. my { instagram } december .

this past month seems to have flown by in a whirl of Christmassy glitter, of handmade cards, baking gifts, wrapping gifts, all accompanied by the lovely sparkling of fairy lights & baubles.  although i will be sad to take all those baubles down, i've a feeling that 2015 is going to be an amazing year & i'm excited to look ahead at all the possibilities a nEw yEar brings.

for now i'll leave you with a snapshot of my december . . .

. myDecember .

. have a wonderful last day of this year .

. festive rocky road .

I have a confession to make . I lOved baking when I was little . but more than that I lOved cookery & baking programmes where they would have everything all measured out in dinky little bOwls & cups, all ready to talk you through each recipe . I've realised that cOoking & phOtographing my baking for this blog is just a way of secretly { or not so secretly seeing as I've just confessed ! } fulfilling that childish love . . .

. . . anyway, whatever the reason, last week I had a lOvely day of rOcky road making . well ok, as we're confessing all, it got a little bit stressful, photographing everything as you go along takes forever & I needed to get things in the post &, well you get the picture . but aside from that it was a fun day . hOnest ! I've been lucky enough to have some of the sweetest clients this year & wanted to thank them for supporting lily&Bloom with a little sweet treat for Xmas . rocky road seemed the perfect choice, I mean, who doesn't like chocolate, or chocolate that's crammed with sticky marshmallows, festive cranberries & little jewel like pistachios . . .  what's not to like ?

.  chocolatey . sweet . loveliness .

whilst we're in a confessing mood, there did happen to be a couple of tiny pieces left over, which did happen to be enjoyed with an indulgent cup of hot chocolate . . . it would have been rude not to !

. have a sweet day .

. tea & cake .

so today is International Tea Day & if you live Stateside it's also National Cupcake Day .  two of my fAvourite things !

. a wonderful article in theGuardian about teatime celebrated in literature .

. pOp over to clipperTea to have a spin on their tEaCup carOusel .

. take an afternoon tEa with a difference at bbBakery .

. and .

. a gOrgeously illustrated book by the very tAlented emma blOck .

. happy tea & cake day .

. chocolate raspberry brownies .

today I have a craving for chOcolate . it's just that kind of dAy ! spending days planning baking for christmas isn't helping . my pinterest christmas board is fUll of the loveliest cookies & gingerbread men . brownies & rocky road . fudge & caramel . sO . I gave in & made these wonderful fudgey brownies adapted from a recipe by Rosie over at The Londoner . a healthier version of brownies but with all the chocolatey taste . & slightly lEss guilt !

. just don't eat them all at once .

. have a happy day .

. pom pom love .

I lOve pom pom's . I read a quote . " there is no angry way to say bubbles " . I think the same is true for pom pom's ?

. 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 .

. neon . pink . orange . lime . white .

. a touch of neon would look just perfect in my workroom .

. the white { with a little hint on copper & gold } I'll save for the lounge .

. have a happy day .

. christmas is coming .

House cleaned . & so the first decorations are up . it now feels as if Christmas is well & truly on it's way .

. wreath . baubles . garlands . snowflakes . lights .

Next week will be a week of pom pom making . garland making . card making & Christmas baking .

. happy weekend .

. aquascutum junior .

I hope december is being kind to you so far . I'm juggling cleaning the house for christmas & finishing my last bits of work & making christmas cards & planning christmas baking . all lOvely things to keep me busy & out of mischief !

tOday I took a little time out to look at the range I developed with Aquascutum for their jUnior range . it was sUch a lOvely range to work on . Aquascutum has a wOnderful heritage & a fascinating archive to pillage for inspiration & ideas & I feel lucky that I was able to work on so many ranges with them . 

. Aquascutum jUnior . Aw14 cOllection .

. phOtOgraphy . Adrian Green .

. classic . heritage . tailoring . dressed-up .

. AlexAndAlexa . ChildrenSalon . HouseOfFraser .

there is also a wOnderful campaign videO to accompany the cOllection . which you can see hEre . & not forgetting the amazing Mens & Womens campaign videO featuring Damian Lewis & Eliza Cummings .

. have a happy day .

. hello december .

my first post . on the first of the month . a month which sees the countdown to Christmas . one of my fAvourite times of year . one of lOts of opportunities to be wOnderfully creative & sparkly .

today I'm sharing some of my fAvourite finds for dIy advent calendars . maybe a little bit late for this year . but inspiring none the less .

. 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 

. white . neon . paper . string .

. lOve .

. happy december .