Winter has Landed

We were in no way expecting to be greeted with the white stuff when we opened our front door this morning, it was a real surprise. The LP were beside themselves with such sweet, visible, unchecked excitement! They jumped and danced and yelped, it was a fabulously joyful start to our morning. What with snow outside and chocolate from their advent calendars, plus the appearance of the Singing Snowman toy who's on annual release from the attic eaves, well, you never did see such hyper children.

As soon as it got light, I ran (literally) up two flights of stairs to go and sit peacefully in the attic window seat for a few minutes, taking in the wintry scene. Above picture was taken just before 8 o'clock....

....and fifteen minutes later it became apparent that the school run was going to be Rather Snowy Indeed. Fresh falling snow combined with a strong wind meant that we stumbled slowly to school in near blizzard conditions. Snowball fights the whoooooooole way. Winter has certainly landed with a bump here.

Our town lit up it's Christmas lights a few weeks ago, I love love love that they are white. As much as I adore coloured lights, there's something incredibly beautiful about white lights in abundance.

I took these photos just over a week ago, it was Sunday teatime and Little Man and I were running an Important Errand together. After a family discussion it had been decided that we would have a spontaneous fish and chip supper, so off Little Man and I toddled to our local chippy. We could have walked along the canal, but instead we took the roundabout route to go down through the High Street, specifically to take in the lights.

Trees that grow all year round out of the pavements and cobbles have had their branches entwined with lights, it's looks sooooo sparkly and pretty!

These are the very same decorations that have appeared at Christmastime ever since we moved here four years ago, but I am still wowed by them.

Wow. WOW! Love love loveeeee LOVE these round ones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Inside and we are ever so gently tiptoeing towards Christmas. I caved in and brought down the Christmas House Tin about a fortnight ago, after much nagging from two of my L'il Peeps. The third Little Peep is too young to remember this sweet tin from Christmases past, but he is totally enjoying the idea of daily chocolate to the sound of music.

I still can't find my holly. It's definitely Missing in Action. But I have started to make some more, and just need to find some kid-free daylight time to photograph the tutorial for you. I'm really enjoying making them, I'm using a slim 3mm hook and some non-stranded embroidery thread and they're turning out beautifully. As well as using them to trim up my bunting (the felt wording is still in hot debate by the way), I'd love to make enough to add to a hooky wreath creation I've got frantically whizzing around in my mind at the moment. I'm thinking a yarn wrapped wreath covered in crochet holly, pom poms, stars, beads, buttons, baubles, bells and birds. Sort of a cross between this, this and this. I've already purchased the polystyrene ring thingy in anticipation, and I am mega excited about the whole creative wreathy thing.

Gosh, festive bunting and wreaths, the stuff of my creative Winter Dreams. Sooooosososoosoooo excited!!!!!!!!!!!

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Comments

[Katie]

How I love your house. Mine was built when Lincoln became president.
I just found your site, today and first you've inspired me to get cleaning.
I've been on computer to long. Then I want to keep studying some of your ideas to make my home sparkle with color and joy. I love your taste and creativity.
Well, be back soon, perhaps after cleaning session as I've become addicted to looking at your site. Thank you for sharing the exquisite ideas and tutorials. It makes me so happy!

[Avon representative]

What lovely pictures :) no snow here just yet, but definitely think it's on the way!

[Christina]

I just absolutely LOVE to see a little glimpse of your little English town!! Thanks for sharing with us. The lights are wonderful- especially those round ones!

[Nicky Lovett]

I'm new to crocheting taught myself this year, i only home at some point i get even a little bit as good as you at it, just love your blog and would love to know how to do wavy crochet x

[Steph]

Oooh what lovely wintery posts Lucy! Do you know we have exactly the same lights as you in our town too! Small world or what (or one massive supplier to small towns maybe?) We've a had a little snow aswell, just what we need to kick December off to a good start.

Loving the hooky holly, I had to buy a brooch from Etsy the other day because I love crochet holly so much but am still incapapble of making anthing at all myself. Looking forward to seeing your wreath, sounds gorgeous (almost as gorgeous as your dozing little smasher!).
Enjoy the rest of a wintry week,
Stephx

[sue]

Hi Lucy you can never not be excited by snow can you, my lovely girl lives in Manchester and still phones excitedly everytime the white stuff falls!
And great minds think alike I so want to make a lovely crochet festive wreath this year, just need some free time to have a play. ♥

[Laura Miller]

What a wonderful world to wake up to!!! And those lights ... There's definitely something dreamy about white lights. lol x

[Clair]

I so wish we had snow like that here. It's been unseasonably warm and we're facing a few days of December rain...=(

And your town decorations are just so so so cozy. It makes me just want to curl up and get my crochet on.

[angela-southern USA]

Add a cup of hot chocolate and that would be me:)Love the snow!Living in the south it's hit or miss for us.Ours is usually a heavy wet snow.Everything shuts down,the grocery stores sell out of milk and bread:)The mountains here had a dusting recently.Chocolate=smiles the world over doesn't it?Mine are teenagers and still get excited about the advent calendar,I add a few different chocolates each year.also some tiny amigurumi mixed in:)LOVE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!In the Fall nearly everyone on our road are out stringing lights.Then Thanksgiving night, on they go.3 miles of Christmas lights!It's beautiful.The traffic! But seeing the childrens faces make it all worth it:)The holly looks great! Can't wait to see it finished.Working on snowy white Christmas owls here.Wishing you and yours a very merry and bright Christmas!

[Marion Starr]

Lucy, your snow photos take me back to when we lived in England for a while many years ago. All our Australian friends had gathered at our place for our first English Christmas dinner, but there was no snow! On Boxing Day we had a heavy fall of snow and we all went to out to play like kids...

Season's greetings from sunny Sydney!
Marion

[Angy Braine]

My oh my - how I love your blog! A perfect balance of dreamy exteriors and even dreamier interiors! Enjoy this lead up to Christmas!

[Christell]

Quelle chance d'avoir le froid, la neige. Moi je suis à Toulouse dans le sud de la France. Il fait 13° dehors et mon chauffage est arrêté. Ce n'est vraiment pas noël cette année.

[Archie the wonder dog]

I can't believe you've got snow - not a sniff of it up here! I love the Christmas lights and I bet they look even better in the snow! I bought a wreath ring last year and keep changing my mind about what to make - I think I'll wait and see what beauty you make!!

[Violetsrose]

Oooh, where did you get your christmas tin that plays music???

[Rachael Iddon]

Hi Lucy, I'm so jealous of your snow! I feel like a stalker as I've just worked out which North Yorkshire town you live in. I couldn't help but do a bit of research when I read your post about visiting the castle in it. I love that part of the world. We used to visit Ilkley regularly as my Mum had a good friend there. I loved her house which had a cellar and an attic like yours. Much more interesting than our boring 1960's houses. Enjoy the snow, send some to Teesside.

[Maria]

I really enjoyed watching your pictures, the landscape is truly beautiful with white lights and then I thought that the only way was out of the channel and the other streets it was a pleasant surprise!

[Heike]

I so agree with you about white lights at Christmas. They seem to be so much more festive and sparkly and lucky you to already have had some white stuff, I can just imagine the shrieks of the LP's :)

[gracie]

Such lovely photos taken from the attic. I'm glad that so far we have only had snow showers in Leeds (and it hasn't settled)...I'm not ready for slippery pavements yet!

[Sarah west mids uk]

Dear Lucy when I heard the weather report I thought of you and low and behold snow!!! We are having cold and frosty sunny mornings!
In your post on the 18th November I saw some holly on your desk. I bet you
put it in a safe place!
This morning I lit our Father Christmas tea light as it is the feast of St Nicholas. So a little chocolate treat for today!
And can I just say those wreaths were wonderful but I then had ideas going round in my head!!! Keeping us on our toes as always! xx

[Em]

I'm gagging for the holly tutorial! Your little holly leaves are fab!! I'm hoping to create a christmassy headband for my little 8 month old daughter, it's summer here so a headband with holly on it will be super cute, i'm thinking red pompoms as well!! xx

[Linda]

Lucy,

I like you town Christmas lights as well. Very festive.

Linda

[Sonia]

I love the snow! So different to Summery Australia (although Melbourne was pitifully cold on Sunday)
I love those lights too. They seem so much more classy than coloured ones.

[Christine]

How wonderful that it's snowing at your place! I would love to be a part of that scene. Both sets of my grandparents were English immigrants (to Australia) and I think I have so much of England flowing in my veins. I have experienced a white Christmas and I have some wonderful memories.

[heidi]

the attic view is just lovely, well the pic before the view was snowed up! we have been having quite strange weather here in deutschland, not typical at all. too warm indeed and much fog. it is much too dry, no rain. then suddenly saturday night and most of sunday it rained without-end... isn't THAT the day i did want to get out and visit a nearby christmas market? yep, monday morn had some icy flakes between the drizzles to, and as you can all expect it all cleared up to sun-shiny blue skies... egads. did i put that order in wrong or what? i can imagine we are catching a tail end of your stormy stuff, lucy. it is still much too dry for the time of the year but quite windy!
oh yes... the tiny white lights, i do love them as well. the more, the better! some folks do decos with no heart to the matter and the result appears to be more of a hit-and-run, but any effort should be praised i guess!
your holly is really very special! turned out much better than i could imagine but no wonder, in YOUR hands! with the thinner yarn and hook it is is quite perfect. can't wait to see the finished project!!!! so sorry the other work hasn't showed up as yet...
i love catching a posting early to watch how the messages come in around the clock as our blue ball turns...
xoxox to you by the ton! wishing you a good week, heidi

[annabelle]

Once again you have inspired me to take up my crochet hook - small things like this I can manage without getting into a flap!