Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

How is your Christmas shopping going?!

I love that European, antique-style Christmas cards are being revived! Carefully cut-out, punched with texture and accented with glitter; they have a home-made feel when time doesn't allow for such enterprises. If you have a day to play, though, forgo the pre-made cute bears below and get to cutting, glueing and glitzing! I'm thinking of going the extra mile myself. There is still time. 

Martha Stewart CLICK has ideas a-plenty if your brain is fogged from too much egg-nog.   

You may receive one of these from me.

If I don't motivate for something hand-made these next few days...

Saving Mrs. Claus from Crazyville

When pondering what gifts/cards to send to whom before packing up for a ski trip and scrooging everyone else, J remarked that he felt the classic Christmas Cards with family photo included were reserved for those with Children. Do you agree?! Being the narcissistic, self-promoting me, I, of course, object! But after a recent wedding with plenty of photographs (see below) distributed to multiple loved ones, this year, I have to agree. I'll wait until Valentine's Day. Little notes, sans glamour-shots, to a few whom I'm thinking of will have to do. My hands are pretty tired from post-nuptial Thank You notes, and I believe J's advice is less of a conviction as it is concern. Besides, I have yet to order my wedding photos!

'Californians Compensate for Weather Being Too Nice Over the Holidays'

In Southern California we are very lucky. Because we do not get snow, the warm-weather-seekers like to prove they are just as jolly as those in the whiter areas of the country by majorly making up for their lack of flakes (yeah right, haha,) with the most amazing Christmas light displays and arrays I have seen in my twenty-seven years. They parade the bays with boats a-blaze and join forces on small streets to canopy the trees for car-crash worthy spectacles. I should know, I nearly did.

 When sending gifts via the post think bows, bows, bows. 

A smashed bow has character, whereas ripped paper is just somber.