a christmas wish for you....
remember to breathe deeply
to smile brightly,
laugh loudly,
and to love fiercely.
merry merry.
i'm over here
i've been a bit under the water weather.
holiday cheer can make katie a dull girl.
i wax and wane.
one minute i'm vomiting holly and tinsel on every eave and tabletop,
a day later i'm stomping my boots in fury at being honked at for letting a pregnant pedestrian, pushing a stroller, have the ride of way.
{by the way, never in my life have i not minded going to jail, than when i put my car in park intending to kick the horn honker's ass...luckily-for me-he drove away}.
but enough of these unsettled seas.
today my boots are only for toe tapping.
my christmas tree is up, it's beautiful, and yes, it's pink again.
happy tuesday m'loves.
scratch that santa
i knew those fendi shoes were over the top!!! even cruelty free they still were an asshole thing to ask for.
so santa, on hands and knees, because in all seriousness if i do stand i vomit, i revise my grown-up xmas list. this year i ask for a settled stomach and 98.6 degree temperature. i yearn for at least 6 uninterrupted hours of heave free sleep, and food and water i only have to taste once. santa can you ask your elves to please whip me up a potent elixir to obliterate this which has demon taken over my body? i know tis the season to be welcoming and charitable, but whatever bug/virus i seemed to have caught needs to find another muthafuckin christmas hostess.
merry. merry. bleh.
my grown up xmas list
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!Much pleasure thou can'st give me
just in case he IS checking his list twice here is what i would be asking for if we lived in that magical world where friends weren't sick, parents didn't fret over bills, animals frolicked freely, a soldier's watch was limited to his sleeping child, and our earth pumped out big gulps of clean, unpolluted air.
alas, this world eludes me. yet. till then, here's my shameless, materialistic christmas list.
grand? i think so. but tis just a wish list. health, peace of mind, safety, and a better world nix fendi shoes all day long.
have a jolly tuesday!
images: troy house, country living, coastal living, net-a-porter, paul costello, frank w. ockenfels, flickr.
lighting up my heart with joy!!!!
volume up friends.
this is what the beasts and i are dance partying around to this morning (thank you chuck).
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il-OFaFzHQM]
rumps shaking and breathless we managed to give a goat.
the striking resemblance to the dairy buck sent truman into quite a rattled and distressed state. convinced we were paypal-ing HIM to a Ugandan, AIDS ravaged community, upon where he'd be milked daily and impregnated yearly, truman has stowed himself somewhere in the house hiding from us evil slave traders. two hours now and no truman.
sawyer, priscilla and i will continue to dance in efforts to draw brother out.
happy monday loveys!!!
xmas inspiration
can it really only be one more week? (sad sigh)
regretfully, i've yet to feel the fa la la.
even with a tree that would resurrect liberace, boughs of holly decking my halls, and celine dion feliz navidad-ing me every four hours on sirius radio (the only way french-canadien chanteuses can) i still can't get into the holiday humor.
usually a couple "o holy nights",
a whiff of belle fleur neroli pine,
and a few venti drips in the "special" cup
and i'm ready to ho ho ho.
but so far. bleh.
it's time to bring in hollywood.
the following films never fail to jingle my jolly buttons. i usually watch them on or the day before christmas. but you know what they say: desperate times call for cuter outfits!!
here are my best-loved holiday humdingers.
have to say.....just amassing the movies and links (click the images for film info) is getting me into a one horse open sleigh kinda mood.
have a ring-a-ling, hear them sing weekend friends.
Santa Baby.......
Christmas came early for Katie!!
Look what I won from Trust Your Style (giveaway queen)
this arnold zimberg flannel shirt is exactly the wardrobe piece to keep me westside chic AND holiday party handy!! it's a red plaid flannel (double faced!!) the collar and cuffs have a cool blue and white striped lining, AND (my favorite part)......... the collar, sides of the shirt, and buttons are lined with cyan velvet trim (twirling madly with glee!!!!!)
with a dvf skirt, kova & t leggings, and brian atwood booties i'll be fa la la la la ling all over the bouche de noel!!!
arnold zimberg shirts are known for their clever details and quality design. flavorful, fun, first class fabrics combined with bold contrast overstitching, and trademark velour trimming are why these duds are becoming cult classics with trendsetters.
mary jo, herself, is one of these said style vanguards. i repeat she IS a giveaway goddess, and her clutches and jewelry are fairytale beautiful. definitely should be your new addiction.
Homemade Holiday
oh if only to have the gift of craft. imagine the presents i'd bestow on those i adore. thick, chunky, chin grazing wool reminding you of my love all afternoon long. throws i would quilt in jubilation for babies birthed. not of the fleece family, but of cashmere complexion, trekked all the way from nepal; cuddlesome and toasty.alas, i'm better with chopsticks than knitting needles, so maybe this scrumptious, striped scarf from tara matthews instead. on tippy toes i'd purchase.
homemade blankets are divine. but homemade-hermes.......to-may-toe-/to-mah-toe, both so, so right.
if only my adoration could come through in my culinary competence. i'd bake a cake so fancy and jolly, dentists would start recommending sugar for our health.
yes, the cake i bake may taste delicious, but give me red frosting and suddenly what was supposed to be a christmas berry now looks like a giant blood clot. same with yarn and stitches. during MY great depression, i took up knitting. sadly, my scarves befit more a scoliotic camel than a person; they'd unexpectedly change length/shape every so often, but then miraculously come back to 8 perfect rows. apt for desert beasts; not so becoming for a single girl wanting to be fetching and fashionable.so this christmas i leave it up to the artisans to make your accessories, throws, and baked goods.i'll be in charge of making you laugh, smile and dance.*images ffffound, usa.hermes.com
oh mother may i
uh knt buluv owwww fikung gooooooot sih missu mayzz zzz krincha sih!??!?!?!?!??!?!? mmmm hmmmmm (swallow) pardon me????????? what i was saying, mouth full of rich, tasty goodness, was i can't believe how fucking good this mrs. may's holiday crunch is!?!??!?! 
trying to be sensitive to my gluten sensitive pal bernie, i purchased ol' mrs may's for a dinner party last week to pour over coconut bliss (another celiac disease friendly product.) i inwardly pitied the purchase as i envisioned the rest of the party gorging down on my other buy: a gluten-glutted chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting. (which by the way i plan to force feed halfwit Elisabeth Hasselbeck if ever we meet.)
so much for courtesy and concern? my gluten free diva stood us up for another party! the nerve? these prima donna's and their "disease's" think they can just crap all over us healthy, cereal and pasta eating folk. a pox on him and his villi . i hope his guilt triggered symptoms of bloat and menstrual periods missed. hmph!!but their was some silver lining to this ugly blouse. yesterday i found myself with a deadline, 15 free minutes i needed to commit to that deadline, and an unopened bag of mrs. may's holiday crunch. deadline's be damned i dived headfirst into that scrumptious sack. a-maze-ing!!! almonds, cranberries, pomegranate, acai powder, and a little smattering of sea salt. it was a yuletide party in my mouth. but not in a whorish way (don't be dirty you guys.)love the pared down ingredients. apparently it's kosher too, so i'm covered if ever i get celiac AND decide to become jewish. it's a fucking win win!!!!!i discovered mrs. may's at mother's market, give her a "click" to find her near you.
Pale & Interesting Xmas
hefty deadlines stoop my shoulders waist low. indoor cycling is effortless compared to penning the ride to paper. can't i just execute push ups for the next 10 days straight, rather than describe one, perfect, singular push-up in arial font, double spaced by monday morning?
oh and apparently jesus is celebrating yet another birthday soon. whilst i'm not much for theology, i HAVE erected a bubblegum pink tree people, and do have a weakness for all things sparkly. yet, even with said barbie dream tree, the homestead still needs a little more sprucing before i'm slurring santa baby.
maybe i need to reconsider the religion thing because ask and you shall receive. no sooner do i confess my desire for a fa-la-la-la-la-la living room than i receive my newsletter of christmastime creativity from www.paleandinteresting.com
j'adore everything from pale & interesting. even their name....pale & interesting. in a former life i was pale & interesting; now i'm blotchy & well-worn.
here are some of their holiday looks. reminds me of the fun you can have with mercury glass. enjoy. i did.
oh boy iomoi!!!
holiday goodies running amok at iomoi.
tariffs run pricey to thrifty. all show and feel ritzy.
i've been giddy stocking up on hostess gifts, presents for clients, and maybe a little something something for the homestead.
their website alone is a wonka factory feast for the eyes.
happy shopping!
the christmas bells that ring there, are the clanging chimes of doom.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jEnTSQStGE]once i hear this song, my christmas season officially begins.it's 1984, i'm 8 years old wearing my "CHOOSE LIFE" 
t-shirt watching the making of Band-Aid over and over again. my dad was able to snag a bootleg copy, and i watched that fucking thing on repeat for 25 days straight. rewinding each time the bananarama girls appeared on screen. i wanted to be keren (she was the brunette.) would try to mimic her portion of "wishing you a happy christmas." very cool, very shy, very skinny......all that i was not.george michael would appear all feathered and hunky in his oversized, black & white geometric, unbuttoned, collared shirt (chest hair amply displayed.) i couldn't hide my love. when watching the video with others (especially parents and adults) i'd try my damnest not to smile back at him. but he'd appear, and i'd lose my self. i'd later cry not understanding why George Michael couldn't come into my life and make it less sad. my mom and aunts would tease me. i hated them. i hated myself more for wanting to escape with a man who talked funny, but who made my stomach swish. so what if an 8-year-old wants to marry a closeted gay man (might turn out better than some of the hetero marriages going on.)george and i have gone our separate lifestyles ways, but it still doesn't change the fact that he's still part of the greatest christmas carol ever (in my opinion.)every time i hear "Feed the World" i truly want to grab a stranger's hand and twirl around the market square yelling Happy Christmas to All!!!!! What songs get you in the christmas spirit?Let's put the song on repeat, turn it up loud, and dance together (sort of.....-you at your screen, me at my screen) around our computers!!!!!!! silly. happy.Ready???....GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I Succumbed!!
well, if HH doesn't want me putting up a bubble gum pink, Christmas tree (again,) he should be a little more courteous whilst primping for his Sunday 6am tee time.as he channeled his inner John Daly, whacking the silly white ball through the dragon's mouth, the early awakened beasts and i begrudgingly made the most of our unexpected wake up call. we decided to yield to madison avenue, the malls, markets, and plain ol' holiday madness. the four of us surrendered to starbucks: their evil eggnog lattes 1 friggin day after Halloween?!?!!?! we put up the christmas tree.two french presses later, we four were cutting a rug to Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Christmas Album (a must for tree decorating) and erected the pepto bismo-like sapling.why such a hue for a Christmas tree you ask? well........my mother IS Christmas. i think last year she had 7 trees? each more beautiful than the next with tulle, crystals, feathers, fresh flowers, real life fairies, etc. Preston Bailey would have pee'd himself. one gigantic wall in her house just........nutcrackers (giant, wee, grisly, angelic, russian, asian, ???) there isn't a room in her house that does not emit clover, amber and orange spice. the woman knows how to stage a holiday home. one walk through jane's house during christmas time, BOOM!!, osama bin laden, on his knee's, saying the apostles' creed, giving his life up to jesus. she's that good people.anyhow, i know my time constraints: limited. and i know my talent for being crafty: nil. i need a tree that requires zero ornaments that comes pre-lit!! and what girl doesn't want a pink tree?!?!?! i may not convert muslims with this tree, but i may help some boys come out of the closet. it's the season to give people!!!!!!TA-DA!!!!!!