Holiday entertaining

Today I am linking up with so many gorgeous blogerellas to share holiday entertaining ideas! (Link up with accordingtonina.com ).

Christmas in Australia is usually hot hot hot! No roast turkey, baked pie or hot chocolate by the fire! Christmas in my family was always cold ham, seafood, pavlova, backyard cricket and in the lucky years... a holiday at the beach!











This year we are hosting a segment of my family for lunch on Christmas day. It will be a sit down lunch for five adults, so not too demanding. We have our big C family Christmas this Sunday at my uncle's house. We rotate the venue each year. C family Christmas is the entertaining extravaganza! It is lunch for 15 including adults and children. We have hosted once and it was so much fun!

This year our entertaining will be much simpler. With just five adults we can do a more elegant and sophisticated table. Our theme this year is silver and turquoise.





The most important part of holiday entertaining is knowing your audience - especially if you are hosting on Christmas day. Don't prepare a full seafood buffet if guests have allergies. Don't make a funky Asian fusion meal if guests are expecting turkey and trifle. I had an aunt who wept if there was not traditional pudding with custard!

I like to stick with traditional Christmas food. My favorite books are:









There are so many great ideas in these books! From full turkey banquets to appetizers and lots of entertaining tips. I love that the recipes are grouped into menus (although I do swap and change.) I will post this year's menu later in the week.

The other key to holiday entertaining is music. Growing up in an agnostic house I never really experienced Christmas music at home as a child. Marrying a musician (and grandson of an Anglican minister!) that all changed!

Here are our favorites:
















The perfect blend of cruisey, secular, spiritual and fun.

I can't wait to see all your entertaining tips.

Happy holidays!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Social Media Secret Santa

This year I joined in a blog / Twitter / social media secret Santa! It was all skillfully arranged by Santa's lovely elf Chantelle Ellem (www.fatmumslim.com.au).

I enjoyed blog-stalking my recipient and finding the perfect gifts for her. She won't know who I am, but I hope she likes my gift!

I received my gift some time ago. I have been saving it until our tree was up and our halls were fully decked. I did not want to open such a gorgeous gift until the Christmas spirit was in full force!





My gift had three components. A gorgeous little card stated that the pink was for me, the orange for home and the yellow for baby! My secret Santa had definitely read my blog!





My gift was a gorgeous note book and diary.





My gift for home was a beautiful calendar and these fantastic 50s inspired shopping lists.





The first gift for our baby! This is the cutest little outfit from Nanny Pickle. Hubs and I love it!

Thank you Secret Santa, whoever you are!


xx elle


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Worst. Haircut. Ever.

This is a cautionary tale. A morals story. A life lesson for all the newly expectant mothers out there.

I recently visited my hairdresser. Emma has been doing my hair for years. She is a perky, fun girl who remembers salient details from customers lives, which makes that salon small talk so much easier.

At the doctor's request I had waited until after the first trimester to have my hair coloured. I arrived at the salon looking like an elderly Disney witch. If I offered an apple to a pretty girl she would have fled in terror.

I explained my uncharacteristic failure to smite the grey-growth to Emma.  All the other stylists buzzed around, asking about dates and names and all the usual post baby-announcement things.

Emma was more quiet and reserved. As the other stylists went back to their actual customers, Emma leaned down and whispered to me, "Were you trying for long? We have been trying for six months and it is so hard." Her voice cracked and my heart broke.

I offered a sanitized and edited version (why was I more reluctant to tell the truth to my long time hair stylist than I am to strangers on the interwebbs??). I simply told her we were trying for a year, which felt like an eternity. I made all the infuriating comments that had so annoyed me: "it will happen when the time is right", "you have to relax", "you have to look after yourself."

As I heard these inane words escaping my lips I cringed internally. I had become one of those smug breeders who could offer useless platitudes to the non-breeders.

I take my glasses of at the salon and am thus thrust into a world reminiscent of opening your eyes under water in the pool. I could not see what Emma was doing.

I heard the snip, snip. I felt the comb whisping through my freshly coloured hair. Emma and I continued to chat about things non-baby related.

Emma blow dried my hair as usual and then went to get the big mirror to hold up to the back. It was only when I put my glasses back on that I saw my hair. Or, more aptly, what was left of it. Most of the hair I formerly possessed was all over the floor. Big chunks of it.

My hair was short. Just touching my shoulder short. My hair was layered. All flippy and short at the back. Almost...... dare I say it? Mulletesque. 


It was then that I  noticed that Emma had clearly been crying.

I raced home to assess the damage. Sure enough, it is the worst haircut ever. It does not all tie back into a pony tail without weird pieces springing up all over. I cannot straighten it. The top layers at the back make me look all Billy Ray Cyrus (circa 1988).

It is not an exaggeration to say this - no two pieces of hair on my head are the same length.

I am also honest enough to say - it is my fault.

I should have  remembered that heart piercing, gut wrenching feeling when someone announces they are pregnant. How can three short months have erased that hopeless, helpless desperation from my psyche?

I am quite sure I will not forget again.