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So, like the rest of 2011, Christmas has been and gone before i knew it and back to work tomorrow, boo! ;-)
Christmas itself entailed the usual over indulgence and time spent (getting spoiled) by the parents. Christmas Eve through to Boxing Day was spent in Cardiff, then bank holiday Tuesday we headed over to Rob's parents.
Pressie-wise, it was quality over quantity this year, thankfully. :-) Amongst other bits and pieces, got a new printer from my parents (just after discovering that my old one could work with my laptop after all, doh!), a leather corset from Rob, a lovely Veil of Visions hat from Rob's parents and the new Professor Layton game from Rob's brother. *grin* Even my brother didn't do too badly ;-) as he gave me a lovely travel/make-up bag kit. although i suspect it was chosen by his 9 year old daughter, who already has better shopping sense than he does!
Christmas day was spent on the beach - OK it had palm trees, but it was Barry Island beach and bloody cold it was too! Rather nice to spend a couple of hours there, supping mulled wine while looking out over the sea though.
the Wednesday after Christmas was the annual pub walk, organised by Iain and stevek. This year we concentrated on the Westminster/Victoria areas, discovering some lovely pubs and somehow this year showing some restraint and not getting too drunk!
Thursday and Friday was mostly spent sewing beetle wings. Started to feel that maybe I've been a tad too ambitious, as they're taking aaaages to do. I only managed to finish one panel in 2 days, although I must say that it does look very pretty! think I'm going to have to book my final two days holiday to finish this skirt instead of carrying the leave over to the next year.
these pics go nowhere near showing just how iridescent it all is!
And then, the past weekend has been spent celebrating new years day in a Holiday Inn hotel in Corby, of all places. We booked for the Steampunk New Year way back in the summer, after hearing wonderful stuff about last year's party and having a feeling that not much might have been happening in London this year - so there was a slight niggle of regret seeing all our friend's facebook posts who were attending Reptile/Vagabonds party - however in the end, we had a whale of a time and happy that we did something different rather than spending it in a crowded bar. The first time I've been away for new years' in my 18 years of living in London!
It was lovely to spend three relaxing days in a hotel with a crowd of friendly, creative people; nothing too organised other than the meals itself and mostly spent lounging in the hotel bar chatting to people. So whilst on one hand we did miss not seeing the new year in with friends we've known for years; on the other hand, I'm not much for NYE anyway and saw this as a fun little trip away instead!
A full post will follow when I'm less tired (and less distracted by all the friends requests and photo tag requests happening in another window) but suffice to say that the highlight of the weekend had to be the Victorian Pool Party on New Years Day.
Be prepared for shocking photos under the cut! ;-)
( victorian sauciness! )
Christmas itself entailed the usual over indulgence and time spent (getting spoiled) by the parents. Christmas Eve through to Boxing Day was spent in Cardiff, then bank holiday Tuesday we headed over to Rob's parents.
Pressie-wise, it was quality over quantity this year, thankfully. :-) Amongst other bits and pieces, got a new printer from my parents (just after discovering that my old one could work with my laptop after all, doh!), a leather corset from Rob, a lovely Veil of Visions hat from Rob's parents and the new Professor Layton game from Rob's brother. *grin* Even my brother didn't do too badly ;-) as he gave me a lovely travel/make-up bag kit. although i suspect it was chosen by his 9 year old daughter, who already has better shopping sense than he does!
Christmas day was spent on the beach - OK it had palm trees, but it was Barry Island beach and bloody cold it was too! Rather nice to spend a couple of hours there, supping mulled wine while looking out over the sea though.
the Wednesday after Christmas was the annual pub walk, organised by Iain and stevek. This year we concentrated on the Westminster/Victoria areas, discovering some lovely pubs and somehow this year showing some restraint and not getting too drunk!
Thursday and Friday was mostly spent sewing beetle wings. Started to feel that maybe I've been a tad too ambitious, as they're taking aaaages to do. I only managed to finish one panel in 2 days, although I must say that it does look very pretty! think I'm going to have to book my final two days holiday to finish this skirt instead of carrying the leave over to the next year.
these pics go nowhere near showing just how iridescent it all is!
And then, the past weekend has been spent celebrating new years day in a Holiday Inn hotel in Corby, of all places. We booked for the Steampunk New Year way back in the summer, after hearing wonderful stuff about last year's party and having a feeling that not much might have been happening in London this year - so there was a slight niggle of regret seeing all our friend's facebook posts who were attending Reptile/Vagabonds party - however in the end, we had a whale of a time and happy that we did something different rather than spending it in a crowded bar. The first time I've been away for new years' in my 18 years of living in London!
It was lovely to spend three relaxing days in a hotel with a crowd of friendly, creative people; nothing too organised other than the meals itself and mostly spent lounging in the hotel bar chatting to people. So whilst on one hand we did miss not seeing the new year in with friends we've known for years; on the other hand, I'm not much for NYE anyway and saw this as a fun little trip away instead!
A full post will follow when I'm less tired (and less distracted by all the friends requests and photo tag requests happening in another window) but suffice to say that the highlight of the weekend had to be the Victorian Pool Party on New Years Day.
Be prepared for shocking photos under the cut! ;-)
( victorian sauciness! )
