Monday Monday

The cosiest of nooks.

Happy Monday, y'all! I'm finally getting over the horrors that were my holiday weekend; however, I'm not quite up to snuff completely. So today I am sending you a howdy from rainy North Florida, but saving all the fun stuff for the rest of the week. Don't be mad at me. Be mad at the associates who came to work sick last week who gave me this garbage. Private message me, I'll give you names and addresses. Just kidding. Sort of. See y'all tomorrow!

*sniff*

Look human.

Normally I'd do a nice long list of happies, funs & pretties on such a pretty Friday as this! However, I'm sick as a dog and will not be doing anything other than snoozing and having a Peaky Blinders marathon. Knockout sleep ahoy!!!

Pass the wassail...

Happy "traditional, 100% red-blooded, two-fisted, All-American" Christmas to those who celebrate it! And to those of you who don't, I hope you are having a beautiful, wonderful 100% red-blooded, All-American (or wherever you may be from) fantastic day too, whatever you may be doing!

A Christmas Story.

Don't you just love A Christmas Story? So sweet and darkly funny all at once. Pure magic.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Everywhere you go!

I hope y'all got all your last minute running around done today! It's still a stormy mess around our neck of the woods and the lake by my house has washed out a road. It's kind of cool and exciting like when a hurricane would come around when I was a kid.

The hubs and I have done our little gift exchange (and it was lovely, thank you!); now we're heading over to my mom & step-dad's with beer cheese, sweet onion & cranberry compote and poinsettia gelees (champagne & cranberry jello shots, but fancy)!

Happy Christmas Eve, y'all! And don't forget to track Santa! Last I heard he was seen over Majorca! Neat!

Be safe out there!

Dark & stormy

December storm.

What a stormy day today! After another loooong day today, alls I wanna do is snug up in my cosiest of jammies and do some Netflix binging! As I've mentioned a dozen times, I love Phryne Fisher, but I just finished her last available series. So, thanks to my love of British (and in the case of Phryne, Austrailian) mystery shows, it was suggested I watch The Vicar of Dibley. It's great! It's a (tres moderne) show from the early 90's about a female vicar in a tiny British conservative town. It has a terrible laugh track, but it is cute and charming. I thought it was too neat & tidy for me until the end of the first episode with the vicar makes a rather funny off-colour joke. Done & done!!

Give it a watch with a hot cup of tea and a snuggly pup (if you can muster one). Have a great (and hopefully not so stormy) day!

Better late than never!

Snapshots of Wellness.

What a day, y'all! You know that saying "when it rains, it pours"? That has been my Monday and it was a tough one (the reason this post is 15 hours tardy...or 9 hours early, whatever). The fridge broke down in the middle of the night. I salvaged what I could. My gracious family let me use their fridges and freezers for our holiday meal ingredients. I set out to move said groceries to their safe havens during the only torrential part of the non-stop rain all day long. My husband spent hours seeing if he could fix it before calling our landlord who will send over his not-so-handy handyman after Christmas.

Remember that crazy-maker situation? That came to a head today. Two others came out of the woodworks as well. I had a stupid long night shift at work (from which I'm plum tuckered out) and tomorrow I have a stupid long early morning shift with no other managerial help until 530 or 6 but I'm not thinking of that at the moment.

I have pretty major PMS and there isn't enough chocolate or soft jammies or baby goat/otter videos in the world to help me retain a semblance of normality. I haven't been drinking for the past two weeks (just because) and today I could have used one. I'm kind of a mess.

To top it all off, one of my favorite singers of all time, Joe Cocker, passed away today. Out of all the stress and absurdity today, that's the only thing that actually made me cry.

But you know what? I'm totally fine.

I'm cool, yo; and have been laughing at it (mostly) all day. There were a few moments of anger in regards to the crazy-makers that put a burr in my saddle, but you know what I did? I went to work. I worked ridiculously hard and fast and knocked out most of the tasks I would have to be doing tomorrow morning (hell yeah!). My sweet friend came to work and brought me a lovely and thoughtful holiday gift bag (that may have brought a tear to my eye too). I got a few laughs and some great hugs from him, both of which I needed. Oh! I also got a handsome new nephew, Mannee (pronounced Manny), today. He was born this afternoon and didn't even look like a squishy pink toe or a conehead (like I did)! Then... then I came home and when I saw my puppy's sweet face, I instantly felt better. My blood pressure went down big time.

I'm going off to bed very very soon. Every inch of my body aches. But I'm good. And I'll be even better tomorrow.

In case your holidays are making you insane, read this article. It's got some actual helpful advice on keeping your zen while everything seems out to intentionally be wonky and out of whack.

Love, friends. Here's some Joe to send us off. Rest in peace, Mr. Joe.

Friday Happies!

Fleecy Flock Ribbon (see below!!)

Hey y'all! Can you believe it's only 5 full days until Christmas? That's nuts. It seems like this season has been slow (helloooo retail!) and very fast at the same time. This weekend I'm working like a damn hound, but it's okay. It's almost done and soon it will be New Year's! What a whirlwind of a year!!

Anyway! You know what Fridays around here mean! Here are some funs, happies, heart-warmies & pretties to help usher you into your weekend (and hopefully put a smile on your face too).

*It met with mixed reviews, but this year's tree in Reading, Pennsylvania was pardoned even though some city council members and residents thought "it was too ugly". Not only has it been saved and is on display in the middle of town, but they embraced it's Charlie Brown Christmas Tree-ness and placed a blue blanket around the base (think Linus' security blankie) and a single red ornament. Everyone in the town has been invited to help jazz it up (just like at the end of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special) on Christmas Day and they've even started an essay contest so people can submit writings on the real meaning of this season. Now talk about getting it right, y'all! Way to go guys!

*Fleecy Flock Ribbon Sheep?!?!?! I didn't realize it until now, but now that I know it exists; I must procure it for loved ones!

*A possibly transformative New Year's Resolution (more on those next week).

*These parents got together to give their kids' crossing guard a new vehicle when his was repossessed due to mounting hospital bills for his sick wife. What a lovely gesture!

*As you know, I dream of having a smidgen of "grown-up" in my bohemian, quirky & inner-child friendly apartment. I really liked this makeover for a newlywed couple feeling the same way. Though the realist in me wonders just how much that makeover actually cost.

*This would be so perfect for the hubs' bedside table (and one for me too...*ahem*).

*Check out this Japanese man's totally zen gift-wrapping style. I cannot even figure out what shape the wrapping paper started out in but woah!! I'm impressed! While you're at it, check out this Japanese man's incredible ironing skills (I'm baffled by most garments myself- though cloth napkins I've got down), and this Japanese man's shoe-shining skills. As my husband says, "there is something so soothing and gratifying about watching someone do something with their hands, and do it so masterfully." Japan has definitely gotten some things figured out!

*Minus the bows, I would totally wear these and pretend I was Phryne Fisher.

*In that same vein, these bad boys would work too (but in a champagne colour like she wears)!

*Nine year old girl writes a kind letter to her teacher. "It's just your life."

*We love Ray Blount Jr. at our house, and his hilarious commentaries on Southern life always make my day better. His take on Christmas songs is a winner for me. Love it!

*This is (literally) one of my favourite holiday songs (other than all things Vinve Guiraldi & Nat King Cole). I don't know what that says about me. I also love that the video for it is from an entirely different song. Hilarious.

*Never underestimate the power of egg whites. From pancakes, cookies, soups & cocktails, this surprising ingredient is Best in Show for many a recipe. Check some out here!

*Contrary to my love of the 20's, I know I'm a nerd and thiiiiiiis close to being a macaroni necklace-wearing earth-muffin...but I still totally want this (and have for years now)!

*Remember that delightful chunky knit throw from Tuesday's post? Here's a way to make one yourself!!

Have a wonderful weekend, y'all!