sister had a birthday

Happy belated birthday to my little/taller sister.. the day after Christmas baby.

city sidewalks on Christmas day

For the past month my family and I have been laboring under the delusion that Manhattan would be quiet on Christmas day. We were dead wrong. The city was busier than I've seen it in a while, and it's been very busy in my opinion. The only time I've (personally) ever seen more people in Manhattan was when I accidentally turned up in the middle of Rockefeller Center on the very evening of the tree lighting ceremony. Talk about claustrophobia.

Despite the severely packed sidewalks, we had a great time and even found parking on the street.. a first for us because we only take the train (because driving in the city is a straight up nightmare and parking is even worse.. and trains are nice because you don't have to drive them.)

We took a stroll through Central Park, stopped in the Plaza in search of a restroom- fail, glanced at the Bergdorf windows, wandered into one of the Trump buildings and actually found a restroom- thanks mr. trump, stopped in St. Patrick's Cathedral, and then walked over to see the tree.

The tree was a bit fatter than usual, which is great. I love a good fat tree. The rounder the better, really. It was a lot prettier this time than the last time I saw it.. that could be because the darn thing was covered in scaffolding when I was last there at 1am on a chilly November evening.

After seeing the tree we ducked into a little cafe for some hot chocolate although it really wasn't cold enough to warrant a steamy beverage.. 45 degrees on Christmas day when just last year we had a major blizzard the day after Christmas. That's ok though, I'd drink hot chocolate even on a summer day. Actually, I heard that hypothermia can set in even at 50 degrees, so I take back what I said about it not being cold enough for a hot beverage.

And on that note, I think I'll go to sleep! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I loved seeing your Christmasy instagram snaps throughout the day!

Christmas: Past and Present

Marissa and I decided to pay a tribute to a photo that turned 20 years old this year... cookie, smirk, and all. The only difference is that it's now illegal to take photos in banks, so we had to pick a new location! That, and the fact that Marissa has surpassed me in height. Boo.

Christmas 1991

Christmas 2011

Have a wonderfully merry and peaceful Christmas, everyone!

Christmas lights

The Christmas lights are on, presents are being wrapped, cards are being addressed, and the scents of the tree and freshly baked cookies are swirling through the house. I love Christmas.

Matt and I are celebrating Christmas tonight with a fancy dinner and presents.

Until then I'll be making more Etsy orders and snacking on all the chocolate that has magically appeared all over the house. Mmm.

Christmas Trees

I really wanted to buy this perfectly round Christmas tree, but Matt and I were on a mission to find a 9ft tree for my parents' house. We could not find a 9ft tree to cut down ourselves so we had to buy one of the already chopped trees.. I guess that's what happens when you try to go cut your own Christmas tree down on Long Island. Apparently, we don't have tall trees? Oh well, we tried.

I really miss that chubby tree! I want to drive back to Huntington to chop it down right now. I have no idea what I'd do with it, but that's ok. How cute is that tree?? AHH.

It was nice to take Sunday off to do some Christmasy things, but I probably won't take another break until after Christmas.. or  at least until the last day I can ship Christmas Etsy orders.

Good bye lovely day off.

Hello hammer, metal, pearls, paint, clay and plaques!