And in a way I have for I have been playing a game of catch up with my “To Do” list for the past three weeks. However, this blog comes to you with much merriment, cheer, and exhaustion from my beloved northeast. I am now in New Jersey in the home I grew up in, wrapped in a couple of cozy blankets, sipping on a cup of spicy hot cocoa, and surrounded by holiday adornments by the mother of yours truly which inspire and provoke many a memory. It’s bitter cold outside and the chilling wind is tapping at the windows, a complete 180 turn from the 70 something degrees back in sunny Los Angeles. I have been here since last Thursday and not sure I am used to the bone chilling, freezing weather as of yet. The only thing I would like frozen is time!
Since I’ve arrived, there have been lots to do and I foresee myself making my “To Do” list even longer during these next few weeks. Last Friday my eldest sister, JD, held a Christmas Piano Recital for her little students at her home and it was the perfect time to get into the holiday mood. The house was full of musicians playing Christmas songs and the performance included my cousin K and a family friend J who sang and caroled and put everyone in the holiday spirit. I use the word “spirit” loosely because the excitement and laughter from all the kids in the house could have been caused by the sugar high from the cookies, cakes, and brownies being served.
On Saturday night I was able to meet up with a small group of my closest friends in Hoboken, around the block from the Cake Boss’s Carlos’ Bakery, at the gorgeously designed W Hotel. We had so much to talk about, especially about my thoughts on moving back to the east coast, and I’m looking forward to seeing them again at our upcoming ladies night dinner in NYC’s Buda khan. Seems like our Sex & the City times are here again ;)
On to another TV series, I spent Sunday with my loving auntie who lives in the city where the opening sequence shots of Soprano’s were taken. She’s planning a Christmas dinner next week and asked if I can help her decorate her apartment. Ignoring my jetlag/slight hangover from the night before, I created my own sugar high by drinking glassfuls of Hawaiian Punch and worked in my magic using things she had around the house mixed with a few items we picked up. Alas, I only had my 7.1 mp digital on me but here’s a sneak peek:
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| Using a cake plate, vintage china plates, ornaments, and glass vases to create a Christmas centerpiece for auntie. |
I will be coming back with the finished shots of auntie’s dinner taken with my new and improved Canon 12.3 mp baby! (Btw, I now have two lovers, well three if count D, my sewing machine and this Canon… ;)
Back in my childhood home, I now turned my attention to my gifts. I’m seriously thankful that I chose a hobby that allows me to make presents rather than buying them, especially since I have a boatload of nephews and nieces to buy presents for. Luckily, I’ve been brainstorming since turkey day as to what I’ll be making for the kids and this will be the first time I chose to make most of my presents for Christmas (with the exception of my 3 nephews). If this works, I’ll be doing this every Christmas... so I’m crossing my fingers that this experiment works. I so want to be that cool auntie that can hand make really cool things and since I do not know how to make video games (I’ll leave that to my stepbro), this is the next best thing I can do to be too cool for school.
My baby nephew A will be turning 1 year old in January. I made him a set of fabric play balls with jingling bells inside and a carrying bag made from 100% cotton linen complete with his initial:
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| Flannel and cotton fabric jingling balls for baby. |
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| Personalized cotton sack. |
My niece S is 4 years old. She was the easiest since you can hand make a variety of items for little girls. The little lady she is with pink being her favorite color, I made her a flowery and fluffy skirt:
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| A fluffy, flowery, and pink skirt for my lil niece. |
Her mom said she needed hair accessories as well, so I made her some flower headbands and clips:
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| Roses and pearl hair accessories. |
I will be selling these flower items in my Etsy shop, coming soon!
Then there are my three nephews, J age 9, D age 8, and N age 6 whose gifts I cheated with. These little boys were harder to make things for since they are at the age of video games, super heroes, and Nickelodeon. They’re also at the age where you have the chance of giving them a toy they will play with for a few months and then totally forget about it. So after googling and groaning as to what I should make them, I decided to head over to the dollar store and local art store, pick up 15 items that were $1 each, wrap them all up, thrown them in a bag, and have each boy pick a gift from the bag five times. I then made a sack for each of them, also with their initials on it and to act like their own Santa’s bag.
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| More personalized carrying sacks will act as Santa bags when filled with their grab bag gifts. |
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| I plan on selling the complete alphabet in my Etsy shop :) |
So there you have it! Last but not least, I would like to share some photos of my modern Thanksgiving motif.
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| Pinecones, candles, and leaves cut out with felt that protects my wooden table from the hot dishes. |
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| Gunmetal vases filled with branches will add a more dramatic and modern presence. |
I do wish I was able to post this on the actual day of Thanksgiving, but as you can see… I’ve obviously been losing at this catch up game.
Tonight: Karaoke night with the cousins. Oh boy, aside from singing in the shower, I haven’t belted out a tune (in public) in quite a while so I’m actually looking forward to channeling my Lauryn Hill like the good ol’ days…
Enjoy your Wednesday :)
