My Latest Obsessions

GMC's school picture

Firstly, my heart goes out to all of those affected by the tragedy in CT. So very sad. I know that this has hit people very hard all over the world. I myself immediately thought about the tragedy close to home (being a mom to an 8, 6, and 2 year old) and have found myself quite emotional about it. I found this article entitled, "I am Adam Lanza's Mother" very interesting. And a HS friend of mine wrote this letter to her almost 6 year old son. Beautifully and eloquently written. I think we all (parents and non-parents alike) can relate to the raw emotions attached to what happened.

I woke up this morning super excited. C + M were up early and were excited to see the snow (the little there is) outside and they were excitedly running around getting ready for their holiday performances today. And of course they had laid out their festive dresses last PM before bed. The music teacher at their school is amazing so we cannot wait to see their shows!

Tomorrow we are heading to a family Christmas party. We are bringing jalapeno shrimp (amazingly good). Sunday I have tennis w/ my crew and then the rest of the afternoon will be spent baking some cookies and putting together our Carr Christmas Cookies that we give away to friends/neighbors!

Here's to wishing everyone a Merry Christmas! Safe travels for those of you heading out of town.

XO - D2

Some of my latest faves:

• PFC/I started a tradition this year w/ the kids. We are going to give them a new ornament every year that will be their own. I had my own box of ornaments growing up and PFC commented the other day on how nice it was to have my own box of special/meaningful and personalized ornaments. It was fun to go through my box as many of the ornaments were dated and each held a different memory. I bought their ornaments here. How cute is this recycled paper elephant by Cody Foster?! Love. Oh, and I LOVE these wallpaper covered deer ornaments. So cute! 
• Here are some great gifts under $50 for those hard to buy folks on your last minute Christmas list: Chevron Tea Light Votive Set; Glitter Round Buckle Skinny Belt (on sale too!); Alice in Wonderland book (fabulous cover); Multicolor Beanie and this Flavor Infuser Water Bottle (may even have to gift one of these for myself). 
• I sign many of my emails XO or XOXO. Interesting post on signing your emails as such. 
• I've added this Twine Star Decoration to my holiday decorating list for next year. Love it! 
• Love this Glamorous girly New Year's party inspiration! Show up in this sparkly number and you'll be all set to ring in the new year! Totally digging the back of the dress. 
• Every morning we all hug/kiss PFC goodbye before he heads out the door for work. Mornings are always very nutty around here but we NEVER miss our opportunity to get in our goodbye hugs and kisses. PFC and I have been holding our hugs with the kids and each other a lot longer the last week after the tragedy in CT. This article entitled XO Before you Go had me in tears. 
• We bought GMC his own Ukelele for Christmas. He is OBSESSED w/ guitars so PFC took him to the Guitar Center and they recommended a ukelele for him. We cannot wait to see his face light up when he opens it! I would love to handpaint GMC's ukelele and personalize it for him (if only there was more time)! 
• This article on Why You're Never Failing as a Mother has been circulating the world wide web this past week. It definitely resonated w/ me. 
• I love the festive and colorful designs that Jenny Bowers did for Bloomingdales. 
• One of my favorite bloggers Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen recently came out w/ a cookbook. I've already gifted it a few times (best price on Amazon). She feels like someone you would love to be friends w/ (and it would be fun to chill in her tiny NYC kitchen and watch her cook). I think I need my own copy! Here is a great NYTimes article on her. My good friend is making her Roasted Pear + Chocolate Chunk scones over the holidays. I cannot wait to hear how they turn out! They are on my list! 
• I started the long process of wrapping Christmas presents 2 nights ago. I started around 9 pm (ish) to make sure that C + M didn't wander downstairs and catch a glimpse of their items. Here is a How To on wrapping w/ scraps. 
• I LOVE all of these colorful bowls. 
• I thought these craigslist missed connections were hilarious. Gotta love work holiday parties! 
• I know that during the holidays I'm scrambling to put together different festive outfits. I strategically map out the various gatherings/parties and on many occasions wear an outfit twice (or more!) because I'm confident that I'm seeing a different set of people. I loved reviewing this 1 party dress done 3 different ways. Cleverly done. And they used such a cute dress to style different ways. 
• The Target + Neiman Marcus items are now all 50% off. I'm digging the Skaist-Taylor Vest.
• I want to leave everyone with some good laughs and smiles = 25 Funniest AutoCorrects of 2012. Mcdonkadonk = my favorite! talk about LOL. I was laughing so hard. Pee your pants hard! And here are some moments that restored our faith in humanity.