weekend recap, december 16

1. mantle detail | 2. big kid | 3. quiet night | 4. red skies at morning | 5. thinking of newtown | 6. bad beagle | 7. macro work | 8. good beagle | 9. empty woodshed

1. mantle detail | 2. big kid | 3. quiet night | 4. red skies at morning | 5. thinking of newtown | 6. bad beagle | 7. macro work | 8. good beagle | 9. empty woodshed

So here's what I'll say about Love Actually, now that we've finally seen it. Does Emma Thompson really think she can play Hugh Grant's younger sister? That moment when she hugged Hugh Grant and called him her big brother? Neel and I giggled for hours afterwards, especially since we've had a running joke with some friends for years about Emma Thomson playing younger than type. Ever since she played the younger sister in this movie. As my friend Mark suggested, next we'll see The Jon Benet Ramsey Story, starring Emma Thomson... as Jon Benet.

Our month has been so funny. Neel's to-do list at work is laughably long (including, on Friday, an 8 hour drive for a 15 minute presentation). All of my deadlines are pushed up due to the holiday, and Cal is staring down a week (!) of exams. Add to this the piles of extra stuff to get him ready for Richmond, and well, I think we all feel a little stunned. It's a good time here. This season, the frenzy and the excitement. It's all good, right? And if things slip, that's all good too. I think that's a little of what my miserable, day long headache was about on Sunday. I've had so many this winter (unusual), and I was laid so low. Cinnamon rolls and Chex Mix unmade. I think I've reached the limits of my human capabilities. Somehow, along the way I really have learned to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good, and as long as I can keep chipping away at that list (and keep the headaches at bay) I'll be okay.

weekend recap, december 9

1. tree hunt | 2. local joint 3. in situ | 4. dinner with friends | 5. st. germain on ice | 6. ice wreath | 7. deco time | 8. chili | 9. success

1. tree hunt | 2. local joint 3. in situ | 4. dinner with friends | 5. st. germain on ice | 6. ice wreath | 7. deco time | 8. chili | 9. success

Well, while all of you were out enjoying your ice storms and snow and just generally making me jealous, we were submitted to a cold rain this weekend, just warm enough to keep from being fun and just cold enough to be really, really miserable. I mentioned that two-day migraine on Instagram, well here's why: 80º  on Friday, 49º on Saturday, 39º on Sunday. My poor head couldn't keep up.

Shopping for a tree felt like we were back in California. Warm! Too warm. We could have taken our time and browsed a bit, but Cal found a perfect tree on the first try, so there we were. Got it home and in a bucket and saved the rest of the work for later. Gah. I must be getting old. I used to be able to whip this decorating out no problem. Now it's taking days, and I'm still not done!

An unexpected dinner with friends on Saturday (seriously, who has a free evening in December these days?), lots of house and other work on Sunday, and now it feels like we've barely had a break. Monday again. The tree is sparkling behind me though, and the decorations are almost up and out. There's a Christmassy chill in the air. We're getting there. Man, that chili was good.