J. Crew under snow (Christmas Day)


Brooks Brother's window display




Cinemark Palace on Christmas Day to see the newly released "Sherlock Holmes" film.




Our mantle.


Neighborhood.


Coffee. Candles. Dogs. Pajamas. Leather couch. Cashmere throws.


Presents.


My "Narnia" themed decorations ;)


Christmas at the lodge.


A section of my house.

Christmas is ending now... the clock arms have almost reached midnight and I am forlorn for tomorrow I have to get back to work. Early. This day has been a dazzlement (not a word? okay). First day off from work, school, and wedding prep for what seems like centuries. Today, my body reawakened to the pleasures of being comfy at home... the warmth, glow of a dozen candles burning throughout the house, getting up and not having any place to rush off to, slowly enjoying a breakfast on fine china at the dining room table, savoring each bite, slowly going through all of my Christmas records one by one, placing them in the turntable & turning the volume up. That alone was enough to completely restore me. 

But on top of all of that, presents... and wonderful, well-thought out ones at that. A promised visit to the spa, J. Crew gift card, things to organize my life with, notebooks, books, office accessories, new DVD releases, more down bedding, antique items, checks, a few small luxuries, etc. Loving everything :)

In the afternoon, I slipped on my navy silk dress and tall black boots and set off in the continuous flurries for the Cinemark Palace theater in the Country Club Plaza. Piles of 15 feet of snow covered the middle of some of the roads. I got my picture by one of them.

"Sherlock Holmes" was playing and I just had to see it. How did I not know that Robert Downey Jr. was playing Holmes? Somehow I didn't and so it surprised me a bit. The Iron man takes on Holmes. The whole movie was completely different from what I was expecting actually. Holmes was a complete rogue. Rugged, a bit psychotic, and forever offensive. Likeable, of course. Jude Law was magnificent! Upon leaving the theater, I was told that I looked like Rachel McAdams -- that makes the third time this year that someone has made that remark. Its nice to hear but I know my mirror at home doesn't lie. Sigh.

After the movie, my sister and I took a regretted jaunt around the Plaza and we went a bit too far from our car (and from any warm place that was open). The snow fall picked up and the chilly air became chillier. Every limb became numb and the snow started to feel like tiny bits of glass hitting the face. Incredible weather. The wind was so fierce that it looked like a blizzard. Marvelous. And something to be enjoyed from the safe indoors.

Our neighbor guys shoveled our drive and sidewalk for us. Thoughtful gestures like that belong depicted in a Norman Rockwell painting.

Back at home I re-lit the dozens of candles and collaborated with the sister on food for the evening. Every Christmas, we crave Asian food. So thats what we stuff ourselves on. And that is what we made. Perfect additions were pots of coffee and chilled cider which I had placed out in the knee-deep snow earlier. It was fun seeing the whole green glass bottle completely submerged in the snow.

Relaxing in the media room with my down comforter and my new copy of "Julie & Julia" was simply divine. A perfect ending to a glorious holiday and the ultimate inspiration for blogging again!

I hope you all had a joyous Christmas day!
Cheers!

Megan

"Don't you lose heart, Pole," said Puddleglum. "I'm coming, sure and certain. I'm not going to lose an opportunity like this. It will do me good. They all say--I mean, the other wiggles all say--that I'm too flighty; don't take life seriously enough. If they've said it once, they've said it a thousand times. 'Puddleglum,' they've said, 'you're altogether too full of bobance and bounce and high spirits. You've got to learn that life isn't all fricaseed frogs and eel pie. You want something to sober you down a bit. We're only saying it for your own good, Puddleglum.' That's what they say. Now a job like this--a journey up north just as winter's beginning, looking for a Prince that probably isn't there, by way of a ruined city that no one has ever seen--will be just the thing. If that doesn't steady a chap, I don't know what will.' And he rubbed his frog-like hands together as if he were talking of going to a party or a pantomine.