Ensemble du Jour

Well, I was looking at my outfits from yesterday and today and they look really boring. They were not as blah as this, I swear. But sometimes I find Polyvore extremely limiting. Why don't they have my entire wardrobe on there! Geez!

Anyway, in spite of the overwhelming blah-ness, here's what we had.

The Outfit
Yesterday I wore my grey denim skirt with a charcoal grey sweater. What my sweater had though, was a bright green band around the neckline and green cuffs that went up about a quarter of the way up the arm. I think this is actually a Target Go International sweater, but for the life of me I can't remember which one.



I was going to pair the outfit with some black and white rugby socks but they were too bulky so I just ended up wearing my Target patent mary janes.



The Focal Point
I did liven up the neckline with my Paraphernalia Fauna Chicken Claw necklace.



Yeah, it's pretty much this big. Given the fact that we have chickens, I find this hilarious.



Is today much better. Not really. I'm too chilly to be innovative. But I am warm and comfortable.

The Outfit
Denim skirt. Red Cable knit sweater (cozy) and my Hetty Rose bespoke heels.



As jewelry, I'm wearing my new Ananda Khalsa necklace from Asheville. Can you see the pretty birdy? I think it has a delicate Asian feel to it, so it makes sense with my shoes.



The Focal Point
I haven't worn my Hetty Rose heels nearly enough, so the red was just an excuse to play them up. I think I may have to drop her an email to see if she has any new fabric in stock. I might need another pair, I love them so much.



So not too bland, right?

The Christmas Recap

As everyone knows, the days after the holidays are all about doing the "Present Recap" (also known as the "Present Scorecard" in some circles).

We have tons of lovely friends who gave us delicious treats and sent some beautiful cards. Our gifts out were one of our favorite cookies - Lavender Sables - which are kind of a French shortbread and so so yummy. If you want the recipe, just drop me a line.

We have out gifts to other co-workers and family members, most of which we had to ship because they all live far away. As for the husband and I, we don't do a huge bunch of gifts for each other usually because we get stuff all year long. Plus we just had our amazing trip to the Grove Park Inn, so it was pretty sparse beneath the tree this year.

We also don't like to buy a lot of "stuff", so we try to get consumable or services. In his stocking this year he got a grapefruit knife,



and spoons (four of them).



He also got 2lbs of thick cut peppered gourmet bacon from Nueskes. (Who the heck gives someone bacon for Christmas??? I mean, seriously? Yeah, we do. We're weird like that)





He also got these amazing organic really sweet grapefruits from South Tex Organics. Now the knife and spoons make sense, right?

We had some delicious bruleed grapefruits when we stayed at our friends' bed & breakfast (the Adora Inn) in Mount Dora for the wedding we were both in. They were so delicious, I wanted to recreate the meal. And they are really good. And I don't even typically like grapefruit.

I also bought some Meyer's lemons, which I'm going to make into delicious lemon gelato and lemon curd.



The hubby also wears a lot of t-shirts since he works from home and he also loves funky fun shirts. Threadless is a wonderful resource for unique shirts, and they aren't that much either.

I got him this shirt which is per-fect for him. He kind of likes the creepy stuff. This one is called "Ad Noctum" You can click on the images to see them bigger.



He also got this shirt which I think is weird yet adorable. It's called "Star Men in Moon's Milk". How cute is that????



His "big" gift was this book. It's the iconic Albertus Seba "Cabinet of Natural Curiosities".



This is, yes, a reproduction but it's still amazing and filled with the best illustrations. We have some actual vintage illustrations like these throughout our house, so this is perfect. It's also a book you will see in many professionally decorated homes because the colors are just so great. It's a perfect book for us and our house.

Here's a little bit about the book:
Albertus Seba's "Cabinet of Curiosities" is one of the 18th century's greatest natural history achievements and remains one of the most prized natural history books of all time.

Though it was common for men of his profession to collect natural specimens for research purposes, Amsterdam-based pharmacist Albertus Seba (1665-1736) had a passion that led him far beyond the call of duty. His amazing, unprecedented collection of animals, plants and insects from all around the world gained international fame during his lifetime. In 1731, after decades of collecting, Seba commissioned illustrations of each and every specimen and arranged the publication of a four-volume catalog detailing his entire collection - from strange and exotic plants to snakes, frogs, crocodiles, shellfish, corals, insects, butterflies and more, as well as fantastic beasts, such as a hydra and a dragon.



So that was kind of it. I got lovely and fun things as well. My parents gave some $$$, which I've totally spent already, and a new picture of them which I need for my office. One of my co-workers gave me this adorable mushroom timer from FredFlare (you have to see my office to know why this fits in - I have a ton of pink in there to liven up the boring grey cube).



hello!

My in-laws gave me a big 'ol Target gift card, because, ya know I love the Tar-get!



In my stocking from the hubby I got some treats - single serve Nutellas!


Yummy!

I also got an iTunes gift card - furthering my iPod library investment.



My "big" gift was a necklace from Ananda Khalsa necklace. When we were at Grove Park Inn, they have a store featuring all kinds of goods from local artists. Ananda does these amazing jewelry pieces which are made from little paintings that are then set in silver or 22kt gold with hand-ground glass. My three-strand necklace is in the "Bluebirds with Plum Blossoms" series and has aquamarine briolettes under the pendant and at the clasp.



It's so lovely and perfect because I love unique jewelry, as well as supporting local artists. It will be perfect to wear in the Spring.

As you can see, we all do a lot of shopping online but we also supported a lot of artists and artesianal companies. Not only do we get unique gifts but we support the hand-made, small scale movement.

I can't wait to see what gifts other folks got and what they gave.