Home Days

Christmas was wonderful.

We opened presents, went to the gym for a workout, and then ate enough food for a week at Cafe Fleuri. (I dreamed about their Chocolate Croissant bread pudding for weeks leading up to Christmas.)

Since then, life's been getting back to normal, sort of. We got snowed in yesterday, so I worked from home, then roomie Emma and I shoveled and had hot chocolate with our neighbors. Afterwards, we went to an impromptu potluck at my mom's house. Every single person brought soup. It was fantastic.



Today I worked from home, starting at 6 a.m. Even with the early start time, it's been pretty great.



I've been able to make as much tea as I want, I haven't changed out of my pajamas, and I'm finally getting to spend some quality time with our Christmas tree.



It makes me happy.

Christmas Eve

Sometimes, the perfect Christmas Eve morning is spent sleeping in, walking to the store for some milk in your pajamas, and then wrapping presents under the glow of your chalk tree.

I'm off to do family decorating now. Have a wonderful weekend, blog friends.

Merry Christmas!

p.s. If you celebrate it. If you don't, have a good weekend anyway. I hope there are lots of cookies wherever you are.

I think I need to move to the country

For a born-and-bred city girl, I have been spending a surprising amount of time these days fantasizing about living in the country. This sneak peak on Design*Sponge last week did nothing to help quell those urges- I keep going back and imagining what it would be like to live in a house like this one, in the woods.

I think I'd have a garden, and chickens.

I'd definitely cut down my own Christmas tree, and on Christmas morning, I'd make cinnamon rolls. We'd probably put on our wellies and go for a walk in the woods after we opened presents. Wouldn't that be lovely?

p.s. The freakout list? I owned it. Every. Single. Thing. Got crossed off.

p.p.s. All images from Design*Sponge.

Happy Monday!

The weekend was intense.



It may have gotten to the point where I renamed the to-do list I write in chalk on the back of my bedroom door the "freak out list" because on it I prioritized tasks by the level at which they were freaking me out.



But there was also a cookie exchange, organized by Dewey, where I got to meet all her cool friends and eat soup and have an excuse to make these. (Our family makes them every year; if we have a traditional Christmas dish, these weird but delicious toffee things are it.)



On Sunday, there was a walk with Mom. The woods are really beautiful this time of year, and you can see so much further than you can when all the trees are covered in leaves. We happened upon this spot, and it didn't really feel like we were only twenty minutes outside of Boston anymore. It was magical.

It's supposed to snow today, I'm having a telephone chat with an old friend this evening to talk about Graduate School, I have a new granny cart, and Christmas is on Saturday. Freak out lists aside, I think this week is going to be magical.

Happy Monday, friends!

Have you seen these cards yet?

While I love love love Keep Calm and Carry On posters (even if they're everywhere), and I think they're a wonderful reminder for high-strung people like me, this one makes me laugh. In part because it much more accurately describes my approach to handling stress. But also because it's just hilarious. Seriously, I giggle every time I look at this picture.

{I can't remember where I saw this link- maybe Apartment Therapy? I'm glad whoever it was linked to it, though!}

Tacky Gingerbread

Last night, I went to Emma's house to help her and Jon decorate the gingerbread village that they had laboriously constructed. They let me trick out one of the houses with frosting lights. It looks very festive, don't you think?

P.S. All of the other houses were much more refined. They looked festive, too. . . sort of.

P.P.S. Jon's recap of their gingerbread-village-making process was much more thorough. So many pictures!

My Own Personal Christmas Tree

The other day, I decided my bedroom needed some holiday spirit. So I drew a Christmas tree on my wall.

I've been adding to it when the inspiration strikes, and it makes me happy. We have a real tree in the living room, and that is lovely, but there's something about having a Christmas Tree in my bedroom that feels magical- a lot like Christmas when I was tiny. I love seeing it when I wake up in the morning.

Happy Friday, Friends!

Last week, I had Emma and Jon over for dessert.

I made apple crisp.

It was fun.

Should ever you find yourself in Boston, dear reader, let me know. I'll make you an apple crisp. Or maybe even a pie.

Swedish Fair

Every year at the beginning of December, some part of my family goes to the Swedish Christmas Fair in the South End. It's funny that it's become such a tradition because we aren't even a little bit Swedish (though Dewey did have the Kirsten American Girl Doll when we were little), but every year I look forward to eating a Swedish waffle with whipped cream and watching the Santa Lucia procession. This year was no exception, especially after I tried the special Swedish Christmas soda that they sell. It's delicious!


{There was a one-year-old eying my waffle. She was adorable, hence the awkward face.}



{There are always lots of vendors selling all sorts of wonderful Swedish Christmas decorations.}


{I never like soda, but this is amazing}

I have finally jumped on the Netflix bandwagon, and my dears, I am in love. I'm spending far too much time these days watching live-streaming period dramas.* After a viewing of Bright Star, I've nearly convinced myself that I would really quite like to live in 19th Century England, even if the movie did have a rather tragic ending. They were just so happy! Until he died, penniless and believing he was a failure, when he was my age. And she was grief-stricken all the rest of her days. Whatevs.

{Images from Design*Sponge, whose Living In. . . Bright Star provided me with much delight this morning}

So, do tell me, what are your favorite period dramas?

(I need to add them to my Netflix queue!)

*(there is something about that that seems hilarious- period dramas streaming right onto my computer! Okay. Maybe it's just me.)

Morning Oatmeal

Since the weather's gotten cold, I've been cooking my breakfast every single morning.

Somehow, the process of filling the pot with water, of walking into the pantry to measure out my oats, of sprinkling cinnamon and dried orange peel, and then standing over the pot and stirring while it bubbles, leaves me feeling centered and ready to face the day.

When your day is full of IRB training followed by HIPAA training, a little centering in the morning is a good thing.

P.S. Want to hear my funny joke? Okay. IRB COULD stand for Institutional Review Board OR it could stand for I'm Really Bored. I'm just the funniest person I ever did meet. Also, modest.