Merry Merry: Christmas Favorites

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Merry Christmas Eve, y'all! I hope everyone is gearing up for a relaxing, fun, delicious holiday. It's pouring rain and nearing 70 degrees here in Virginia, but I'm pretending that it's snowing.

I'm excited to not be spending hours in the car this year (last year we logged close to 30!). Todd and I had our own little celebration in Richmond last night, sharing oysters, champagne, and crab legs at Pearl Raw Bar before exchanging gifts. I'm thinking that might need to be a new Christmas Eve Eve tradition.

Here are a few Christmasy things I'm liking this year:

• I love a good Bûche de Noël.
• An introvert's guide to surviving holiday madness.
• Related: This recipe for bourbon milk punch (just as tasty with spiced rum).
• I love the idea of gifting British-style Christmas hampers.
• An underrated Christmas movie. 
• Listen to David Sedaris read his classic story "The Santaland Diaries."
• Crazy gift-wrapping hack.
• This Christmas Story-inspired dinner party.
• Cute free printable gift tags.

Etsy Gift Guide 2014

When it comes to thoughtful, unique gifts, Etsy is one of the best resources online, but I'll be honest — sometimes you have to sift through a lot of crap to find the gems. My best advice is to find a few shops you love, and then look at who they follow. Before you know it, you'll have tons of favorite shops, and plenty of gift ideas for everyone on your list. Here are a few of my recent Etsy favorites!

Sparkvites makes affordable customized rubber stamps as well as cute stationery. Imagine how cool this would be stamped on your Christmas cards!

Sweet Peony Press has some really fun little prints starting at just $10. I like the idea of the His and Hers prints hanging in the bathroom.

Blackbird Tees is based in Richmond, and though their tea towels are a tad pricey, they're undoubtedly adorable. 

Remember I wrote about Finkelstein's Center for Charleston magazine awhile back? Michelle has an Etsy shop filled with dozens of animals who need a loving home. These Finks aren't just for kids, either. I'd love to have one for myself.

You've never seen cross stitch like the cross stitch from Bananya Stand. Choose your favorite pop culture reference or ask her to customize something just for you.

Of course, if you love vintage anything — books, blankets, clothing, brass figures — Etsy has it all. I especially love it for glassware.

You can see more of my favorites here and here! What are yours?

Christmas Countdown

I don't know what's wrong with me. I've never felt like this before. It's November 20, and I desperately want to buy a Christmas tree. I usually wait until December, sometimes even after my birthday (Dec. 6), but I might have to break my own rules this year.

Something about this house makes me want to go overboard with twinkly lights and boughs of holly and candles that smell like pine trees. I have a real mantle for the first time in years, a bannister that's just begging for an evergreen garland, and room for a 12-foot tree if I want it. And Christmas music? It's been on heavy rotation since last week.

When do you start decorating for Christmas? I'll try to restrain myself until after Thanksgiving, but after that — no promises.

Also:

• DIY wreath ideas. (I like the rosemary one.)
• 5 holiday hostess tips via Glitter Guide.
• Making this for the fireplace.

Holiday Gift Guide: Eight Ideas for Everygirl

Gift Guide 2013

I'm honestly not the best gift giver. I've always obsessed over whether or not someone will like something, whether they already have it, or whether they'll throw it away the moment they get home. And if it's someone I don't know particularly well—forget about it. Luckily, I've figured out a few basic gifts that just about any gal—including myself—would be happy to receive.

1. A fancy candle. It's one of those things that most of us are hesitant to buy for ourselves, but that's so nice to have.
2. Pajamas. Who doesn't love a cozy pair?
3. Notebooks. Because it's getting harder and harder to find a page to scribble on these days.
4. Drinkware. Whether they like to sip Moscow Mules or bubbly, choose a vessel that's perfect for their favorite beverage.
5. 2014 Planner. The new year is here. We all need to stay organized.
6. Fancy soap. Again, most people won't spend $8 on a bar of pretty soap, but they'd be happy to receive it.
7. Jewels. This is a bit harder to pick out, but Baublebar always has a bevy of sparkly—and cheap—options.
8. Books. One of the best things to give, I think.

happy holidays.

Happy holidays to everyone. I hope if you're going home, you've arrived safely (and without two flat tires, like we did). Tonight we're tasked with making the Christmas Eve meal, so I'm looking up recipes that should please some picky palates.

What's your favorite Christmas dish? Is it basically Thanksgiving deja vu or is it completely different? Does your family booze it up or do you stick to non-alcoholic beverages? Do you get to open a gift on Christmas Eve? (Me: Pretty much deja vu, and happy with it; maybe a glass or two of wine, although I'm considering a specialty cocktail for tonight; yes, but I already opened my gift at 1 a.m. this morning — a bike basket from Todd!)

wrap stars.

I've been quite the procrastinator this Christmas, waiting until this week to buy most of my gifts. And half of them aren't even wrapped yet. At this point I doubt I'll even put much effort into wrapping, but if I had a little more time, I'd be all about making them so pretty you wouldn't even want to unwrap them.

simple but pretty.

put a name on it.

I love this because it's reusable after unwrapping!

How could you even consider unwrapping these? They're little works of art.

white christmas.

I really want a white Christmas. I've only experienced a handful in my lifetime of Southern winters, and it's currently 75 degrees and sunny outside, but I still have this tiny unrealistic childish hope that we'll wake up to a blanket of snow on Christmas morning.

These photos are all from my Tumblr.

santa's goodies.

1, 2, 3, 4.

1, 2, 3, 4.

I've yet to be bitten by the baby bug (knock on wood), and I think it's because I have so many nieces and nephews to give me my fix. Shopping for presents for them is so much more fun than for anyone else, and Etsy is just full of cute little gift ideas.

What was your favorite Christmas gift when you were little? Mine was probably a microscope (nerd alert!) and the big dollhouse my parents made me.

Speaking of kids, how cute are these ones? That's me and my sister in 1990ish. The funny thing is, I recently thrifted a little brass rocking horse identical to the one on that shelf and it's sitting on my TV table right now.

boat times.

Last weekend we went out on a friend's sailboat for the Parade of Boats. The parade includes dozens of boats, from yachts to kayaks, all decked out in lights and decorations. On the shore, people line up on both sides of the harbor to watch the event. We drank champagne, roasted hotdogs, and wondered why we don't do this every weekend.

charleston christmas magic.

Charleston is simply magical around the holidays, with twinkling lights everywhere, beaucoup festive events (we're going out on a friend's sailboat for the Parade of Boats tonight!), and Christmas trees everywhere you turn (plus the occasional palm tree decked out in lights). We may not have snow, but this is a great place to be in December.

We've already trimmed our tree, and the stockings are hung by the chimney with care, but I want to make my house even more festive. Here's some inspiration I've been pinning to my Christmas board.

wish list.

With my birthday and Christmas on the horizon, I've been selfishly obsessed with adding to my Wish List on Pinterest. Being in a strictly enforced no shopping drought doesn't help matters. Some of my biggest current wants:

pretty graphic pillows and blankets, especially chevron and ikat.

 cookbooks! oh so many cookbooks.

a record player.

a sparkly dress for holiday parties.

I don't know why, but I'm really feeling the dead papier mache animals.

and if I was really good, I'd ask for a sweet new ride with colored rims.

What's on your wish list?

sparkle deficiency.

I'm currently wallowing in a vitamin D-deficient funk. The weather here is at its prime, but most days I'm stuck in the office until its nearly dark outside. When I get home, all I want to do is make dinner and curl up on the couch with a magazine. I'm excited for Thanksgiving to come and go, which means it's acceptable to break out the sparkley lights and start officially celebrating the holidays. Visions of sequined cocktail dresses, champagne, and Christmas trees are dancing in my head, so please forgive me if I jump the gun.

Images via Pinterest.

Other possible cures for the funk: Pancakes for dinner, Friendsgiving celebrations, bike rides, painting. How do you get yourself out of a funk?

nicotine christmas.

 Want to have some fun? Google "vintage Christmas ads." Oh, and Merry Christmas.