It’s December 4, and I’ve already listened to more Christmas music than most people can stand. And I’m not even close to changing the channel, bring on the eggnog!
I seriously love the holiday season. Love it! Oh, sure, the commercialized consumer-fest is something to lament, but I can’t resist the cozy joy that comes from frequent gatherings with friends and family; it makes working for the weekend even more rewarding. On Friday, I caroled my wee little heart out over a laptop-assisted Christmas sing-along (to make sure we got all the Frosty lyrics right of course), and on Saturday we wined and dined a group of 15 friends, my husband made a successful turkey, and I got to dress for holiday parties both nights. Oh, Christmas, you’re the best!
Enough with the talky, here are a few pics of one newly-thrifted holiday party outfit. As usual, I didn’t like anything I had in the closet, so I made my way over to the Salvation Army for some last-minute Saturday shoppin. I came upon a houndstooth skirt, which I’m pretty excited about (and yes, I googled “Scottish fabric patterns” in order to come up with the proper term for the pattern. You can’t tell from the pics, but it’s actually a stretchy knit. Which means two very important things: It’s warm, and it’s comfy! I also bought the chunky gold necklace at the same time, to provide a little holiday razzle-dazzle, and added the belt to keep it from getting too office-friendly. I put on some the red lipstick, and whistled for my one-horse open sleigh. Okay, I can’t whistle. But I do have a sleigh, and by sleigh, I mean car.
The following night, we held our annual “family Christmas”. A few days before the festivities, we did a quick survey of our dish ware, and discovered that we have four wine glasses. Four. Now, four is usually plenty for Friday-night wine nights over some Chinese food and Netflix, but it was far short of the 15 we needed to host all our friends. One day, I may cave and buy a nice-looking set of wine glasses (you know, different shapes for different kids of wine and all that silliness). But for two twenty-somethings with student loans and cat, that is not this day.
Someone suggested I stock my cupboards with Dollarstore glasses while I wait for that day to arrive, but why on earth would I blow a $1.25/glass at the Dollarstore when I can get perfectly good (unmatchy) glasses for $.45/glass at my faithful friend, the Sally-Anne? Well, that’s exactly what I did. And everyone was able to enjoy my Sangria without having to drink it from coffee mugs like last time! Man, when did I become such a grown-up?
Oh, and I also made something. In the oven. With ingredients! They even looked kind of like they were supposed to:
I’ve also got to give a shout-out to one of my clients, Cheryl, who did a hilarious post on Christmas baking on her newly-designed blog . It involves boob cookies. Now I know you’re intrigued.
The holidays are here folks. Next up: my entirely thrifted Santa costume!