MUSICAL DOLL; 100 Degrees at Christmas

Thinking of those spending Christmas in the sun Down Under...

Surf Boards and Bondi Beach - sounds good to me! 

Merry Christmas - this is just for you 💋

Personally though, I prefer Dannii with dark hair, but this is still fabulous. Enjoy!

xxx

MUSICAL DOLL; Carol of the Bells

This is so beautiful...

And I love this snowy version of Greensleeves...

 Enjoy!

xxx

BOOK NOOK; The Mistletoe Secret by Richard P Evans

"I would say that I met her on the Internet, except we haven't really met.  She writes a blog, and I just kind of fell for her..." 

from The Mistletoe Secret 

The Mistletoe Secret is another of Richard Evans Christmas romance novels.  This one deals with the subject of loneliness and how the festive season can exacerbate that feeling of isolation.   The protagonist is Alex, who is trying to get over the fact that his wife left him almost a year ago.  He is weighed down with loneliness and when his friends encourage him to sign up to an internet dating site, he is prepared to give it a go.

As he is surfing the web though, he comes across a blog written by a woman who calls herself LBH.   The blog is an outpouring of her loneliness and what she has discovered about its effects on health and well-being; for instance that loneliness actually lowers the body temperature and the immune system, meaning that those who are the coldest and most likely to get sick in wintertime, have no-one to snuggle up to, or take care of them.  How depressing!

LBH uses her blog as a form of personal creative therapy - she never really imagines that anyone would actually read it. She writes it for herself and as she documents her uncensored feelings online, Alex is drawn to her honesty and into her world of solitude.  He can relate to so much of what she is saying, because he frequently feels the same way, as he tries to nurse his broken heart back to health, and mend his wounded pride.

As he reads, he finds himself falling in love with the author, a woman he has never met and knows only through the words that she writes and the things that she chooses to share on her blog.  Personally, I'm not convinced that it is possible to fall in love with someone via their blog, but all romance novels have an element of fantasy about them and this is a lovely idea. 

It is an intriguing concept.  When does love begin?  Is it in the first date, the first kiss, the first conversation? Or does it begin much sooner than that, with the initial sense of connection?  It is nice to think that you can truly love a person you've never met - that it isn't simply infatuation with an unknown ideal, but would such a love fall apart at the first test? 

Alex decides to put his infatuation to the test by gathering the clues that LBH unwittingly leaves in her blog posts and with the help of his friends, one an ex-marine, he narrows down her whereabouts and decides to travel across America to go looking for her.  Now that's romantic!  But it's also a bit creepy, so he has to tread very carefully as he makes enquires in what he believes to be LBH's home town.  And as he gets to know the locals, he becomes distracted by the pretty waitress Aria, leaving him in a bit of a quandary - does he continue his quest to find LBH, the woman he is convinced he loves; or does he abandon her to her loneliness, in favour of the opportunity that stands smiling invitingly before him? 

You'll have to read the book to find out!   It is a lovely novel, with lots of snowy scenes, an ice castle and plenty of festive frolic, so it would make a nice Christmas present.  The Mistletoe Secret is a lovely treat for festive fireside reading.  Enjoy!

  

MUSICAL DOLL; Christmases When You Were Mine

Everything I want is miles away, 

in a snow covered little town...

Season's Greetings, hope you're well

xxx

MUSICAL DOLL; Stay Another Day

Thought I heard you say you loved me -

That your love was gonna be here to stay...

xxx

ONCE UPON A DREAM; A Princess for Christmas

It has been a long, difficult day at the Practice today and the only thing that kept me going was the thought of getting home, lighting Christmas candles and climbing into bed to watch a festive film with a mug of hot chocolate.  I watched A Princess for Christmas, also called Christmas at Castlebury Hall, which is a lovely fairytale style romance.  

After the death of her sister, Jules Daly becomes the legal guardian of her niece and nephew, thereby becoming a single parent overnight and when she loses her job, she worries that she won't be able to provide for them.  Then they receive an unexpected invitation to spend Christmas with the children's estranged grandfather at Castlebury Hall.  Reluctantly, Jules accepts.

Castlebury is a beautiful European castle in the middle of snowy mountains and right away Jules is struck by the fairytale beauty of the place.  Then she meets Ashton, the heir and prince of Castlebury, played by the gorgeous Sam Heughan aka Jamie Fraser in Outlander!! He is equally lovely in this film too, though I did keep expecting him to say "Aye Sassenach" all the way through!  He is perfect fairytale-prince/boyfriend-material though and offers all the romance a woman needs at Christmastime.

As Jules tries to build bridges between the children and their crotchety old grandfather, Ashton has a bridge he wants to burn - and Jules gives him the incentive to do just that, leading to a showdown at the Christmas Eve Ball.

This is such a nice film with strong echoes of Cinderella.   Sam Heughan is a wonderful romantic lead man - very swoon-worthy, as he leads his lady to the inevitable happy ending.  If only life were more like a fairytale, where no matter what you struggle through, you just know that a happy ending awaits and a handsome prince with it! 

Unfortunately life isn't like that, which is why we romantics need films like this one to cheer us up after a long, hard day of helping other people!  A Princess for Christmas is pure escapism and a joy to watch.  I have it on DVD, but you might be able to find it on Netflix or on Amazon if the trailer above interests you. Enjoy! 

BOOK NOOK; The Mistletoe Promise by Richard P. Evans

For Christmas romance with a gritty edge, you can't beat the novels of Richard Paul Evans.  He has published lots of festive novels but this one, The Mistletoe Promise, is one of my favourites.  I first came across this story when I watched the film of the book online. Then I read the novel.

It tells the tale of Elise, a successful woman who has been cheated on by her husband and who has suffered from her fair share of miserable Christmases in the past.  Over lunch break in her office building she meets Nick, an attorney who is also scarred by Christmas past.  He is feeling the pressure to settle down in a steady relationship so that his boss will be more likely to promote him to Partner; trouble is he's not interested in love and romance.

So he asks Elise to be his fake girlfriend for the holiday season.  She agrees because it will give her a bit of vengeance on her ex-husband and they draw up a contract to do all the festive couples things together, such as attending each others office parties and so on.  It's a business deal between two professional people - and it makes sense.  No more lonely Christmas parties as a singleton to endure - at least not this year.

But as they get to know one another, they begin to blur the lines between what's real and what's fake, and as they both have troubled pasts to come to terms with, they are left wondering if what they feel is strong enough to survive a few hard truths.  As Elise spends more time with Nick, she realises that she is tired of being an ice-maiden and her heart begins to melt towards him.

The Mistletoe Promise is a lovely seasonal story, but I will say that the book has a darker subplot running through it, while the film omits this completely and is more of a feel-good Christmas film.   Either way though, its a great story to curl up with on a winter's night, with a glass of mulled cider. So if, like me, you have been let down by St Nick in the past, then this Nick and his Mistletoe Promise will be just the thing to cheer you up.  You can watch the entire film free on You Tube. Just click on the link. Enjoy!

MUSICAL DOLL; Miss You Most At Christmastime

I gaze out the window this cold winter's night

 at all of the twinkling lights, 

alone in the darkness, 

remembering when you were mine...

Everyone misses someone at this time of year...
Which means someone could be missing you.
xxx

MUSICAL DOLL; Santa Baby

A bubble machine, pointe shoes and a gorgeous Chihuahua in a tutu doing a pirouette...what more do you need?

Lindsey Stirling's Warmer in the Winter is my favourite Christmas album this year. Enjoy!

xxx

ONCE UPON A DREAM; Just Call Me Hermione!

It's almost 11pm and I am beyond excited right now because... I just applied to University!!!  It took over two hours to work my way through the online application process, scanning and uploading my academic certificates to the application form and so on.  But it was the best feeling when I clicked on Submit!

This is a course I've had my eye on for some time - it's always been the long goal. It's the highest level I have ever studied and I know that it's a popular course.  Since I attended the Open Day at the university in October I've felt so motivated to do all that I can to make this goal my reality.  So I have spent the last six weeks preparing my Application Portfolio.  Nights spent sorting and sifting through all my old work, seeking out the best pieces and putting it all together into some kind of cohesive whole.   Eventually, I had a file on my computer full of my work, ready to upload.  The only thing I had left to do was to write the Personal Statement.

So I decided that I was going to get that done today.  I settled down with my laptop and wrote about why I want to do the course, what my previous academic experience and work experience can bring to it and perhaps most importantly, what I hope to get out of it and how I want it to play out in my future goals and ambitions.  

Then I carefully filled out the application form, copied my Personal Statement into the box provided and uploaded all my certificates and my portfolio of work.  Over two hours later, I clicked Submit and I have now officially applied!  It feels crazy that it's done because I've been dreaming of this for years! And now I've done it and its in with the Admissions Team at my chosen university.

Of course, I'm not counting my chickens, any more than I have with previous courses I have done.  There are still things that can go wrong.  I might not be offered a place.  Or I might not get a student loan to pay the fees for it, which I'll need because it is so expensive.  They might not have any places left, as it is a popular course.  They might not think I'm smart enough to do a course at such a high level.  So I am keeping all these things in mind and trying not to get too excited.  

But it feels great to have finally got the application done and in. That is a small victory that I intend to enjoy.  Because, at the end of the day, I have now done all that I can to bring this dream into being.  From now on, it's out of my hands - I can't do any more.  It's no longer down to me and my own efforts. They will either offer me a place or they won't; I'll either get a student loan for the fees or I won't.   At this stage, it is beyond my control. 

Still, I fully intend to celebrate this little win and give myself a pat on the back.  I hoped to apply before Christmas and I have.  Now I just need to keep my fingers crossed and wait and see. 

But whatever happens, at least I will know that I have given it my very best shot.  I can't do any more than that.  Hopefully Fortune will favour me and smile on my ambitions, as she always has done before.  But tonight, I feel as if I have taken a small step closer to my next big goal and that's worth celebrating! Blessed Be.