The Christmas of the Coat

This was a remarkable Christmas. Either I complained way too much about NY weather or when it comes to outerwear, I dress very poorly. Or maybe, I just told everyone I wanted the same thing!

I received 3 coats for Christmas this year. One sleeping bag coat, which literally makes me look like I'm wearing a sleeping bag and keeps me oh so warm from head to toe (it goes down to my ankles) I can barely believe it. One black and white tweed coat with the most adorable lining I have ever seen. Sometimes I wish I could wear it inside out. Or at least it was reversible, depending on my mood. And one camel colored dress coat which makes me feel very distinguished in an old lady sort of way.

Furthermore, when I came home for the holidays I filled an entire suitcase with all the outerwear I had left behind. So I had a total of about 10 coats to bring home. I feel like I got 10 new coats for Christmas! NY has made me love and appreciate outerwear more than I ever thought possible. Not that I needed much encouragement.

Leaving On A Jet Plane

What a delightful Christmas season this is! No matter what anyone tells you about the tourists, ice cold winds, crowded streets, and general mayhem, NY is the only place to be at this, the most wonderful time of year. There are so many sights, sounds, smells, displays, windows, trees, glam, sparkle, sprinkle, flurries of wonderment that it really sets the stage for extreme anticipation.

And now, I'm so ready for the most wonderful part of it all...coming home for the holidays. We're leaving for Utah today, and oddly enough, it feels like such a relief. A full week with no crowded NY streets, subways, rude taxi cab drivers, stinky spots, tiny apartments, sirens, honking, tourists, sub zero winds, endless stairways, and people asking for money every 2 minutes. Hallelujah!

For seven fun-filled days we get cars (we get to drive!), spacious homes, Target, Costco, wide open spaces, homemade meals, familiar faces, peace, quiet, relaxation, family, mountain views, and the greatest snow on earth. I can't wait. I'm so excited I could pee my pants!

See you oh so soon!

Merry Chrismukkah!

Tonight was the Chrismukkah episode of The OC, and it did not disappoint. The Chrismukkah episode is always one to put in the record books. One of those that when the season DVDs come out, you can watch over and over and over.

Tonight we had a Chrismukkah party. We watched season 1 & 2 Chrismukkahs while making and frosting cookies. Then we ordered in Thai food, just like the Cohens do, and settled in for a warm winters Season 4 Chrismukkah. We played dreidl games with pirates gold chocolate coins during commercial breaks, and munched on our freshly baked Christmas cookies. It was a Chrismukkah miracle that it all came together so nicely. But then again, we are dealing with a holiday that has twice the resistance of a normal holiday...thanks to Jesus and Moses, who both have beards.

Merry Chrismukkah to all, and to all a good night.

I Need A Facelift

Or at least my blog does. After a recent splurge, I realized that it looked like a tin of MarieBelle hot chocolate. This could only mean two things... I have a serious addiction, and my blog needs a new look. So this will do for now, until I realize what other subconscioius obsession inspired it!

Twinkle, twinkle

Just wishing I had a party to wear this brilliant dress to. Or that it was even warm enough here to wear such things. Brrrr...baby, it's cold outside.

Arctic Bliss

Ice Skating = completed. I can check one off my Christmas Wish List. We recently went ice skating in the park, and oh, what a holiday delight it was. Although crowded and chaotic, and wearing lead boots they called ice skates, it was just so sparkly and spirited, that we really didn't seem to mind. Skating round the rink, hand in hand, it was one of those moments where we were just floating along in our own little polar world, while everything went on around us at hyper-speed. Icy rinks give me frosty visions of grandeur...I imagine myself in ice castles, perhaps Chronicles of Narnia, or some such fantasy land. There's just something magical about being bundled up in a warm, wintry coat, gloves, and scarf with pink cheeks, flying around the rink that just feels so good at wintertime...for a few minutes anyway.

The best part about the whole event...my beloved pulled out some slick moves. Turns out he's a pretty amazing skater, and I'm not talking about the hockey kind. He's as cool as ice. Who knew I married a former figure skater?

All I Want For Christmas...

It finally happened...I heard my song. Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas is the end all, be all Holiday song for me. No matter how many other songs try to entice me with their musical delights, I always come back to All I Want for Christmas. It is my old reliable. Nothing puts me in the Christmas spirit like Mimi. Once I hear it, I have this burning desire to spread Christmas cheer where'er I go.

So in that spirit, I invite you all to take a gander at All I Want for Christmas. Now, I know what you are thinking, 'Miss J, you simply cannot be serious...Mariah?' So sorry, but I am absolutely serious. Before I proceed, I feel it necessary to come out of the closet and admit it...I like Mariah. And not just at Christmastime. There are precious few to whom this will come as no surprise (Grant, Jocelyn---you like her too!, Jenny, and maybe my sisters). I have a few choice Mariah tunes on my ipod to which I return on a semi-regular basis.

But that is not important right now. What is of some import is the Christmas season that lies before us. So I present to you...bum badda bing!...my Christmas challenge: Watch the All I Want for Christmas video, listen to the words, and see if you don't just feel a bit more jolly, more merry, more loving. Perchance, if you like it, you could listen to it on a daily basis. Last Christmas there were entire late night drives home from Grant' s house (30 minutes) where I would set the song on repeat and listen over and over and over and over. Next thing I knew, I was home and hadn't heard another tune! You don't have to go overboard like I do (hey it only happens once a year, which is why it never gets old), but just give it a try. If nothing else, you can watch the video and see Mariah frolicking in a winter wonderland in her bright red one-piece snowsuit. Not a bad deal, eh? No work involved, I've done it all for you. Here's your link. Now, in the infamous words of Nike...'Just Do It!'