Home Again

Gosh it is so nice to be home. Especially when home = sunny Florida :) I used to make endless fun of the snowbirds as a year-round resident, but after enduring a few winters up North I kind of get it now, haha. We've been spending our days

• short and long runs through the neighborhood
• seeing the Byrds live in concert (a rare classic rock band that actually still sound amazing.)
• kayaking at Riverbend State Park  (highly recommend. It was so. beautiful. Scary baby alligators and all!)
• enjoying a bonfire in our freezing (read: very reasonable 53 degree) weather
• exploring Fairchild Botanical Gardens, visiting their gorgeous rainforest butterfly garden and seeing our fifth Chihuly piece...we keep stumbling on his works in the most random corners of the states and I'm really not mad about. This one's another definite must-see if you're in the area
• trying face masks, making terrible cocktails (like...truly awful, LOL) and watching too much House Hunters International

I have to say I really do love spending time with my family, especially down where it's warm. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. What are your plans for the holiday?

Back in London

We've been in London nearly a week now and guys, it feels so. good. The weather's been cool and damp, but not miserable. We've been spending days wandering central London and nights curled up re-watching the original Star Wars trilogy (we're seeing the new one this week!) My sister came in from Spain this past weekend, and between birthday and family dinners, Christmas shopping and a few touristy things squeezed in we've been keeping busy. I'll try to post more photos soon, but if I disappear again for a bit, a very happy, merry Christmas to everyone out there- Christ is (almost) born!

A few interesting links around the web:

To get you in the Christmas Spirit

More good news- and proof that we're all just humans

If you're a big Star Wars nerd, you'll find this extra funny

The Daily Mail's list of things that cause cancer- don't believe everything you read, y'all.

2015: a cuteness review of the year

Husband and I got a Rosemary Christmas Tree this year and it smells amazing.

If I was a D.I.Y. kind of gal, I'd be making these this week- oh well...

We used this blog post to plan out a few fun outings in London before Christmas- enjoy

(p.s.- another helpful London guide for those who are vegan, or fasting like us.)

All the best,

G

A Merrier World

I overheard my parents having a conversation recently after hearing about the lottery winners on the news:
"It would be so great to pay off all of our debts."
"And we could give half the money to the church, and to the OCMC" {Orthodox Mission Center}
"I don't even think I'd want to move into a bigger house. Maybe we could just buy a second home..."

Yea, I would not say no to a second home if it looked like this.

It made me laugh inside.
And not because I thought they were being silly,
or that I was above them or anything like that:
It was because Peter and I had the same conversation about a month ago.
It went the same way-
We'd give money to the church,
Pay off our school loans,
Send our children to good colleges,
Help out our loved ones if they've fallen down.

And in theory,
Throwing money at people and problems seems a brilliant idea.
Money always makes people happy, right?

right. Not exactly.
We've all seen how The Great Gatsby ends
{ok, maybe Baz Lurhmann hasn't. He kind of lost the plot there...}

And I know this is not a new rant;
We live in a consumer society, I get that-
We have the freedom of choice,
and we must always have the Next Big Thing.
In fact, we must have ALL THE THINGS,
if we are to eventually find happiness.
That's what the commercials are saying these days, anyways.
Merry Christmas to all, right?

shout out to Allie Brosch, whose book happens to be one of my gifts for a certain sibling...ahem. 

I've noticed a lot of bloggers post 'wish lists,'
They maybe thinly veiled under a guise of 'for that special someone'
{i.e. things you WISH that he'd wear}
or a little less subtle
like what you'll be buying for yourself with your crisp Christmas bills,
'your prize for being good all year'....

Don't get me wrong;
I'm all for a proper gift guide!
For one, I've gotten at least three gift ideas from these kinds of posts,
Many of which are pretty spot on and have some great ideas for what to get for loved ones
{Joanna Goddard's very often hit the nail on the head.}
And I am DEFINITELY victim to this consumer mindset.
My closet is literally spilling over with stuff,
And yet I still feel like I need more, somehow;
This essential cardigan or that absolutely necessary cognac boot
{c'mon, self, you live in Florida. You do not need leather riding boots. let it go}

The truth is,
We really don't need all the things,
I doubt we even need most of the things.
And we certainly don't need to win the lottery do good and to live a good life
I mean, look where it gets Thorin Oakenshield,
The King under the Mountain, when he wins back his piles of riches and gold, and the arkenstone.
{hint/spoiler alert: it doesn't get him very far}

                                                                                                                                                 


 Anyways, the best I can do is repeat the words of another who is wiser than me:

"if more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."

You know where that's from, don't you?
Have a blessed Christmas, everyone <3