It's cold and it's dark out there, tis time of year when our souls need to hang some twinkle lights!

Thank goodness the sights, smells and sounds of the holidays seem to be in full swing.

This weekend, we took in some of downtown Seattle's best displays of festive decor. As an added bonus, there are many local charities involved in these spectacular displays. And I'm all about two birds with one stone!

First, a trip The Fairmont Olympic Hotel for their Festival of trees. Twenty trees are exhibited throughout this elegantly appointed and grand hotel. Decorated with care by the Dr. Forrest L. Flashman Guild of Seattle Children's Hospital. Each tree is dedicated to a patient at the hospital and is sponsored by local individuals and businesses.

Check out the stunning florals.

And just a short elevator ride for my kid's minds to be blown upon entering the Teddy Bear Suite…

Designed by Kevin Bradford, a Seattle-based interior and event designer and brimming with dozens of fluffy teddy bears. The Teddy Bear Suite welcomes thousands of visitors like us throughout the holiday season. Donations help offset uncompensated care at Seattle Children's Hospital.

Then we hoofed it over to the Sheraton Seattle for their annual Ginger Bread Village which benefits JDRF's Northwest Chapter.

Boy, our little $10 gingerbread kit from Target has a tough act to follow!

I can hardly wait to hit the Carousel across from Westlake Center next week with my kids. A small 2 dollar donation to Treehouse provides a good dose of holiday fun.

Fa la la

la la la

la la la!

Ha ha ha

I can hardly contain my excitement for our 3rd Annual Sweatermas Party. See last year's post. This is your not-so-basic (as each year, I notice the guests taking it to the next level) ugly sweater party.

It's important to set the mood with festive invites like these kitchy snow globe invitations that I handcrafted. If you can believe, I actually glittered some of them! I found the paper at local paper and stamp store, Impress located at my favorite, "open air lifestyle shopping center", University Village. Or U Village as we call it.

(I apologize in advance to you all for the poor quality of the photos, my little I Phone 3G is really wearing out on me. )

And as much as I totally look forward to the night-of festivities, advance shopping for the event is one of the most fun aspects. I was literally cracking myself up at the store picking out some of these beauts for sweet friends that you will see below.

I swore on my girl scout's honor, I wouldn't reveal the vintage boutique of these divine sweaters, as I know how important it is to maintain such special sources. I could literally write 50+ posts on the wonderful items I discovered there. Think 1960's shifts, Samsonite luggage, mink wraps, fabulous Jackie O hats. I had too much fun.

So here you go, a little sneaky peaky. And I promise to immediately post my get-up following the big night, it's top secret until then.

Ho Ho Ho!

Oh No No No!

Whoa Whoa Whoa!

So there you have it. I'll be busy with my Co-hostess conjurring up festive decor, throw back food and a delicious concoction to fill the pine cone stencilled punch bowl.

It's ON people!

I'm not quite sure what my deal is, but today I watched Seattle Marathon joggers buzz right by my house (below), and I got teary eyed. Listening to the onlookers cheer the runners on, watching the runners determinedly slog through the Seattle streets, the whole scene gave me a lump in my throat.

Maybe it reminds me of when my Dad ran his first marathon at age 50. Watching him come across the finish line, just made me weep of joy.

The human spirit is so amazing, it's almost overwhelming sometimes. It surprises me to get emotional at moments like this.

Or perhaps not, I'm sure it has something to do with the time of year as well, thinking of all that we have to be so thankful for, coming right off the heels of Thanksgiving. Being with our family and dear friends throughout the weekend.

The festivities began with a 30 year old tradition of a black tie "Thanksgiving Eve" party, we felt very honored to be invited to this fun multi-generational annual gathering. I also loved how in lieu of hostess gifts, we were asked to make a donation to a couple of charitable organizations that are important and close to the family's heart.

Then onto a relaxed Thanksgiving day and meal at our home joined by dear friends.

Image from Apartment Therapy, but I couldn't resist the feathers on the centerpiece! Bravo. Our table was a bit more cas.

Whether your table is formal or not. It is about the sentiment. My favorite part of this day was going around the table, 3+ times (there was a lot to mention) to express what we about what we are thankful for. Our 2 and a half year old declared "Mickey Mouse" at her turn each time (what dedication, I see a trip to Disney in our near future).

Then our annual Thanksgiving weekend tradition of foraging out for the tree and taking out the holiday decor. So, it is a bit Charlie Brownish in scale, but as my husband reminds me, "it's a symbol". Plus it was $20 bucks at Lowes🙂

From there it was on to a new friend's annual "Seafood Fest" As a true girl scout at heart, I believe firmly in "making new friends and keeping the old". Only in Seattle do you eat fresh Dungess crab this time of year that is cheaper than chicken breast. Another moment of gratitude for me.

And the conclusion, yesterday when we spent a crisp afternoon watching the Seahawks play the Chiefs, or Chefs (remember that commercial?) whichever you prefer. Shhhh, don't tell anyone but I secretly rooted for the Chiefs after living in KC for a bit.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are feeling grateful. I certainly am. And now the gear up for the rest of the holidays…!

The mercury is plummeting and It's that time of year. Minds and bodies crave warmth & comfort.

Enter the food category: "comfort food"

My in laws visited recently and made nightly meals for us from this genre. One of my favorites was none other than The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten's, recipe (below) for Chicken Pot Pie made in these adorable little crocks–which they gave us as gifts.

Ingredients

• 3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas (2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

For the pastry: (Note: no judgement if you choose to buy it, Pepperidge Farm makes a great one!)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
• Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper

Directions

I thought this would be an ironic and apropos post considering my new recent and major “change of status” in the employment department. More about that later…

But alas, this title, doesn’t only refer to me, but one of my favorite designers, Jonathan Adler. (Very short aside, I am cracking up, as people who read this sort of make fun of me that I will use any word paired with “Chic” while bloggin’, and it’s true! Ahh, I love it when people make fun of me to my face!)

So, I thought of this post while perusing Barnes & Noble with my family tonight and seeing an advertisement for his book tour coming to Seattle this week and promotion of his new book, titled Happy Chic. There are 2 editions: Color and Accessorizing…:) What else is there in life?

I happened to meet Jonathan at another design event while living in Colorado at HW Home and have felt endeared to him since. Though darn it, I missed the book signing here in Seattle this weekend…

At any rate, let’s get down to it. What exactly is “Happy Chic”? While you should totally go out and secure your own copy of these fun books, I’ll get to the chase: it’s all about decor that makes you happy, not following the rules etc. Just go for it.

If you words don’t do the concept justice, check out these images from Elle Decor for the visualization.

Don’t be afraid of whimsy, and PUH-LEASE, don’t be afraid to be happy! Do you love how I can be totally superficial and deep at the same time?