seven plus 1 +++

i have seven wonderful girlfriends from home.

they are all crazy in their own special way,

and i love them all for it.

every year for christmas,

in lieu of giving seven gifts,

we all go out to a nice dinner and pay for ourselves.

last night we went to avenue 805,

(and although i thought we'd get kicked out for being so loud)

it was wonderful.

every year we make predictions for the next year.

typical predictions include

marriage

new house

new car

new job

etc.

the theme this year was 
men in twenty-ten.

lovey did me last year.

she reminded me that she predicted i'd move back to richmond

(which i laughed at

at the time)

and that i'd still be with h

(yay!)

and she got me again this year

(unfortunately for her, i like her predictions)

she predicted in 2010 i would:

take more vacation

still be with h ( :

start something new

be more crafty

and the one i hated most:

v won't get a puppy sibling yet.

boo.

i love our holiday traditions

and i love being in richmond to share more moments with my best girlies.

what holiday traditions do you have?

6 days!

greensleeves just came on my ipod

and it made me excited

(it's my favorite christmas song

along with

i want a hippopotamus for christmas)

for christmas morning

and

making this delicious

baked french toast
while wearing
this glorious robe.

mmmmmm....

xmas 2k9.

i sent out my christmas cards monday.

i thought it would be cheaper to get them done on etsy

and print them at ritz camera

and buy envelopes from staples.

bad idea.

next time, i'd rather just do them on minted

but i thought i was running out of time.

i won't even go into the fact that i couldn't find a single picture i liked.

we took 84 thousand.

h & v were tired of me.

so i just picked an older one.

i was so exhausted from trying to do it myself

i just sent them out

there is no personalized message.

my apologies.

i do love you all dearly.

i just wanted them to be over with!

but they did turn out lovely.

thank you krysta.

suggestions from the best.

les's christmas list for best friends who love owls and shabby chic finds and that live 795 miles apart:

• le crueset dutch oven
• dishtowels from target here and here.
• Mastering the Art of French Cooking by julia child (les says: which also appears on my christmas list!)
• magazine subscriptions; (les says: i have been enjoying body & soul - a publication of martha stewart; its tagline reminds me of you: balanced living in a busy world)
• anything from anthro (les says: I would highly recommend riding boots---they are much more versatile than cowboy boots anyway.)
• a keurig would also be handy (les says: i am ambivalent about them because they generate more waste than a coffee maker, but it's so convenient and fun and gadgetey!)
• soap of the month club, like this local one from vermont.

shalom.

i know i've been posting a lot about christmas.

but let's not forget our roots here.

at sundown tonight

hanukkah begins!

to celebrate

i've researched

and found a list of 50 plus

stars of david 

in hollywood.

starting with none other than one of my favoritist actresses,

miss natalie portman.

photo credit: coco&kelley

(also on the list:
my celeb crush robert downey junior - sighsville
striking beauty keri russell
big love's ginnifer goodwin
and more)

check them out

and light a candle tonight

to celebrate

one of many miracles

this holiday season.

xmas+crafts=fun.

so i did finally get my act together and get my stockings & tree skirt made.

i bought the fabric weeks ago... 

the felt was nearly out of stock...

 i had to go to 2 places to find the pinking shears...

and the lady behind me thought i was going to make the ugliest curtains on the planet out of my silver & gold home decor fabric (hehe)... 

my inspiration for the felt stockings came from this stocking from hable construction for $76 (eeek!) 

and the tree skirt.

let me put a little disclaimer. 

i love sewing. looovvvveee it. 

but:

i cannot for the life of me use a pattern.

i'd say i did pretty good. 

my plan is to put the tree overtop of the skirt. if i need to, i'll cut a slit in the back. 

it's felt so it won't tear. 

i was pretty pleased with how everything turned out. kind of shabby chic.

i'm glad the edges are all raggedy.

i'm glad that not everything matches. 

it just feels right.

it just feels like christmas. 

finally!

finally, finally... 

i put some most

 (i don't have a whole lot) 

of my holiday decorations up, with the exception of the tree. 

i tried to keep it simple. 

i finally finished making my stockings and tree skirt (post to follow)

 and pulled everything up from the basement.

i even wrapped the majority of my presents (!)

now i'm ready for the tree. 

(hint hint, honey)

most all my decorations are from target, crate&barrel outlet, & thrift stores.

are you ready for christmas? 

pageants.

my dear college housemate helped choreograph the christmas pageant at a local church here in richmond, west end assembly of god, so h & i went last night to see the play. i was excited to see her work, but not so much about seeing the play itself. 


i have to say, i was thoroughly impressed. even though there was a live camel and people hanging from the ceiling and a really creepy jesus and a showtune at the end... 

the play this year was an original script and score (amazing btw) called no man's land based loosely on the movie joyeux noel about the treaty between the french, germans, and british on christmas eve of world war one (h loved this). 


if you live in richmond and are free the next few nights - you should go see it! 

snail-mail.

photo credit

who doesn't love getting snail mail, especially christmas cards?

send me your address via e-mail to:

wishbonestwo[at]gmail[dot]com 

and i'll add you to my list! ( :

getting into the spirit...

by listening to this wonderful christmas cd from sufjan stevens...

and putting up decorations...

and lighting some candles...

and making some yummy molasses spice cookies?

now. all i need is a tree.  ( :

blessed&thankful. amen.

last night we did our first annual (can i say that?) girls night christmas dinner at my house. i have been friends with all but one of these girls since i was 12, and some of them since i was 5! most of us (now) live in richmond, with the exception of b, who lives in new orleans and was home for the holidays.


i got 2 rotisserie chickens, made pw's mashed potatoes, and rachael ray's soup-ed up boxed stuffing with walnuts & apples & red wine. everyone brought a dish: l's baked mac&cheese, lu's cheesy broccoli&rice, e's squash casserole, e's green bean casserole, jenny's sweet potato puree, k's pumpkin pie... it was SO delicious. 


but the best part was the friendship. i love these girls and we've been through really thick and really thin. there have been babies and marriages made, relationships broken, families changed, hearts and minds broken, but we have all come out okay - okay, and together. 


here's to many more! 


happy thanksgiving!

book-smart.

as a tight-knit extended family of 12, we try to consolidate the inter-family gift giving by having a thanksgiving "secret santa." last year, we tried (i organized) a white elephant gift exchange, which went rather well, but did not bode well for future events.

this year, i tried to get out of organizing anything. in the past when we did the traditional secret santa, you sent in the list of things you wanted. might as well just spend $50 on yourself and call it a day. i mean, what fun is that?

so, i decided to try something new. my first suggestion was voted down by the "aunts," the ruling party in the family p: everyone donate $15 and we decide on a charity, much like a giving circle. oops. people want gifts and we already feed the homeless after thanksgiving dinner. ugh.

next idea: book exchange. in a family of doctors (and to-be doctors), accountants, architects, scientists, humanitarians, and artsy-folks, this will work. hopefully. everyone brings 1 wrapped, new (sigh, i wish it didn't have to be, but if you did so well they already own the book, what's a person to do?) book ($10-$15 limit since the economy is a hurtin') for a selected (by me) person. i am praying to the god of secret santas that this works out flawlessly. considering the only responses i've gotten have been "oy!" (thanks, dad), and "make sure i get so-and-so, they are the ONLY one that will get me something i want," (coughauntcough), praying is all we got right now! 

don't let anyone know that i'm really quite excited about this. ( ;

white elephants.

n & i went shopping at target this week and were so surprised to see all of the holiday & christmas decorations up already! made me & auntie l start talking about our annual thanksgiving festivities. every year for the past, well, several, we've had our "secret latke" (think secret santa for the religiously challenged). we were thinking of ways to spice it up a little, so this year we're going to do a white elephant gift exchange.

we have 2 rules:

1. "typical" gift cards are discouraged. the entire gift cannot be comprised of a gift card or subscription.
2. each gift much be about $50.

to help everyone out, i've put together some gift ideas:

• a photo gift: shutterfly or ritz camera photo calendar (make online w/ family pictures -- 18 months for $25 plus a $25 gift card for photo prints at shutterfly or ritz camera)... what i really wanted was a calendar in a jewel cd case, but i couldn't find one!


• an entertainment gift: netflix subscription (1-at-a-time unlimited – 6 months for $54 or 5 months for $45) plus the most amazing popcorn ever ($8 from williams-sonoma).


• a spa gift: elizabeth arden red door spa (locations in richmond & arlington) “red door signature manicure” 40 min, $42 along with the ginger bar, $14 from origins (which even h loves).


• a wine gift: 1 or 2 bottles of a bit nicer than everyday wine (try punto final malbec from argentina) with some accessories like a neoprene wine bottle holder, $15 from the container store; or a wine bottle opener like the rabbit, $40 from amazon.


• a “green” gift—reusable shopping bags, $10 from amazon along with a whole foods gift card or gift basket (prices variable) made by you or from a gourmet shop like dean & deluca.


• a coffee gift: a few pounds of a favorite roast (mine are the thunguri, kenya roast from peregrine espresso in washington, dc and the bluegrass blend from moonbeans in aiken, sc) paired with some cute mugs like these personalized ones from l.l. bean on sale for $10 (thanks a!)

• a dvd gift: flight of the conchords season one; freaks & geeks complete set; or planet earth. everyone loves those.

• an outdoorsy gift: the patagonia synchilla fleece ¼ zip is my favorite, although over the price range. i wear a men’s small & i'd gladly own 8 more -- $80 from patagonia; another option is the north face tka 100 -- $50 from rei (and everyone’s close to an rei to exchange sizes or colors).


• a bookworm gift: a magazine subscription to newsweek – order from barnes & noble online or a few books from the top 100; my dad recommends the last lecture by randy pausch; and all the women in my family have fallen in love with jeanette walls’ the glass castle and anita diamont's the red tent.


• a charitable gift: shop from the breast cancer site or find a swanky gift from elsewhere – the komen candle, $15 from pier 1; a pink pony tote, $45 from ralph lauren; or the bracelet (and more charitable gifts), $25 from the body shop.


• a car gift: a car care set. even i like a clean car! or, ideas from the container store.


• a creative gift: look online if you can't get to a craft fair! etsy.com is like ebay, but for the creative spirit. some of my favorites from their website: reversible tote bag purse, $55; pearl pendant, $33; simple lunch plate, $35 (i saw her at crafty bastards and fell in love); and, tofu for obama, obvi. $10.
  

happy shopping! ( :