Spoiled

Our Christmas Tree in Bristol

Christmas continues...

After spending Christmas Day with Mark's family on the farm, we have come over to my family in Bristol for a few days, which means a second Christmas!

My parents bought me a new camera, which is pretty much the best present ever! It's a Canon Powershot A4000 IS and it's so tiny! My previous Canon Powershot I have had since early 2007, and while it was a great camera, it's no longer much use as the autofocus broke about a year ago. As a result, whenever you want to take a photo you have to spend ages zooming in and out to try and get it to focus! I still have my Canon EOS 30D DSLR, but that is a big serious camera and isn't really practical for carrying round all the time. So a new little point-and-shoot was definitely in order.

So I've been testing out this new camera photographing my presents! I am so lucky to have been given so many lovely things! My camera was really a delayed birthday present - I was meant to get it back in June (!) but it all got a bit mixed up, so I got a few more Christmas things from the parentals too, as well as from Mark, my sister Becca, and Mark's family.


I got two owls! The larger one is a cushion from my mummy, the smaller is a doorstop from Mark's parents.


I already have an Ampelmann tea mug (see here). But now I have an AMPELMANN CAPPUCCINO MUG TOO! From the Ampelmann Ostalgia shop in Berlin, via parents.


Smellies! Soap & Glory Smoothie Star from Mark, Body Shop ginger sparkle bath crystals and hand cream from Bec, Sanctuary Spa set and Body Shop soaps from parents.


Tea towel from the Natural History Museum via Bec, 2013 diary from Bec, and cute purse from my aunt and uncle who also put a bit of cash in it :D


Books and DVDs - I bought The Crimson Petal & The White for Mark and I, Parade's End DVD and Twenty Thousand Streets book and DVD were from my parents to both of us, and Winnie the Pooh in Latin and the letters of Arthur Conan Doyle from Mark's parents.


And the culinary gifts! Mark's gift to me was a MAGIMIX!!!!! It has grater, slicer, blender, dough hook, ahhh! He also bought the super knife, for both of us. My parents bought us the two books - Nigel Slater and Nigellissima - the pestle and mortar, and measuring spoons (fulfilling a request as on my current measuring spoons, the measurements have rubbed off so you can't tell what they are!). The funky veg kit is from Mark's brother and his family - it's a growing kit with seeds for purple carrots, purple sprouts, multi-coloured chard, yellow courgettes and tiger tomatoes. I can't wait til the spring to get planting them!

Not pictured here are a lovely jacket and the perfume 'Chance' by Chanel, both from Mark, some chocolatey bits, a little recipe book and a lovely address/anniversaries book from Mark's grandma, and an awesome sparkly collar/necklace from Bec.

Moving on...

Tomorrow we are loading up the car and journeying back home to Nottingham, the Christmas break is over and normality will soon return. I have to go to work on New Year's Eve, but I don't mind that. And then we will be into 2013, but more on that another time! I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas.