My Christmas Wish List

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany aka The Feast of the Three Kings.  But in NOLA, today is Twelfth Night, the start of the Carnival Season.  What that means around here is that parades are starting soon and we get to eat king cake, lots of it.  The timing (rather unfortunately) coincides with a sugar detox on my part.  I had a tough time waiving away the multiple offers of king cake today, especially the super-sugary Randazzo's  one that was calling my name.  So, when I was not busy waiving off king cake I was clearing out the Christmas clutter.  Or, I was supposed to be, but instead I spent hours playing with one of my favorite Christmas presents ever:

I LOVE LOVE LOVE it and cannot believe that I waited this long to finally get one!!

Here are the other awesome items that were on my wish list and are now making me smile:

 Birchbox, the gift that keeps on giving (well, for a year at least).

A mandolin!  I know, too many episodes of Top Chef, but these things look awesome and seem like they make for perfectly sliced veggies.

I finally indulged and got a pair of fancy jeans.  I have been wanting a pair of nice jeans for years, since I first learned about 7 For All Mankind, but I never bought a pair, opting instead for the more reasonably priced Gap options.  I wear jeans to work much more frequently than I used to when I worked in a law firm so I have been on the lookout for the perfect pair for the past year.  I saw these beautiful Imogene + Willie jeans and fell in love.  They are much, much more than a pair of jeans.  See for yourself, www.imogeneandwillie.com.

A beautiful and stylish Neverfull all for me and doing a good job of keeping me feeling lovely in my last few months of my last year in my 30's!

The best present of all though was the uninterrupted time with the kiddos.  I love every minute of it, the challenging and exhausting and the bliss.  I need more of that time because their childhood is racing by.  Can you believe that James turns 4 on Wednesday?  4!!

Here they are at the top of Kennesaw Mountain after a hike:

And yeah, James got a haircut, we all did, but his was the most noticeable one of all.