To kick off my Christmassy crafts me and my friend Louise went to a Christmas handwriting workshop at the North Star Coffee Shop in Leeds. The class was taught by Phylecia Sutherland (check out her website here) and we learnt faux calligraphy and brush lettering (which I was dying to learn) and had lovely baked treats from Noisette Bakehouse. We decorated baubles and gift tags (see below) which was great as they are things we can actually use! 

I found the faux calligraphy hard to keep consistent, so it ended up looking a bit like a 5 year old had done it, but I found the brush lettering much easier, so I will definitely be doing this more in future! 

The coffee shop was gorgeous and the table settings for the event were gorgeous and such lifestyle goals! 

I would really recommend anyone that wants to try a new craft to do a class like this - it's great as no one is a professional so you don't need to worry about it looking amateurish. It's also a lovely cosy night out (and very Christmassy around this time of year!). 

As this year me and Jonny have bought a house, buying our first Christmas tree for the living room was mega important to me. We wanted to source one locally, preferably from a local family business. We stumbled across a lovely little garden centre not that far away from home, and I had been driving past it every day on my way to work! The wreaths were amazing, I got the one above and my mum got the big one further down this post, I could have decked out my entire house with them! 

We ended up getting a 6 foot tree for a really reasonable price. The garden centre was lovely and can be found just outside Leek on the Ashbourne road. I will be posting pics of my Christmassy house now I have finally decorated (both finishing painting the living room and decorating for the festive season!).. stay tuned! 

Where we visited: DDR Museum 

This has to be one of my favourite museums EVER. I first went when I was interrailing in 2011, and I couldn't wait to go back!! There is loads of information on the GDR, which I am now writing (or meant to be writing) my dissertation about so it was really amazing to see some extra information about it! It is a super hands-on type of museum where you can drive an East German car (see below) and go into bedrooms and offices of leading GDR functionaries, Stasi operatives and even into an allotment! I would highly recommend this if you are going to Berlin, as it is a great museum even for people who aren't that into history because there is loads of really interesting info up for grabs & something for everyone! It was also seventies-tastic so anyone that is into clothes or music would find something to look at! 

You can find the DDR museum here: Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 1 10178 Berlin

Where we ate: Fam Dang 

Fam Dang was an amazing Vietnamese restaurant just across the road from our hotel and it was recommended to us by the hotel themselves as a good place for Vietnamese food (we found out that Berlin has a large Vietnamese culture!). We tried some summer rolls and a kind of Vietnamese pizza to start, and I had the duck for my main and a gorgeous gin cocktail! (I have been trying to get into gin for this summer) I would highly recommend it, especially on a hot summer's day. 

You can find Fam Dang here: Torstraße 125 10119 Berlin