Happy Holidays & A Goofy New Year!

Ryan and I loathe following the pack like lemmings to the cliff.  I procrastinated on sending out Christmas cards until the very last minute for this reason, and even then only sent them out to about four people!  Instead, we have chosen to send out a mass quantity of Happy New Year cards, because very few people in our circle ever do that.  I purchased a fantastic lot of 12 assorted vintage New Year's cards from the 1940s & 1950s on Etsy, and since I adore getting cards containing photos of the friends sending them, we thought we would take some humorous photos and pick our favorite to include in our cards!  Here were our favorites:

I am a mighty lion tamer!

Bird Hat:1, Husband:0

(Always choose your holiday card hat carefully...)

And the winner is...

May your New Year be filled with pleasant surprises!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

The winter holidays are definitely my favorite!  I'm a child of summer, so I need something to get me through the cold doldrums of winter.  The bright lights, shiny ornaments, evergreen smell, and gift-giving, are exactly what I need to feel completely happy!  For the first time in 3 years, I was able to decorate my own Christmas tree.  I used the vintage ornaments that belonged to my grandmother...

Back in Time...

Every holiday season our fabulous (historic) little town of Jacksonville goes all out and hosts a "Victorian Christmas." People dress up in full Victorian costume, there are stands offering roasted chestnuts and hot coffee on the street, loads of lights and Christmas trees on display, and even horse-drawn carriage rides! Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, but living near Jacksonville during this time makes it even better! I had wanted to go to the Christmas parade last night in Jacksonville too, but it was far too cold to drag my pleurisy-prone husband (it was 35 degrees at 6 pm, and 27 degrees at 9 pm - oh yes, and 20 degrees for morning chores today!). I had to console myself with making humorously dementedly-shaped gingerbread cookies at home instead:

I DID drag my husband out this afternoon for a quick (and COLD!) walk around downtown Jacksonville.

I wore the gorgeous 1940s wool suit that Ryan had purchased for me earlier this week, which also happens to look fabulous with my "new" vintage hat ("Binky").

We were told we looked like we had stepped straight out of a movie.

We got our picture taken with the Victorian-costumed town crier and joked that the photo celebrated "100 years of fashion!" :)

Santa Baby...

Santa baby, slip a sable under the tree, for me
I've been an awful good girl
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa baby, an out-of-space convertible too, light blue
I'll wait up for you dear
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Think of all the fun I've missed
Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed
Next year I could be oh so good
If you'd check off my Christmas list
Boo doo bee doo

Santa honey, I wanna yacht and really that's
Not a lot
I've been an angel all year
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa cutie, there's one thing I really do need, the deed
To a platinum mine
Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa baby, I'm filling my stocking with a duplex, and checks
Sign your 'X' on the line
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Come and trim my Christmas tree
With some decorations bought at Tiffany's
I really do believe in you
Let's see if you believe in me
Boo doo bee doo

Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a ring
I don't mean a phone
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Hurry down the chimney tonight
Hurry down the chimney tonight

One of my favorite Christmas songs! *grin* Not to mention that it was a little bit fitting this Christmas...

Ryan and I were very, very good this year, and Santa was quite generous with us and the kittens.

It's been our tradition, each year of our marriage, to open a single gift on Christmas Eve. This year, I bought Ryan a 1924 edition of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," and we stayed up late on Christmas Eve reading the story out loud to one another. What a perfect way to spend Christmas Eve!

On Christmas morning, we opened presents with Grandma, Grandpa, and the kittens, while drinking hot Good Bean coffee (Yum!) and eating breakfast. Jugi was hysterical: he ran right over to the pile of presents and pulled one of HIS presents off and started running away with it! I just about died laughing! No one can say that our kittens are not intelligent (or wily!).

In honor of the 12 days of Christmas, Jugi received 12 Christmas jingly ball toys! We dropped them on the ground around him all at once, and I think he may have wet himself a little bit. Once he recovered, however, he was in hog -er, kitten - heaven. Adso received catnip-filled fish toys and a rubber ball that lights up when you bounce it. He played with those all day on Christmas. The kittens were quite pleased with their Christmas booty!

Besides the practical gifts of household items (T.P., dishwasher soap, etc.), there were several hand planes & a saw for Ryan, furs for me, as well as socks, vintage hats (those were only for me), chocolates, clothing, and more! Jugi and Adso got Ryan several nice work shirts and ties for the holiday (they have good taste, I must say! My favorite is a long-sleeved tan work shirt with a gorgeous deep red tie). I received a lovely 1940's sapphire-blue velvet dress (which I wore later for Christmas dinner). Grandma and Grandpa received several gifts of coffee for Christmas. Everybody was thankful and very pleased with their gifts.

We spent a few hours chatting together and watching the kittens play, then Ryan and I decided to go get showers and begin cooking the final dishes for Christmas dinner. We cooked an ENORMOUS 28-pound ham (off of our mutant 400-lb. pig) overnight, and besides that I was making some squash & potato side dishes. Christmas Dinner was the 2 pm early bird special for Grandpa, and Ryan and I dressed up in honor of the occasion. As you can see in the above picture, I am wearing my blue velvet dress and "new" vintage hat, and Ryan is wearing one of the shirts and ties that the kittens got him. Everything was delicious!