I hope you and your family had a very merry Christmas. We had a great visit with family, but as always it passed by too quickly. We have really enjoyed our Christmas decorations this year and are not ready to take them down. Houses just feel cozier with all the twinkly lights and greenery. If it wasn’t such a fire hazard, I’d leave it up until spring. (PSA- don’t take your tree down until after New Year’s Day… It is bad luck if you do. And who wants to start a new year with premature Christmas tree removal bad luck? Not me.)
I’ll be back later to post some Santa pics. I know you are beside yourself with excitement.
PS- If you are out and about and run across these on clearance, make sure you buy some for me. It was voted Best Christmas Candle 2012 (at our house). Go ahead and get one for yourself while you are at it. Promise you will love…
Happy Friday. Or at least it was until my first grader asked me why our elf is so lame…
Me: What do you mean?
Wells: He doesn’t do anything funny or cool. The kids at school say their elves bring them gifts and leave them notes. And they zip line across their living rooms. And one has a Duck Dynasty beard. Our elf just sits there.
Me: No he doesn’t. He moves every night while you are asleep.
Wells: Not every night.
Me: Come on, Wells. That was one time in five years. I told you he had the flu. Oh, and remember there was that one time he was in that bowl full of marshmallows. That was cool, right?
Wells: No. Why doesn’t he leave us gifts?
Me: Because he isn’t Santa Claus. HE IS AN ELF. Elves don’t LEAVE gifts, they MAKE them. Really? A duck dynasty beard?
Seriously people. What is going on? When did the Elf on the Shelf turn into a Pinterest/Facebook/Instagram rockstar? It is in the title of the book. “ON THE SHELF”… not suspended from ceiling fans with fishing line or partying with naked Barbie and her friends in the dream house. Who has time to do all this stuff? I can barely move ours from one side of the mantle to the other. And who cleans up after little Elfvis when he rolls the house with toliet paper and unwraps all the Christmas gifts? I am going to go out on a limb and say there are a lot of children who are not being fed or bathed properly.
“Sorry, little Jimmy. The elf ate all your dinner. Oh and I’m sorry our house is so cold, but I had to use the power bill money to bail him out of jail again.”
And what is this bad behaving elf teaching our children? This is the guy that is supposed to let Santa know if kids are being naughty or nice? Yep… as soon as he finishes snorting lines of powdered sugar off the kitchen counter.
It doesn’t have to be this way. You don’t have to let the elf bully you and your children anymore. Free yourself from his silent, creepy trance and take control.
The tree is up and we are officially in the Christmas spirit.
It’s been a while, so how about a friday four? These are a few of my fav-o-rite things this holiday season…
1. Ebates
Do y’all use Ebates? It is a website you shop through (at stores like J. Crew, Piperlime, Etc.) to earn cash back. I know, I know… “Duh. Have you been under a rock, Wowie?” In my defense, I signed up in 2011, but forgot to use it. I have done about 90% of my Christmas shopping through it and have over $100 in my cash back account. All my friends from work will testify that I am slightly obsessed with it. It is a game now, and I am ordering gifts based on the highest cash back percentages. I hope Wells and Graham like their arrangement from 1-800 Flowers.
2. Snack Factory White Chocolate and Peppermint Pretzel Chips
I bought these at Whole Foods in New Orleans when I was headed back to Mississippi from a work trip. I intended on sharing them but ate the entire bag before I reached the state line. I thought I was safe from their evil, delicious powers (since we don’t have a Whole Foods yet), but no. They are available EVERYWHERE. Target, Fresh Market, Walmart… you name it. Oh well. I will go to the gym on January 2nd and all will be well with my pants again.
3. Josie Maran Argan Luscious Lips
Here we go with the Argan oil again… I love this stuff. It makes your lips look all shiny and super model-y. It is also super moisturizing and has recently replaced my Rosebud Salve at bedtime. (Sephora has 8% cash back on Ebates today. See? I have a problem.)
4. Bows
Maybe it is because of all the gifts I’ve been wrapping, but I am really into bows right now. I got these J. Crew bow earrings and have been wearing them nonstop. I also got these Vince Camuto Verona pumps for a steal at Belk recently.
I needed them for a Christmas party but have been wearing them to work and church too. I love the gold detail and the chunky heel. Plus, they are super comfortable… which is saying a lot for four inch heels.
Happy Friday, my friends. I hope you have a fabulous weekend. XOXO
