Just jolly

I hear they call it the most wonderful time of the year.

The first week of December has brought the holiday spirit in its fullest form with it.

This is my favorite time of year, but it also messes with my head. My brain lives in increments from Halloween to Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving to Christmas, and then Christmas to New Years, forcing my type-A brain to pack in as many things as possible in between, the looming presence of a deadline that’s actually just a wonderful holiday to be spent with my family.

I had a great week full of things worth celebrating. My mom opened a store on Madison in between 84th and 85th, which you should all visit if you find yourselves in the area. We celebrated both on Tuesday and on Thursday, first at our favorite restaurant in that neck of the woods, Le Bilboquet for our annual winter dinner there, and then at their official opening party, which was an absolutely packed room. Very exciting things, and I’m very proud.

On Saturday, I hosted my friends for a holiday party / White Elephant extravaganza. I just googled what “White Elephant” means:

And we seem to have not followed the rules, because the gifts were neither a waste of money or useless.

I served Ina Garten’s Cranberry Martinis (I swapped regular cranberry juice for cranberry and pomegranate), spinach and artichoke dip, baked brie in the mini Le Creuset my friend Ashley gave me for Secret Santa last year, my grandma’s famous holiday pretzels, and of course, the main event—fondue. Every self-respecting young, independent woman should have a fondue pot for her household.

The decor consisted of a wreath and pom-pom garland from Trader Joe’s, gelt, and cat-themed poppers, because I really wanted us to all wear the little crowns all night, which my friends happily obliged. I wore the Neverworns x Cleo Camp Splash Top, Cou Cou Intimates pants, and my Sandy Liang Mary Janes for their inaugural voyage, because I wouldn’t be leaving my house so it felt safe.

Everyone brought fantastic gifts and left with exactly what they were supposed to. How serendipitous is that? Gucci bag, Weed Slut Smoking Kit, and a posture pal to name a few. Quick—guess which one of those I got.

On Sunday, I visited Rainy Sunday Morning House to get some gifts, the best spot to do so, in my humble opinion. I then engaged in some further retail therapy for myself, visiting Reformation on Ludlow, where I tried on a bunch of things and walked out with only two. This skirt, which I think is the most flattering skirt I’ve ever tried on, and this dress, both of which felt like smart investments for my life at the moment. I didn’t end up getting the top that’s styled with the skirt below, but I feel like maybe I should’ve. The bags under my eyes are because I haven’t slept a full eight hours in weeks, counting how many times I’ve woken up per night.

I have a few holiday parties coming up, to which I’m hoping to sport the dress to one of.

Rewatching Mad Men during this time of year is such a luxury I had no idea I would be able to experience. It’s truly the best show ever created. I’ve been joking that I feel like a doctor watching The Pitt since I’m a copywriter by day. It’s not a very good joke, but it’s true. I felt like Betty Draper when I was preparing to host my guests on Saturday night, without all of the infidelity and depression.

I’m almost done buying gifts for everyone in my life, which feels like a big feat. Next comes watercoloring cards, which is a whole other beast. I’ll need to do that tonight, and basically every night until Christmas. Who knew that stamps were so expensive? I felt very:

Today (Sunday) as I write this, is one of those days where I really don’t want to do anything. I need to go to the gym but I don’t want to, I need to cook but I don’t want to, so I’m pretty proud of myself for writing this letter, even if it’s going to be short. All in a days work, I suppose. Something is better than nothing, and I will leave you all with that.