{"id":101790,"date":"2020-12-04T14:43:25","date_gmt":"2020-12-04T14:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/?p=101790"},"modified":"2020-12-07T11:17:46","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T11:17:46","slug":"elf-and-beauty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/presenters\/julia-roberts\/elf-and-beauty\/","title":{"rendered":"Elf and beauty"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may be thinking that\u2019s a strange title for my blog, but all will be revealed later!! First though, I\u2019m looking back to my son Dan\u2019s birthday last Friday \u2013 was that really only a week ago? You may well have picked up the hint that we were doing an American themed dinner for him after I posted the picture of the coffee cup cakes on last week\u2019s blog \u2013 they were \u2018deeelish\u2019 by the way. It all stemmed from his girlfriend, Katie, asking him where he would go for his birthday if they could be anywhere, and he answered New York. After my contribution, I went into work leaving Chris and Katie to decorate and cook \u2013 I was very impressed when I got home.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure how clear it is, but we had some photos printed up of our two trips to New York and Katie also had some great shots to add, which were dangling from strings and stuck to the beams along with the bunting and streamers. Dinner was burger (veggie) and truffle oil chips, with salad and corn on the cob, after we\u2019d all had a glass of the red, white and blue gin-based cocktail Katie had made.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

It was all very tasty, but I have to be honest and say that we were really waiting for the chocolate and orange birthday cake that Katie had made \u2013 how fabulous does this look? And I can confirm it tasted amazing too! It was only the second time that she had used the KitchenAid<\/a>, which she got from QVC when it was a Today’s Special Value recently, having hankered after one for a while, but I\u2019m sure it will get a lot more use once they have a home of their own.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

Obviously, as we were in lockdown, Sophie and her family weren\u2019t allowed to join us for dinner, but she did drop her brother\u2019s presents off on the doorstep and he opened them there so at least she felt included.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

So, having celebrated Dan\u2019s birthday, it was time for me to make the Christmas cake, which I did by hand rather than \u2018borrowing\u2019 Katie\u2019s KitchenAid as that\u2019s the way I\u2019ve always done it. There were just the four of us giving the mixture a stir and making a wish this year. Obviously, I can\u2019t tell you what my wish was, or it might not come true, but I will admit to being a little more selfish than usual this year rather than using my wish for other people \u2013 please keep your fingers crossed for me! The cake is now wrapped in a double layer of tin foil, upside down in the cupboard, having had a generous dousing of brandy, where it will stay until the 23rd when it gets its coat of golden marzipan!<\/p>\n\"\"\n

On Monday, I put the final item in my Reverse Advent Calendar box \u2013 we added a few Christmas treats towards the end \u2013 and a big thank you to our neighbours who joined in and also to Mrs Pietersen (yes, that one) who collected all the offerings up and took them to the local food bank where her mum helps out.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, it was our turn to start opening the doors on our advent calendars. Dan had a Brewdog beer one, Chris his usual cheese, me the traditional chocolate and Katie a reusable cloth one, whose pockets had been filled with goodies ranging from tea-light candles to chocolates to lipsticks. I deserved my chocolate treat as I\u2019d spent the day working on my next book \u2013 no, not the one that comes out next month, ‘My Mother\u2019s Secret’ for those who may be interested, the one that is due out in summer 2021! I\u2019m already on 7600 words so I should make my mid-February deadline easily, even with Christmas in the middle.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Speaking of which, we haven\u2019t put our decorations up (next weekend I think) but I\u2019m starting to feel a bit more in the festive spirit now that the Christmas cake is made, so I thought I would share this with you\u2026 What\u2019s Your Elf Name? I\u2019m Sugarplum Pointytoes \u2013 quite appropriate for an ex-professional dancer! I was reading out Chris, Dan and Katie\u2019s elf names last night in the ad breaks of \u2018I\u2019m a Celebrity\u2019 (I so hope Vernon wins, but I really like all the final three) and I\u2019m guessing that might have inspired Katie to create this little video. It had me laughing out loud this morning \u2013 worth a watch if you\u2019ve got a minute to spare.<\/p>\n