There was this day way back in October when I packed up the kids into the ute with all of their swimming gear.  For once we decided to leave the dogs at home!  In addition to the kids and the swimming paraphernalia I also had an old timber table, stools, linen, glassware, sparkling wine, old spoons, a chair, a wreath, all of the ingredients for a Bloody Mary including ice, vintage cocktail swizzle sticks, emergency clean up gear,  camera gear, four gingerbread houses and just to test my limits, an ice-cream cake.

What unfolded was certainly my most ambitious cooking, food styling and photography project up to this point in my very amateur career.  While the kids swam in the creek I styled and snapped and furiously wiped up the drips and rearranged things and waited for the prettiest light I could possibly capture.  There may have been flies and glare from the afternoon sun and the occasional incident involving two small people, mud, water and towels dropped in the prickles.

Thank goodness for the magic of photography and for Claire, the very trusting creator and founder of Graziher for letting me loose on these wonderful projects.

If a Bloody Mary for Christmas breakfast takes your fancy or you are interested in reading about our own twists on some festive traditions treat yourself to the summer issue of Graziher magazine.  You will be supporting a beautiful and unique independent publication.

I hope the countdown to Christmas isn’t getting too hectic for you.

Are you getting whole heartedly into yet?  Or perhaps like me you are taking one small Christmas step at a time.