Feeling The Holiday Spirit

Hi everyone. I hope that you’ve been enjoying your weekend whether it’s been a relaxing one or busy with shopping and decorating.

I got my tree up last night with only one minor hiccup. Somehow the base to my tree didn’t make it to the new house in the move but I was able to get one curbside pickup from Home Depot. I was tempted for a moment to go back to a live tree (this is only the third Christmas of my whole life having an artificial tree) but after considering the logistics of getting it off of the roof of my car, into the house and into a stand on my own…I thought it best to stick with the prelit artificial, haha. 🙂 There is definitely something to be said for the ease of it.

It’s always a puzzle to figure out where to put all of your Christmas decorations in a new house. I decided to put my Christmas tree up in the living room and to decorate the mantle in the den. I thought it might be a bit much to have the tree in this room too since this is Finn’s primary play/hangout room. I like it this way because I have Christmas spread out around the house! I’m going to do my outside lights later today!

After I got the decorations up last night, I watched My Octopus Teacher on Netflix. Several people (including my mom) had that I watch the documentary. The film is about the experience that South African filmmaker Craig Foster had free diving (without a wetsuit or oxygen tank) every day for a year in the ocean waters off the coast of the southwest tip of Cape Town.

The ocean temperatures were sometimes as low as 46 degrees but his body adapted. Through his daily dives, Foster develops a relationship with a wild common octopus and the film beautifully captures her in her natural environment in the kelp forest. The overall message of the film is what the octopus taught Foster on the fragility of life and man’s relationship with nature, which ultimately led him to a deeper relationship with his son.

I definitely recommend watching My Octopus Teacher but have some tissues ready if you do.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum we have A Bad Moms Christmas, which I watched on Friday night. While it is not a piece of cinematographic art, it was perfect for mindless entertainment and a few good laughs.

Speaking of holiday movies…I’d love to hear recommendations for your favorites! Give me allllllll the cheesy Netflix movies. My grandmother and I watched the whole series of A Christmas Prince movies last year. Tis the season! 😉

When I haven’t been watching Netflix or decorating for Christmas, I’ve been in the kitchen cooking. I made a big pot of my favorite spaghetti sauce yesterday and it simmered on the stove all afternoon.

Spaghetti with lots of mushrooms in the sauce and cheddar cheese on top is one of my favorite combinations of all time!

I’m also feeling the desire to make some holiday foods like cranberry sauce, stuffing, pies, etc because I didn’t get to do it for Thanksgiving this year. Maybe I’ll do a roast chicken or Cornish hen dinner one night soon with some festive sides.

Time to get out of my Christmas pajamas and on with the day. Have a good one friends!

QUESTIONS

Holiday movie suggestions? 

What have you been up to this weekend? Any shopping? Decorating? Cooking or baking? 

Are you doing a real or artificial tree this year? How many trees do you do in your house? 

One last question!!! Favorite resources for photo gifts!?