After the dust of Christmas has settled

I can't believe Christmas was just barely a week ago.

Where did the time go?

Anyway, I hope everybody had a FABULOUS Christmas.

I got some fantastic things this year.

I love all things Evita.





















I'm still a kid at heart.




















Don't judge. It makes me happy.





















You try scooping pasta out with a spoon and fork.  Not.  Easy.





















A rather scary looking knife.  Slices, dices, chops and wards off home invaders!














A super cute sifter.




















My Keurig machine with hazelnut syrup which is tasty if

you mix it with dark hot chocolate!  Then it taste like melted Nutella in a cup.  Yum!

Merry Christmas!!!

It's kind of strange to realize that Christmas is here (and nearly gone) already!  Perhaps this is because I work in retail and we plan for Christmas early.

In June.

No, I'm not kidding.

Anyway - just wanted to say


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Cookies, cookies, cookies!

If you want to feel Christmasy in a flash...just put up a live tree and bake cookies!  Let me tell you, your place will smell FANTASTIC!

Especially if you make Snickerdoodles!





















Or chocolate shortbread!























Or mint chocolate chip cookies (aka Grinch cookies)!




















Or cut out cookies!

So...need a little Christmas?  Spray the Pine-Sol (or, you know, get a real tree and real pine smell) and bake up some cookies!  You'll be feeling Christmasy in no time!

Merry Christmas to me!

I got a tree.

Yes, a Christmas tree.  A real one - for the first time in almost twenty years.

I had kinda given up on getting one, to be perfectly honest.  I figured because I was working so much that I just wasn't going to get to it this year.  But I was pleasantly surprised!

Monday night (when it was frozen tundra temperatures) I texted my best friend if she wanted to go get my tree that night.  She said no but that she was free Tuesday night.  So I thought, "What the hell?  I have nothing going on Tuesday night.  Let's go get a tree!"

Side note: no, it wasn't much warmer Tuesday night.

Anyway, we get to the tree lot.  I realize that A) I know nothing about trees and B) I have no stand for my tree.  Thankfully, the man at the lot couldn't have been nicer.  He helped me pick out a really nice tree (8 feet for $45!) and cut it to fit.

My best friend and I get to Meijer.  We scrounge around for lights and a stand.  They only had one.  And it's for trees no larger than 7 feet.  Weeellll....we'll just say a little prayer that it works.

We get back to my apartment, unload the tree and get it upstairs.  Smartly - we moved the furniture BEFORE the tree arrival.

Get it in the corner.





















Put on lights.






















Garland.





















Ornaments.

Ta-da!





















My FIRST Christmas tree!