Monday, December 7, 2009

...And How Have You Been?

Whew...December starts at a full gallop, no? I feel so lame, constantly apologizing for the absences - and oh, am I reaping what I sow because I have so much blog reading to catch up on...

But here's the thing...the holidays are meant to be a time of joy, of family, of love, of fun, of peace, of reflection, of giving, of just being in the moment. They are not supposed to be a time of rushing, craziness, aggravation, frustration, getting sick, missing out on the small moments, and all of the bad stuff that we often associate with the holiday season.




Oh, the wisdom of Linus...So I have vowed to *not* let Christmas get me crazy this year. I am not going to over-do, over-buy, over-commit, over-party, over-spend, over-eat. That "over-commit" part? Harder even than the over-spend part. And so, I have been pretty absent in the blogosphere for the past week as I was decorating and working and mothering and all that. Bear with me...and in the New Year, maybe my resolution will be better & more active blogging, hehe. (that would be easier to keep than others)

What else has been going on? The fabulous bichonluvr headed up to MD last week and we met up at (where else?) my local JC to shop a bit and then have lunch. It was so fun to meet her IRL and hang out. And 6 degrees of separation and all that, it turns out that the only other person she knows in MD is the husband of one of M's teachers since they went to high school together in a whole other state. Small world, indeed. I figured we'd have some sort of Richmond connection, since that's my hometown...but no, the Maryland connection. She was so fab and so fun - and it was a great afternoon!!

And otherwise most of the rest of the week was work, helping out at school, and decorating for Christmas. (All done but the tree - which is up, waiting for hubby to get back from business trip so we can decorate it Wed night.)

But...fun fun fun...work holiday party on Thursday. (and getting to dress up is, yes, still part of the fun) I got to wear the fantastic JC wool shift dress that the equally fantastic dinagideon gifted me that I also wore here. For the holiday party, I wore the dress solo, with tights & heels and then added some gold & gray sparkle. The Ugly Betty gray fireball necklace (retail only), the gray beaded bracelet (again, retail only), and the clementine garden pearl bracelet. Plus the Dina hoops. I loved the gold/gray mix of thew jewelry and the 2 bracelets really complemented the necklace, IMO. (and when Patina asked if I'd been "patinalized", I knew the jewelry was spot on...)

Looking at this picture made me realize I really needed to trim my bangs...so I did the next day since my hair cut got cancelled. But I do need to reschedule that hair cut as I am finding myself sporting a ponytail more often than usual...and that's always my sign that I need a cut!

Polyvore from Thursday:

12/3/09
12/3/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Items in this set:
J Crew Wool Shift Dress
80 Den Opaque Tights, 6 GBP
Movado Two-tone Watch, $600
Large 18K Yellow Gold Hoop Earrings - Forzieri, $449
Women's Cotton Sweaters & Cardigans - J.Crew, $75

So...how have you been?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Hi Heidi, no need to apologize you blog when you are able to being Christmas and everything.

I am also determined not to overspend and to overeat this year, I am doing most of the baking so we will see how that part works out.

The Linus clip is so true, thanks for posting it.

Pamela said...

Things get so hectic in November and December! We go from one holiday to another and have no room to regroup!
I'm still decorating myself!
I need to remember to slow down myself! Thanks for the reminder. Great to see you back!

tm said...

I am usually kind of bah humbug, but I know what you mean about overextending and overspending.

I was thinking that making my own candy this year would be cheaper and more fun than buying a bunch of truffles, caramels, etc. But, ooh, that's a lot of work. And, that aspect of baking is not a strong point for me. Could be a disaster, hmm....

Unknown said...

Love that you've decided to not over-commit, over-buy etc and truly enjoy the season for what it is. Enjoy every moment. Everything else (blogging, etc) will happen when you're ready. Oh and you look gorgeous :)

dinagideon said...

Ooh, yes, overspending, overextending. Yikes. I feel your pain...

Let's have some hot cocoa and just chill together soon. :) And talk about our plans for the summer...whilst ignorning the Santas and Christmas trees and lights of the mall. ;)

Love the dress on you...I am so glad you love it...it was made for you!

Suzy said...

Amen! I agree with you 100%! I am trying to relax about the holidays too. After cooking a big Thanksgiving meal, I am keeping Christmas dinner much simpler. Gifts are def. going to be smaller since as you know, with middle daughter's upcoming semester abroad, that will mean family travel abroad as well (that's a pretty cool gift in itself!).

I loved our visit so much and really cannot wait to do it again in the coming months. I like how you mentioned your hair cut, as I know my hair was shabby that day, but I had a hair appointment for the next day - got great color with low lights and highlights, and cut. Also, I kept thinking while we were talking how funny it was that I had two nails that still had french manicure, but I had taken off the rest (that were chipped) after all of the Thanksgiving clean up! haha You probably were wondering about that!

I liked your reference to the 6 degrees of separation and all that - great analogy!!!

Suzy said...

PS Did you know when you posted that adorable scene from Charlie Brown's Christmas that it was on tonight? My family is watching it now!

HeidiG said...

casual-crew - glad you enjoyed the Linus clip - it's my favorite.

Pamela - so true! there's just no space between Thanksgiving & Christmas.

tastymoog - baking, hmmm. I'm trying out a new recipe for peppermint fudge tomorrow - I'll post if it's good - it looks VERY easy.

Stylestance - thank you!

dina - yes, must get together soon. but if we're talking about summer, shouldn't we be sipping margaritas?

Suzy - too funny about CB being on tonight. I don't even pay attention to that anymore since we have the DVD and usually do family CB viewing a couple times over the season. Honestly - I did not even notice your polish (or lack therof), and usually I am like a hawk in that regard. Must have been too busy chatting!!! (and your hair looked fine)