Christmas happenings…
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. A few years ago, we (meaning I) decided to celebrate Christmas dinner in a less formal way (meaning not turkey or ham). We have had Italian and Mexican so far. This year, after my oldest granddaughter’s pleas, we went with pizza. There is a mom and pop pizza restaurant here, and they are open on Christmas Day. The employees have the option to work or not. Here’s the big thing…they receive all the profits from that day. At least, I think it’s the profits they share rather than the entire take. The only problem is they don’t open until 4:00pm. So, I ordered and paid for the pizzas on the day before Christmas Eve. My daughter and son-in-law were going to pick up the pizzas and breadsticks on Christmas Eve as I didn’t know what my schedule would be at church.
It’s always…
You know that old saying, “It’s always something?” Well, that’s the way Christmas dinner/lunch/supper always goes. Something always, always goes wrong. My daughter and I began a long text on Christmas Eve as the girl running the till couldn’t find our order. She couldn’t find where I’d paid or anything. Somehow or other, though, she knew what pizzas we were getting. Weird, right? She suggested rather than baking them at the restaurant, we do take and bake. They would be fresher and much tastier. I agreed, thinking between the two ovens (mine and my daughter’s), it wouldn’t be a big deal. On Christmas Day, I dashed over (see what I did there) to my daughter’s house to get my share of the pizzas. When I got there, I could tell something wasn’t quite right. I’d ordered two XXL pizzas for the ones I knew everyone would want. We got all Larges except for the small veggie pizza. We also didn’t get any dipping sauces.
But…
You know what? In the grand scheme of things, we had plenty of pizza. I considered calling the next day to gently explain the mix up with my pizzas…not to get any refunds or free stuff…just to let them know. But, sometimes, you have to grant people grace, right? The restaurant was busy that night. The owners have this board where you can pay for a pizza or two, and they’ll put a tag on the board. If someone comes in and can’t afford a pizza, they pull one of those tags and get a free pizza. I also know they donate lots to the community, support the local sports teams, and are just good people. My family had more than enough to eat, so all was good!
A little more…
Remember, I said, “It’s always something?” Well, one of the desserts my Aunt Lou would make was something she called cherry delight. It’s basically a no bake cheesecake kinda dessert. I have made it for years, half cherry and half blueberry. The leftovers are always highly desired! This year, I decided to make an entire pan of each flavor. I used a cake pan my mom had had for many years, and I’ve had since she died. That means it’s probably close to 60 or 70 years old. I always make the “delights” in it. I don’t know if it was the pan, or I got some bum cream cheese, but it just smelled off. So, I dumped the entire pan out. I didn’t want anyone to end up with food poisoning. And, it was the blueberry one…my favorite! All was not lost as we also had a huge pecan pie.
New Year’s Eve…
Honestly, Nigel and I haven’t celebrated New Year’s Eve since the days before we became parents. I don’t know that we’ve ever even been invited to a NYE party. Nigel has always been an early to bed kinda guy. It’s funny because I remember we had this little tradition of making a couple different cheese dips and having chips and soda. We did that for a few years, and then we just quit. I think one of us has definitely turned into an old man person. I have never, however, been one to stay up to watch that ball drop. I regularly am up past midnight so that’s not a big deal for me. On December 31st at the stroke of midnight, I’ll probably be in bed watching Lucy Worsley or a baking show. Nigel will be sawing some really big logs. Jack will be snuggled into his crate, covered with extra thick blankets because I know people will be setting off fireworks.
The outfit…
If I were going to a dress up party, this would definitely be something I’d consider. This is the Clara Sunwoo Liquid Leather™ Signature Jacket in Merlot. I added an old vee neck tee from Old Navy. And, this skirt? Well, it’s also from Old Navy! I’m wearing a petite, but they appear to be sold out in petites. I tucked the tee into the skirt, but it needed something. I tried my leather obi belt, but the matte black of the leather didn’t work with the sequins. Instead, I wore this beautiful chain belt from Brighton. I used to frequent the local Brighton store a lot! I have several belts but not as much jewelry these days. Just a reminder…from now until December 31st (tomorrow, actually), you can save 20% off your entire order at Clara Sunwoo with my code, MARSHA20! I have worn this jacket several times already and absolutely love it!
The Lewk!
Need a little sass to balance out the glamour? Add an updated cowgirl boot like the L’Artiste Rodeha Boot. I purely do wish I got paid for the times I’ve shared my footwear from L’Artiste! I’d be…well, let’s be honest…I’d be buying more! These are on sale right now, too. The questions is, do I need the teal color? One of the things I like about these boots is the hint of a jangle when I walk in them. I added lots of bling since I was wearing a plain white tee. The necklace and both bracelets are from a holiday promotion Banana Republic did over ten years ago. I know because we still lived up north! I bought the earrings last year at J Crew, but a “gold” version is available here. These are surprisingly light.
Wrap it up, Marsha!
I have to just accept that something will go wrong for our Christmas meal. I think I’m just going to call it a tradition from now on! We’ve already decided next year, we’ll get pizza again, but we will wait until after 4:00! We can open presents and play games until it’s time to eat. So, can we talk? Do you have traditions for holiday meals? Have you ever had something go wrong when you really needed it all to go right? What are you doing for New Year’s Eve? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can.
Thank you!
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Love the outfit! I am guessing it was Really Cold for Xmas there? (I am in Melbourne, Aust where it was Very Hot on Xmas Day. Thank goodness for aircon!) We were meant to travel (10 hrs in the car) to Sth Aust for Xmas to spend it with my husband’s family, but I came down with Covid, so we spent it here at home instead. Oh well, there is always next year..
Oh, Bronwyn, I’m so sorry you have (had) Covid. Pneumonia and some vicious stomach bug is making the rounds where I live. I’m in the state of Indiana which is in the Midwest even though we aren’t really in the middle of the US. When I was younger, it would have been quite cold on Christmas Day, but it was in the 50s (12.78C) this year. It’s supposed to get quite cold next week, though, with lows near freezing.
Thank you so much! I was quite happy with the way the skirt and jacket went together.
I love hearing about the Pizza place that feeds people who can’t afford to eat and all that they do in the community. We need more family run places like that all over the world.
Glad you didn’t get sick from the blueberry pudding.
I still love the jacket! It looks great.
Happy New Year.
https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/
Thank you so much, Rosie! Look for it to appear on the blog a few more times! I’m still not sure there was anything wrong with the blueberry delight but better safe than sorry.
I didn’t know about the feeding others until someone posted about it on Facebook. I shall definitely buy some of those tags as well as getting more pizza. This place is well loved by the community, and I hope it stays open for many, many years!
My ex and I had completely different sleeping rhythms. He was the earliest lark in the tree while I’m absolutely a vampire bat, so we were never awake together for long on New Year’s Eve, but we were both not party fans, so it didn’t really matter. On the rare occasions when we went to be with my family, I would usually wear black velvet which is my absolute favorite outside my casual “uniform”.
Nowadays I’m still awake or I wake up because of those stupid fireworks and then stay awake to be there for my cats if they want that. No need to dress up.
That skirt is lovely (I could wear it with velvet ;-)), is it very heavy?
Happy New Year and here’s to a quiet celebration!
Cat
https://catswire.blogspot.com/
Happy New Year to you and the cats, Cat! The skirt is not heavy at all. It is lined so it’s not itchy anywhere.
Yes, my husband is the same way…up early and to sleep early. I stay up late (vampire bat is a good way to describe it) and wake up late. It’s raining as I write this on NYE so I think the fireworks will probably be this weekend. They may be tomorrow night if people have the week off (most people do, it seems).
Thanks, Cat!
That skirt is gorgeous – my kind of skirt. And like you I’m very unsure as to whether I will stay up. We used to go to NYE parties – sigh, but no longer. And we might be in bed tucked up and asleep or we might just be in our pyjamas watching the TV – we’ll see.
The UK Christmas meal is very traditional – it’s always a turkey (or chicken) with a ham, plus pigs in blankets (that’s little sausages wrapped in bacon, plus loads of veg including brussel sprouts (which I adore) roast potatoes, red cabbage and then peas and sometimes carrot and swede mash. Then there’s loads of gravy, bread sauce (yes it’s a thing) and cranberry sauce and don’t forget English mustard (which is hot)! Oh and stuffing of course!!!!!! Which is how you feel after eating a plate of that!
Happy New Year Marsha xxxxx
Thanks, Penny! It was very inexpensive, but I must have had my head in the sand. I didn’t realize how bad sequins are for the environment. I will, however, keep this skirt for a long, long time! It’s so versatile…at least to me! Oh, I will definitely be up…I can’t fall asleep before midnight even if I wanted to. I’m currently watching A Gentleman in Moscow so I might be watching that or working on the blog.
I don’t believe I’d be able to walk after all of that! Goodness, that is quite the spread. Did you cook it all, or would your family bring in bits and pieces of it? When my mom was alive, we would have large meals with all the aunts and daughters bringing in sides and desserts.
I used to love brussels sprouts, but we ate so many of them a few years ago that I don’t have quite the same love for them. Luckily, Mike doesn’t like gravy because I cannot make it to save myself! We had a dog once that wouldn’t even eat it!
Have a wonderful New Year, Penny!
That is a fabulous outfit! We’ve never really celebrated New year’s either but I would absolutely wear something just as cute and sparkly as that if I did. Sorry to hear that you always have a minor problem of some sort with your Christmas dinner but it does sound like you were supporting a wonderful establishment.
Thanks, Joanne! I love this jacket and thought it worked well with the skirt. The only time I can recall celebrating New Year’s Eve was a couple of years after we were married when we went to our friends’ house. I’m pretty sure I wore jeans and a sweater if not a flannel shirt. I wouldn’t mind doing something on NYE some day, but it’s not really a big deal.
The problem with the pizzas was truly minor…as I said something always goes wrong so I’m just going to consider it a tradition from now on! I hope to get some more pizza from them soon because it was delicious!
You clean up fabulously. I adore this look.
I can’t stay up late anymore. I’m an early bird girl even though I don’t get up that early, LOL. We haven’t done much on those holidays in years.
And I think you did the right thing with the pizza place. Giving grace is what we all need. Right??
XOOX
Jodie
Thanks, Jodie! I try! I haven’t been an early bird girl since 2010 when I had my first foot operation. Something just got switched in my brain even though I still had to get up early while I was still teaching. Now, I honestly can’t fall asleep before midnight or even 1:00am. I can turn out the lights, turn off the devices (hours before), and I will still lie there and toss and turn, not falling asleep until even later.
At first, I was upset about the pizza place, but then I realized it was not intentional. Everyone had more than enough food, and the pizza was actually delicious! We will be returning. I’m even going to go in and buy some of those little tabs for free pizzas. We need all the grace we can get!
What a lovely skirt! You look absolutely gorgeous.. Wonderful Post! Wishing you a great day!
Rampdiary
Thank you so very much, Jyoti! I have never owned a sequin skirt before, and this one was perfect!
Hello Marsha, love your outfit, I do love a bit of sparkle.
We don’t really celebrate New Year now. But when we lived in Scotland the village had its local ceilidh which was lots of fun, very noisy and very inclusive . But after the bells at midnight, the music would stop and folk used to wish each other an Happy New Year good night and make their way home.
We go for a traditional meal at Christmas- Turkey with all the trimmings followed by Christmas pud and mice pies with lots of custard, cream and brandy butter – always feel too full after and say we’ll not have Christmas pie next year but always do.
We all did go out for a curry one year for Christmas dinner but no one really enjoyed it so back to tradition which we have decided we all enjoy.
I’ll be in my PJ’s before midnight and most probably asleep!
I wish you a Happy New Year Marsha
Happy New Year to you, Linda! The ceilidh sounds like a wonderful way to welcome in the new year, especially ending at midnight! I think it will be quiet here because it’s been raining all day and night. But, I’m pretty sure many will make up for it tomorrow night or at the weekend. Your Christmas meal sounds delicious. Since we had moved and everyone was all in the same place for once, we have just begun making new traditions. Oh, I will definitely be in my pajamas before midnight and most likely working on the blog!
Thank you, Linda!
We went to a party at a neighbor’s house last night and weren’t home til 2. I am an early riser and haven’t been up at 2 am since I had little ones in the house lol. But it was fun and I wore my sparkly pants so felt very festive. Sounds like you rolled with all the things on Christmas Day and that’s a good attitude to have. You were with family and that’s the best part for me. Happy new year!
Oh, Joyce! That sounds like a wonderful outfit! You definitely beat me by staying up until 2:00! I was asleep by 1:00 but no party-going for me. Initially, I was upset, but then I decided that certainly wasn’t in the Christmas spirit! My daughter said I could call them the next day, and they’d make it right. I’m sure they would have, too. But, things happen, and it’s OK to give grace when we can. I think, even with the two little upsets, this was one of our best Christmases.
Thanks so much, Joyce!