A New Sense of Accomplishment

I just finished putting together two new nightstands from The Christmas Tree Shop (an awesome place I just discovered - super cheap and convenient and a total misnomer as they only have a few Christmas things). It took forever and my hand is sore from the screwdriver, but the directions were easy to follow and polite. Yes, polite. The directions actually said "please" and "kindly". I've never seen anything like it. Doing something like this always fills me with a sense of accomplishment and purpose, which I've been lacking lately. I have had writer's block for about a month now, but after putting those nightstands together all by myself, I feel inspired.

For the past week, I've had off from work and I have to say that I'm completely restless. I can't relax. I think I'm so used to constantly working or running errands that I don't know what to do with free time anymore! Yesterday, I went to the gym and took a spin class (and as a result am in a lot of pain right now), cleaned a little, tried to write, watched Confessions of a Shopaholic and met up with friends for coffee and dinner. All day, instead of relaxing, all I could think about was how to fill my time. Maybe I need to practice relaxing more often.

This week, the week after Christmas, is always a little sad for me. Christmas came and went too quickly as it has for the past few years and now I'm a little sad. We'll soon take our tree down and the magic will be over. How depressing. I'd actually compare it to a sort of postpartum depression, without the hormones and baby. I try to focus on the memories from Christmas and look forward to the next few days off. At least I won't have to go to Walmart every day for a week like I did before Christmas.

I loathe Walmart. I loathe everything about it: the lighting, the sparse, disorganized shelves, the angry salespeople, the angrier customers intent on ramming my cart with theirs. I walk into Walmart and am instantly anxious. All I can think about is leaving. I've come to realize that Target offers better quality things at almost the same prices without all the anxiety and stress. I could live at Target with all its organization and color coordination. I want to buy everything because it all looks so pretty. I read an article a few weeks ago about Target and how the new marketing strategy is to emphasize the low costs instead of the high quality. In other words, they are taking a cue from Walmart. Personally, I think Walmart should take a cue from Target. Give me some organization and pretty colors and you've got me for life.

On my *new* nightstand:

I'm reading Jodi Picoult's Change of Heart for my book club. Honestly, I think the cover is lacking. I would never have picked it up had it not been the book club pick of the month. The book itself, however, is amazing. It's about the murder of a young girl and her stepfather and is told from the point of view of various people affected by that murder: the wife and mother of the victims, a juror from the trial, a man from the murderer's neighboring jail cell, the murderer's lawyer. It is extremely well done. The differing voices are distinct and each tell a different side of the murder and murderer, so you're never sure what to think. I'm about halfway through and it's hard to put down. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.

Christmas Happenings

Decorating for Christmas is always the highlight of the season for me. I love trimming the tree while watching a holiday movie or listening to Christmas music. This year was especially special as it is the first Christmas that Kurt and I live together. We decided to get our tree last Sunday at Keris Tree Farm, which I totally recommend. We didn't really want to cut down our own tree, so I double-checked online that they had fresh-cut trees. We went about 45 minutes before closing and just our luck, they were out of fresh-cut trees. Which means we had to trudge through the fields in ankle deep mud as it was a balmy 50 degrees. Let me just say that we were not prepared for this. Kurt was wearing white sneakers and I had suede moccasins on - not the best mud-wading shoes. After finding the "perfect" tree, we cut it down using the flimsy saw they gave us (and by "we", I of course mean Kurt. He made me try to cut it down and I couldn't do it). About 15 minutes later, we had the tree strapped to the top of Buick and were driving back home praying it wouldn't fly off. Our tree is huge. As Kurt cut the strings wrapped around it, I was reminded of Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation. It resulted in almost the exact same scene with the two of us covered in sap and pine needles. A great new holiday memory.

Yesterday, we met up with three of Kurt's friends from college and their wives in New York City. We went to ESPN Zone for lunch where the guys instantly turned into twelve-year-olds upon sight of the arcade upstairs and Kurt's friend set a record for spotting someone he knew (about 5 minutes into getting into the city). The food was decent, but the arcade was by far the best part. Especially for the guys. Then, we went to see the tree at Rockefeller Center. We had originally planned to ice skate, but the line was way too long, so we settled on taking pictures in front of the tree. We walked to the rink in Central Park to look at the line there. It really wasn't long at all, but it was getting ridiculously cold, so we sat above the rink watching the ice-skaters, living vicariously through them and drinking hot chocolate. Perfect. For dinner we went to Ruby Foo's. The restaurant itself was cramped (typical of NYC) despite the large space (not so typical), but the food was great. It's a Pan-Asian restaurant, so they have Thai, Chinese, and Japanese food. In my opinion, the best thing we tried were the Chicken Lettuce Wraps. The whole day was a blast. We haven't seen these friends in years and getting to catch up with them was really great. Next time though, we'll make sure to do it on a much warmer day.

On my nightstand:

I just finished reading Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella. She is the author of the Shopaholic series, which I love. I really like her style of writing, though I usually find her main characters to be a bit annoying. This book was really cute. The main character's great-aunt dies and begins to haunt her and coerces her into looking for her stolen necklace. It's a cute story about family, friendship, and ultimately discovering the truth about who you are. It's a light read, good for beach-reading, or as a Christmas present for the avid reader in your life - just a suggestion.

The Value of Retail Therapy

Given my successful shopping trip on Black Friday, it's only normal that I wear at least one new piece of clothing each day since. And I have. Today I wore a fitted, black sheath dress from H&M with a gray button-less cardigan. Inevitably and as new clothes always do, my outfit made me happy. I actually looked forward to getting out of bed so I could wear something new. So I wondered, what is this joy that new clothes bring? I wouldn't consider myself an overly-materialistic person, no more than the average person at least. So how do I explain the sheer joy that comes from new clothes? I like having nice things, of course, but I wouldn't say I need them. Then again, new clothes give me this feeling of confidence that nothing else can. After a particularly eventful shopping spree, I will wear my new clothes somewhat obsessively until that time comes when they magically transform into old, ill-fitting, and completely untrendy.

Hosts of style makeover shows spout the theory that dressing better will make you feel better. While I don't believe new clothes can change a person's outlook completely, I can't help but acknowledge some truth in that belief. Who hasn't had a new dress that somehow seems to pull their shoulders back, hide a tummy pooch, and put a spring in their step? I admit that this joy is not deep-rooted and really only exists on the surface. It will not change your life or cure depression, but it is something, right? I am at the point in my life where I am fairly content with myself. I've come to appreciate who I am and what I look like. I've even learned to accept my many flaws. I'm not obsessed with botox or cosmetic surgery. In fact, I kind of like my gray hairs and the beginnings of wrinkles on my face and I fully admit that I would wear my favorite pair of sweats or running shorts every single day if it was socially acceptable. So I don't think that little confidence boost, that small dosage of happiness I get from wearing new clothes has anything to do with superficiality or materialism. Instead, maybe it simply means I really need new clothes.