The perfect mince pie and festive cocktail for Santa

As a child I LOVED leaving out a treat for Father Christmas and rushing down in the morning to see whether or not it had disappeared. I think it was normally a glass of sherry for my Father Christmas and a carrot for the reindeer.

For all those Father Christmases out there I have a very delicious alternative to sherry and carrots that would be perfect for Christmas eve and any other night of the festive period (oooh, maybe a New Year’s Eve cocktail). I am also very lucky to be showing off these delish recipes in some beautiful Villeroy & Boch glasses and festive crockery – the perfect combination.

The perfect mince pie and drink for Santa | Villeroy and Boch glasses and Christmas crockery | Spiced sugar syrup festive old fashioned recipe | Apartment Apothecary

Clementine mascarpone mince pies

These mince pies are the most delicious you will ever taste, a big claim I know, and I have my friend Agnes to thank for the idea. Basically, the secret is mascarpone cream – oh my word, so delicious. I use unsweetened short crust pastry with mincemeat (try this one if you don’t eat refined sugar like me) and then add a dollop of mascarpone with clementine juice and zest mixed into it (add enough to taste). I like a closed mince pie because I’m a pastry fiend. You can also make extra of the mascarpone cream to serve with the pies. YUM!

The perfect mince pie and drink for Santa | Villeroy and Boch glasses and Christmas crockery | Spiced sugar syrup festive old fashioned recipe | Apartment Apothecary

Winter Bakery Delight rolling pin from Villeroy & Boch.

I don’t know about you but mince pies must be eaten warm and when you are making them you must be eating one from the last batch, natch.

The perfect mince pie and drink for Santa | Villeroy and Boch glasses and Christmas crockery | Spiced sugar syrup festive old fashioned recipe | Apartment Apothecary

Winter Bakery Delight measuring jug from Villeroy & Boch

Christmas gingerbread Old-fashioned cocktail

This is a festive twist on the classic Old-fashioned cocktail that makes a great drink throughout the Christmas period. Usually, an Old-fashioned has a couple of teaspoons of sugar syrup but you need to replace this with a more Christmassy gingerbread syrup. See this post from last year to find out how to make it.

It is a very simple and quick drink to make and doesn’t require any snazzy cocktail making gear so perfect is you have guests:

2 tsps gingerbread syrup (or to taste, depending on how sweet you like your drink)

4 drops of Angostura bitters

Shot of bourbon

Handful of ice

A slither of Clementine zest (you could even candy this if you have time)

Stir all the ingredients together in the glass and drink! Aren’t these Old-fashioned tumblers beautiful?

The perfect mince pie and drink for Santa | Villeroy and Boch glasses and Christmas crockery | Spiced sugar syrup festive old fashioned recipe | Apartment Apothecary

Octavie Old-fashioned tumblers from Villeroy & Boch

All that’s left to do is leave your Christmas spiced Old-fashioned and clementine mince pie for Santa to enjoy!

The perfect mince pie and drink for Santa | Villeroy and Boch glasses and Christmas crockery | Spiced sugar syrup festive old fashioned recipe | Apartment Apothecary

Winter Bakery Delight small star bowl from Villeroy & Boch

Enjoy the run up to Christmas this week. Anyone about to embark on a mammoth cook-in?!

Katy x

*This post was written in collaboration with Villeroy & Boch.

Gift guides – stocking fillers

Stocking filler gift guide | Apartment ApothecaryStockings are definitely not just for children; we have always had our own!  So here are some lovely small gifts that would be perfect for stocking fillers or perhaps token gifts for friends, neighbours or colleagues and there’s still just enough time to order in time for next weekend. But you’d better be quick…

 

Remember, you can easily pop any of these lovely goodies into your cart right here so you don’t have to go to all the separate shops. You can also have a look at my full shop here. Happy shopping and enjoy the rest of your weekend. I’ll be back on Monday with some snaps of our nursery. Katy x

Last minute easy Christmas decoration and present ideas

Ok, it’s the 15th, we still have a few more days of work and then for some of us the whole family is descending next weekend. Let’s not panic! If you still haven’t quite got on top of the hosting game but want to add a few last minute handmade touches to your festive decor, wrapping or presents then I have found a few great ideas that we can all steal and anyone can make these happen with very few resources or crafty skills.

Last minute Christmas decoration and present ideas | Apartment Apothecary

Why not make a lovely little display with the stockings on a branch from the park with an odd sprig of Mistletoe or any foliage from the garden. Use command hooks to hang it on the wall or from the ceiling. Image via: The Merry Thought

Last minute Christmas decoration and present ideas | Apartment Apothecary

Need a few festive touches for the table? Buy some Hyacinth bulbs from the supermarket (don’t tell me you won’t be going there this week!) or your local florist or greengrocer and pot them up in sweet jars. Alternatively, wrap potted plants or herbs in white tissue paper with string. Done. Images via: Annixen /  The Waves We Make

Last minute Christmas decoration and present ideas | Apartment Apothecary

A lovely last minute gift idea for anyone that deserves the special handmade touch. Details over at Style Me Pretty.

Last minute Christmas decoration and present ideas | Apartment Apothecary

I bet we’ve all got a drawer full of dinner candles (I’ve got a box of them from Ikea that I’ve had for years!). Stick them in glass bottles and place around the dining room to make it feel magically festive. Alternatively, find some bendy twigs to make into a heart shape or brittle twigs to make in to a star shape, add some lights and you have an instant wall decoration. Images via Decor Dots / Peek and Pack

Last minute Christmas decoration and present ideas | Apartment Apothecary

Chuck a few apples, oranges and spices into a pan to make you home smell amazingly welcome and Christmassy before your guests arrive. Details over at How Sweet It Is

Last minute Christmas decoration and present ideas | Apartment Apothecary

A couple of easy ways to make your wrapping extra special is by using potato printing or little brown bags with sprigs of Eucalyptus. The smallest token gift will seem so much more thoughtful wrapped in either of these ways. Images via Trendenser / The Beauty Dojo

I hope everyone can enjoy the last few days leading up to Christmas!

Katy x

Muuto dots coat hooks

I wanted to quickly drop in today to tell you about a beautiful product I have discovered and bought from Houseology for the nursery (hoping to show you a few snaps of the baby’s room next week, by the way, but I’m being defeated by the horrendous light at the moment so taking pictures is proving tricky). I bought the marshmallow coloured Cable and Cotton lights for the room and needed something to hang them on and I came across The Dots, which are beautiful coat hooks designed by Muuto. I bought three – two small and one medium in oak but they come in lots of different colours and finishes and it could be really fun to play around with the sizes and colours to make a unique display. The beauty of these hooks is that they are both practical and lovely to look at. Here is a bit of inspiration for how to arrange the hooks and where to use them…

Hallway

The obvious place to use the Muuto dots is in the hallway for coats, bags, hats, umbrellas. An odd number of hooks works best and leaving enough space between them to hang what you need to without covering up the one below. They look great at different heights and would be nowhere near as effective if hung in a row.

Muuto dots coat hooks | Apartment Apothecary

Image via Over the Ocean of one of my favourite homes that belongs to Tessa Hop.

Muuto dots coat hooks | Apartment Apothecary

Image via Fantastic Frank

Kitchen and bathroom

Another great use of the dots is to use them more creatively as door or drawer knobs. The first time I saw them was on an Instagram picture (I can’t for the life of me remember whose account though) and they had been used on the drawers of the IKEA daybed that we have bought and it looked amazing. I love how they have been used in this kitchen and bathroom…

Muuto dots coat hooks | Apartment Apothecary

Image via Elle Decoration

Muuto dots coat hooks | Apartment Apothecary

Image via Inspira Hogar

My inspiration

It was this image that have me the idea to hang a string of lights on the dots and I know that once the baby’s room fills up with toys and ‘stuff’ there will be plenty to be draped over the three dots that I have bought.Muuto dots coat hooks | Apartment Apothecary

These hooks would make a great Christmas present, if you are still looking for last minute ideas – you can buy them separately or a set of five. I’ll have another gift guide for you at the end of the week for stocking fillers and then pics of the baby’s room next week.

Katy x

Gift guide – presents under £40

40-pounds

A little helping hand today if you are searching for gifts. All of these lovely affordable gifts would suit a whole range of people from the coffee drinker to the plant lover. Hopefully, there will be something to suit one of your loved ones or friends. You can explore more gifts from my shop here.

If you like anything you see you can add these to your cart and buy them directly through my blog so you don’t have to go off to separate shops. Happy shopping! x

Katy