I Wish It Was Christmas Today

One of our best Brimfield purchases: an aluminum Christmas tree. With the color wheel (and the 8mm iPhone app 60s filter), it looks so awesome.

Sadly, a few minutes after taking this video we realized the bulb might be just a little too hot so we shut it off, but it was fun while it lasted!

A visit from the Easter puppy

My mom made this cake. It's supposed to be a lamb but I thought it looked more like a puppy. So much so that it was kind of disturbing when she started cutting it up. Eventually it fell over without a body to support it and there was just a puppy head laying on the platter staring up at us as we ate.

Handmade ornaments circa 1998

I took down my Christmas tree over the weekend and while packing the decorations back into boxes to be stored away till next year, I came across a handful of ornaments that I'd made when I was about 16. They're pretty awesome.

I'm think my mom had just bought me a miniature fake tree for my bedroom and I must have felt the need to fashion some punk-looking ornaments to make it cool. They're a combination of black and white inkjet print-outs and sharpie marker lettering, glued to pieces of cardboard. You can kind of see the tiny holes poked through for the hooks. I think there used to be a Germs ornament too (a blue circle with a black background, of course), but I don't know what happened to it.

I didn't even realize I still had these. I guess I couldn't bear to part with them after all these years. Maybe if I get a bigger tree next year I'll put them back into rotation.

The happiest girl in the world

Dave really outdid himself this year in the gift-giving department. While I was buying him all the staples (pajamas, sweaters, heavy wool socks, Stumptown coffee, etc) he was hard at work tracking down some of the cool stuff I've been trying to find lately.

First of all, I finally got this beautiful book of Margaret Kilgallen's work. Not that it was so hard to find (you can buy the reprint editions at Curiosity Shoppe). I just never got around to purchasing it. And now I don't have to!

I'm also excited about my new calendar from my favorite printers, Yeehaw. (I do still want to get a refill for last year's but this one is much bigger. So I don't feel like it'll be overkill.)

And I'm not sure how Dave knew that I'd been eying these vintage elephant banks, but he did. Now the laundry quarter supply will be looking extra stylish.

I know Dave was aware that I'd been looking for one of these Finel enamel bowls for quite some time, but it's still a testament to his thoughtfulness and eBay skills. He even managed to find one without any unsightly chips!

I was pretty sure that bowl was going to be the pièce de résistance--until I opened up the Gocco printer. These things are out of production, though all the supplies (ink, screens, bulbs, etc) seem to be easy enough to find online so I'm not too worried about running out.

Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do with it, though I do have a few ideas up my sleeve. More to come on that one.

Fun with gift wrapping

I had kind of wanted to post about this before Christmas, but I would have been revealing too much to one particular person.

I was really into this plaid gift wrap we bought--it's just Christmasy enough.* This year I tried a few new decorating methods, such as the above strand of what look to me like paper buttons. (See here for how to make them...though it should be pretty self explanatory.)

I made the bow using a variation of the above technique (that is, by cutting much larger circles and folding them in half).

I bought this giant postcard from Yeehaw Industries at the Chelsea Market holiday pop up shop and decided it would look great decorating the outside of a box.

I also made some gift tags using a silver shopping bag and rubber stamps. I really like how muted the stamp looks on the silver paper.

Dave did a little bit of stamping too. Of course the only picture I took of this one is out of focus but I think it's too amusing not to share anyway. Tune in tomorrow for what's inside the boxes!

*I know how much paper is wasted every year wrapping gifts, but I'm not about to start wrapping everything in fabric like some blogs suggest (besides, who's to say that some of the recipients won't throw out the fabric too?). I do reuse a lot of other materials anyway, from shopping bags to tissue paper.

It's Christmas all over again

The stockings are hung, the tree is out (though not lit in this photo for some reason), along with all of the other random decorations I've collected over the years. (Funny to see how bare the wall looked last year, as we'd just moved in.) Every year I can't help making (and buying) a few new ornaments to add to the rotation. (I suppose I probably should think about getting rid of some of the ones that I keep confined to the closet.)

I actually made this paper ball ornament last year, using some pages I cut out of a book, but I don't think I ever posted about it. So here it is.

This year I made this paper tree using an old magazine. A little tedious, but super easy. I love how sculptural it looks.

Last fall my step niece developed a bit of an obsession with picking up acorns and shared a handful of them with Dave (which, adorably, he saved). So I already had a dried acorn hat (as I like to call it) for making this ornament, which was only slightly more difficult than the paper tree. I wish I'd had more spare hats because I would have made a whole family of wooden acorn people. (I guess there's still time!)

I also ended up buying a few new holiday things while I was in L.A. I couldn't resist this squirrel candy dish from Yolk. (I like how we have a mix of Christmas and Halloween candy in there. The pumpkins were half price and someone could not turn down a bargain.)

After hemming and hawing over some of the pricier (but beautiful) items at Plastica, I left with just this sweet little wooden Swedish bird ornament. (Note my little acorn friend to the right.)

Here's my garland from last year. Maybe next year I'll make a new one. It's always fun to change it up. I've also promised Dave that next year we'll get a real tree, so that'll be a pretty big change. I've never had a real Christmas tree for as long as I've lived, and I've decided it's probably a good time to go au natural.

Halloween party 2010

I've written before about Penguin's epic Halloween parties. Every year on the Friday of Halloween week, the various departments transform themselves from typical office decor into ancient Egypt, the Island of Misfit Toys, TGI Friday's--err, Penguin's, the Addams Family, and so on (those are a few of the actual themes from this year). And a lot of booze is consumed.

Actually, this year they banned hard alcohol, so with a little nod to the show Boardwalk Empire, my department went with a prohibition-era theme. I'm all the way to the right, with the black and red dress. I made a sequined and felt headband for the costume and realized that I look pretty good in headbands (I might have to make a non-sequined version for everyday use.) I wish I had some better photos of the decorations, as some of them came out pretty great. You can kind of see the brown paper boardwalk, giant movie marquee, and antique wooden crates (contraband liquor).

Here's a shot of the speakeasy, in sepia tone for effect. The fake barrel has a bucket of alcohol inside it (beer and wine was deemed okay). I made the Women's Temperance League sign in the background (it took way too long to cut out those letters.) Somehow the G-man and the Temperance Leaguer ended up behind the bar...seems a bit suspect.

A closer shot of the bar and bartender (sans mustache). The mirror and the empty bottles were a nice touch. (Lots of emails were exchanged about the collection of bottles, with replies like "I'll have a few more empties by lunchtime!" Good one.)

Here we are at the casino. I learned to play blackjack for the first time, and I won a lot of chips (no money though).

The worst part of Halloween is the Monday after, when you have to tear down all the fun stuff you put up and go back to boring office decor. The boardwalk was pretty haggard-looking (it was no match for spiky heels and general drunkenness) but I kind of wished we could have left up the movie marquee for a little while longer.

Valentine's Day gifts and treats

Dave and I celebrated a pretty laid-back Valentine's Day. No big grandiose plans, just hanging out watching No Reservations, eating sweet potato enchiladas, and exchanging a few gifts.

Dave made me this wrestling-themed valentine--oddly enough, I had been attempting to purchase these cards for him but couldn't find them at my local supplier of paper goods. I instead looked to an airmail envelope for inspiration,

including a silly, telegram-style message inside. (I somehow forgot to add spaces while using the rubber stamps.)

I received some chocolates from the Lil' Chocolate Shoppe in Pleasantville, NY.

I finally attempted to make this paper goldfish mobile for Dave (I had bought the floral wire several years ago but never got around to doing anything with it). After a bit of a false start (I do not recommend using thin thread, as it tangles like nobody's business) it was looking pretty great hanging from the light fixture in our bedroom.

Also very exciting was this incredible book that Dave gave me (somebody's been paying attention!). This year's Valentine' Day has really had a wrestling theme going on.

You haven't wrestled till you wrestle the "Cleveland Cruncher."

I made these oatmeal coconut pecan squares as a Valentine's Day treat (to be accompanied with the above chocolates).

Christmas catch-up

I wanted to share a few more images from my Christmas, even though it's now post-Christmas (I'm not so good at the whole timeliness thing).

Brown paper, rubber stamps, and baker's twine=my favorite wrapping method.

I tried out incorporating buttons into one of the gifts after reading this post. It's cute, although I think I'd want to go with a little less next time.

I also made rubber stamped gift tags for everyone.

I embroidered an ornament for my ornament-obsessed mom (note that I did glue the extra fabric to the back--this photo is in an unfinished state). It was looking really good until I got to the word "Greetings." Not sure what happened there.

I usually try to bake a few varieties of cookies around this time of year, although I ended up doing less than I had planned. But these pfeffernusse cookies (recipe here) were so good that any other cookie might have seemed inferior.

Finally, the New York Times sent these cookies to my boss, and I couldn't resist including a photo here. It's an Oreo covered in icing and sprinkles. And of course stamped with the NYT logo.

This Is Christmas in America

Merry Christmas, and enjoy my gift to you: clips from what I consider to be the greatest Christmas programming in history, Miss Velma's Christmas in America.

Holiday decorating: stockings

Last year I decided to make some new stockings for me and Dave. I had an old plaid bathrobe that didn't really fit me anymore (I'd had it since I was about ten years old--ridiculous). I thought the colors were kind of Christmassy so I cut them into stocking shapes, lining the insides with random bits of scrap fabric to help maintain their shape, and sewed on a belt loop from the robe to use for hanging.

The only thing left was to sew our names on. A little sloppy but I'm fine with it.

Also in the window is this vintage Christmas card that I gave to Dave a few years ago. I got it at Alphaville, a great vintage toy store a few blocks from where I work.

The best part is the actual mint that Santa is holding in his little paper mitten. I can't believe the card stayed in tact all those years!

Holiday decorating: the tree

Ever since I was a child I've had fake Christmas trees. For some reason it just feels right. I don't need to go out and buy one, I just have to take it out of the box, put it on the stand, and fluff out the branches. No fallen needles to clean up, and you don't have to water it. Some people might think it's tacky, but I'm sticking with the old familiar plastic one. (I think it's made of plastic, at least.)

Since high school I've been decorating my tree with vintage ornaments from the 50s that belonged to my grandparents. I've bought a few similarly styled ones from antique stores over the years but nearly all of them have been in the family for decades.

I love the gold ball that says "Greetings" (though not "Seasons greetings," oddly enough).

There are a few non-vintage ornaments on the tree too, like this gold glitter-covered ball with a plastic angel in the middle, purchased from Toy Joy in Austin.

Serving as the angel at the top of the tree is this handmade ornament that I bought at Polk-A-Dot Variety in San Francisco (sadly, now defunct--it was such a great store).

There are a few items under the tree, such as these old Christmas 45s that belonged to my mom when she was little. They're pretty scratched up but they look pretty cool. The ceramic snow baby was part of the little Christmas village my grandparents used to put under their tree.

All lit up at night.

Holiday decorating: paper garland

These past couple of weeks we've been decorating the apartment for Christmas (we don't like to waste any time with that stuff--day after Thanksgiving=Christmas season). It really makes your morning coffee feel so much more festive when you have a Christmas tree to look at.

I decided that the entrance way to the living room was screaming for a garland, so I started going through all the scraps of paper I've collected over the years.

After I had amassed a pile of holiday-esque papers, from old calendars to magazine cut-outs to Whole Foods bags to paper doilies (not to mention a few plain pieces of kraft paper that I rubber stamped), I started cutting them out into triangles. Then I cut out some white circles and drew a letter on each of them, gluing the white circles to the triangles.

Finally, I cut out a piece of twine and taped it to the backs of each of the triangles and hung it in the doorway. While this one is definitely going to be seasonal I think there needs to be a garland hanging here year-round.