Per usual, it flew...

I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to the twinkles and sparkles of my holiday home, but I did pull a few things down here and there today, lacking the motivation to tackle to total tear-down.

We had a wonderful time ringing in Twenty-Eleven last night with old friends at Touch--a yummy dinner and rocking retro concert. Ryan and I have lazed about most of today, although I did attempt a Martha Stewart recipe for chocolate souffles that was mildly successful. That and a pot of chili and lots of TV, namely the launch of OWN, have sustained us for this first day of the new year. Macauley is with my parents, and while we relish the break, we miss him so much when he's gone.

I got so many lovely gifts this year from my friends and family. Ryan gave me a cute set of baggage from Victoria's Secret, their new Bombshell fragrance, a new (bigger!) pair of diamond earrings AND a new camera! So, so sweet of him. I love giving gifts (I have found that is for sure my Love Language, if you're familiar with the 5) and so enjoyed buying and wrapping goodies for everyone I love...

The weather swelled to the low 60s here the last couple of days, but today we've dipped way back down into winter and I'm left with mostly the urge to snuggle up and insulate myself from the inpending return to school and the real world coming up Tuesday. There's all sorts of organization and cleaning and such to be done, but I suppose it can wait. This season always blurs by so quickly...I'm going to try to soak up what I can of it before I pack it all away and settle into the grayer days of just plain winter. Some peace there, too, for sure, but certainly less sparkle...

Warm wishes for a safe and satisfying 2011 to all...

"We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential." ~Ellen Goodman