Last night we had a Christmas Eve Eve Eve dinner at Beth and Ed's. I found the best crackers ever at New World and they weren't even very expensive. We had lots of yummy food (as per usual) and wine and played Celebrity (which I've never played before and is such a fun game!). An excellent practise for the real Christmas day. Also, Adrianne made the most amazing cake (not in any of the photos unfortunately) - Nigella's Damp Lemon Almond Cake from How to Be a Domestic Goddess. I think I need that recipe book now.
On Monday night I got to visit a house I have wanted to visit for years. My friend Frankie's parents own Longwood: 'reputedly New Zealand's largest private home'. It was amazing. Frankie drove four of us over for a Christmas carols evening - there were about thirty people there and we sung all the classics grouped around her Mum on the piano and their family friend on the violin. The cutest part was when two young French boys (who looked tres European but also like Justin Bieber) and their father also got out their violins and played along for one song. I love singing Christmas carols so it was a really nice evening - followed by a delicious wee supper.
I got a quick tour of the house and it is MASSIVE: a servants' wing, a former school room, so many bedrooms - the Master bedroom basically has a staircase either side, a library, large grounds. Everything is decorated in keeping with the style of the house but it isn't so opulent that you feel like you can't touch anything. I was really taken by the picture over the fireplace in the library - it's carved into the wood surrounding the fireplace. It really emphasised the age of the building and some of the things in it. I don't think I could live in such a big old house though, I'd get way too scared!
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