My real Thanksgiving post is coming later this week, but it's a pretty good Monday morning, so why not give a shout out to little blessings first?
My dinner party invitations are in the mail! And they are special! I'll give you a hint...
They are far from perfect, but they have a certain panache and some homemade charm -- I tell myself -- so I'm counting it as a win. I am so excited to host this little get together.
It's just a very small family party, but I have a menu written out, a champagne punch recipe selected, a few little touches planned -- it's like a much smaller, much less expensive, much less stressful version of wedding planning.
I can't wait to share how it turns out.
Unless it's a disaster, in which case we will never speak of it again.
Starbucks Christmas Blend is back as the bold flavor, and it is so delicious.
And so much less expensive than their specialty holiday drinks (which I also adore -- oh, gingerbread latte, why must you tempt me with your spicy sweetness every morning?)
Their Christmas blend is the only coffee I drink black and really enjoy. I can actually notice and appreciate the spicy notes, which makes me feel ridiculous to even type out, because I am not a big believer in this "notes" business that goes along with coffees, wines, and perfumes.
I know a good glass of wine from a bad one -- oh, do I... life would be much easier if I liked cheap wine -- but I never sip wine and think "Ah yes, notes of Telicherry peppercorns and leather and chocolate, mmmm, divine" like so many reviews and descriptions seem to imply.
But the Christmas blend... yes, I sip this and think "Ah yes, black coffee that actually tastes good -- and I taste some kind of spice, who knows what it is?" Which is good enough for me.
Our tree is up.
Yes, we are those people. Kyle hauled our tree up from the basement last night and put it together. I know, I know. It is a sadness unto my soul that we can assemble our tree, because nothing beats a real one. But unfortunately we live in a home built in 1918, or thereabouts, when people didn't have ginormous TV screens taking up space in their quite narrow living rooms, so a real tree would be a bit too fluffy. Next house.
We were having quite the time deciding where to put our tree, because since last Christmas we've acquired a china cabinet (married life) that now reigns in the spot where we used to move our bookshelf to free up a corner. But Kyle made a brilliant suggestion last night. I'm always going on and on about how much I love to see trees in windows, so why not just put the tree right in front of our window (between the TV and the bookshelf) and call it a day?
I maintain the proper amount of shame that our tree is already up and pre-lit, so right now it's nestled next to the bookshelf and slightly concealed from the judgmental eyes of the neighbors the window, but after Thanksgiving, watch out, because that baby will be blazing in its faux glory for all of Kathleen Street to see.
Three day work week.
Right?
This makes today like Wednesday, which makes me so unbelievably happy. I really do like my job, but not as much as I like my time off. Especially when that time involves festivities and families and food. This week kicks off a fabulous stretch, where the 40 hour work week will become the exception rather than the rule. I'm not saying every week from now until New Years has at least one day off... but I am saying most of them do.
Count your blessings.