I read that in Iceland you exchange books and then take them to bed (with chocolate) to read on Christmas Eve. I thought this sounded so cosy and wonderful that I resolved to extend the tradition by doing the very same for as long as possible over the Christmas period. Let’s just say that Christmas 2015 was pretty blissful and I probably ate my way through a kilogram of festive chocolate coins whilst turning the pages of various books.

My other Christmas tradition is equally ‘small child’ like and consists of spreading out my Christmas wares to admire. The image shown is actually from Christmas 2014 and pretty much set the tone for last year: wholefood cooking and yoga (although I concede I thought more of yoga than actually practiced), organic perfumery and unguents, jade prayer beads and ethical clothing. My single concession to a ‘grown up’ Christmas came in the form of a bottle of EFA oil. It’s turned into a Christmas tradition.

2015 Christmas goodies to be featured soon…

Ten things you (perhaps don’t) need to know

1) I mourn the fact that good-quality vintage clothes are becoming harder and harder to find. Ebay has less and less, for more and more. Comparing the quality between, for example, 70s M&S and 00s M&S makes me want to weep.
2) I don’t like shopping but I love beautiful things, especially old buildings. I groan when I read about supposedly ‘improved’ old houses (which generally means that their souls have been ripped out).
3) I don’t wear perfume, but I’m a sucker for good-smelling oils and potions. Unguents make my day, every single day.
4) Scaravelli yoga is my drug of choice and probably one of my most important discoveries of the past decade. The late Vanda Scaravelli’s book on yoga is like no other.
5) Old-fashioned photo booths transform you into a pre-war goddess. I’m a fan.
6) I like to type in the pitch dark. Just my screen and I. It feels cozy.
7) Food. Sometimes I’m good, sometimes I’m bad (and I know it’s daft to refer to food as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ but it’s a habit I’m unlikely to break). Seasonality has proved the most stable way to keep my choices on track. I will write more about this when I sum up what 2009 has meant to me.
8) Gazing at pictures of raw food never fails to lift my mood. I dream of the day when former derelict tea shops all over Britain, turn into establishments offering glistening, gleaming, sparkling raw treats.
9) I love diaries, biographies and autobiographies. Good places to start are here, here and here.
10) I lived in Brighton during the 90s. I’d move back there in a snap if the opportunity arose. It’s a city that makes me feel good about myself, always. You can’t ask for more than that.

This somewhat random list has been generated due to the bestowing of an award by the lovely Neeta. I am, apparently, a piece of ‘honest scrap’. The rules to receiving this award are as follows:

1) Post the award on your blog. Present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.
2) Tell those 7 people they’ve been awarded HONEST SCRAP, inform them of these guidelines, and ask that they link back to you.
3) Share ‘Ten Honest Things’ about yourself.

My nominations include several ‘dormant’ bloggers in the hope that they spring back to life in 2010! Others are newly revived blogs, or just plain new and inspiring:

In Beauty May I Walk
Poppy’s Juice Feast
Otchipotchi
Kurashi Arekore
Raw Mama
Coxeter’s Fayre
Linda in the Raw