Milk & Manolos

I had hoped that someone, well the Husband, would lavish upon me the most extravagant and stylish of gifts this Christmas. A Diptyque candle, or three.  Sadly, for the first year in a decade I’m going to have to buy my own.

Gone are the days when, in my previous life as a Lovie, that I’d be showered with all manner of scented matter - a favourite of Thesps being the stylish, yet understated perfumer Diptyque. And let me tell you, it’s an incredibly hard habit to break.

These really are the mother of scented candles. For a start, they actually work. Pre-Munchkin my Christmas stash would have been used to keep the house smelling smoke free, now they simply hide the smell of poo and chocolate. That, I do not mind. Their sheer tenancy on the mantle piece makes me feel like those heady days aren’t quite so far away.  

As New Year is all about new beginnings, I’m trying in earnest to ignore the Munchkin’s plea for a proper bed. The idea of being hit over the head with a belt buckle at 2 am in the morning, as happened to a friend, is less than appealing.

If I’m honest, I’m also slightly confused about what to do with her bedding - staple the duvet to the corners of the bed to avoid the refrigeration of arms or legs ? Fortunately, the clever people at Grobag seem to have done it for me. Well, not staple it as such, but with the clever usage of zips can help keep the Munchkin toasty all night.

Now all they need to do is come up with something to keep Madam in place.

So here I am, all Spring Cleaned and ready for whatever 2008 may throw at me. The decorations are down, the filofax reloaded, the house cleared of yet another years worth of detritus and the hangover bullet sucessfully dodged.

The latter is thanks to my well stocked Cath Kidson First Aid Kit - ready for any emergency. As you can imagine, it misses dreadfully the heady days of unexplained drinking injuries, the most severe being a small stab wound to my palm whilst attempting to remove a stubborn avacado stone 3 glasses of wine down.

My hangover cure is simple - 2 Beroccas and a sachet of the magical hydrator Diaoralyte. All that’s then needed is a clean glass, cold Evian and a minute or two to knock this heady concoction back and regain one’s composure. Easy Street.

So come on 2008 - whatcha got for me ?