Holiday Tunes

It may still be November, but Christmas is in full swing in my little world and I love it. This of course, means Christmas music. Lots of it. Aside from A Very She & Him Christmas, these albums have been my go-to favorites for years now...

1. A Very She & Him Christmas - She & Him  2. Songs for Christmas - Sufjan Stevens  

3. Christmas EP - Sleeping at Last  4. A Charlie Brown Christmas - Soundtrack  

5. Maybe this Christmas Tree - Various  6. Christmas with the Rat Pack - The Rat Pack

Christopher and I have a gigantic holiday playlist (appropriately titled CHRISTMAS!!!) with a whole slew of musical Christmas goodies: Wham!, Coldplay, Lady Gaga, the Weepies. It played on loop all weekend as we trimmed the tree and decked the halls. Admittedly, we've been listening to Christmas music for weeks now. We haven't busted out the eggnog or gift wrap just yet, but it's definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Inspired by this post by Jaime from A Pair of Pears.

Happy Thanksgiving

Although I am thankful for so much this holiday season, this fun illustration by Laura George pretty much sums it up. Christopher and I are headed out pretty early to squeeze in two separate family feasts today... complete with lots of good food, time with family, laughter, a holiday movie and a nap with Ulia. It's the perfect way to celebrate.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Rifle Paper Co. 2012 Calendar

Right around this time every year, heaps of calendars start popping up all over online. This gorgeous 2012 Botanical Calendar from the amazing folks at Rifle Paper Co. is definitely a top contender for my wall space. The color palette and floral illustrations are wonderful.

Forever 21 Necklaces

from left: Lovely Locket $2.80 |  Antiqued Jewel Pendant $4.80 | Moose Charm $1.50
Leaf Cluster $1.50 |  Delicate Dove Charm $1.50

We should probably not talk about how many Forever 21 necklaces I own. It's so hard to resist their call every time I walk in the store... especially when they're only $1.50!

These dainty gold lovelies are have just the right amount of vintage charm and quirkiness. They would be great stocking stuffers (hint, hint, husband of mine who reads this blog...) I've had my eye on that antiqued jewel pendant for a while now.

Farewell, Fall

I think life got the best of me last week. Chris and I are still trying to work out the some-jerk-stole-$800-from-our-account debacle... we've been waiting a week now for legal paperwork (and my new debit card) to arrive in the mail from the bank. Oddly enough, Chris noticed this morning that the money had been returned to our account. Hooray! -- but this leaves me confused... is everything settled? Do we still need to fill out the paperwork? Has the bank decided to return our money regardless? Who knows.

To top it off, today was nothing but cold, gray, and rainy. As excited as I am for the holidays, I'm sad that fall is coming to a close. It always feels like such a short-lived season. I've rounded up some cozy fall images to help boost my spirits and give autumn a proper goodbye until next year.

Untitled, by fifty-six on flickr

Photo by John Allen via Frolic

Photo by Elias Carlson via design work life

Bittersweet wreath, Amy Merrick for Design*Sponge

Photo by Alice Gao via Live & Enliven

Photo by Eylul Aslan via Abby

Miss Joan headband, $12

Orange Spice Pumpkin Muffins from Good Life Eats

Adorable engagement session by Shannen Norman via Green Wedding Shoes

The Good, the Bad, the Linen-Fresh

I've made it a new weekend tradition to do a little baking on Sundays... this past weekend, I made the braided apple bread from my twelve by 2012 list. Isn't it pretty? I wish it would have tasted as good as it looked... Long story short, I baked the loaf on a pan that I had previously soaked with a dryer sheet to remove burnt-on grime.

Who knew that even after a wash or two, the pan was still saturated with the scent (and taste) of fresh linen. The bread was warm, cinnamon-y and so, so clean. Gross.

Thankfully, I've totally redeemed myself tonight with the easiest, healthiest, tastiest muffins ever. In the fifteen minutes that they've been cooling, I've already had three. Probably to cope with the fact that my identity has been stolen and some lovely Ohioan has gone on an $800 Best Buy shopping spree in my name. But that's another story for another time.

What a Monday.

West Elm Christmas!

Yesterday, West Elm sent out an email announcing their newest holiday decorations. Hooray! I look forward to their modern, clean-lined holiday collection every Christmas, and this year does not disappoint. Take a peek at a few of my favorites...

Snow Globes, $25 each

One of those snow globes should probably be sitting on my desk. Soon. I especially love the mercury glass and porcelain pieces (although nothing will ever beat the origami ornaments from last year's collection... I have the reindeer and the squirrel!)

Modern Santa serve ware, $10-39

Mercury Owls, $14-19

Half of the proceeds from these little guys go to St. Jude Children's Hospital

Modern Nutcrackers, $29-$69

The modern white and tarnished silver are so fresh compared to the over-saturated reds & greens of the season. And I'm so glad they brought back their Modern Nutcrackers - I loved them so much last year but didn't think to snatch one up when they went on sale.

And by the way, I apologize for currently being that girl that jumps to Christmas when leaves are still on the trees. I'm still totally loving Fall and I promise I won't trim the tree until after Thanksgiving.... but Christmas is my absolute favorite!

Simon and Garfunkel: Greatest Hits

Happy belated Halloween! Did you dress up this year? Chris and I went to a friend's costume party on Saturday as Simon and Garfunkel, a la their greatest hits album:

And if I do say so myself, we totally nailed it...

Amazingly enough, we had nearly everything for this costume. Both of the jackets were Chris' and I borrowed the shirt from his mom. The Garfunkel wig was the only blonde (white) afro we could find, and it was massive... we trimmed it down to about half its size. I could honestly make another wig with all the scraps we have. Totally worth it, though.

Unfortunately, hardly anyone at the party knew who Simon and Garfunkel were. What has become of my generation? When we listed off a few of their hits, someone responded, "Oh, I thought the Beatles sang that." No. The Beatles did not sing the Sound of Silence. It practically broke my heart... I bought my first Simon and Garfunkel album in seventh grade. You know the Beatles didn't sing the Sound of Silence, right? Right??

Anyway, I hope you had a great Halloween. Onward to Thanksgiving! :)