please christmas, don't be late!

it's almost here! just have to get through another day of work, pack my bags and drive north! can't wait to be with family and friends in iowa! where will you be spending your christmas?

image from weheartit.com

you know you're turning into your mother when, pt. 2

you know you're turning into your mother when.... you start wearing her clothes.

when i was home in iowa a few weeks before thanksgiving, i raided my mom's stash of clothes from the 70s and 80s. she had saved her polyester paisley bridesmaid dresses, a velour jacket from my grandmother, and all of my sisters' and my prom dresses. can we say major score?

one dress included is the one i am wearing, although it's not intended to be worn as a dress. i wore it two nights in a row to back-to-back christmas parties. the dress is actually a silk tunic with matching silk pants. PANT SUIT, HOLLER! to make the outfit look more contemporary i thought i would fore go the pants and sport the tunic as a cocktail dress with some black nylons and patent leather black booties. it's hard to tell but there are all these awesome magenta sequins towards the neckline adding the perfect amount of pizazz for the holidays.

while i'm home for christmas i'll try to dig up this great picture of my mom wearing this pantsuit with my dad at a christmas party of their own and post it up here :)

all 100% red velvet.

if i am ever in a bad mood, i watch this and BAM! my day just got 100% better.

"i look at 100% real paintings through 100% real crystals."

scenes from the freakin' weekend, baby.

some weekends you have so much fun that you end up more tired than you were on friday. that was this past weekend. i hit up black swan with kate friday night followed by drinks and gossip at the maryland house. saturday i brunched with jenny. we spent most of the time chatting about wedding blogs, this is why i love that girl. wine date with kate on saturday, who also made me awesome chicken enchiladas sunday night. channeled by inner 8 yr old self and created a glowing holiday scene on a light bright. more brunch on sunday, including live cheesy covers of route 66 and norah jones. celebrated a dear friend's birthday. saw the joe jones exhibit before it closed at the art museum. drank hot chocolate and threw snow balls while strolling through forest park. watched youtube videos of the sing-off in bed.

kate and i drank every last drop of mother's milk saturday night. a very hilarious and ironic gift from my mother -- go figure.

christmas shopping for my niece and nephew.

sunday night drank vintage cocktails as part of the cocktail museum at the royale.

what's entertaining me this week:

another reason why dogs are better than cats.

full moon eclipse tonight!

guilty pleasure of the week: mike posner

my love for j. crew continues: j.crewing

witty gift guide for the gentlemen in your lives.

squirrel love: business edition

squirrel paper clips from modcloth. for keeping yourself organized while taking care of business.

december lonny.

lonny's december issue is out and brimming with gorgeous interiors and inspiration: pink ribbons and evergreen. champagne saucers and mercury glass votives. record collections off on bookshelves. purple lamp, seafoam curtains and pink pillows. mauve walls.

rushmore.

for your wes anderson film fanatics:

max fischer's extracurricular club pencil set

christmas vinyl.

just a little glimpse of what i have been listening to while preparing for christmas.

barbra streisand / a christmas album
- babs sure does a mean version of jingle bells on crack.

tchaikovsky / the nutcracker suite
- now i want to wrap all my presents in pink tulle.

george winston / december
- damn, george. you can really tickle the ivory.

scenes from the weekend.

this past friday was our christmas party! we decided to class it up a bit from last year -- hors d'oeuvres and champagne cocktails. ok, ok...there was also cheap beer present, but no one dressed up as uncle eddie from national lampoon's christmas vacation the year. the party was a blast and it was nice to meet some new friends.

saturday was spent cleaning and putting everything back together after the party. saturday night we tried an afghan restaurant around the corner from our apt. i love having so many great restaurants just blocks away.

sunday i woke up to SNOW! i spent a lazy day watching cbs sunday morning, drinking coffee, writing christmas cards and wrapping presents. wrapped up the weekend with sunday funday with my yoga girls at my favorite wine bar, sasha's on shaw.

you know you're turning into your mother when...

you know you're turning into your mother when you have.....

not one....

not two...

but three christmas trees in your home.

christmas at tiffany's.

i'm in love with tiffany's new holiday ad campaign.

i'm ready for snow.

especially this one below. it reminds me of the scene in when harry met sally when they are dragging the christmas tree home to sally's apt :)

cranberry gin and tonics.

the day before flying out to DC for thanksgiving my coworker, who loves to cook for her large family, and i were discussing what was going to be on our thanksgiving tables. i was telling her about my brussel sprouts, she telling me about her sweet potatoes.

as a veteran cook, i asked her if she was preparing anything for the big meal in advance. she responded that she had already cooked her cranberries for cranberry gin & tonics. cranberry gin & tonics! as a member of a family whose drink of choice is already g&ts, i knew that i would be cooking up my own cranberries for this holiday cocktail.

the cocktails we a hit! the cranberries were not too bitter or too sweet, just a subtle flavor and a very festive look. the red of the cranberries and green of the lime, also make this a refreshing drink for the christmas season!

cranberry gin & tonics (recipe found on epicurious)

ingredients:
2 (12-ounce) bags fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
3 1/3 cups chilled tonic water
1 1/4 cups gin
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

prep:
bring cranberries, sugar, and water to a simmer in a saucepan, then simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until berries just begin to pop, about 2 minutes. Drain cranberries in a fine-mesh sieve (i used a colander) set over a 1-quart glass measuring cup, then reserve 2 cups cranberries and force remaining berries through sieve into syrup. Discard solids remaining in sieve, then add reserved cranberries to syrup. Cool to room temperature. Transfer to a pitcher and chill until cold, about 2 hours.
Add remaining ingredients to syrup, stirring gently to combine. Serve drinks over ice in 8- to 10-ounce glasses.

back from the beach.

finally back from miami! and let me tell you, it feels so good to be home. we had a fun and successful trip at the art fairs, but phew, it's exhausting. and of course i have sprung into full christmas mode -- which i will be highlighting on here.

thanks for hanging with me even though i'm not always around.... do i smell a new year's resolution?