Christmas shopping.

Christmas shopping was a success! Mainly due to being able to find quite a few presents at Country Road, which meant I was able to get through a fair bit of my list within a few hours. Maxime even did pretty well considering the crowds, and only let out the odd protest before settling into a deep slumber. My one gripe at Christmas time is bad wrapping, so I always take it upon myself each year to wrap my own gifts. This year I took inspiration from my friend Lizi, who used leaves on her presents, but kept it festive by adding some red stripey paper too. Hope you like them - I'm already thinking of how I will wrap them next year!

PS. How amazing is this weather! My new home is a sauna, I don't think I have ever had the issue of too much light before - not really a bad problem to have. My power bill last month was only $50! I seem to be living in some sort of dream house that manages to evade normal power consumption.

The summer soiree.

Here are a few of the beautiful shots from the weekend summer soiree hosted by J&P. We can't wait to meet their baby in June. Don't you think Jessie looks absolutely radiant? She is positively glowing - if only all pregnant women looked this good! She is one of the lucky ones. We are so happy for both of them.

A baby celebration.

I've had such a lovely weekend. First and foremost, my beautiful friend Lauren came to stay to meet Maxime - they got on like a house on fire (even if he wasn't quite on his best behaviour) and enjoyed lots of wine and tapas.

And, I was very fortunate to be asked to capture one of the most beautiful couples I know, baby announcement. Here's a very small teaser (without people) because I need to check with the couple before I post any of the photos. Jessie has such an eye for detail, the home looked stunning - champagne, macarons, lanterns throughout the garden, and my favourite detail of all? Announcing their pending arrival in custom made fortune cookies. You should have seen the reactions! And, I was very impressed that the sushi in this shot was made by her very talented husband. It was such an honour to be able to capture such a special moment.

The gang.

These little boys were all born within six days of each other. They are now all almost four months old (Maxime is 16 weeks tomorrow). It's really incredible watching them begin to interact with one another. R smiles all of the time at L and Maxime, and Maxime quite likes R's arm for chewing on. We are really lucky as mums to be able to share all of their milestones because they are so close in age. I think they will become quite close wee friends.

M also bought me these beautiful flowers as a move-in present - aren't they gorgeous?

In other news, Maxime mastered his first roll yesterday!

Old friends.

My husband and L met when they were ten or so when L came to New Zealand after his family transferred from the U.K. My husband was on the front of the school's prospectus, and L remembers looking at him and thinking, 'there is no way I am going to a school with kids like that'. But they bonded over their insane sense of humour, and almost 20 years later, their lives seemed to have reached all of the same milestones, at the same time.

When my husband rang L up to tell him he was going to propose to me, L announced first that he had proposed to E; their wedding, was almost exactly one month before ours in snowy Dorset. And, when my husband, two years later rang L to tell him we were having a baby, L jumped in first to announce that he and E were expecting. Funnily enough, it seems that without even talking about it, they do everything at the same time even though they are worlds apart.

We were very happy on Sunday to catch up with Tony & Denise, L's parents for a lovely French breakfast. There's something very special about introducing Maxime to people that mean so much to us. We just can't wait to meet Freddie.

Playing.

Maxime is getting rather good with his hands and feet! He loves playing with his little gym, and he has this immense sense of satisfaction each time he manages to grab a ring. We are about to head out to see my mum for lunch, as you can imagine, she is completely smitten with her grandson.

Moving house.

First things first, the white floors are now beautiful. They re-did them and used a different product, and they have come out exactly as I had hoped, very white (with a greyish undertone) and glossy. They have totally changed the front of the house, it now feels airy and light, and more in keeping with the lofty living room out the back. I whipped around and took a few shots, as you can see, our bedroom gets lovely morning light. Maxime's little nursery is filled to the brim with books, art (including the Mo Money B.I.G poster - had to buy it for him given his nickname is Mo - will take a photo of it for the blog soon, it's in a lovely big white frame), and all of his toys. It is so nice to finally have a room for him (in our last flat he really was confined to a makeshift nursery /  our ex study), so to have a room that is totally dedicated to him is really nice.

Things I've learned about moving home:

1. It's best not to do it with a three-month-old.
2. Definitely get the floors sorted before you move in, or you will never do it.
3. Live in the home for a bit before you decide to make any major changes (I was going to paint the living room completely white, but now that I see how bright it is, I've changed my mind).
4. Invest in professional cleaning for wherever you have moved from (the last thing you want to deal with is your last home's mess).

Things I love about my home:

1. How warm and sunny it is.
2. That our neighbours on every side of the house are warm and friendly and SUPER nice.
3. That we have room in our kitchen for a table that looks out over the backyard.
4. Cooking on gas (how I managed with a two-burner electric stove top for the last six years I will never know).

Once I've completely unpacked I'll take some more photos. But I thought these quick ones would suffice for now. PS, as you can see, my new home still smells like my old one! Still LOVING Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir, I have the whole collection now, I literally get inundated with mail from Jo Malone, perhaps I've inadvertently become one of their top customers. Oops.