It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

The first best thing about Thanksgiving is getting together with family for delicious food, fun conversations, and the feeling of gratitude for all the blessings that fill my life.  All those things happened this week (I flew down to Reno and spent the holiday with my parents), but since my phone battery died and my charger was on the fritz, we're left with the eternal question of whether a life unblogged is actually lived.

The second best thing about Thanksgiving is Christmas!  Because unlike all of America, which decided that Christmas season now starts roughly the same time as Halloween, I firmly stick to the tradition that Christmas comes after Thanksgiving.  And by "after Thanksgiving" I mean "turn on The Bishop's Wife as soon as the dishes are done."

I helped my parents put up their Christmas tree before flying home and could barely wait to get started on my own today after church:  Justin and I came home, donned our ugly Christmas sweaters, cranked up the Mannheim Steamroller, boiled a pot of cinnamon for ambiance, and set to work.

First the garland and wreath for the front door.  They're pre-lit and cordless, with a timer to go one between 5p-11pm every day from now till Christmas.  

Once inside, I've got more little white lights.  A garland over the TV cabinet becomes the "mantelpiece" for stockings, and my perfectly-sized tree fits perfectly between the couch and the cabinets.

The tree came pre-lit with 300 lights.  I added another 400.

Another garland leads upstairs.  Again, thank heavens for cordless technology!

I can't take credit for the ugly Christmas sweaters:  they're the most recent masterpieces to come out of the brilliant mind/craftroom of my dear sister Ashley.

Happy Christmas season!  

Joyeux anniversaire!

In honor of the tenth anniversary of my 26th birthday, which was yesterday, my parents sent me a miniature metal model of the Eiffel Tower. When I thanked them for this new addition to what's becoming a collection, they said, "We all know from the movies that the Eiffel Tower is visible from every window in Paris. Pretty soon you'll have enough little towers to put in all your windows and feel like you're living in Paris!"  Which of course is exactly everyone's deepest secret birthday wish. :)