MY CHRISTMAS WISH LIST 2014

So its nearly that time of the year again. I absolutely adore Christmas and I especially love the build up to it…booking my flight home, listening to Christmas songs, watching Christmas movies, the Christmas trees and lights sparkling all over London, buying presents for my friends and family, and especially decorating my home. My flat turns into a Christmas grotto on the last weekend of November every year. Yes, you may think that’s a tad early, but I always spend Christmas at home in Scotland with my family so I technically only get to hang out in my personal grotto for a few weeks before I have to leave it.

Its also that time of the year when people are making Christmas lists. Now to be perfectly honest, I just want to be with my family over Christmas, eating Chocolate Oranges by the fire and watching movies. However, if I had to make a list of items I would love for Christmas, quite a few things come to mind! Mostly things I can’t afford, so they will have to stay in my head, but these are a few things I think are just wonderful.

First and foremost its the Copper Kitchenaid. I have been coveting this for a few months now. Isn’t it beautiful?? I have a photo of it on my phone which I gaze at probably at least once a day. Alas, its £615!!

Its available to buy in Selfridges. I sometimes pop in there during my lunch hour or after work, just to look at it, maybe stroke it. But I can’t afford it and I’m not sure I could ever justify spending that amount on a mixer. However, I can still appreciate its beauty and still long to own one.

I also love these wine and cheese boxes from Entwine, a new company from Lancashire specialising in personalised wine and cheese gift boxes. They have a great selection of wines and the cheese is straight from their award-winning, local farmer.

For each wine, they suggest the perfect cheese to accompany it, but it’s completely up to you how your box is made up. The boxes are shipped using a Royal Mail 24 hour service and can be delivered to the recipient on a date of your choosing. Perfect for a Christmas gift! Prices range from £22.06 to £50.96. To see the full range, click here.

Now, I love gin (and I’m pretty sure gin loves me) so this Ginvent Calender by Drinks by the Dram and Gin Foundry is a dream!

Behind each of the 24 windows lies a different 3cl sample of fantastic gin. There are market leaders and craft treats alongside new brands and even some hard to find gems. Again, this is something I wish I could have but I just don’t have a spare £114.95 lying around this close to Christmas to spend on myself. However, if you do, this sounds like the perfect way to get through December.

The wonderful House Of Hackney have a website I spend a lot of time staring at. I adore their prints, especially the Palmeral and I love this plate…

Its £35 but I only ever buy one of each plate design. I don’t do matching. Why on earth would you limit yourself to just one crockery design?? You can find it here.

One of my favourite shops is Anthropologie. I absolutely adore it. Its so perfect, I feel like it was invented just for me. Up until recently I would go to their branch on Regent Street every pay day to buy myself one treat. As a result, my kitchen now looks like the store! One item I am loving at the moment is this Garonne Beverage Dispenser…

Yet again, this is another item I would love but cannot afford.  This stunning drinks dispenser is £398.

While I’m on Anthropologie, I am also slightly infatuated with these Twisted Twig Measuring Spoons (£24), this Turquoise Martini Glass (£32) and this Aureate Plumes Pitcher (£88)…

Seeing as I have a thing about anything copper at the moment, I am in love with this Mauviel M’Passion Copper Whisking Bowl from Borough Kitchen.

Apparently the copper reacts with egg whites to make perfect, stiff peaks. The rounded base makes it the perfect shape for mixing, and it can sit on most heat sources, too. Unfortunately, again, I don’t have a spare £65 to spend on yet another bowl, even if it was going to be the most beautiful bowl in my kitchen. But I can dream.  If you do want to buy one for yourself or a friend, you can find it here.

I have a slight obsession with anything in the shape of a pineapple. I have a couple of pineapple-inspired candle holders and I am after this table lamp from Rocket St George. However, I also have my eye on these salt and pepper shakers that I saw on Pinterest which you can find here and here for about $35….

I also think these Mason jar measuring cups are really cute…

You can find them here for $12.99.

One of the lovely treats each Christmas is truffle brie. If you haven’t had it, look out for it in your local cheesemonger. It’s essentially a Brie de Meaux with a sandwich filling of crème fraîche, mascarpone and chopped black truffles. Its earthy, creamy, rich and decadent and I love it.

As a huge tea lover, I constantly have a cup of tea on the go. My favourite is White Tea, and I go through about two boxes of Clipper’s White Tea every week. With that in mind, I think this Teaspoon Tea Bag Squeezer (£15) from Alessi is a rather clever idea.

Simply dip the spoon into the tea cup, scoop up the bag and draw it out through the tapered handle!

Since I will no doubt be going on a full on detox in the New Year, I am desperate for this Nutribullet.

My good friends Jan and Mark have this and they love it. They prepare all the fruit and veg every night before bed then in the morning they get up, blitz, then they go off to work with their healthy drinks. For £99.99 I think its actually pretty good value as everyone who has one seems to get a lot of use out of it.

This is just a silly little thing but I think its so cute…a baker’s necklace I saw on Etsy, with a mini Kitchenaid and a cupcake baking tin. At just £16.99, its the perfect gift for any baking-loving friends out there.

And as always…my ultimate Christmas treat…a dark Terry’s Chocolate Orange…

Just the smell of a Chocolate Orange can transport me straight to Christmas morning, sitting on my bed with my brothers while we go through our stockings. At the bottom of each stocking is always a Chocolate Orange which we open instantly, much to the delight of our dog Jackson who can seem to smell it from downstairs! The aroma of a Chocolate Orange will forever hold a lifetime of precious memories for me. At the end of the day, if I get nothing but a Chocolate Orange and a Christmas with my family, I will feel like the luckiest girl in the world.