The Happiest of Holidays (Part One)

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year and I think this may have been the best yet! I've been so busy celebrating the holidays, I haven't had a chance to tell you what I've been up to. Here's what I've been up to lately:

Angel Tree Project

For the past two years, I've had the most wonderful opportunity to co-chair the Angel Tree Project on behalf of a women lawyers group I belong to. We "adopt" 65 children from a local Title I elementary school (extremely underprivileged children) and ask each child to give us their Christmas wish-list. We then find sponsors to adopt a child and buy Christmas presents for that child. We bring all the gifts to the school and throw a party for the kids with punch, cupcakes & cookies. Each child gets a big bag of toys, including new clothes and shoes. I cannot tell you how much fun it is to shop for the teenie-tiny bikes, princess dolls and action figures they request. And the looks on their precious faces when they see their giant pile of presents is priceless. It really is better to give than receive.

It's nice when you can load kids up on sugar and then send them home to their parents. :)

I wish I could have shared pictures of the kids because let me tell you, they are stinkin' adorable. But, I'm not really sure what the rule is about posting pictures of children that don't belong to you on the internet....

Annual Christmas Party

We had a great time at Michelle & Frank's annual Christmas party. I'm not sure how many years they've hosted the party but it's a great time and I'm glad we're a part of it. The Mister and I are lucky enough to have a big group of wonderful friends we've known since college. Many of us still live in the same town where we went to college and get to see each other often. Some have moved away but it's nice to have reasons like this to get everyone back together. I got some yummy Barefoot Contessa cupcake & pancake mixes I can't wait to try in the Secret Santa gift exchange.

St. Petersburg Bowl

The next morning we, along with most everyone else from the party, got in the car and drove to St. Pete to watch our UCF Knights play Rutgers in the super important, very prestigious St. Petersburg Bowl. (Sense the sarcasm people.) It was nice to be able to see our team play in a bowl so close to home and we had a great time, even though our team played like garbage and lost to Rutgers 45-24.

Making the road trip to St. Pete. My sister thought it was hilarious that I brought a two liter of Diet Coke in the car with me to refill my drink. I have a problem people.

In the lobby of our hotel.

We went on a pub crawl through downtown St. Pete before the game & popped into this dive of an Irish bar to order Car Bombs from this fancy lady. They were delish and she was a riot.

There was an improptu dance off with a kid in a bar.

And then there was the game. Thank goodness they served beer in the stadium. It was ugly.

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Every year, The Mister takes me to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. For those of you who don't live near The Happiest Place on Earth, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is a special event at the Magic Kingdom held on a few nights during the holiday season. They open up the park at night, light the castle in Christmas lights, serve cookies and coccoa, and it snows on Main Street. There are parades, shows and fireworks, but the best part is that they only sell a limited number of tickets so the park is practically empty. The lines for the rides are very short - you can practically walk on everything. It's a lot of fun and I look forward to it every year. Two years ago, The Mister proposed to me by the Christmas tree on Main Street!

This year, the whole family came with us. (Except my brother, who couldn't make the trip down from Boston.) My parents stayed at the Grand Floridian, so we met them at the hotel before taking the monorail over to the park. The Christmas decorations inside the Grand Floridian were beautiful! The Christmas tree was HUGE and they had an full size house made out of gingerbread!

This tree was so big they used full-sized bird cages as ornaments!

This entire house was made of gingerbread!

The Sister is spooked by the tombstones at the Haunted Mansion.

Everyone, meet Mom & Dad. Aren't they the cutest?

The Mister & I on the Tea Cups. We spun them so fast we almost fell down trying to get out!

It was another great trip to Mickey's house! Sometime's it's not so bad living in a tourist destination. It's worth putting up with the crowds to have so many fun things in your backyard.

Stay tuned for Part II, which will recap the official Christmas festivities - including a Christmas Eve wedding!

"Do you prefer Fashion Victim or Ensembly Challenged?"

What to do, what to do? Or, more accurately, what to wear?*

I have a wedding in a few weeks and I haven't the slightest clue what to wear. Everything in my closet seems old and boring and I haven't seen anything online exciting enough to make me pull out my credit card and place an order. {Who am I kidding? I memorized my CC number ages ago.} J. Crew and Anthro are usually my go-to's for dresses to wear to weddings but I haven't fallen in love with anything they're offering right now...

This is such a hard time of year to shop for clothes. Most stores are phasing out their fall/winter items and bringing in spring lines, but it's too early to wear the spring styles. Pastels, polka dots and strapless just don't seem right for January. Plus, there's always the question: "Is it appropriate to wear black to a wedding?" I've done it myself more than once and personally, I'm of the opinion that so long as you're not wearing white you're fine, but I always wonder whether someone is judging and thinking "Didn't her mother teach her anything?" Does anyone still think that way or is that just something our grandmothers' said?

So, what to do? Go with the standby LBD and jazz it up with cute shoes & accessories? Break out of my comfort zone and find something in color?

Here are a few contenders I've found. Think any of them would work? Keep in mind, it's a January wedding, 2:00pm church ceremony, reception following at a museum and hubby's in the wedding so he'll be in a tux.

ABS from Nordstrom

Adrianna Pappell from Nordstrom

French Connection from Bloomingdale's

J. Crew

Banana Republic

Thoughts? Advice? HELP!

*My Christmas recap is coming. Hopefully before Christmas 2010.

Dear Santa,

I've been a naughty, naughty girl this year. The bed rarely gets made, my attendance at the gym was sporadic at best and I've consumed more Diet Coke and vodka than is healthy in three lifetimes. Please bring the following anyway.

The elusive Tory Burch Lissie Ballet Flats

A White Christmas in Florida

A fountain Diet Coke machine for my kitchen

A Le Creuset French oven

An elf to hang the infamous mirror

(yes, it is still sitting on our bedroom floor)

Big Bang Theory Season 2 on DVD

Oh, and of course, world peace. Thanks Santa! xoxo

If you're happy and you know it...

My sweet, sweet friend over at Pink Lace and Cupcakes gave me this "Happy 101" award and in my holiday craze, I'm just now getting around to posting it. Thanks PLC!

The Rules:

1. Ten things that make me happy.

2. Ten bloggers that brighten my day!

My 10 Happies:

1. My Kitchen Aid Mixer.
2. Fountain Diet Coke with a slice of lemon.
3. My Christmas tree.
4. Clean sheets.
5. Red wine with good friends.
6. Online shopping.
7. Baking.
8. TV on DVD (my favorites: West Wing, Gilmore Girls, 30 Rock and Big Bang Theory)
9. New shoes.
10. Football.

10 Bloggers Who Brighten My Day:

You all do! Love reading your blogs and comments. But, it's 8 days until Christmas and I'm sure you're all busy buying and wrapping last minute presents, baking holiday goodies, getting the Christmas cards in the mail and planning those holiday bashes. So, I won't name names. :)

2009's Most Fascinating People

Barbara Walters unveiled her "10 Most Fascinating People of 2009" List last week. Here's why I think her list is crap. First, the woman is 80. (Side note: She looks damn good for an octogenarian.) Now, I'm not saying she has to go home and knit sweaters for her cats just because she's 80, but come on. We're supposed to value her opinion of the year's most interesting people? Right...because when I think of someone who has really got their finger on the pulse of pop culture in this country, I think Barbara Walters.

Even assuming she delegates the list making responsibilities to someone without an AARP card, could it be more awkward trying to watch her relate to most of these people? I'll bet you dollars to donuts that Babs hadn't even heard of Lady Gaga before someone told her she'd be interviewing her. And at least half the list is chosen based on who's willing to show up for the interview. The people have to be interesting enough to make the cut, yet not so big-time that they won't turn down the chance to waste an hour answering Barbara's inane questions. (Kate Gosselin - I'm talking to you).

Adam Lambert? Really? I guess eyeliner and a guy-on-guy kiss qualifies you for "fascinating" these days. And what's so intriguing about Brett Farve this year that wasn't last year? Will he play, won't he play, he plays, he plays well. Not exactly riveting stuff. Kate Gosselin, Lady Gaga and Glenn Beck - aren't their 15 minutes of fame up yet? And can't we just leave Michael Jackson's children alone already? I won't even start on Sarah Palin...

Just in case Barbara's looking to pass the torch, I thought I'd put together a list of my own. But I'm choosing the 9 Most Fascinating People of 2009. I like to be different. (And I may have gotten stuck and couldn't come up with a 10th.) I present to you my list of the 9 Most Fascinating People of 2009:

9. Suri Cruise. Could this child be any more fabulous? The killer wardrobe, the adorable hair cut - who knew it was possible to be jealous of a three year old?

8. Michelle Duggar - She's a mom to 19 kids and a grandmother! I could fill a book with the questions I'd love to ask this woman. Starting with "WHY?" How does she do it? Does she sleep? Does she ever wear pants?

7. Tom Colicchio - He cooks, he's bald and he stumps for Diet Coke. I'm fascinated. And in love.

6. The Housewives of Bravo - Hear me out on this one. Who are these women and why do they agree to make fools of themselves on television season after season? Don't they know they look like total asshats? If someone sat those broads down and asked them that, I'd watch.

[not pictured. I 've seen enough]

5. Rihanna - Her music career is hot. She's a style chameleon. And then there was that Chris Brown "incident". Who doesn't have questions about that?

4. Tim Tebow. He looks like this:


Enough said.

3. Meryl Streep. Aside from being one of the greatest actresses of all time, the woman is on fire. Last year, she was a hit in Mamma Mia. Her performance as Julia Child in Julie & Julia earned her rave reviews (and a Golden Globe nomination) and her new movie, It's Complicated, doesn't hit theaters until next week, but has already earned her a Golden Globe nom. Ms. Streep is proof you can age gracefully and remain relevant in Hollywood after 60.

2. The Inventor of the Snuggie. Who's behind the most ridiculous invention of the year? And just how did this person know that in one of the worst economic depressions in recent history hard-working Americans would flip for this crap and shell out their hard earned cash for the most redundant retail item ever? Cold? How about a blanket? Arms still cold? For the love of all that is good and holy, put on a sweater! Snuggie insanity is at an all time high. People sport their slankets to bars on Snuggie Pub Crawls. They buy Snuggies for their pets. It's like a bad SNL sketch. I MUST meet the person who foresaw the success of this product and had the cajones to pitch it to investors. Snuggies. Who knew?

and....


My #1 Most Fascinating Person of 2009 is....

First Lady Michelle Obama. Okay, maybe Babs still has "it" after all. I couldn't agree more with her choice for the Most Fascinating Person of 2009. While we see Mrs. O frequently (and how does she always manage to look so darn flawless?!?!) we don't often hear from her. So, so many things I could ask her. And they probably wouldn't all be about her wardrobe... :)

The Mister Turns 30!

Saturday night we celebrated my husband's 30th birthday. The first stop was one of our favorite bars for drinks & cake.

I guess I should explain that my husband LOVES ketchup. Really, really loves it. He can kill half a bottle with one meal. In fact, ketchup is so important to The Mister that I promised in my wedding vows that I'd always have a full bottle of ketchup in the house. So yeah, we take ketchup seriously around here. I thought this Heinz Ketchup cake was the perfect way to honor The Mister's 30 year love affair with ketchup.

Didn't the bakery do a great job? I think it turned out perfectly. And it was sooo yummy.

The Aftermath.

The girls.

After we'd devoured the cake (and a few cocktails) we set out on a Photo Scavenger Hunt/Pub Crawl through our dowtown bar district. It was SO MUCH FUN. I created the clues for the scavenger hunt, which sent the teams off in search random items found about town. Here are few of the items they had to find/photograph:

Their team taking a shot:

A human pyramid.

A d-bag in Ed Hardy

There were check in points at bars, which the teams had to find by solving riddles. There were also a few "competition" items, where only the team with the winning picture earned points (tallest heels, hairiest man, etc.) You should have seen the pictures submitted for "shortest skirt." Holy geez. I'd share them with you but this isn't that kind of blog. I think it's sufficient to say that their mothers would not be proud.

And, just because everyone should be embarrassed on their birthday, The Mister spent at least two hours walking around like this:

Everyone loved the scavenger hunt and it turned out to be a great night. I think we made it just a little bit easier for the old man to cope with turning the big 3-0.

To my love - HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love you like a fat kid loves cake. And then some. xoxo

Life Gets in The Way

Despite the best of intentions, posting has been pretty scarce around here lately. This week has just been so darn hectic!

There's been the normal busyness of the holiday season - baking, decorating, shopping & parties. On Monday, I baked a carrot cake for The Mister's work party AND cookies for a teen parent project I work with. The tree, outside lights and holiday decorations went up this week. I finished almost all of my Christmas shopping at lunch on Wednesday, and have just a few more things to buy, along with a couple more birthday presents for the hubs. Our first holiday party of the season was Thursday night.

Aside from the normal holiday stuff, I've been organizing a project which provides Christmas presents to 65 underprivileged kids (so much fun!), planning my husband's 30th birthday party (even more fun!), and my parents came in town for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party last night. On top of all that, work suddenly picked up and I found myself at the office past 7 more than once this week.

I really can't complain about any of this because I love Christmas and all the things that have been keeping me busy have been so much fun. I just wish I had a spare moment to tell you all about it! I've got about 4 half-finished posts which I wish I could finish, including my own "10 Most Fascinating People of 2009" list which is becoming less relevant with each passing day, since B.Walters beat me to the punch with her list on Wednesday. I have pictures to share from our visit to Mickey's House last night and after tonight's 30th Birthday Bash (a photo scavenger hunt through our downtown bar district) I am sure there will be pictures and stories in abundance!

Oh, I'm also trying my hand at this whole "crafty" business I've heard so much about from you, my bloggy friends. Pink Lace and Cupcakes - your chocolate pretzel rods looked so delicious & beautiful, I just have to try them. I have the ingredients waiting in the pantry and hope to make them tomorrow. Thanks for the inspiration! (If you don't read her blog - you should. She's too cute & sweet for words.) I also took (okay, blatantly stole) some inspiration from Kelly at Kelly's Korner and made her adorable homemade ornaments. Well, I bought all the supplies and made one prototype. It didn't come out half bad for a craft novice like me! Now I just have to make the rest for family & friends.

So, things are busy,busy, busy at This Old House, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Happy Saturday to you all!

The Halls are Decked!

And it's about darn time! I've been pretty grumpy about the fact that it was already December and there wasn't so much as a jingle bell to be found in our house. Well, we are Scrooges no longer - Christmas has finally come to our little corner of the world.

The rain finally stopped on Sunday so we were able to venture out for a tree. I think I'm in the minority on this one, but for me, it has to be a real tree. I know they're messy but I wouldn't have it any other way. My theory on Christmas trees is that you do what you grew up with. If your family had a fake (or do you prefer "artificial"? fake sounds sort of derogatory...) tree growing up, you probably have an artificial tree now. If you had the real thing growing up, I bet you still go pick out the "perfect" tree at the tree farm every year. It's all about tradition.

Anyhow, our tree is up, lit and decorated. And, I'm happy to report, the lighting of the tree did not involve me being a type-A, control freak who yells at her husband "You're not doing it right!" and ruining the Christmas spirit...like last year. That, my friends, it what we call growth.

Here he is: (Christmas trees are male to me. Not sure why, considering the amount of glitter adorning ours. Just go with it.)

Boy, have I learned alot about Christmas trees from the blogging world. You people have A LOT of trees! Many of you have multiple trees - some have seven or EIGHT!?! My word. I'm impressed. And exhausted just thinking about how much work that must be. Where do you find the time? And the storage space?

At our little old house, we have one tree. You see, our house is a 1925 bungalow. Charming, yes. Tight on space - an understatement. No flippin room to put anything? That's a bit more accurate. Believe me, if there were room for more than one tree in this house I would have already put a closet there.

So, we have one tree. And the ornaments don't match. I've collected a hodge-podge of ornaments throughout the years and they all go up on the tree. I love unwrapping each ornament and remembering who gave it to me or where I found it. It might not be fit for a Pottery Barn catalog, but I love our little tree of memories.

We were feeling pretty ambitious yesterday, so we got some lights up outside too.

It's hard to tell from the blurry, dark picture, but there is a row of little candy cane lights along the row of hedges. I think they're too cute. Some icicle lights would look awesome along the roof line and I'd love to wrap red and white lights around the two large cone shaped trees in the front of the house to make them look like candy canes. But, it's not going to happen for the want of two things: a tall ladder and a willing husband. Bah-humbug!


The stocking have been hung by the chimney with care ...and other Christmas crap is out and about....but I don't have pictures of any of that.

Merry Christmas to you from This Old House! Hope you all had a great weekend!

"The city never sleeps, better slip you an Ambien."

"In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There's nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York,
These streets will make you feel brand new,
The lights will inspire you,
Let's here it for New York, New York, New York..."

-Jay Z

(sis, that was for you)


We're home. And we're exhausted. Jay Z was right - the city never sleeps. Neither did we. We saw it all, did it all and ate it all. We had the best time.

THE SIGHTS:

Wicked - simply amazing.

And even better with cocktails in souvenir glasses!

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

"I don't go into your house and steal your Hello Kitty backpack." - The Office, "A Benihana Christmas" episode. Watch it. Love it.

Okay, here's the deal with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Unless you're a hard core crazy who's willing to get up at 6am and sit on a curb for four hours to stake out a great spot on the parade route, there's going to be about 15 feet of people between you and the street. But it's okay because when you stand on your tippy-toes you can almost see things at street level. Then the parade starts and every kid in the crowd is lifted up onto Dad's shoulders. View gone. (As it should be. It's a parade - it's for the kids. That concept was lost on the gripey lady next to us who threw a hissy fit everytime a child's head interfered with her view.) It's then that you realize that if it's not floating in the air, you're not going to be able to see it. Bottom line: it was fun to do once, but I've checked it off the list. Unless I'm bringing back munchkins some day, in the future I'll stick to watching the parade from the couch in my pjs.

Central Park

I could have spent all day walking the park and watching the ice skaters at Wollman Rink.

The Plaza

Grand Central Station

My handsome hubby at the Met.

He liked the weaponry and armor exhibit.

I preferred the shoe exhibit. (Okay, it was the Egyptian exhibit. Do these sandals not look like Jack Rodgers? Minus the creepy toe caps.)

Rockefeller Center

(How cute is this little guy who walked in front of the picture?)

I think I love this place. Not only is it the home of Liz Lemon and the 30 Rock gang, but there's a giant Christmas tree, a J. Crew and an Anthropologie all within 100 yards. It's my new happy place.

Yeah, I don't look all that happy. But I swear, new happy place for sure.

View of the Park from the Top of the Rock.

THE FOOD:

We split a pastrami sandwich at the Carnegie Deli and between the two of us, we couldn't finish it. That's a lot of meat. (That's what she said.)

Starbucks Pastry. So, I didn't eat any of this, but I had to include this picture. And here's why: They're required to post the calorie content for all menu items. Insane! Does anyone really want to know that there are over 400 calories in a piece of gingerbread? How on earth do they sell any of this crap with the calorie count staring you in the face? Do they do that where you live?(Also - I got yelled at by the barista for taking this picture. And the one after it. Those Starbucks folks are secretive!)

Thanksgiving dinner at the Blue Water Grill. AMAZING. Go there. Get the Crunchy Florida Roll. Best sushi roll I've ever had. And it's not even a sushi restaurant.

LK, Thanks for recommending Penelope's for brunch. Such a charming little place and yummy food!

Patsy's Pizza...mmmm

The pasta that changed my life. Rigatoni with Vodka Sauce from Angelo's in Little Italy. It may not look like anything special but it's by far the best pasta I've ever had. I don't think I can ever make my penne con vodka ever again. It could never compare.

After dinner at Angelo's, we went around the corner to Ferrara for dessert.

That box is full of mini cannolis. So bad, but oh so good.

This picture is really not necessary but I just love those shoes. Hi shoes!

(not pictured - Lunch at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill which was phenomenal and the super cute Irish pub our friend took us to for the Florida - Florida State game.)

Finally, we came to a sad realization: The Mister and I could never afford to live in NYC. We wouldn't be able to support our Diet Coke habit. Free refills do not exist in this city. And we like our Diet Coke - alot. We'd probably spend more on DC than rent. Oh well, guess it wasn't meant to be.

THE RANDOM:

Biggest. Sephora. Ever.

Best. Cupcakes. Ever.

Best. Idea. Ever. (Saks Fifth Avenue)

We had such a great trip. We came home very happy, very full and very tired. I'm so thankful we had the chance to take this trip together and for my wonderful husband, who is such a blast to travel with. I'm looking forward to many more adventures.

So excited to be back to blogging! I promise not to stay away so long again. I've missed you all!