A Perfect Holiday Evening for Two

Start with a little sparkle:


Decorate with peace and love.



Serve up some treats:

With some bubbly:


Cuddle up with a warm blanket:


And set yourself up for the perfect holiday smooch:


And that my friends, would be the perfect holiday party for two!

Oh, Chrismukkah, oh chrismukkah...

How lovely are your branches??

Chrismukkah isn't for everybody. In fact, my MIL still doesn't really understand it. But for us, it allows both Mr. Spice and I to celebrate the traditions that we both love.

When it comes to decorating our goal is to keep it to silver and blue. In an ideal world, our home would look like this:

Alas, our home looks far from the picture above, but my goal for the season- add some sparkle and spice.

Here's what I am loving:

I already bought two of these $4 lovelies from Pottery Barn:

Mr. Spice loves butterflies, do you think he'd love this on our tree?

These Anthropologie beauties are pure Chrismukkah Perfection:


I love a fresh wreath on the door, but how can you not love this sold out West Elm wreath?


Any one else searching for the perfect holiday decor? Has anyone found that perfect eco-chic sparkler? If so, where?

A Return of the Weekend of US

With Mr. Spice getting his MBA full time and working over 50 hours a week, our, scratch that, his weekends are no longer weekends, but more of the same- eat, sleep, work, study.

It's been that way since August really, and besides the couple Sunday morning coffee shop visits and early bird dinners (so he can get back and study), we've had no real time just for us.

This came and bite us in the ass in a few ways. One, with both got sick; Mr. Spice even came down with the flu. And two, well, we did what most couples do with little time and no energy- we got in a fight. A fight that took over seven hours in the car (I vow to never drive to LA again) and a late night pillow session to figure out the problem.

Maybe obvious to everyone else, but we needed more quality US time. The time where you actually sit and talk during dinner rather than watching TV, the kind where you do something enjoyable and fun with the peeps around you.

So in between two study groups for Mr. Spice and him working Saturday, we finally got in some much deserved weekend 'US' time in.

We kicked it off with my favorite Friday night: Wine and Cheese. No TV. Just Us.

Left over wine from our wedding with our new olive dish and some halfheartedly hung holiday lights:


I wish I had gotten a better pic of the before, but here's the after:


And of course, we couldn't complete the meal without something sweet:

Peppermint Bark, a holiday favorite in our house.

Sat included some amazing Japanese noodles and watching the fantastic movie- the Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Sunday morning we woke up bright and early (well, 1oish) to go hang with our 3-year-old niece.

We bundled her up and went searching for an appropriate Chrismukkah Tree. Even though this was only Mr. Spice's second year tree shopping, he now views himself as a resident expert. So while he was searching for an appropriate tree, Gracie and I were having our own fun with Grace-sized-trees.


Finally, he called us over to pick between a red or yellow tagged tree, and despite the fact that Grace's favorite color is yellow- we picked the tree with the red tag:

Doesn't Mr. Spice look like the best Uncle in this pic??

And after paying for and getting the tree in the car (which was quite the task):


We went and warmed ourselves up with some Hot Coco:


And that's how we took a little bit of time this weekend to return to being us!!

Do you ever need to stop and reboot?

Jonsing for this Chair

Seriously, I love it, and at just over 200 bucks from Overstock.com- it's actually affordable.

If only I had an extra $800+ so I could get four for our kitchen table.

Or would it add the perfect amount of color in our entry way??

Either way, I am jonsing for it. Thanks to Copy Cat Chic for blogging about it!

Eco-fluff of the Week.

I love all white fluffy beds, but of course, what I'd love even more....

An all white eco-fluffy bed. Here are some options to drool over:

This all natural goodness from Viva Terra makes me want to dive in.

The most expensive of the bunch, but I've had my current Pottery Barn Duvet since 2001 and I can't tell you how much I still love it:


We also already have a bamboo duvet cover from West Elm, but I love this new West Elm lovely, and at only $99 for a Queen it's a steal.


Not white, but I wouldn't return this eco-beauty from West Elm:


I don't think I'd ever get out of bed if I had any of these. Isn't it amazing how many of the national retail stores are carrying eco-friendly bedding?

Swoon. What color is your bed?

Jonsing for the Bauer Sale

A few years ago my co-worker turned me on to the Bauer Seconds Sale that happens every December. At the time, I bought SIL Spice this cake stand for their engagement party, and thankfully, she adores it.

Isn't it just delicious?

This year I am in love with these spice jars. In green and white- they'd look perfect on our kitchen:



Really, how could you not love this tea pot?

I don't care that our tastes are more modern, I think these pieces could fit in perfectly with any style sense.

But check it out, they even have a new modern line:

All that said, you know what I am really jonsing for??

They haven't announced when their online sale is going to be, but I am crossing my fingers that this little puppy bowl is on the list. Huck deserves a Chrismukkah gift too, right?

If you live in LA, run don't walk, to their in store sale that starts on Sat, December 5th. Happy Shopping.

What are you jonsing for today??

Days like these: Olive!!

Welcome to December Folks!!!

I was having a rather drab Tuesday, working my way through four loads of laundry, YES four!! And then I realized that it is December, which means it's time for OLIVE!!!

Who is Olive you might ask?? Well, she's a little known Christmas Character with the voice of Drew Barrymore. Are you still wondering who the hell I am talking about??

It's Olive the Other Reindeer of course!


For the last three years, we've welcomed Olive into our lives for the 25 days of Chrismukkah!!

And tonight, per tradition, we put out our advent calendar and started the count down.


No, we don't get little pieces of chocolate every night, but for the next 24 nights we do get a reminder to stop taking life so seriously and enjoy the festive season.

So here, here to Olive and days like these...

Do you have an advent calendar?? You too can welcome Olive into your life.