Merry Christmas!

I tricked you with my winter hat and jacket, didn't I?

You may have confused my recent blog absence with a long and dangerous trip to the North Pole, but I never really left the comforts of hot and sweaty Florida for even a day. See how tricky I am?

Actually, I've just been working a lot crazy hours this holiday season. Retail is a very demanding line of work this time of year. Apparently so is the aviation industry, because my husband is flying to the worst state ever today. (If you're a Michigan football fan, you know the state.)  I am indeed home alone on Christmas, if you count only human company, for the first time in my life. It's actually not as bad as one might think. I have plenty of new books to keep me company. Mainly Mockingjay and Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Oh, not to mention the company of some chocolate friends too. I have the air conditioner cranked so that it feels sort of like winter, and hopefully I'll make a figurative, and not literal, dent in my new books today.

Hopefully you're all enjoying a lovely day with family and friends,

and if you're not, then I hope you at least have some peace... or even a good book to read.

Holiday Decorations { it's about time }

Usually I'm the first one jumping aboard the 'let's decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving' train, but this year my husband and I haven't exactly been in the holiday spirit. The 80 degree weather we're having in Florida doesn't exactly help either. My husband and I are are both used to snow and cold this time of year, so sunburns and sweat aren't sitting very well with us this Christmas. Our snowboard and skis are useless in our storage closet. My Sorel winter boots, that I got for Christmas last year, are collecting dust in the closet. I'm actually thinking about rebelling against this very 'un-Christmaslike' Florida weather and wearing them one day anyways, but I digress. After almost a month of stalling, I broke down and opened up our tub of Christmas decorations.

After lots of sulking and excuse-making for not decorating our place for Christmas, I finally put on my 'big girl pants' and did some decorating. And you know what? It actually felt kind of nice. Maybe all we needed to get in the Christmas spirit around here were some stockings and a present, or two, under the tree. Who knew it was so easy?! I just love the memories that go rushing through my mind while unwrapping each ornament and decoration. It's nice recalling happy memories from years past together.

All of our beautiful and special Christmas decorations were doing no good for our spirits packed away in boxes. It's difficult to enjoy their beauty when they're put out of sight and memory. Our Christmas denial was surely not going to make the holiday go away. We really need to appreciate this time of year together no matter what the climate or location. Although I do think Christmas is slightly more special when you're wrapped in cozy blankets while watching the snow fall outside. I mean, listening to the song 'Let It Snow' while the air conditioning runs is a bit absurd.

If anyone has blog posts about ice skating, hot chocolate,

sledding, making snowmen, or anything else winter weather related please let me know!

I will live vicariously through you. (:

French Manicure with a Twist

If you saw my Twitter last night,

you may have seen a photo of my current nail scheme.

main color: essie fiji  |  metallic silver: sally hansen 'celeb city'  |  clear top coat: Seche Vite fast dry  |  bow ring: similar

This holiday season has got me wanting lots of sparkly things,

so I painted a metallic silver on the tips of my nails

for my holiday version of a french manicure.

I mean the next best thing to a little sparkle

on your fingers is some on your nails, right?

You could obviously use any main color on your nails

and then paint the tips some sort of metallic color. Gold would be fun too!

Here are my steps for a

french manicure with a twist:

1. Apply a base coat, and be sure to let it dry entirely before painting your main color.

2. Paint your nail a color as your main color.

I used Essie 'Fiji' on my nails.

3. Make sure your nails have dried completely,

and apply stickers to give yourself a clean line on nail tips.

{I use stickers found in this Sally Hansen french manicure kit }

4. Paint metallic color to tips of nails, and once dry pull stickers off of nails.

5. Top off your pretty french manicure with a clear top coat.

{ Again, I love this top coat }

A little sparkle definitely brightens my day!

Have a wonderful weekend.

I Grew Up in The Mitten

Back in preschool we were taught that Michigan is shaped like a mitten, and that fact is still one of the coolest things I have ever learned about my home state. I kid. There are plenty of great things about Michigan other than its mitten shape, but it is pretty awesome being able to use your hand as a map. When people ask where I'm from, I just point to the tip of my middle finger. Yep. It's that simple.

It's very easy to make the state of Michigan using your hands.

Wearing 'Michigan' mittens makes it even better. (as seen below)

The weather here in Florida dipped into the 50s a few times this week.

The temperatures have been making this Michigan/Colorado girl very happy. It almost felt like fall here this week. Almost. I wasted no time busting out my 'winter' weather clothing like my hats, boots, and of course mittens!

My mom's friend made me these adorable mittens so that I could

represent my football team in style once the temperatures drop a bit. I love them!

How appropriate wearing a pair of 'Michigan' mittens.

Go Blue!

p.s. { did anyone watch them beat that one school last weekend? }

Dream Home 2012

Like I mentioned yesterday,

HGTV revealed tons of gorgeous photos of the

2012 Dream Home on their website today!

Go see for yourself

credit: hgtv

You can also take a quiz to determine your perfect Dream Home destination determined by your personality. My result was the rugged coast or mountains. Sounds about right.

Where is your ideal dream home location?