Deck The Halls: Mistletoe Ornament

I think hanging up mistletoe is super cute. Excuses for more kisses are never a bad idea in my book! But why is it so hard to find fresh mistletoe? I tried to find some a couple years ago to bring to a Christmas party, and I went to a bunch of Christmas tree stands 'cause I figured they would have it and grocery stores with floral departments, but no one did. Finally, this year I got some at Molbaks, but I think you can probably find it at florist shops as well. Since finding it was so hard, I didn't want to be boring and just hang it right up with the tacky plastic ribbon it came with, so I came up with this: Terrarium Style Clear Glass Ornament with Mistletoe! It's a great project if you're throwing a holiday party this year. Just make sure to serve some spiked punch or eggnog, and things could get really wild.

Materials:

large clear glass ornament*

ribbon

fresh mistletoe

string

*Clear glass ornaments can be found at craft stores in a variety of sizes. You want the extra large size for this project, mine are about 4 or 5 inches. I don't recommend smaller because the opening will be too small to fit your mistletoe without ruining it.

Process:

Remove the metal cap and hook from your clear ornament. This should come out easily. Cut several pieces of mistletoe, of varying lengths but all shorter than your ornament. I like to do one that will almost touch the bottom and a bunch about half that length. It fills the ornament best that way. Tie pieces of string to each stem of mistletoe and carefully insert them one by one into the clear ball. Your mistletoe stems need to be pretty narrow, unfortunately, to get them through the opening without damage. Adjust the strings so it all hangs nicely and tie together as one bundle. Now, tie the strings as closely as possible to the metal cap and replace the cap (squeeze the wires together to get them inside the opening). Add a nice ribbon to hang it from and a pretty bow and you're done! Now find a high traffic place to hang it for maximum smooching opportunities. Pucker up!

cozy cowl

dress - target, cardigan - thrifted, wool tights - mp, boots - thrifted

I'm trying to post a little more often and more immediately. This is actually what I wore today (well, yesterday technically). I love this dress!

Work has been insane lately, with the holidays coming up and all. Today we had a really sketch looking dude in the store, testing pens and leaving creepy little skull drawings all over the place. He had face tattoos and seemed really suspicious so we were watching him really closely which always makes me so anxious. There was also a guy who must have had jaundice or something because his face was totally yellow. And a couple really needy customers. Bleh. Just glad to have two days off for Thanksgiving! I'll be posting a last minute Thanksgiving craft this afternoon, so check back for that!

christmastime

ok, so I know I've been a lazy bum and haven't really talked about Christmas yet. BUT I am, finally and I have a million pictures. Starting with our tree!

Every year I kind of sort of pick a theme for decorating, but I end up using most of the same stuff. Usually I just switch up some basic colored balls and buy a few new ornaments, but mostly use the same old ones year to year. I like things that are sentimental or meaningful or funny. These year I kind of focused on a folk-art/Nordic style. Plain white lights and lots of handmade ornaments. I bought more than I should have, but got some really pretty things.

We always do stockings and open presents at our house in the morning before we get dressed, so I usually wear something cute and Christmas-y. I got this cute shirt at Target a day or two before. We didn't go too all out with presents this year, instead just getting a few nice things each. I also made some really tasty french toast using a walnut bread. I don't eat breakfast most of the time (a habit I'm trying to change!) so breakfast is always kind of special, no matter what it is. The walnut bread definitely made this extra yum, adding nuttiness and texture.

And, if french toast isn't decadent enough, I had one of Amanda's delicious gingerbread man cookies. (And how cute is the polka dot decoration? Adorable!) She makes the best gingerbread. After our little family Christmas, we headed over to my stepdad's sister's, where we always do the big family thing. He has a big family so it's busy and crazy and so much fun. His other sister, the one who lives in Denmark now, even came, although she got stuck at the airport for a bit.

sweaterdress - yesstyle, wool tights - mp, shoes - jeffrey campbell, giant scarf - gift

I bought this sweater last year and absolutely love it. With thick tights or leggings, it's a dress. At work, with pants, it's a sweater. It's cozy and cute, and my beloved nordic pattern. Yeah, I might be a little obsessed. I also absolutely adore this giant knit scarf in brick red. My aunt gave it to my mom...the year before last? But she doesn't wear it much, so I've kind of adopted it.

Our power went out Christmas morning, after we opened presents and everything, and it was still out when we got home. Justina and I decided to drive/walk around the neighborhoods in town (where they had power) and look at Christmas lights because we skipped that usual before-Christmas tradition. It was pretty and nice, especially since I always get bored in the evening on holidays. It's like, after you do all the stuff you're supposed to do, you don't want to just do something boring like watch tv, you want something festive still! I took a lot of pictures, including of this cool light teepee, the cat we met, and weird long exposure experimental ones.

I bundled up pretty hardcore because it was real cold, and I also slipped a few mini bottles of whiskey in my coat pocket to sip while wandering around looking at the lights. A co-worker gave them to me as part of a present. She bought a whole bag full of mini liquor bottles to give out and when she bought them it was the FIRST time she'd ever been in a liquor store. Can you believe that?? She's not super young or anything, she has a granddaughter!

Christmas eve J and I thought about going to a FabDownBros show but decided to stick with our usual JAR hangout and gift exchange. Amanda and I both got each other perfume, which I thought was pretty funny. I guess it makes sense, since we try them out together, so we know what each other likes. She also got the cutest gnome lamp from J, who gave me an adorable tote bag with a print of the bookcover for A Clockwork Orange from Out of Print. (Totally want like all their shirts!) And how cute does A look?? She was dressed up for Christmas and I just love that dress.

Some of my favorite gifts this year! Lola by Marc Jacobs perfume, a sparkly star shaped clutch from Modcloth, the literary tote Justina gave me, some socks my mom knit me, nice soap (Andy always gives soap to everyone), and a handmade frame with a Edward S. Curtis photo. I also got a cute wool skirt and funky hamper sort of thing from Riley, a scarf from my grandma, and some other things I forget.

Well...Christmas is long over but I hope yours was just as fabulous as mine. It all seemed to go so fast this year, I must remember to slow down and enjoy it more next year.

y'all wanna see my turkey?

So I realized I never posted about Thanksgiving and I really wanted to because I cooked a turkey! I need to brag, I cooked a whole turkey. I did a cider glaze and it was delicious. Mom and I spent all day cooking and drinking prosecco and we ended up with a huge amount of delicious food. Below, you can see on my plate the cider glazed turkey of course, mashed potatoes and gravy (pan drippings are yum), a mushroom-y stuffing, this bomb-ass cranberry walnut cranberry relish with maple syrup, brussel sprouts with bacon, and roast acorn squash and sweet potatoes. Yeah...yum. I'm kind of jealous of Amanda, who has a mini-thanksgiving every New Years Day, because I want to eat all this stuff again. Oh, and some of our homemade cider as well!

I'm pretty proud of how all our food turned out, as well as how our table looked. I bought my mom some new plates from Ikea because ours were all chipped and ugly. These are a nice simple style in a pretty light green color. I also found some nice green napkins at the thriftstore (just wash in hot water!) and even though they're not the same green I think they look nice. I bought a ton of them because they were super cheap and finding a nice big set is unusual. We paired that with crystal and silver from my grandma, some pretty flowers from Trader Joe's, and some seasonally appropriate orange tapers in my great grandmother's silver candle sticks. I kind of love the combination of modern/thrifted and antiques and heirloom pieces. And yes, the silver needs to be polished, especially the teapot holding the flowers but I reallly like tarnished silver so I let it go.

sweater - icelandica, dress - francesca's collections, tights - mp, clogs - jeffrey campbell

Even though we didn't have many people over for dinner and just a few friends came over drinks later that evening, I like dressing up for holidays, so I wore this new dress I got when I was shopping with Amanda. The pattern along the hem was what really made it for me, since it reminded me of city skyline. And the black and brown seemed perfect for fall! Of course, when A stopped by later, she was wearing her classic hand-turkey tshirt which I LOVE. Seriously, check that shit out. Maybe I need a guest post from her next year?

My new Thanksgiving tradition is having friends over for drinks and a movie after everyone's long done eating. I tend to get bored in the evenings of holidays where most of the action happens earlier in the day, so I like to do things with friends in the evening on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Anyways, last year my family was out of town, so after dinner at A's, Shane and Shiloh came over for some homemade hard cider. This year, I added Fantastic Mr. Fox to the evening, since I think it is the perfect Thanksgiving movie. So much food! I think that may become an annual tradition too. This year though, I invented a cocktail! It's called the Apple Snap and it's delicious. Inexact recipe after the picture!

Apple Snap

2 parts bourbon

1 part boiled cider (aka apple molasses)*

squeeze of lemon

dash bitters

Shake with ice and strain into ice filled glass and top with soda water. Garnish with a slice of apple.

*Boiled cider or apple molasses is an old fashioned sweetener made by boiled apple cider to one seventh the original volume. I made my own as a way to preserve some of our excess apple cider this year, but if you're on the east coast you may be able to find it. Out here on the west coast, you'll either have to order it online from the one or two places that will ship it, or make it yourself out of the freshest apple cider you can find. Don't use apple juice, but if you're limited to grocery store stuff, just try to find something unfiltered/as little processed as possible.

(I'll try to update this next time I make this drink and actually measure stuff.)

holiday party - tacoma style

dress- target, boots - thrifted, fascinator - diy

We went to an extremely fun holiday party in Tacoma, thrown by our lovely friends Brady and Sid. Their apartment was so cute and they put up masses of lights and even had one of those cheesy fireplace videos projected onto their non-functional fireplace. And so much good food and drink! Eggnog, fondue, meatballs, ham, and an adorable cake J brought. We had a white elephant gift exchange, which ended up being a pretty funny mix of things. I think the hot item was a dog shaped cookie jar. I got the cutest little handmade, beaded ornament. Brady pulled out some classic Christmas records to keep the mood festive and it was just a really really fun party.

xmas prep

sweatshirt - cairo via urban craft uprising, dress - thrifted, tights - target, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach

These were taken back in December when I was getting ready for Christmas. Every year, J and I get gross seasonal drinks at Starbucks and then head to Molbaks to wander, look at pretty stuff, and buy a few overpriced ornaments. It's delightful. The holiday season really is one of my favorite times of year and every year I wish I had more time and did more things. This year was no exception, in fact, I think it's been the worst yet. Way too busy with work and stuff to do all the things I wanted. Half my decorations either never got put up or waited until Christmas eve and I only made a few things. Christ, I didn't even send out cards this year. But there's no point in whining about all that. I DID do and make some fun things, which I'll be posting on in the next few days. And I'm determined to make the rest of the winter a fun time too. Ice skating anyone?

I used to love getting fresh, real trees at Christmas but my mom's allergies make that kind of selfish now. Instead, this year I satisfied that urge by wandering through the trees at Molbaks for quite awhile and picking out my pretend tree. I liked this kind of funky one and hung up a little felt fox on it, just for fun.

The huge expanses of poinsettias are also rather fantastic. J liked these pink ones best but I think my favorite were the multi-colored ones. They have so many kinds! We spent quite a long time there, just kind of wandering.

A couple days before we went to Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle. That's where I got the sweatshirt. It was fun but I didn't find anything for anyone else. Still, Christmas shopping downtown is always delightful and the lights were fun and we had a good time.

This year, my winter style has been a slightly odd mix of grunge and holiday pretty. These two shopping days, layers for extra coziness were the big idea. Big sweatshirts, flannel, wool, tights, ugly hats, and weird prints.

happy halloween kids!

Well, a week or so late...but what where YOU this year? I was David Gahan from Depeche Mode of course, and Justina went as Robert Smith of The Cure. Of course we had to pose with our friends Casey and Jordyn who were dressed as Prince and Lady Gaga. No one really recognized me, which wasn't too surprising, but I think it was a good last minute costume. I had intended to be Scary Spice but we lost our Posh and Baby and decided to skip it for this year. Maybe another time!

We went to the High Dive to see Liam's band, the Fabulous Downey Brothers play. They're always fun but they were especially great dressed as giant eyeballs. They're fantastic, and I think everyone should be listening to them! After we went to a party in West Seattle? I think, thrown by some people Liam and Jordyn know. It was pretty ridiculous and I drank entirely too much and felt miserable the next day.

To work, I wore not a costume, but a spooky themed outfit. Black velvet, lace, and a spiderweb fascinator, with eye encrusted shoes. Yeah, the fascinator is a cheap halloween decoration from work, simply bobby pinned to my hair, and the shoes have googly eyes glue all over them. They were a hit at work, with my boss even taking a picture of them so we could use them next year. To sell googly eyes, of course. I think they're rather fun, and from a distance have a sort of crocodile skin texture.

velvet dress - thrifted, lace shirt - target, purple and lace tights - target and somewhere, fascinator - bf, shoes - diy, purse - vintage coach

Should you ever want to make your own such shoes, whether with googly eyes, sequins, buttons, plastic gems, happy meal toys, or whatever you can think of, just make sure to use E600 glue. Not a single one came off all day. I used two packs of 200 assorted size googly eyes.