So yeah, I needed a little break there from blogging, if only to feel like I could just sit and do nothing at the end of the day. That has been wonderfully freeing for the last two weeks, but I've also found myself succumbing deeper and deeper into the throws of laziness and comfort eating after the kids bedtime. Not to mention the fact that the number of Hallmark channel holiday movies I've watched is embarrassing
In case you're wondering, Matchmaker Santa has so far been my favorite, search for it and set your DVR for some badly acted, mindless, yet addicting holiday romance! This one stars Lacey Chabert a.k.a. Claudia from Party of Five as a sweet girl who of course owns her own bakery, because any girl who as a child likes to bake Christmas cookies with her mom will clearly go on to run her own successful store someday! Don't let the opening flashback scene put you off, it's so painfully bad that I nearly changed the channel. Here's an idea, start it and then use that first five minutes to go pour yourself a glass of wine and assemble your gift wrapping materials.
If Matchmaker Santa wets your appetite for more cheese, (as it did for me, because at this point I am RAVENOUS for sappy but not too sappy made-for-TV holiday movies, to the point of spending thirty precious child-free minutes the other night scrolling through upcoming Hallmark/Lifetime/ABC Family evening line-ups) then you might like Holiday Engagement, a fresh take on the classic tale of hiring a fake fiance to bring home for the holidays! I kid, of course, but on second thought, I have seen a number of movies with fake fiance story-lines. What is that about?
Moving on from my sad little hobby of watching crappy TV, to something even more random. So I really love these candy cane leggings I saw on the Lands End site when I was doing some holiday shopping, super adorable and I would just love to lounge around the house in them sipping cocoa and watching, well, Hallmark movies of course. But they are $50, for a pair of pants that you should probably not leave the house in. That's just not right.
But the best part?
Look at how Lands End has styled these pants.
You have got to be kidding me.
They've got this girl in what are essentially draw-string pajama pants, wearing a t-shirt AND a chambray button-up TUCKED-IN to the pajama pants, and then they throw a giant wool slouchy cardigan sweater over it all.
Yeah, that looks super cozy. Pshhhh.
I made these amazing 7-layer bars from Annie's Eats last night for a cookie exchange with friends on Friday, SO EXCITED! I am totally geeked about the holidays this year, love every single thing about this season, even though I'm no where near done with my shopping. That won't stress me out until the week before Christmas, so there's still plenty more time to procrastinate.
We are though, I think, doing a better job about not going overboard buying gifts for Gus this year. However my attempt to buy just one thing for each kid in the categories of 1.) something to wear, 2.) something to play with, and 3.) something to read has been a major FAIL already. (I was inspired by you Erin, and your want, need, wear, read gift-giving categories last year, and I TRIED, I swear! Sort of. It was a half-assed attempt to control myself.)
It's just so hard because I love buying things and especially giving gifts SO MUCH. But still, we're scaling back, and I think it's good. Too many presents is just a waste of money, they fill up our house with clutter, and they make Gus kind of greedy and demanding, when one or two special, well-thought out things make him appreciative and excited.
Which kid sounds more fun to be around? And which kid is learning the right things about what this holiday is about?
We all know the answer to those questions.
Oh, and as you can sort of see in the above picture, I've committed myself to painting the dining room very soon by painting a number of squares of different grays all over the room. (Choosing paint colors is SO HARD!) Also we currently have three different curtains hanging on the three windows in that room as I try to make a decision on paint. In full disclosure, there are four more different cast-away curtains in a bag to be returned. I am trying so so hard to make some design decisions that I will be able to stick with for more than a few years, and consequently our dining room looks INSANE right now. Eh.