Dec 29th 2009 01:49:14 pm

We are back from our Christmas trip to Kansas City to visit our families. We had a wonderful time, but it is hard to go back to reality and back to work. I want to go back to the cookies, and shopping, and laughing!

We did so much during our week-long trip, it is already hard to remember everything… We started the week at Chipotle, then went to Round Rock and ate S’mores, went to see Avatar with 3D glasses, then shopping, D’Bronx pizza, a KU basketball game, frozen yogurt, Archivers, Houlihan’s, Mario Kart on the Wii, “getting to know you” on Christmas Eve, presents and stockings on Christmas morning, family time, Target sales, lots of snow and lots of dogs in coats, then a pizza party, First Watch, and finally ended with more Chipotle and a delayed flight.

It snowed a lot while we were in Kansas. I don’t think I have seen so much snow in years! Crusher actually got pretty used to it and liked playing outside… he looked fantastic in his new winter coat!

p.s. I forgot to add that you can find lots more photos in my Christmas in KC 09 Flickr set and on Travis’ Flickr.

3 Comments » Categories: Christmas, Crusher, Family, Trips, holidays

Dec 25th 2009 06:20:16 am

1 Comment » Categories: Christmas, Cute Things, Family, Just for Fun, holidays

Dec 22nd 2009 11:59:40 am

It has already been a whirlwind of a trip filled with lots of family, food, frolicking dogs, a trip to the woods complete with S’mores and Oceola cheese, Avatar in 3D, a trip to the mall, “authentic” NY-style pizza, Wii games, holiday donuts, and tons of fun, of course! We are having a great time.

3 Comments » Categories: Christmas, Family, holidays

Dec 19th 2009 07:59:08 am

3 Comments » Categories: Christmas, Crusher, Cute Things, Just for Fun, holidays

Dec 4th 2009 04:58:08 pm

I have a big weekend of holiday shopping planned! Tomorrow I am going to the Handmade Cavalcade Holiday Show and the Martha Stewart Holiday Craft Sale. Then, I am meeting up with Travis at Bloomingdales to try to finish some of our Christmas gift shopping. (We might get to make a stop at Dylan’s Candy Bar, too!) On Sunday, I am going to try to get to the Bust Holiday Craftacular. It will be a busy weekend, but I am looking forward to it.

1 Comment » Categories: Christmas, Crafts, New York, holidays

Nov 21st 2009 11:19:47 am

Crusher’s Christmas present came early and we couldn’t resist letting him open it. He received a new dog bed called a cozy cave. It is lined in fluffy fleece and he can curl up inside it. He looks so sweet sleeping in it!

3 Comments » Categories: Christmas, Crusher, Cute Things

Nov 20th 2009 11:51:37 pm

New York City is dangerous, and it has nothing to do with crime. In NYC you can buy anything. Anything you have seen in magazines, anything you have seen on tv, anything you want, anything you can imagine, anything your heart desires!

…if you have the money, of course…

The streets are lined with designer boutiques and if you stumble into the wrong neighborhood all of the women are wearing Christian Louboutin shoes and carrying Prada handbags.

The Whitney Museum is in one of those neighborhoods – exclusively a place for ladies who lunch – and it was intimidating. After viewing the Georgia O’Keefe exhibit on Thursday I quickly made my way to a “safer” part of town, only to find myself suddenly standing in front of the most sparkly, most beautiful, most gloriously cluttered store windows I have ever seen! It was ABC Carpet & Home, one of Martha Stewart’s favorite stores and previously on my list of things I needed to see in NYC.

My photos above (which were taken with my iPhone while pushy sales people hovered around me) and the website do not do the store justice. The first floor (out of six total) is artfully CRAMMED full of amazing vintage and glittery christmas ornaments and trees. A fancy salesman named Edward (like the vampire), who had his shirt unbuttoned WAY too far, followed me around the whole time pointing out “fabulous” and “special” $60 ornaments that he was “in love with” and that I “needed” to take home. And, even though I knew I could never justify buying a tiny, purple, $85 papier mache santa coated in glitter, I wanted it! And the little clip-on mushroom ornaments for $25 a pop. And the small wooden containers of vintage glass glitter for $25. And the $120 tiny, delicate, blown glass menorah – even though I am not Jewish. And the $2,500 “petite” chandelier that they had displayed over a vintage baby crib. And the jewelry, and the furniture, and the carpets… And on, and on… forever and ever…

And, the horrible desire for “things” does not stop at ABC Carpet & Home. There are thousands of more stores with thousands of more sparkly things just waiting to catch my eye!

I am scared. I have tried to fight the good fight against my materialistic nature, but New York City may be my undoing. I did not know I could be so easily corrupted.

I blame the glitter.

1 Comment » Categories: Christmas, Lovely Things, New York, holidays

Nov 4th 2009 10:25:57 pm

so… I was REALLY sick yesterday. I could have sworn I had caught the dreaded H1N1 (I barfed, had a fever, body aches, head ache, the whole deal), but today I am feeling much better and I think I will be completely recovered by tomorrow. I’ll need to consult my almost-doctor brother to find out what it was.

The only good thing about being sick is that I got to lay on the couch and catch up on all my catalog reading. Did you know it is the holiday season again?! It always sneaks up on me… Every catalog is already featuring their gift ideas. There is so much sparkly, eye-catching STUFF out there! Including these lovely things:

• Shhh. Don’t tell Crusher, but I think we are getting him this Cozy Cave Dog Bed for Christmas. Wouldn’t he look cute in it?!
• For some reason these earrings from Anthropologie really caught my eye. They look sophisticated and feminine.
• I think they would go well with these shoes from J.Crew. (You’d probably need to find something to wear in between the two, though… hmmm.)
• Forgive me. I just finished looking at the Sephora catalog, so I have cosmetics on the brain. Like this new Extreme Party Mascara from bobbi brown…
• And, this gift set from fresh…
• And, this other gift set from Philosophy. Peppermint Hot Cocoa, yum!
• Lastly, I hate to say it, but after careful review of their respective catalogs, I am kinda digging Crate and Barrel’s holiday stuff (like these cute cardinal plates) more than Pottery Barn’s. Blasphemy, I know!

What other cool, cute, lovely, holiday stuff is out there that I am missing? Also, have we recovered from the recession? Are people (in general) going to be spending on gifts this year?

2 Comments » Categories: Christmas, Just for Fun, Lovely Things, Make-up & Beauty, holidays

Nov 30th 2008 11:14:53 pm

For my last NaBloPoMo post I wanted to do something fun and I love online window shopping when I should be doing work… I have been browsing all of the many holiday gift guides out there and have been slowly putting together my own “best of the gift guides” guide. These gifts would all be a hit with me and hopefully they could please lots of folks on your gift lists.

• I really like this Hawaii or Bust ski hat from Kate Spade. It is too expensive, but I think it is funny and cute.
• Dish soap does not sound like an exciting gift, but I purchased this William-Sonoma Pumpkin Spice Cleaning Caddy last month and I love it! It smells like the holidays and it contains everything you need for cleaning in the kitchen. (Everyone needs to clean their kitchen, right?) Pumpkin Spice is one of the new scents in William-Sonoma’s new Pure & Green line — they also have Winter Forest and Peppermint Snow scents that I would like to try. The cleaning products are all biodegradable and made from plant-derived, natural ingredients.
• Eco-friendly peeps can always use (and re-use) cool aluminum bottles from SIGG. They come in all sorts of colors and designs.
• Another environmentally sound choice: Not a Paper Cup from paper source. It is a porcelain and silicone coffee cup that only looks disposable. I think it is silly-cool.
• For the ladies, Fresh Firebird Mascara. Fresh makes the best mascara, plus it is all natural and comes in a pretty container.
• Kids, pets, fun-loving adults — I think they would all love an Ugly Doll. We got Crusher one of these dolls and he loves it. They are cute, quirky, soft and cuddly.
• Who doesn’t know someone who loves Starbucks? The Starbucks Gold Card is an indulgence that I can’t justify for myself, but I think it would make a nice gift. The card holder gets 10% off everything from Starbucks, plus a few other goodies like free wi-fi and flavored syrups.
• For some reason I really love these simple Night Owl Paper Goods notepads. They are just so lovely and everyone needs a place to write their to-do lists.
• Ok, this last one may seem boring, but just trust me. Everyone loves J.Crew’s sherpa-lined hoodies (for women and men). I promise. They are comfy, warm, machine-washable, and pretty much indestructible — plus they are currently on sale! You really can’t go wrong giving one as a gift.

Good luck with your holiday gift giving! I know it can be tough to find the perfect thing for everyone you care about… If you really get stuck coming up with gift ideas, I would suggest writing a nice, heart-felt note and/or taking the gift recipient out to a nice dinner. It really is the thought (and the love) that counts, and with the economy in such a sorry state this year I think everyone will understand (and enjoy it) if gifts are a little less commercial and a little more expressive.

No Comments » Categories: Christmas, Just for Fun, holidays

Dec 29th 2007 01:03:46 pm

Travis and I are still on vacation in Kansas. We are enjoying all of the time we are getting to spend with our families. Last night was the first time in over two years that the original Lamble family was all together in one place. (Of course we had Pizza Hut!) We have also gone shopping at the plaza and at the mall, watched a lot of movies, and played some games. It has snowed a bunch, which is cool since we don’t really get snow in Eugene. Check out all of the fun on my Holiday 2007 Flickr photo set.

4 Comments » Categories: Christmas, Family, Photos, holidays