Elephants Can Remember Christmas Sweater Weather: The Gift of Peace and Mirth

Boots: Wild Fable, Target

Tee: Celebrate, Kohl's

Bag: Holiday Arcade, Macy's; Ring: PinkBopp, Etsy

Barrette: Claire's, CVS

Glasses and platter: Gifted

Sweater: Gem Holiday Sweater, Kohl's; Boots: Simply Vera, Kohl's

Bag: Dolls Kill; Bangle: ZAD, Zulily

Headband: Candie's, Kohl's

Ornaments: Hallmark, Lillian Vernon

Sweater: So, Kohl's; Boots: Olivia Miller, Kohl's

Santa and sign: Michaels

Bag: Holiday Arcade, Macy's

Barrette and necklace (you know which ones!): The Tote Trove

Garland: Michaels; Ornaments: Target, Michaels

Boots: Apt. 9, Kohl's

Santas: West End Garage, Cape May; Elf: Michaels

Shirt: Madden Girl, Kohl's

Island of Misfit Toys: Gifted

Bag: Holiday Arcade, Macy's

Ornaments: Lilian Vernon, Hallmark

Necklaces: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Christmas sweaters are always a thing.  But you seldom hear about Christmas tee shirts.  Which is why I was a little befuddled by the candy cane-print tee in the first outfit.  Still, I loved the print, and at $4.99, I couldn't pass it up.  So I layered it over a turtleneck and headed out to LabCorp as if I were bound for a white elephant party.  Which, in some ways, I was.        

Surprise, you (by which I mean me) have slightly high cholesterol!  But this elephant (again, me) already suspected that.  So that's where the gallows humor and elephant references end (not me, but Agatha Christie).  

Yep, the Christmas countdown always sets me on edge, cramming my head full of querulous questions.  Will I ever finish wrapping these presents?  Did I buy my niece the same Barbie doll two years in a row?  Should I put something else outside besides my paltry palm tree?  Basically, it all amounts to, did I do enough?  And the answer is usually no.  

But it shouldn't be.  Because the holidays are hard, and anything anyone does should suffice.

So this year, which is our first with Char Bar, I'm going to try to give myself the gift of a break.  Strangely, it's a gift that everyone always tries to give me but that I have trouble accepting.  And if there's anything I should teach my daughter, then it's that she should give herself this gift too.        

That and Christmas comic relief that comes in the form of a tee shirt.

Holiday Hi-jinks With Heart: Heed the Call of Codi Hall

Codi Hall loves a romcom pun.  As, of course, do I.  So Nick and Noel's Christmas Playlist and There's Something About Merry were everything I wanted in lighthearted holiday romance.  And Along Came Holly is the star on top of this Christmas tree farm-themed trifecta.   

Mistletoe, Idaho's Holly Winters is all about taking risks.  As the Adventure Elf, she performs stunt after dangerous stunt for her legions of YouTube fans clad in -- what else? -- an elf costume.  Her success has allowed her to buy her holiday haven, A Shop for All Seasons, as well as her house in Mistletoe's most exclusive -- and lavishly decorated -- neighborhood.  Still, Holly is cautious when it comes to her heart.  So when she becomes embroiled in a prank war with the boy next door, she doesn't even consider that it could blossom into something more.  

Declan Gallagher is back in Mistletoe to take care of his curmudgeonly and ailing father.  Running the family hardware store is part of the deal even though Declan would rather be painting.  A holiday hater, he thinks that Christmas decorations and gifts are a waste of time and money.  That said, his burgeoning frenemy-ship with Holly is fun, but he's unsure about getting involved with someone who's Christmas crazy -- not to mention impulsive. 

Along Came Holly is a festive treat.  Spicier than a Hallmark movie yet twice as sweet, it doesn't get much cozier than following jolly Holly and dour Declan on their unlikely road to happily ever after.  

That's the magic of Mistletoe.     

Maroon Three and a Starless Tree: Christmas Under Construction

Skirt: Almost Famous, Kohl's

Deer Christmas Necklace

Bow: Target

Bag: Macy's

Top: Madden Girl, Kohl's

Shoes: Mix No. 6, DSW

Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Dress: Timeless London, Modcloth

Barrettes: Michaels

Joy Soldier Necklace

Tights: Isadora, Zulily

Shoes: Madden Girl, Kohl's

Bag: Macy's; Ring: PinkBopp, Etsy

Sweater: Style & Co., Macy's

Kitsch Kringle Necklace

So here it is, December 10, and I managed to get some decorations up and even decorate myself.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  Having a baby makes you use your time wisely.  Well, that and no more sleeping in.  But enough of my mama drama.  I'm here to talk about this trio of maroon Christmas ensembles.  Every year, I challenge myself to come up with new festive fits.  I start with the traditional red and green, then see what I can do with other colors, accessories, and silhouettes to style fun looks.  For these three, I went with hints of Victorian vampire, '50s housewife, and '80s animal print.  In other words, the usual. 

On an unrelated note, last February the husband and I finally tossed our tree.  I still remember that Black Friday sixteen years ago when we bought it at Home Depot.  It was the only one left, a not-very-tall floor sample with a crooked top, but buying it made me feel so grown-up.  This year I ordered a bigger one (also on sale) from Michaels.  I thought that it had only colored lights, but when it arrived I was delighted to discover that it boasts half a dozen settings, including white, blinking white, colors, blinking colors, white and colors, and alternating blinking white and colors.  Needless to say, all those bells (lights?) and whistles made me feel even more grown-up.  And at the same time, also more childlike.  

The older I get, the younger I feel.  Which, Christmas or not, isn't such a bad deal. 😏🎄💖

Getting into the Spirit: Pics of Christmas Past

As you know, I've never been one to bust out my Christmas decorations early.  Or even on time.  I usually put them up at the last minute and let them linger until Valentine's Day.  And the same will probably be true this year, despite having espied this Spirit Christmas truck back in October.  Anyway, it's not just decking the halls that trips me up.  Sometimes I get so busy with holiday hoopla that I nix some stuff completely.  So I wasn't surprised when I found Christmas pics that I never posted last year.  Here they are now, hopefully transforming last year's procrastination into this year's inspiration and getting me into the Christmas spirit. 

An arrangement I made from clearance bin finds.  I promise it looks better in person. 😏

Me on my staircase, about three months pregnant.

Cape May.

More Cape May.

And last but not least, the Lady Lumberjack Necklace

Library Lovers and a Sleuth Undercover

They say that knowledge is power.  But sometimes it's a lifesaver too.  At least according to Jenn McKinlay's Library Lovers mysteries.  Yes, she of the Cupcake Bakery and Hat Shop mysteries -- not to mention standalone romcoms -- also pens this cerebral-themed series.  Here's the 411 on what it's about:  

Lindsay Norris has reinvented herself.  After finding her fiancé in flagrante with his grad student, she ditched her Yale gig and relocated to coastal Briar Creek.  Now she's a library director, hosts weekly crafternoons (book club, crafting, and lunch, oh my!), and is devoted to her rescue dog Heathcliff.  Also, sometimes she solves mysteries.  Because being research savvy is one sure-fire way to find out whodunit.  And so with the help of her fellow crafternooners and hunky boat captain Mike "Sully" Sullivan, Lindsey proves that ignorance isn't bliss.  

Also, that mystery and romance go hand in hand. 🔎💖