Snowy Scotland

We've made it back to snowy Scotland in time for Christmas. Everything is beautifully wintery and festive and I'm looking forward to spending a lovely cosy Christmas.

Yesterday the Rock My Wedding website featured our engagement shoot from last Christmas when we got some really beautiful shots in the snow. I can't believe a whole year has passed since then.

I want to thank everyone for being such sweet followers of my blog over the past year. Your comments and support make me smile every day. I wish you all a wonderful, magical holiday.

Sarah Elizabeth x x

4 things

I was given this tag by the lovely Signe of Signe Pling. I love Signe's blog, she always posts such dreamy and beautiful pictures. At the moment she's having a lovely giveaway so I recommend you hop on over to her blog for a look around.

So, here are my 4 things:

4 Shows I watch

This is a tough one as I don't watch TV really apart from the occasional film. So, instead I'll tell you the last 4 films I watched.

1. A Single Man

2. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows

3. Disney's Cinderella

4. The Reader

4 Things I'm passionate about

1. Books

2. Dancing and music (I wish I was a ballerina but for now I'm content with having a weekly dance class in our village)

3. Crafting - knitting, crocheting, sewing.......

4. Green living

4 Phrases I say a lot

1. What?! (when I don't understand what someone is saying to me in Italian)

2. Sit down and listen please! (to my little students at school - I must say this at least 100 times a day)

3. Si! (My response to most questions asked by my Italian family - a lot of the time I don't really understand and I just answer 'si')

4. Che schiffo! (This means 'how disgusting' in Italian. I use this phrase a lot but just because I like the way it sounds not because I find anything disgusting.)

4 Things I've learned from the past

1. If you want something in life you have to go out and get it for yourself.

2. Happiness is in no way related to the amount of money you have

3. Life is short - we have to appreciate it while we can but at the same time not take it too seriously.

4. I'm my own worst enemy

4 Places I'd like to go - I think it would be easier to list the places I'd not like to go! I travelled a little bit when I was younger but the past few years have been spent travelling between Scotland and Italy. There are still so many places that I'd like to go but these are the first 4 that come to mind.

1. Australia

2. Nepal

3. Finland

4. Zambia

4 Things I did yesterday

1. Ate a lot of cheese

2. Did some knitting by the fire

3. Watched A Single Man

4. Listened to BBC Radio 2 online (I've just recently made the fabulous discovery that I'm able to listen to UK radio online!)

4 Things I'm looking forward to

1. Going home to Scotland for the holidays

2. Christmas

3. Going sledging

4. Mince pies and mulled wine

4 Things I love about winter

1. Wrapping up in warm winter woolies and going out into the cold.

2. Coming back inside to a roaring fire and mug of steaming hot chocolate.

3. Christmas

4. Eating hot soups and stews

4 Things on my wish list

1. A puppy

2. A new roof on the house we are renovating

3. A piano

4. Plane tickets to Australia

(Hope you are reading this Santa Claus!)

And finally pass the tag onto 4 other bloggers

1. International Woman of Mystery

2. Leanne of From Australia to Italy

3. Loree of Stories and Scribbles

4. Mademoiselle L

Thank you Signe for tagging me.

Thank you also to International Woman of Mystery for awarding me this......

I'd like to pass on the award to the two sweetest sisters anyone could wish for - Loulou May and Wee Jennie Wren

Hope you all have a lovely Christmassy week x x

(All pictures from We Heart It)

Friday Photo - Winter Vines

Have a happy weekend everyone x x

A gift from a wee bird

This week I was surprised by a late birthday gift arriving from my sweet sister in Australia. I tore open the envelope to find this lovely little package tied up with a pretty ribbon.

Inside were three packets of vintage crochet thread.

My sister definately knows what I like.

The trouble is they are too pretty to use but too pretty not to use! What would you make with these?

My sister has just started a new business called Wee Jennie Wren, customising basic kids clothing using recycled fabric. She'll be doing a guest post here soon. At the moment she's busy with Christmas orders.

Thank you Wee Jennie Wren x x

A walk around Badiola

On Saturday we finally had a dry day to get out for a decent walk around the village. It was a perfect crisp winter's afternoon, the light from the low winter sun bathed everything with a warm orange glow - perfect for taking pictures.

At the moment we are living with my in-laws just outside of the village of Badiola. The house we are renovating is in the centre of the village, near the church you can see in the pictures.

Have a good week everyone x x

Friday Photo

This week I've been thinking about Christmas so todays photo is of some of the bits and pieces I've been using to decorate for the holidays. I love simple, natural style or homemade decorations and every year I add to my little collection.

This week I'm linking up with Rhonda's weekly 'This is on my mind' Friday Photo feature at her blog Down to Earth.

Christmas Market

Yesterday was a public holiday here in Italy so we spent the day doing Christmassy things. In the morning we put up our Christmas decorations and in the afternoon we headed into Perugia to look round the Christmas market. The centre of Perugia looked beautiful all lit up.

We enjoyed a glass of mulled wine before joining the crowds in the market. There were some lovely things for sale and I got lots of inspiration but I wasn't tempted to buy anything. I didn't manage to get any pictures of the market as it was too busy and crowded to stop for long. Before going home we paid a visit to one of my favourite pasticcerias in Perugia for some hot chocolate. It's called Sandri and has been open since 1860. The interior is beautiful and they make all sorts of mouth watering pastries and chocolates. Going inside is like taking a step back in time.

Altogether it was a lovely day and I now feel much more Christmassy. What have you been doing to get into the Christmas spirit?

Friday Photo

Thanks for all of your advice on my last post - I've spent this week re-organising my home so that it's much easier for me to get things done. It's made a big difference.

I still had time to sit down with a pot of tea and some biscuits and finish off some sewing I started almost a year ago!

Which picture do you prefer? As usual, fire away with your opinions and ideas for improvement. I don't know if I'm getting any better but it's certainly encouraging to read your thoughts.

It's cold, wet and stormy here in Perugia so I think I'll be having a weekend by the fireside with my knitting. Hope you have a cosy weekend.

Sarah Elizabeth x x