Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

I’ve had several conversations with different people about how it doesn’t feel like it’s the holidays, even though Christmas is right around the corner. Maybe it’s because it’s been a warm winter in LA so far; perhaps it’s the slumping housing market and possible recession (hey when you hear it almost every day on NPR you start believing it). Or maybe it’s because we didn’t decorate our house this year?

Well, it finally began to feel like Christmas to me last week. It all started with my book club meeting last Wednesday, where I had saw people I haven’t spoken to during the past year (I have been MIA for most of the year due to work travel and general laziness). When you haven’t seen people for that long it’s almost like making new friends again; so much happens over the course of the year that just catching up can take half an hour. It was a lot of fun catching up with all the lovely and smart ladies from the book club, women full of great insight and opinions.

This past Saturday I had lunch with my old co-workers from BDO. We all started at the same time and kept in touch even though we’ve all left the company except for one person (partner track!). Again, it was fun seeing all of them and listening to what they’ve been up to.

Lunch at Il Tiramisu

After lunch, I went Christmas tree shopping with my mom, my sister, and Rene. It was a pretty quick trip at Home Depot – we ended up buying the first tree we saw. After hauling it home, we placed it on the stand and decorated it. Here are some pictures:

My sister and mom hamming it up while shopping for a tree

Finding a place for the tree and setting it up

What I do to help out: pose with tree cuttings to imitate a turkey

Pretty colors

Tree decorations are hung and the lights are on

Chuy admiring the tree

Now that the tree is decorated and the presents are under it, I'm beginning to feel the holiday spirit. It's amazing what a tree, lights, and fancy wrapping can do.