Its been such a fantastically crazy week at the Parlour - Christmas is well under way, the dried fruits are out, the pine cones have been gathered (and scattered in various boxes) and we're busy designing wreaths and table centres to adorn many a Berkshire table over the festive period. I have to say this time of year really catches my attention, the colours are amazing, the excitement as Christmas approaches and I know its not everyone's favourite, but I love the change in weather (especially when the sky is that amazing crisp blue that you only get in autumn)

Partly why I'm so excited about this Christmas season is I always feel totally inspired - I love the other seasons, but somehow the homemaking vibes of Christmas suddenly jolt into another gear and I want to create, make, grow, bake ... anything to make sure our home is the most welcoming place.  We work some ridiculously long hours all through December and taking a little time out to recharge not only the physical batteries but also the creatives is a must. Often I don my trainers and run and just that step away from the normal life rut is enough to get me thinking. I'm looking around constantly when I run thinking "how can I use that leaf, WOAH that colour would look awesome, hey we haven't tried that yet" I can feel all of my senses joining forces and I'm falling back in love with the amazing things nature can do. I literally feel I can do anything right now and that's all down to taking some inspiration and ME time.

Every year I always have a favourite wreath and I have to admint for the past 3 years our door has been donning a whole adornment of festive foliage on a moss base. We always used to use a floral foam base, but I find the moss just lasts so much longer and carries on looking just that little more fabulous. This year I'm wiring air plants, succulents and birch to create a living wreath feel - I'm so excited to show you, this will be hitting the blog very soon!

There are tons of ways you can add a little festive feel to your home - one of the main things at this time of year is using some gorgeous foliage. More is always more, the more textures, colours, shapes you can cram into your arrangement the better. This week we sent out 4 bouquets of just foliage and a hint of crab apple, its something I'm going to recreate for our festive table this year.

With over 20kg of pine cones to wire, I should really get back to working hard. Hopefully I'll have time to send through some more pictures of our latest exploits over the coming weeks and perhaps a few DIY tutorials to get your home "Christmas ready"