christmas is OVER.

Lucy's new hat!

She doesn't look too happy here...and she wasn't really :) But soooo cute!! Poor pup.

The family and I (minus Amanda boo) had a nice day---pancakes in the morning, then presents, then chicken poprekash for supper! Yummers.

Then on Saturday, Rich and I had our fancy dinner date. Here I am like I'm going to prom! 

Come, look in my fridge!

I made fudge!! Mmmmm....

One tray is for me and Rich.

One is for Rich's family.

One is for my family (of which I, again, will mostly eat)

One is for work peeps.

WHEW.

Some funny things to note in my fridge: Instant bacon; can of icing; sushi! Can you find them all? If you can learn a lot about someone by looking in their refrigerator, mine must show how utterly unstable I am! HA. 

Oh--and here is my Christmas present to myself: 2 ANTHROPOLOGIE sweaters!! ooohhh!!!

They were on sale :)

And here's my dress for my fancy dinner date with Rich! He made reservations at the place and the dude said "Gentlemen are required to wear jackets." hhahahahah we will be so out of place!

Only 2 more days of work! yay!

All I want for Christmas

(Disclaimer: I do not actually expect any of these items from friends or family---simply wishful thinking!)

— This dress from Anthropologie: It is my favorite. Ever!

— This is a close second:

— An unlimited supply of vines to make my crowns. I went to my "source" today and almost peed my pants when a deer jumped out of the woods. I hear they can attack people--so I booked it out of there. It was totally cold and muddy, too.

— Speaking of which---an unlimited supply of shipping boxes and bubble wrap.

— A new job.....

— A way to make the hour-long drive to Rich's house in less time.

— My sister (and her family) to move to the East Coast so we can all be together more often.

— For the mouse that is living in my apartment to peacefully leave on his own--and to stop biting little holes in my cardboard boxed food stuffs. (I don't want to get a trap!!)


— A Lotus Elise for my dad.

— A cool greenhouse for my mom.

— An iMac for myself.

— This virtue tea set:

— AND last but not least----this monkey:

lucy in the sky with diamonds

(From Wikipedia:)

In Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Norway and Finland, Lucy (called Lucia) it is venerated on December 13 in a ceremony where a girl is elected to portray Lucia. Wearing a white gown with a red sash and a crown of candles on her head, she walks at the head of a procession of women, each holding a candle. The candles symbolize the fire that refused to take St. Lucia's life when she was sentenced to be burned. The women sing a Lucia song while entering the room, to the melody of the traditional Neapolitan song Santa Lucia; the Italian lyrics describe the view from Santa Lucia in Naples, the various Scandinavian lyrics are fashioned for the occasion, describing the light with which Lucia overcomes the darkness.

Just thought this was cool---it's a crown for one thing---and it kind of goes along with the solstice/light thing. Kind of neat.

Speaking of lights: One cool thing about living downtown is all the lights!! I have 2 little candles in my front windows, but the light from outside kind of out-dos them :) hehe

Getting excited for XMAS!!!! WHEE!! So- me and Rich aren't doing presents--but we are doing cards. Any ideas? What should I write?? eep. 

P.S.----more hats coming in the UGLY HATS series :) hehe

i'm on a movie kick... can you tell?

Backstory: I worked at a Borders bookstore for a couple years a couple years ago. During that entire time, this book (The Kiterunner) was on the top-sellers shelf. The whole time. Did I read it? Of course not. I hate bestsellers (unless it's Harry Potter-related...or Twilight...ok. I lie...)

ANYWAYS. I decided to Netflix the movie and I watched it Monday night when I was sitting home alone and crafting. Bad idea! It was SO GOOD....but sad. Oh my goodness. And definitely disturbing.

I was seriously blubbering with tears at the end...when he's running with the kite for the kid! AH.

So- have you read the book and/or seen the movie? I imagine the book is ruined for me now. 

I recommend the movie, nevertheless :)

p.s. Look at some of my NEW LISTINGS----you can totally see GRAY HAIRS!!!! ahh!! :O

Oh, and I spent some time with the fella this weekend, too :) I guess I can share his name. Have I not yet? It's Rich. And I still don't think he reads this. I hope not!! 

We took some photos with our sweet cameras. I forget what his is called, but it was definitely more technical than mine. 

I was not supposed to show the pictures of him to anyone because he didn't shave and he says he looks like "a dirty hippie" :) I guess I better not. (Aren't I such a good girlfriend!!) ha! Maybe tomorrow....

But, here's a consolation prize:  A picture of me that Rich took! I actually like it. It looks like how I feel. Usually I think I don't look like myself in pictures. I think he captured the real me :) (in more ways than one...sigh....) :)

Holiday road

This is the time of year when I have HAVE to have a day of mandatory movie-watching. Amanda W.? Crafts?

It is the true signal to the start of the Christmas season for me when I can watch the old favorites all bundled up with perhaps a cup of cocoa (or Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.)

Here are my top 10 (in no particular order)


1.) A Christmas Story — Ralphie's BB gun quest is the pinnacle Christmas gift lust. This movie is best watched on Christmas Day when TBS runs it for 24 hours straight.

2.) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation — Everything that can go wrong will go wrong for Clark Griswold (aka Sparkie).

3.) A Muppet Christmas Carol — This is such a sweet and funny movie. Even if you're not a muppet fan---Miss Piggy as Ms. Cratchit is pricless. It has a good mix of human and muppet actors--plus a few really cute songs.

4.) Home Alone — I love the plot line with the old man in this movie. It always makes me cry when they're sitting in the church watching his granddaughter singing. Plus--it's got that great techo-mix song.

5.) Meet Me in St. Louis — This movie is not really a Christmas movie persay. BUT the Christmas scene in it features the first time anyone (Judy Garland) sang "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" --and she does it best.

6.) The Preacher's Wife — My mom and I both love this one. It's got Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington---he's an angel who falls for the preacher's wife at Christmas. Turns out happy in the end though :)

7.) It's a Wonderful Life — Had to through this one in there. Gotta love Jimmy Stewart.

8.) How the Grinch Stole Christmas — This is the one that reminds me of my childhood the most. That little dog with the antlers is the sweetest.

9.) A Charlie Brown Christmas — the tree. Plus, I love the soundtrack.

10.) A Very Brady Christmas — Okay, don't laugh. It has all the Brady's grown up for a reunion!! It's really touching. Well, maybe you can laugh....

Odetta dies

NEW YORK (AP) — Odetta's monumental voice rang out in August 1963 when she sang "I'm on My Way" at the historic March on Washington, where Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.
She had hoped to perform again in Washington next month when Barack Obama is inaugurated as the nation's first black president. But the acclaimed folk singer, who influenced generations of musicians and was an icon in the civil rights struggle, died Tuesday after battling heart disease. She was 77.
In spite of failing health, Odetta performed 60 concerts in the last two years, and her singing ability never diminished, manager Doug Yeager said.
"The power would just come out of her like people wouldn't believe," he said.

Here's my favorite song of Odetta's:

new haircut!!

  Me and Suri Cruise are twins now!!

crowns in real life!

My goodness!! This lovely girl Yuli sent me a link to pictures of her wedding where she was wearing one of my crowns!!! GASP!!

The photos are absolutely amazing--definitely worth a click.

CLICK HERE TO SEE.

And check this out!! My super cool friend Beth sent me a picture of her and her boy, Carl, hanging out at the Renaissance Festival with (what else) one of my crowns!! Aren't they so cute?

 If you have any pictures of you + your crown, send em up! I would love to see them and put em in my blog (if you want! :) )

emilyzych@yahoo.com