When it’s rainy and glum, Kriste and I usually drag ourselves around the studio, giving ourselves pep-talks to get something accomplished.  For some reason, it’s harder to be creative and productive and ready to tackle the world when the weather is blah.  But, today was drizzly, cold, and gray, yet it was still, despite all odds, an amazingly productive day. I feel like celebratory hot chocolates are in order. Unfortunately, it was so dark outside that I didn’t take any pictures of what we were up to, but I will share what we accomplished in a post soon. Until then, I’ll share what I did over the weekend. I made gingerbread houses and ornaments for the first time last year and I absolutely loved the creative process and incorporating the gingerbread as a part of the holiday decor.  It smells amazing and, come on, what is more homey and sweet than gingerbread?

The past couple of years, I have reserved Christmas decorating for myself and my family.  I shared what I did on my blog, but I wasn’t doing things just to blog about them. I needed it after years of Christmas going until February (due to photo shoots), circling back again in April (for freelance projects), and making an early appearance in September (for retail.)  By the time December rolled around, I was, quite unfortunately, weary of Christmas.  I have always loved the Christmas season and decorating for it, but having it so intertwined with work sucked some of the joy out of it.  (Sort of like the years I spent working at Disney.  It’s a magical place, but it becomes slightly less so when you see the underbelly of it all.) The past couple of years have really helped bring back the joy.  Kriste & I “played hooky” from work

Faux fur has been in decor for a while, but I have to admit that I was never really drawn to it.  The main reason, and this is probably a little silly, is that it always looked and felt Muppet-ish to me.  You know what I mean?  It felt matted and like polyester, not sumptuous and silky. Well, I’m finally coming around.  Either faux fur has come a long way or I’ve finally been exposed to the good faux fur that’s been out there for a while. When I was looking at dog beds for Sebastian, I surprised myself that I was drawn to the Ivory Alpaca Faux Fur Pet Bed from Pottery Barn.  It just looked so inviting!  Jeff joked that I was shopping for a dog bed for myself.  What else do I have to base the buying decision on except for what I think will look comfortable? And it’s soft