Christmas at Chatsworth: Part 2

To read part one of my Narnia adventure click here!

So to recap, we have just gone through the wardrobe and entered snow covered Narnia. It wouldn't be Narnia without one of these now would it?



After a bit of a wander through the hallways, or woods, we entered the chapel where there were two huge trees, they were beautifully decorated.



Before moving on to Tumnus Towers. This was by far my favourite bit of the whole trip.







 The tree in this room was so cute! And there was a fire with kettle warming and a dresser on the wall and it really did look like a little Tumnus den, there was even snow falling outside the window (though it proved very difficult to photograph unfortunately)



And there was the faun himself! On hand to serve you tea, it was all very cosy.



After visiting Mr Tumnus it was time for a brief visit with the Beavers in their dam, Mrs Beaver was hard at work at the sewing machine while Mr Beaver scrubbed up for dinner.



We couldn't stay long though, as obviously Edmund had gone a-snitching and Maugrim and his wolves were on their way!



They had already got to Tumnus, we were next.



Edmund was living it up with the Evil Queen in the Ice Palace



They did have some lovely trees



And of course lots of Turkish Delight



So it was time for a battle



And Aslan made the ultimate sacrifice. This was particularly heartbreaking to watch, as Aslan was animatronic and actually breathed while the mice moved over the ropes. Truly magical!


This picture is awfully blurry, but I have to show you the Aslan tree, covered in the furry fella.



Next it was time for a banquet fit for kings and queens! The trees here were lovely, really traditional and beautifully adorned.





Each chair at the table was set for the characters and each had items particular to them by its side. Queen Susan was always my favourite, I'd love a bow and arrow myself!





Onwards to the coronation. These trees were full of little flags that messages could be written on. Unfortunately there were none left for us to fill out but it was nice to read other peoples messages to loved ones.





There was a maypole for dancing during the celebrations.



And then came the crowning, I didn't dare go and don a crown myself (there was a bit of a queue) but it was a lovely touch!

Afterwards there was nothing to do but to explore the grounds, which are exactly as I imagine Narnia would be, full of hidden places and magical hidey holes.









We got a little bit lost in the maze.







And had to stop by the stepped fountain before leaving, as I always think it is stunning.



We had such a wonderful time, and I would highly recommend a visit to anyone of any age, whether a fan of Narnia or not. I would happily go again as I am sure there are bits I missed, and I cannot wait to see what they come up with next year.

Christmas at Chatsworth runs until the 23rd of December, with other events occurring in the run up to Christmas, full details can be found on Chatsworth's events page

Chatsworth at Christmas: Part 1

Every year Chatsworth House in Derbyshire sets up for Christmas. They make a pretty big deal of it holding events from mid-November onwards. The best parts always sounded to me like the Christmas Market (I love christmas markets, as you are may be beginning to realise) and the Christmas trees.

The Christmas trees you say? Yes, the trees. Every year Chatsworth takes in around 80 Christmas trees and decorates them all around the house. They have a theme each year and I was desperate to go last year to see the Villains and Dames of Pantomime theme and didn't make it, so this year I was determined, because you see this year, it was Narnia.

No way was I going to miss out on Narnia brought to life in my favourite stately home, this book lover was getting herself there no matter what. So we booked some time off work, and on the first friday that the christmas market was open we took a drive to Derbyshire.




The weather was a bit grey, but the market was lovely, this happy chappy serenaded us all with with some lovely organ music while we grabbed some hot drinks and started to wander around.



We definitely made the right choice going on the friday, it was busy but wasn't so crowded that you could get a good look at the items.



We bought copious amounts of handmade fudge, there were so many varieties to choose from!



Plenty of biscuits for christmas presents



And J spent a bit of time trying out some chilli jam from the Chilli Jam Man and eventually bought a couple of pots home.



I wish I had grabbed some of these sausage rolls. There were so many varieties and all named after medieval kings and queens.



I finally got to try Churros, which I quickly decided were much better without the chocolate, but better than sugared doughnuts as they are much easier to eat.





We had a quick nosey around the house shops, considered having afternoon tea in the posh restaurant but decided against it, and I had to take a couple of pictures of the mini fountain in the courtyard, it had ducks swimming in it!



We started to make our way up to the main entrance of the house so that we could start the Narnia experience, and passed the Whomping Willow's extended family on the way!



As you entered it was all set up like an old undergrounds station, and evacuees were directed to follow the arrows. Once in the house you encountered your first themed tree.



I am kicking myself for not having a better shot of this, my skills at taking long-exposure shots have a long way to go and they all came out blurry, but the corridor was beautifully decorated, and the wardrobe was waiting at the end, filled with coats.



Next, we were in Narnia!



Check back on Sunday for Part 2, but in the mean time, details about Narnia and other Christmas events at Chatsworth can be found on Chatsworth's events page.

The Book Buying Tag!

Recently Jennie from Sailor Jennie posted a blog post about the Book Buying Tag, which originates from YouTube, but I see no reason why we can't all post it on our blogs :)

I have talked about my buying habits before here and there but I still wanted to answer the tag myself, so without further ado!

Borrowed from Pinterest

Where do you buy your books?

I buy them from a few places, if I am near independent book shops I head there, but generally I head to Waterstone's or a local W H Smith's if I am not in a city. I buy books online if they are a bit more specialist as where I am I cannot always just walk into a shop to get hold of items, and for those I always check The Book Depository first as they generally have the cheapest prices.

Do you ever pre-order books?

I have pre-ordered in the past, the last book I ordered though was the Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling, and I still haven't read it! So I don't pre-order as much now.

How many books do you buy a month?

This is completely contingent on where I go within the month. If I stay around my home and don't really go any further I could buy no books at all, or a couple from a local shop. If there have been a few new releases I want to get my hands on, or I have come across some rarer items I want to add to my collection I could have bought 10 on eBay alone! I try not to buy many any more though as I have so many.

Do you use your local library?

Of course, when I named this blog the librarian I wasn't kidding, I am a real life librarian and I work in a public library, I am probably one of the top ranking users for my library, I just can't resist taking them home!

borrowed from Pinterest

What do you think of library books?

I love them, but I have a very specific use for them, I borrow them, read them, and if I love the book I will buy my own copy, they are like a free try before you buy service for me. I know people who only ever read library books and do not have their own, and I think that is wonderful for them, and for me because that means they are using the library a lot, but I am the sort of person who if I can't get to sleep in the night I will know that a certain book may help me sleep, so I need my favourites on my shelves. (Weird, I know)

How do you feel about second hand/charity shop books?

I have mixed feelings about them, I like to purchase rare second hand books, though by rare I don't necessarily mean collectible, just ones that are no longer in print (certain covers etc). Although I think the idea of books in charity shops is great, I rarely find ones I want to buy because I often find them to be in terrible condition and I have even seen some where the shop has written the price in biro on the front cover! If I buy a book I am usually intending to keep it forever so I like to have decent copies that will stand multiple reads, I don't even use the buying throwaway reads theory for buying charity shop books because that is what the library is for in my reading life.

Do you keep your read and to be read books together?

I keep all of my books on one bookcase, or rather set of bookcases, which span the peaked wall of my bedroom, this picture below is a taller pitched version really, oh and I have a full wall not a wall with a door. I do separate out my TBR books by having them on the top row of shelves, though I don't know why as I am sure I could remember if I had read a book or not. I haven't got so many that I wouldn't know.

borrowed from Pinterest

Do you plan to read all the books you own?

Definitely, I really hope I live a long life so that I can read as many as possible!

How I picture retirement

What do you do with books you own that you know you won't re-read?

It is very rare for me to buy books that I won't re-read, but in the rare instance that this happens I keep them for a while, because I may re-read them after a few years and have a completely different experience. If I still don't get on with the book I would eventually donate it.

Have you ever donated books?

Yes, both to the library and to charity shops depending on the condition (libraries can only accept books in a good enough condition and within date for certain genres)

Have you ever been on a book buying ban?

No, it would never work for me, I rarely buy impulsively so I don't feel that I need to ban them. I would hate to miss out on a rare book just because I had imposed a ban upon myself, I would be kicking myself forever!

Do you think you own too many books?

Never, this picture below is how I imagine my personal library may look when I am in my seventies!

Now it's your turn!

Treacle Moon Shower Gel

I think I have mentioned in the past that I struggle with soaps, I am allergic to a lot of synthetic scents and colours and get a rash if I use a wide range of products, I'm talking Johnson's baby all the way to Fairy liquid. When I find a nice scented shower gel that doesn't leave me with hives I get very excited, and when they are cheap as chips too? Well that just leaves me with a grin on my face.

A while ago I tried Treacle Moon's range of body scrubs, and had some success, no rash, nice scents and a decent amount of exfoliation for the price. After a bit of research I also discovered that they are very ethical about production and do not test on animals or use animal derivatives. Win! I was a bit reluctant to try the shower gels though because they lather, and typically lathering products produce more of a reaction for me, however I threw caution to the wind a while ago and picked up a couple of bottles of their bath and shower gels while they were on offer in Tesco.

They have a range of scents including some nice wintery ones such as Warm Cinnamon Nights, and a  ginger/gingerbread scent called One Ginger Morning. I was so tempted by these for the cold months ahead but I ended up plumping for the two above purely because I am a bit picky about the colours of shower gels (I know, its weird). As much as I wanted to grab the ginger one lime green just didn't work in my head so it stayed on the shelf and instead I went for a nice sweet Iced Strawberry Dream and the fairly autumnal warming That Vanilla Moment.

In the end I have actually been so glad that I grabbed these scents, they are lovely and fresh without being too cloyingly sweet. They help wake me up in the morning and still feel a bit like a treat even though they are cheap. I do find I have to use a fair bit of product each day to get a decent lather but the bottles on these are huge so it doesn't feel like a waste. I love the packaging design which reminds me of Philosphy's shower gels for a fraction of the cost, but I do have issues with shower space when one of these is in there so if you are severely limited for space this might be an issue for you, currently I don't mind sacrificing another product to make room.

For someone who used to shell out large sums on shower gel from The Body Shop because it didn't give me a rash I am glad to have found these gems. I imagine they will be staples for a while!

You can find all of Treacle Moon's products to buy at Tesco, currently the bath and shower gels have 1/3 off and are only £1.99 for 500ml!