1st Advent – Weekend spent christmas shopping

Well, this weekend was a pretty good one, where I managed to get a decent balance of being really busy, and chilling out on the sofa. Let me tell you all about it!

Saturday was initially spent exploring plenty of new places in Aberdeen. I first visited a newly opened shop called Teasel & Tweed. They specialise in local Scottish artists and their wares, and let me tell you, this shop is just a treasure trove of existing things! You can get anything from handmade furniture, to candle holders to cards, all made by local artists, and at a variety of prices. To say that I wanted to buy everything in the shop for myself is not an understatement! I somewhat managed to calm myself down, and left with a couple of Christmas gifts, some cute cards and a Christmas scented soy candle which looks and smells amazing!

Downstairs there is a little coffee shop where the owner makes her own tea-blends, which is what I was originally after when entering the shop, and that too was lovely – I left with some Christmas tea (yay) and the “Aberdeenshire Sunday Blend” which I couldn’t resist. Next time I will have to try the cakes and some tea on the spot!

I then briefly popped by the March & Hare craft market which I had wanted to visit ever since I first heard about it a couple of weeks back, and again, there were some lovely stalls on display. I left with some handmade marshmallows, some cupcakes, and some handmade soap bars from the Cottage Soap Company, which was meant to be a Christmas gift, but never made it to that stage. (my bathroom now smells gorgeous by the way!) I ended up ordering some more soap online though, so not to worry – I did get some Christmas shopping ticked off my list this week! Then my cash ran out. Probably a good thing!

Next on the list was a trip to the Rocking Stitch studio, where I was earlier in November to learn how to sew. This time we were shown how to make envelope cushion covers, and it is fair to say I was pretty ridiculously pleased with myself! If I can get hold of nice fabrics, there will be cushions galore for Christmas, birthdays and just general gifts from now on! Unfortunately the fabric I chose turned out to have glitter on it, so due to my husband’s glitter-phobia I cannot keep this masterpiece of a cushion for myself, but not to worry – it will be another Christmas gift, especially since the lovely Barbara sold me a cushion she had made in the same fabric so I now have a set to give away to my mum. And I know she will appreciate it! (she better appreciate it!) and I can see my handiwork on a regular basis when I am over visiting.

Sunday then, was a bit more relaxing. Being 1^st of Advent and all, this is the weekend I bring all the Christmas decorations out. I always stress about this, but I have now got somewhat of a routine as I know where everything goes, and so it was done in a flash, and just as I lit the first candle, the neighbour across the street lit his outdoor Christmas tree (which counts as our Christmas tree as we can’t fit one into the flat) and all was merry and bright as we settled down and watched 8 a couple of episodes of House!

How was your weekend? Did you manage to visit any new places, or just generally do nothing?