Yuletide Yellow: A (Mostly) Candid Christmas

Top: Xhilaration, Target; Skirt: ELLE, Kohl's; Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Marshalls

Tights: Betsey Johnson; Shoes: Katy Perry Collection

Christmas is a lot like the prom.  It starts out all perfect and sparkly, then devolves into anarchy.  Here's an up close and personal look at mine.  It was big and crazy, and by the end I felt like Charlotte looks in this last pic.  But we all had fun.  Contrary to the crying, especially Char Bar. 

I hope your holidays were happy too! 🎄🎁🍬

Hallowed Ground Bound: Home is Where the Hart Is

It isn't Christmas without Jenny Bayliss.  Her heartwarming romcoms are everything that make the holidays happy.  So of course her latest, I'll be Home for Christmas, cozily captures that comfort and joy.

Fredericka "Fred" Hallow-Hart is in freefall.  Instead of crushing it as an ad exec in London, she's fired and dumped with no place to go.  So she heads home to Pine Bluff, Scotland to live with her mum and eccentric aunts.  To her, it's a huge step down, and she's less than gracious about it.  But after much deliberation and self-flagellation, she deigns to help with their Christmas cracker business.  Indeed, despite being in her mid-thirties, Fred has a lot of growing up to do.  But first she must confront her past, which includes Ryan Frost.  As kids, Fred and Ryan were inseparable.  Then Ryan rejected Fred's kiss, and their friendship fizzled.  Now Ryan's a small business mogul and eager to be in Fred's life.  But so is a handsome journalist, and Fred becomes entangled in a love triangle that tests her loyalties.

Wreathed in charm and second chances, I'll be Home for Christmas is the holiday hug we all need.  I was particularly taken with Hallow-Hart Crackers.  Fred's mum designs the prints on the wrappers, then fills each cracker with locally sourced, handmade treasures.  It's creative and fun and authentic and had me itching to get back to my jewelry making.  Fred gets bewitched too, using her advertising savvy to give Hallow-Hart's socials a glow-up.  Because Hallow-Hart Crackers is more than a business.  It's community and hope and home.

Just like Jenny Bayliss.

Oh Deer, It's Almost Christmas!

Sweater: Madden Girl, Kohl's; Skirt (a dress!): ModCloth

Wondershop, Target

Coat: JouJou, Macy's; Bag: Macy's

Wondershop, Target

Sweater vest: Madden Girl, Kohl's; Skirt: On 34th, Macy's

I've got this deer in the headlights look standing by my forest friend for a reason.  Holiday hysteria is setting in.  It comes but once a year, that heady mix of anxiety and excitement.  As in, did I buy Uncle Merv that secrets of spelunking book last year?  And, how many cookies can I eat before I throw up and/or get diabetes?  But beyond all that clatter is calm.  It surrounds me like a blanket as I unplug with a book (under an actual blanket), or gaze up at the night sky.  And it reminds me that, in the grand scheme of things, my worries aren't so important.

That said, it's Uncle Merv who should worry.  More people die from spelunking than cookies. 

Christmas Past Blast: Over the Moon for Rainbows

Shoes: Madden Girl, Amazon

Coin purse: Kelly & Katie, DSW

Top: ModCloth; Skirt: Dickies, Dolls Kill

Jumper: Tinseltown, Macy's; Top: ModCloth

Season's Gleamings Necklace

Top: Madden Girl, Kohl's; Skirt: So, Kohl's

One of my favorite Christmas gifts ever was the Rainbow Brite doll I got in 1986.  I was so enamored with her ROYGBIV beauty that on Christmas morning I refused to play with anything or anyone else.  There's even VHS footage of me snapping at my little sister and her Cabbage Patch baby to go away because I was otherwise engaged.  So, when I saw that Amazon had the same doll in all her original yarn hair glory, I had to get one for Charlotte.

Sure, she's eighteen months to my four years when I got the doll, and the box clearly states that it's not for children under three.  (Apparently, there's danger of tykes choking on Rainbow's sprite sidekick, Twink.)  But there's no harm in letting her look at it.  Truth be told, I'd rather keep the toy mint for a while.  I'm not ready to see Char Bar unleash her considerable fury enthusiasm and mangle poor Rainbow.

To me, Rainbow Brite symbolizes Christmas and joy and nostalgia and all of the things.  And I want to instill that in Charlotte so that she can find her own merry muse, be it Bluey or Elmo or a character that hasn't hatched yet.  Because that's what Christmas is all about.  

Well, that and antagonizing your siblings.

Constructing Christmas: Mint to Twee

Dessert blocks: Best Choice Products, Macy's

Rainbow Christmas Necklace

Shoes: B.A.I.T., Zulily; Socks: Amazon

Season's readings.

Sunglasses: Wild Fable, Target

Bangles: B Fabulous; Rings: PinkBopp

Tag brag.

Cardigan: Candyland for Dolls Kill

Christmas isn't Christmas without sugary goodness.  Not only to give as gifts and gobble at galas, but to devour after battling crowds and wrapping presents that may or may not be returned.  No doubt about it, cookies and candy take the edge off.  Yet as much as I love eating treats, I love looking at them even more.  So to kick off Christmas, I donned my Candy Land cardi and built a wee wonderland from Charlotte's dessert blocks.  It made me feel not only festive but peaceful, like I could hide from all the holiday hoopla in a fortress of saccharine solitude.

To paraphrase Green Day, wake me up when December ends -- and leave Andes mints on my pillow.

Rose and Turquoise Joys . . .

Skirt: Wild Fable, Target

Boots: Circus NY by Sam Edelman, DSW

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's; Charm: Carole, JCPenney

Top: Madden Girl, Boscov's

Top: ELLE, Kohl's; Skirt: Dolls Kill

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Marshalls

Sweater: Nine West, Kohl's

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Boscov's

Southwest Statement Necklace

Coat: Wild Fable, Target

Big belt: Marshalls; Smaller belt: JCPenney

Boots: So, Kohl's

. . . because rose and turquoise sound better than pink and blue.  Also, my new Southwest Statement Necklace.  

Even if it isn't turquoise but howlite. 😏

Thanksgiving Living

Autumn aesthetic.

Squirrel girl.

Charlotte's new favorite book.

Hallway harvest.

Coat: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Mom's place settings.

Mom's tablescape.

Top: Madden Girl, Macy's; Skirt: ModCloth

Garland: Michaels

A can-do Thanksgiving.

Bag, pouch: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Acorn ring: Decoration from some old dessert

The holidays are never perfect.  Still, I sometimes often succumb to the hype that they should be.  So this Thanksgiving, in addition to the posing and pageantry, I'm serving reality.  

In this last pic, Char Bar has collided with my lipstick for the third time, staining her clothes.  And I'm handling it with my usual grace and equanimity.  Granted, a makeup malfunction is a bogus thing to bemoan -- especially considering my sister missed Thanksgiving because her youngest was sick.  But in that moment, my micro-misfortune was magnified, blocking out all thoughts except momlife is hard.  

Three slices of pie later, I was feeling more zen.  So much so that I remembered something.  Five Thanksgivings ago, I was gearing up to start fertility testing, which I started but never finished.  The whole thing made me panicky, and I decided it wasn't meant to be.  And now here I was with this beautiful baby.  Sure, she snatched my bookmarks and deprived me of sleep and flung her pears on the floor.  But I loved her more than anything and couldn't imagine life without her.

So Charlotte, you're what I'm thankful for, this Thanksgiving and every Thanksgiving after.  

Also that for Christmas you can wear red, camouflaging the lipstick.