Sydney Shop Girl

This Close To Christmas. All You Need Is Love.

Just stopping by to take some time out from the tightly scheduled timeline that is the lead up to Christmas Day.  It’s my last day of work today before I get just under a week off for Christmas.  I’m so looking forward to spending the time just being a mum / aunty / daughter /person with no definite plans for the day.
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Remember back in 2010 when Stella McCartney designed for Target?  Word on the street is that the JPG collaboration is set for release in Australia early in the new year.  
3/4 sleeve top – Mix, cropped tailored trousers – J Crew, belt – Hermes, bangle – Target, relaxed stance – because it’s my last working day before my Christmas break begins!!!!!!!!
Besides that, look what I found in the bottom of my wardrobe?  My Stella for Target LOVE bangle.  It was in the box I store my fancy belts in.  Being Christmas and all, I decided to wear both the bangle and a fancy belt to work today.  This time of year, all you need is love and possibly more hours in the day on Christmas Eve.

How are you dealing with it all?  My kitchen bench tops are barely visible from under the carefully balanced piles of things that need to be cooked and baked.  There are recipes stuck to cupboard doors and my cooking timeline is somewhere on the dining table.  But at the same time, it’s a relaxed kind of busyness this time of year. The traffic is heaven, everyone has a smile on their face and a ‘Merry Christmas’ on their lips and a week off is this close.

The Christmas alcohol has come down from the top shelf of the pantry, ready to be pressed into service for the rum balls and trifle.

A dusting of desiccated coconut over rum balls is as close to a white Christmas as I’ll be getting this year and it’s one of my favourite culinary images of the holiday.

I wish blog posts came with wafts of fragrance attached to the relevant image because these rum balls smell fantastic.
The sausage rolls have all been baked and frozen for a quick reheat on Friday.
If you don’t already, blitz your mince, bread crumbs and additional filling ingredients in the food processor before assembling you sausage rolls.  Not only does it make the vegetables invisible but the meat becomes so finely blended it really does have the texture of sausage filling.  I set aside about a third of the mince before processing and added it back in at the end.

Presents have been wrapped and returned to their hidey holes around the house.

It’s practically my duty as an aunty to be extravagant with Christmas presents for my nephews.  I couldn’t resist these Indigo Jamm wooden toys.  Kidstuff have an extensive range of this and other beautiful brands of wooden toys both online and in store.

But I’ve also tried to be practical.  Toddler SSG is getting this storage wheel for his Thomas mini trains.  I’m hoping this will also mean that starting from Christmas Day, stepping on a train will no longer be a daily event in my life.  My local Target have sold out of the wheel and it wasn’t available online either.  I ended up buying ours from the ABC Shop.

Now all that remains to be done is for this weather to get with the program and start behaving like it should for Christmas Day.  I’m sort of resigned to the fact that we’re set for a wet and grey Christmas in Sydney this year but miracles are also what the season is about…..

Tomorrow is going to be an action packed day of cleaning and food preparation here at SSG Manor 2.0 and I’m not sure if I’m going to be back here at all (but never fear, I’m aiming to do my usual cathartic end of year essay just in time for New Years).  So I’d like to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a Very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year.  You are all such supportive readers and lovely people and I am grateful that my little corner of the internet includes you.

Take care and much love,

SSG xxx

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