Holiday Hodge-Podge

This is me and my niece Emma, last year on Christmas Eve.

I would be the first to profess my love (and maybe obsession) with the Christmas and holiday season. But, I can honestly say I’m surprised at how early Christmas is being advertised this year. I know the economy is in a slump, and retailers are trying to get people to start spending money earlier so that they can maximize their profit and stimulate the economy again…but still - It’s like there’s no such thing as Thanksgiving!! No one’s even talking about it! We just all skipped over it and jumped right into Christmas. I can’t even find any Thanksgiving decorations anywhere. Back when I was looking for a door hanging in early October, the store I was in had approximately 70% of it’s merchandise as Christmas decorations. But even though I’m shocked, don’t think I’m immune to the “attack” - even I’m guilty of buying materials for my Christmas wreath in early October!

I liked when things were spaced out a month or so before they happened. Halloween decorations came out in early October, and Christmas used to come out right after Thanksgiving. And what’s so wrong with Thanksgiving anyway? You get to cook and eat great food (and buy tons of it, for all those retailers out there), plus all the money and costs associated with family traveling around the world to spend the holiday together. And yes, the time spent with family is priceless. Which is why I’m so pumped that my sister and her family gets to make it up here for Thanksgiving this year! I still miss my brothers though…

This is a picture of my two brothers and my sister and I in November 2007.

It looks like I’ll be staying in Colorado for Christmas this year, so I’m looking around for places hiring extra staff for holiday hours to earn a little extra money, but so far no bites. I’ve applied to a few Blockbusters in the area because I have experience, and they’re pretty close to my apartment. Plus, that job in high school was actually one of my favorite jobs I’ve ever had, so I would love to do it!! I’m thinking I may start just walking into places close by, whether I’ve worked there before or not, and seeing if they’re hiring. Extra money is extra money! (And a few free rentals a week never hurt anyone!)

And since I’ll be staying in town, I get to dog sit for my parents for a week! It will be a week-long Weimaraner slumber part for the holidays! It may get a little tricky if we visit Justin’s parents at all because they already have 3 dogs and none of them like either 2 of “my dogs” and vice versa. So we might leave the big guys down in the Springs for those visits. But my favorite part is cuddling with both of them at the same time because they either get on either side of me to divide and conquer, or try to beat each other to see who can get closer to me!

And this one is of Bailey (on the couch) and Baxter (on the floor) the last time I dog sat!

Tonight is going to be Game 6 of the World Series, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a looong night at my house. Justin is a rabid Phillies fan, and I mean RABID! He puts any loyalties I (or any of you) may have to shame! But, it would be nice to see them come back and win Game 7 and keep another Championship from the Yankees, and get a “repeat”. So I guess you could say I have become a Phillies fan myself! (Just probably never at Justin’s level!)

Have a great night!

Fall Decorations

I am slowly adding to my home decor week by week, and this week it was more than normal because I had a 20% discount coupon to a local store (like a Kohl's or Ross or TJMaxx). Plus, Justin was looking for a nice, affordable coffee table, so we went several places that would have many nice home decorations.

But the one thing I was really looking for was a wreath of some kind for the front door that was autumn themed. Unfortunately, all of the ones I found were either too expensive (I was looking for around 20 bucks, not 40) or were too big for the door (I mean, come on, I live in an apartment!).

Finally, I went to this store, Gordman's with my coupon, expecting to at least find something that was affordable or was affordable after my discount. Right off the bat, I found this really cute door hanging, but wasn't totally sold on it yet, because I was looking for a wreath.

But, I didn't want anyone else to buy it in the meantime, so I carried it around with me. I wasn't totally happy with any other door displays, so I ended up buying this one (as you can see!) and I'm very happy with my purchase! It is a wreath, but not a full out decorated one. And I think I like the fact that it's a simple wreath, but with nice decor attached to it.

Not to mention, it SPARKLES!!!

And I can leave this up for many months, since there's no specific holiday theme (which is what I was looking for) since it's just pumpkins! So, Happy Fall, Ya'll!