quiet christmas

I don't know about you, but I'm glad Christmas is over. It's not just this year; I feel that way every year. I think it's just all of it...the decorating, the list making, the present buying (finding the "perfect" gifts!), the wrapping, the did-I-forget-anyone feeling, the card sending, the baking, the anticipation, the missing loved ones that are no longer with us, the get-togethers. Though we didn't do that this year.

Don't get me wrong; our Christmas day itself was lovely. I made my annual breakfast casserole and we also indulged in an almond Kringle while opening our gifts. Of course, the cats were included. Later in the day, we had a video call and gift opening with Tim. We were hoping he could come home for Christmas, but he had to work.

Brian is usually stumped what to get me for Christmas, so this year I helped him out. I have a favorite artisan shop in a nearby town that carries a unique selection of handmade and vintage finds. A few weeks before Christmas, we browsed the shop and I pointed out some of the items I really liked. I stepped outside and let Brian shop and pick a couple of things while I waited. One of the items he chose was this handmade bracelet. He also chose a beautiful, soft winter scarf made in Germany that I was eye-balling. He did good!

Best of all, Brian surprised me with a writer's medic bag. (By the way, my shirt says, "Eat, drink and be meowy." It's a Life is Good shirt.)

This gorgeous leather bag is handmade by Galen Leather in Istanbul, Turkey. It unfolds to showcase places for pens, journals, and writing essentials. A friend of ours had posted about this bag on Facebook last month. Her husband had given her this bag for her birthday. I had commented on the post how much I loved the bag. Brian saw my comment and took it from there. 😉 

Here's a little history behind the bag.

Brian's hard to buy for. Not because he's picky. Far from it! He's non-materialistic. He loves books though, especially anything about Chicago or his favorite sports team, the Cubs. I ended up finding several Chicago books he amazingly hadn't read yet.

The end!

All the Christmas decor is taken down and packed away until next year. I was tired of looking at it and the house started feeling cluttered. Since our winters are mostly dismal and it gets dark at 4:30, I'm leaving up fairy lights and candles to cast a warm glow.

We have a big winter storm heading our way this afternoon. The first snowfall of the season. They're saying our area will get whopped with snow with ice mixed in, plus winds up to 30 mph. Power outages are a possibility. And it figures: Brian has been on vacation these past two weeks and he goes back to work tomorrow morning. I worry when he has to travel in this kind of weather, especially since he has a 25 mile commute. 

I hope to be back with an end-of-year post on New Year's Eve. 
💓