfits (this was at 6am before work)

My usual 'easy' Coast dresses are not as flattering since I have gained my 'office bottom'..

The short one is a bit more flattering, but by the end of the day (before a few glasses of fizz) I am  not good with the cold. And anything this short makes me just want to head home for hot tea, comfortable sofa and crap tv....

 I like the top with the jacket, but it's just not for this time of year...

 And so back to my old faithfuls, Valentino lace top, leather leggings and Trevor Bolongaro jacket.

The plan had been to go straight from work, but I had to come home first to do some errands.  These pictures are exactly 12 hours later...

Did you know about the magic door at the Chiltern Firehouse?
I could write about the yummy food and endless bottles of Ruinart, but the best bit was the secret garden accessed through a door that looks like a mirror in the loo...

The courtyard is heated and ROCKING, we made so many friends, we all felt a bit intrepid having found it, so everyone liked to chat and meet new people.  One of whom I followed out at 2.30 in the morning, the picture is a true likeness of my vision by that stage, and yes it is Paris Hilton!

ps Just found this post from Susanne O'Leary, How to fake it in Courchevel, it may just live up to all expectations