guess what I got???

This year my husband totally took me by surprised and gifted me with this glorious creature here. I KNOW!!!

I've wanted one for ages, having spent years mixing with my retro hand mixer {you know, handle on top, hold and then turn handle on sides to get mixers to turn - vintage, but damned hard work!}. I'm so in love with it, I keep stroking at it and gazing adoringly at it on my bench. I'm going to set it to work on my daughter's birthday whipping up 12 egg whites for an Angel Food Cake.

Christmas was a blur of laughter. We had a fabulous Christmas Eve, all the girl cousins went to bed in the one room at 10.30 - and then my gal woke at 3.30am and came in with a "I think Santa's been, the carrots on the step have been eaten." 4am. "Santa's been! I'm pretty sure I got a DSi because the wrapping was a little bit ripped and I think I saw DSi on the box."4.30am. "I think I got a DSi case too. There's a package there that's the same size as a case, I hope it's a pink one."5am. "There are two DSi games there too I think. I hope one's Cooking Mama". Of course all this whispering was accompanied by a mother pleading "Get back to bed, go to sleep, wake me after 6am" through very, very gritted teeth. Response? "I can't, I'm too excited".

So at 6am we all traipsed downstairs and watched some very excited girls find their stockings {one of whom wasn't quite as surprised as the others by what was in the Santa sack...}. It was absolute bliss to share the day with the english cousins, and our new four-week-old great nephew {yep, great nephew - husband became an uncle at 6 and his niece now has a baby!}.

I was thoroughly spoiled. Books: Paris by Shannan Bennett {hooray for husbands who read your blog}, Mastering the art of French Cookery {ditto} and Donna Hay's Seasons {beautiful book}. I also was spoiled with a series of French Lessons at Alliance Francaise starting in Feb - so damned excited.

After years of frugal Christmases {including the one 12 years ago when we got each other not one thing - just a mortgage!} this one was pretty big. I am grateful for every single gift, but I'm more grateful for the fact that I'm blessed to have married into a rather lovely family. I adore my mother- and father-in-law, their children and their children. What more can you ask for?

Okay, c'mon, spill. How was your Christmas?