This is mostly because the actual "house" part came from a kit, and someone more dextrous than I was responsible for assembly.
But I did decorate it! And it wasn't terrible, considering that I'm fairly sure it's the first gingerbread house I've ever decorated in my life (it's the second one I've made, but the first one never actually reached the point where it was standing upright enough to allow for the application of things like icing).
The "After":
If you're in the NYC area, this is a really cute, festive thing to do with (and even without) kids. I was expecting the New York Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show (running now through January 12) to involve actual trains - like, large, climb-on-able ones - but what it actually is is room after room of miniature trains winding between replicas of New York-area landmarks (mostly city buildings like the Guggenheim and Penn Station, but I spotted a few buildings from our town, as well) constructed entirely from materials that the artist and his wife gathered in the woods.
I'm not a big "exhibit" person and don't love places like museums (or botanical gardens) generally, but honestly: this was very cool. Definitely not just for kids.
This post was created in collaboration with Bed Bath & Beyond.
You know how every year I decide that I'm going to actually put some effort into my Halloween costume, and then every year end up procrastinating and digging the cat ears out of storage? And then I swear that the next year will be different, and it's not?
Same thing with holiday parties. When the season starts up, I always declare that this will be the year that I will throw a lovely holiday cocktail party with thematic drinks, Christmassy music, pretty decorations, and possibly even costumes (I usually declare this to Kendrick, who is kind enough to support my enthusiasm while sidestepping the fact that I never follow through on these plans). And then I don't do it.
Very excited to show you the Ramshackle Glam cover art (by Paperfashion's Katie Rodgers, with a logo design by Naava Katz)! The book is available for pre-order on Amazon right now, and officially comes out March 25.
Speaking of books, I'm now on Goodreads; if you're a member I'd love to connect so I can follow along with your book recommendations.
Also on the topic of books: reading The Interestings, which was overwhelmingly recommended to me in this post. So far, so good. It's a nice change from my post-apocalyptic choices as of late: I just finished Book One of the Divergent series and World War Z (good, but the movie was better).
How to create relaxed waves...and then transform them into two totally different looks in just seconds.
Our bed has arrived, and it is everything that I dreamed. Last night I slept so far away from Kendrick that my isolation and comfort was actually confusing and kept waking me up. We had the exact right amount of middle-of-the-night contact: one of my ankles hooked under his leg, and that is it. (He had migrated across the tundra and on top of me by 7AM, but we'll deal with that problem later.)
Only one issue: I don't know why the camera didn't accurately convey this...but the bed is seriously like four feet tall. It comes up above my waist, and I am not that short of a person; if I were, I would require actual assistance to board the thing.
Anyway, Sleepy's is sending the right frame on Friday - something called "low-profile". Until then, it's all very entertaining and similar to sleeping on top of a mountain.
What I'm actually wearing right this moment is an old college t-shirt, even older Victoria's Secret pajama pants, and a fuzzy robe that won't stay closed because half of the belt fell off (I don't know how that happened, either).
But what I'd like to be wearing is black, grey, mint...and Jimmy Choo Attila mirrored flats, which have replaced last year's Anouks as my Number One Most Coveted Shoe. (I also wouldn't throw a little vintage Chanel out of bed.)
I do not understand cookies that don't contain chocolate.
It's not that I'm such a huge chocolate person - I'm not - it's that chocolate just seems like a necessary component of a cookie. Sugar cookies, for example? Do not get. (Although the ones I made for last weekend's cookie party - the recipe is coming up later this week - were as excellent as a non-chocolate-containing cookie can be.)
So when I visited my in-laws in Ohio over Thanksgiving and my mother-in-law raved about these flattish, extremely boring-looking waffle cookies called "pizzelles", I wasn't all that excited. And then I tried one just because it was sitting right there next to me, and:
The only problem with a French manicure like this pale beige and navy one (my new favorite combo): it’s labor-intensive enough that I’d really like it to stay put in perfect(ish) condition for at least a few days without even a hint of chipping.
But making your manicure last is possible, so long as you avoid the major offenders (like washing dirty dishes without wearing gloves) and follow a few simple guidelines during the application process.
