Poco-Cocoa

We decided to do some decorating this year! Twinkle lights and poinsettia and paper snowflakes and cranberry-popcorn garlands.

It’s so nice to feel Christmasy this year – some years it just doesn’t happen. It helped that this weekend has been so cold, and that our lovely friends Nat & Grant dropped off a poinsettia this week.

Justin made us a wooden tree to go on the mantle – a real Christmas tree would quickly be climbed, knocked over, eaten, and likely vomited by our cats, so this is a nice alternative.

Now we just need to hang our small collection of ornaments, put up our stockings, and overdose on smores and hot cocoa.♥

This is Sadie, Loli, and Ellie. All are incredibly cute, and belong to my parents and my sister. All weekend in west Texas I had to constantly yell, “PUPPIES!!” because they’re so dang adorable.

Oh, I forgot I have a blog. Oops.

So when it’s chilly inside, I snuggle up with a good book and the kitties swarm around me for warmth. It’s quite lovely.

Roux turned 12 this weekend. Can you believe it?! Old man. And in his old age, at the dawn of his 13th year, he has FINALLY decided that sitting on laps might be okay. This is new and cute and of course once he has chosen my lap I am stuck there forever.

Sometimes we have tipsy nights, where we make cocktails and hang out and talk and stay up late. And inevitably, I fall asleep on the couch and at some point mosey over to bed and when I wake up in the morning, I find this. Evidence of snacks, reading, crosswords, knitting, and nail polish. Odd.

I’ve been working hard at organizing Indie Chefs Week, which is going to be AWESOME. Partly because I’m organizing it. 😉 But mostly because we have an insane line-up of chefs that are so passionate about food and cooking, and it’s just amazing to be a part of it. This is my “murder board,” which is helping me organize when each chef is arriving, cooking, and needing a place to stay. Crazy but fun.

One more thing – I want to eat this.

Left: Fall means that gorgeous afternoon light, and open windows, and cats pretending they are outside.
Right: Fall means sipping coffee by the fireplace even though it’s probably not really cold enough to have a fire lit.

Left: George rushed to my laptop and flopped on it. My first thought was, MY LAPTOP! My second thought was, “Oh, George.”
Right: Reading about foraging (my new favorite thing) and sipping a chocolate cappuccino at Houndstooth.

Left: Knitting a striped blanket that will end up costing me way more than I thought by the time I buy all the yarn.
Right: Justin made waffles and cinnamon persimmons for brunch.

Also:
Dancing to this song.

Reading this article that Rachel sent me. Of note:

When we can’t say “No,” we become a sponge for the feelings of everyone around us and we eventually become saturated by the needs of everyone else while our own hearts wilt and die. We begin to live our lives according to the forceful should of others, rather than the whispered, passionate want of our own hearts. We let everyone else tell us what story to live and we cease to be the author of our own lives.

Craving this cake, this stew, this soup, and these treats.♥