I wish I had a river...

In year's past, I always hated for Christmas to be over. This year, I kind of felt different. I was ready for it to come and for it to go. I am not sure what got into me, but I think I just wasn't really feeling it this year. I was actually pretty glum, blah, and bah humbug about it. I didn't even enjoy wrapping presents! I think next year, especially since we will be shelling out money for the upcoming nuptials, I will spend a lot less loot and perhaps try to do a bit more DIY stuff. But, all things considered...while it was here, it was a good time. I got lot's of nice gifts, didn't harbor too much bitterness towards any of my family members, and I'm on vacation until after New Year's. Not bad.

The nicest item I received this year was a brand new camera from Sean. I haven't had a nice camera of my own since mine broke in college. I had a camera that my parents gave me after buying a new one and it recently broke, so I'm very excited to have this nice new number all to myself! Plus I have to go to San Diego for work on January 5th, so it will be nice to be able to take pictures. If I have time...



Sean also got me this adorbz octopus necklace that I wanted and this cute little red memo book to write notes in (for the wedding, or ideas to write about, etc.) that has a pretty cool history.
Moleskin was very popular among a lot of famous artists and writers and has recently made a comeback. I love that it has a great history and is also very sleek and stylish also. :)



The little guy below is a recreation of the first rubber ducky. I saw him in Anthropologie the other day and was happy to reunite with him on Christmas morning. I'm not big on sitting in the tub in my own filth, so he'll stay displayed in his cute box in my bathroom.



The pretty box below him contains my favorite hand and foot cream from Aveda.

Most of the products from Aveda smell like hippies in my opinion. These two on the other hand, do not! They smell wonderful and feel even better.

Other cute gifts included cups to go with my owl teapot.

I also got a lot of great things from my family and Sean's family too.

I also decided to give myself a little gift. If you remember back in the summer, I created a top 5 list and on that list I declared my love for Marc Jacobs, and also included a hand bag by him. Since then, I've been salivating over this bag every time I see it and wishing I could afford it. Well, I decided that since pretty soon I'm going to have to start roping in my wallet and shelling out dough on wedding things, that it was NOW OR NEVER for me and the ol' MJ bag. So, I took some funds that I got for presents from family and today I marched into Nordstrom to lay claim to my bag...only to find out it had been sold. Waaaaaah Waaaaaaaah Waaaaaah. But have no fear! Turns out, when you are willing to spend a disgusting amount of money on one item at Nordstrom, they grovel at your feet and do anything they can to get you that product. They had it ordered from another store and shipped to my house (2nd day!) for no extra cost! And the store that it was shipped from had a lower tax than Woodfield, so it ended up being cheaper. Which isn't really saying much, but hey at this point...any penny helps. In the end, my x-mas money paid for half, and I paid for half. I had originally wanted it in a dark red color, but I decided that it will be more classic in black and I can make it my everyday bag. I can't wait until it arrives!





So, all in all...it was a prosperous Christmas this year. I hope we do something fun for New Year's. Then after that I'll be back at work for 3 days and then off to San Diego. I have to go to another math convention. I know...I know...but it may not be so bad. I've never been to California before and look forward to seeing what it's like. I wish I'd have time to actually hang out and look around, but I'll probably be cooped up the entire time I'm there. No complaints though, because I'll be out of the office and I'll be going to California in January. Plus, I'm pretty sure I'll be a lot more comfortable walking around at night by myself than I was in New Orleans last January.

While I'm in San Diego though, something sad will be happening back here in Chicago. My homeboy from college, Mr. Gordon Mays, and his lady love will be making the trek to Philly to set up shop for the next stage of their lives. I'm proud to say that my BFF was courted and wooed to the city of cheesey beef and bro-love to take over a coveted spot at a top tier radio station and I know this will be a wonderful opportunity for them both. With that said though, I don't think I ever imagined a "Chicago" without them. Words cannot explain how much they will be missed and it's going to be a little more lonely here without good friends like them.

So...congrats and good luck to my friends, Mordan Gays and Sarah Kennedy. Pull out the sofa bed and buy me a cheese steak, we'll be coming to visit soon!


I'm thinking of my plans for 2008 and I know they will involve planning a wedding, which will be so much fun. But...I'm a little afraid of it. Luckily I have a few good references to turn to as well as an old friend who is going through the planning at the very same time. I'll keep you updated as things move along. I've already collected even more ideas for inspiration which i'll get together for next time...

That's about it for now. Hope everyone (read: the two people who read this) had a great holiday!

k.