I Have Returned!

[caitri]

Thanksgiving was awesome. Scott's in-laws are like tv Italians, they greet each other with "EEEEY!" and do all the gestures and everything, it was hysterical. Thanksgiving dinner lasted about six hours, with pre-appetizers, appetizer, pasta, the turkey and main courses, fruit and nuts, dessert, and liquor. Holy cow. I also got brownie points for being able to sing to Umberto Tozzi cds, ha. I totally love Scott's sister Colleen, she is so nice and so is her husband and their dog.

Friday and Saturday we went to NYC and played with the dinos at the Natural History Museum, saw the Darwin exhibit (the coolest thing: Darwin's Pros and Cons of Marriage list he made when he was trying to decide about settling down. The key factor: "Children. Better than a dog anyway." Seriously, that's what it said. Romantic, huh?), and two musicals at half-price: a rancid Beowulf (NEVER get tickets to something you haven't heard of, whether or not they are 50% off), and Fiddler on the Roof with Harvey Fierstein and Rosie O'Donnell (it ROCKED). And we went to Rockefeller Center where they have the tree and star up but not the lights, and the skating rink is surprisingly tiny.

I almost froze to death and everyone teased me, but well I'm here and alive and never been more grateful for temperatures in the 60s.

We got back to Baltimore last night and slept like the dead. Got back into DC this afternoon and I bought groceries and did laundry. The hardest thing about shopping for food after Thanksgiving is figuring out what on earth you'll be hungry for later when at the time you feel like you can't eat for ages...

Anyhow it's so nice to be back in my little nest. It really looks so homey now that I have chairs and the table Scott's loaning me. I still have to put together some stuff (another shelf, endtables, and my bedframe for whenever my mattress deigns to show up) but it is all coming along.

Can't believe it will be December in a few days. Eek! I have to start planning Xmas...

Comments

[100wordspermin.livejournal.com]

Glad you had a good trip! :)

[caitri.livejournal.com]

Thanks!!

I so have Xmas in my head now. I want to go get decorations and things... :D Any ideas for what to do with a small studio???

[100wordspermin.livejournal.com]

Hm...well, there's always the classics, like a wreath on the door and a tree. I tend to like real trees and fake wreaths, but that's just personal preference :)

The other thing you might like, especially if you don't have room/inclination for a tree, is fake holly garland. I got some fake fall-leaves garland and draped it around the window in my kitchen, and it cheered me up all during the autumn. I'm planning to get some holly as soon as finals are over and I have free time. You can usually find it for pretty cheap at your local crafy store (Michael's, JoAnn's, etc.--do you have Michael's in DC/MD?), and since it's usually plastic-based, it's easy to cut to the size you need. Plus, no shedding leaves/needles! A crafty variation on this is dried orange slices strung with cinnamon sticks or bayleaves. You could included cranberries, too, but be sure to use a heavy needle and waxed thread.

The other idea that popped to mind was some sort of winter fruit bowl. This is especially good if you like fruit and ought to eat it more often (not that I would know anything about that.... :P) You can usually find a pretty bowl for cheap at places like Marshall's or TJ Maxx (or your local equivalent), and there're usually red or green ones this time of year. Just pick out a big one, and tumble a bunch of pretty fruit in it (oranges and clementines would be good, and apples and pomegranates, or whatever you like). Decorate with evergreen sprigs (you can buy these at places that sell trees, most of the time, if you don't want to use fake stuff or you don't have a tree to pillage). Put it somewhere that you'll see it often and voila! Instant holiday cheer + vitamin C!

Seeing as almost every culture has some sort of winter festival centered on light or the sun, candles are just about inevitable :) You can find some that even smell like Christmas trees this time of year, and plenty in appropriate seasonal colors and scatter them around the house. I have some near my stove I light when I'm cooking (which is not so much, these days), and some that I light when I come home at the end of the day to help stave off the early dark.

I better stop before I write so much LJ won't post it--let me know if you use any of these; I love to hear how they turn out!

oh, and one more....

[100wordspermin.livejournal.com]

I just started this idea this year, and I already love it. Stealing the idea from a lady at church, I got a cheapo basket and put Christmas-y ribbons on it, and am filling it with Christmas books. So far, there's The Night Before Christmas, The Polar Express, Kids' Letters to Santa and several others.

It's awesome because, hey, Christmas books, and I can always guide my family toward giving me more of them (as opposed to, say, clothes, which they should never ever buy for me, ever).

Re: oh, and one more....

[caitri.livejournal.com]

Wow, thanks for all the great ideas!!!! I definitely need to hunt for a craft store (the closest Michael's is over in Falls Church, VA, which is prob a half hour metro ride from me). I want to make a wreath for my door and am trying to work out what else would work. I have a garland of cardboard christmas cats I am trying to figure out how to hang...