want to wear: new years eve

*sequin beret*

*river of gold dress*

*peacock earrings*

*blue velvet clutch*

*faux fur coat*

*bow peep toe shoes*

want to wear: christmas day

*plaid dress*

*oversize cardigan*

*cozy tights*

*warm slippers*

*furry hat*

want to wear: christmas eve

*velvet dress*
*black mary janes*
*velvet bow*
*glittery gold clutch*
*festive earrings*
*matte red nails*

to make the season bright

Christmas is upon us! I got some pretty bah humbug news yesterday, but I've been trying to keep my spirits up in honor of the holiday... the enormous red bow in my hair helps! I grabbed it for $.75 at Michael's yesterday evening when I was doing some last-minute browsing and decided to slap it on a barrette this morning for some holiday cheer.

(bow: michael's; skirt: bargain boutique; cardigan: target; tights: hue; boots: seychelles)

I went on a bit of a spree at Bargain Boutique on my lunch break yesterday and ended up with some very awesome new things... this skirt most definitely near the top of the list (and for $2!). I'm tempted to shorten it to my usual mini length but it's so amazing I feel like that would be a travesty. What do you think? Keep it long and impractical or short and ready-to-wear? There will be a bit of radio silence on this here blog over the weekend, but I'll be back on Tuesday!

Merry Christmas!!

merry & bright

The cycle continues... after a few days of subdued hues, I felt like being merry & bright this morning.

(skirt/belt/scarf: bargain boutique; cardigan: h&m; france shirt: uo; tights: hue; shoes: seychelles)

I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed in my gifts this year. I've been so busy this month with a million things (and a million dollars worth of car repairs) that gift-purchasing was pushed to the very last minute. As a result, Christmas Eve is bearing down on me and I'm still coming up short! I have a couple of things for everyone on my list, but they just seem so lackluster and uninspired... my imaginative efforts have been entirely exhausted elsewhere. Oh well, at this point I'm just looking forward to spending some quality time with the good people in my life, drinking eggnog and singing carols late into the night :) That's what the season really is all about, anyway... and there is always next year!

first day of winter!

In honor of the first (official) day of winter (and also in honor of my increasing consumption of christmas cookies and general daily exhaustion), I am bundling up in some serious woolly winter wear. It's funny how much I've been deviating from what I consider "my style" lately, just to stay warm... no little dresses and topplingly high heels for me :)

(sweater: salvation army; jeans: pacsun; socks: gift; boots: seychelles; hat: mad bomber)

I found this sweater for $1 (!!) at Salvation Army this summer and knew that it would be perfect once cold weather hit. That was before I realized that it is deceptively breezy--don't be fooled by the thick fisherman's knit, . The hat belongs to K. I got it for him a couple of Christmases ago and I like to steal it from time to time :)

good saint rick (moranis)

I had a lovely weekend-before-Christmas (aside from some last-minute shopping frustrations). This is what I wore on Saturday, when K and I hit the town to pick up some presents and ended up having a pleasantly surprising lunch at Olive Garden (my first time ever!) and seeing a pleasantly surprising matinee of How Do You Know? I knew I'd like it, because Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd are both awesome and Reese Witherspoon can be charming when she wants to be, but even K didn't hate it! Best scene: Mr. Rudd's drunkenly despondent rendition of "Turn off the Lights." Of course, the woman in front of us who wouldn't stop talking during the first few minutes of the movie also felt the need to announce loudly to the theater that she thought it was the worst film she'd ever seen during the closing credits. I'm sorry, but you can't go into a movie like that expecting Krzysztof Kieślowski... it's not meant to be an enriching intellectual experience, just pure escapist entertainment.

(dress: h&m; faux-leather jacket: aldo; tights: hue; glasses: f21; boots: seychelles; scarf: claire's)

So my post-cut hair is apparently too short for the Heidi braids, but somehow can hold a twist or two (don't ask me how). I kind of like the way the twists look, maybe just because they seem a little less twee than braids? Unfortunately, now that I'm looking at these pictures I can't stop thinking that I resemble Rick Moranis:

making life baking life: christmas cookies

I'm not the sort of person who bakes on a regular basis, mostly because I can't have sweets around the house or I will go on an absolute rampage. When the holidays roll around, however, I embrace the spirit of overindulgence with open arms. These are the Christmas cookies my mother made when we were growing up (the way our family devoured cookies, she easily made a batch a day), and it just wouldn't be Christmas without her special recipes.

PEANUT BUTTER KISSES

Ingredients:

1/2 c shortening

1/2 c peanut butter

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1 egg

1 T milk

1 t vanilla

1 3/4 c flour

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

hershey's kisses

Directions:

Cream: shortening, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar

(use a mixer if you have one--I don't).

Stir in egg, milk, vanilla; beat ferociously until smooth.

Sift: flour, baking soda, salt.

Add to mixture.

Shape dough into 1/2 in balls and roll in sugar until coated.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8 min.

While the cookies are baking, de-foil the Hershey's kisses.

Take cookies out of the oven, place a kiss in the center of each, and bake for 2 additional minutes.

GINGER COOKIES

**removed**

**secret family recipe which i unknowingly revealed!!**

Directions:

Voilà! Tasty holiday treats to share :)