Year: 2012

Listen.

My house is a wreck. Like plastic and wet paint and stuff everywhere kind of wreck. Not to mention that I think the paint fumes have made me slightly high.

And have I mentioned that Caroline and I leave for New York at 6:55 tomorrow morning? Which is actually this morning by the time you read this but it’s 3:30 p.m. while I’m writing this. And I’m high. Don’t mess with me. Mimi and Bops are taking us for an early Christmas present/Mimi’s birthday. The excitement level is way high here.

But I haven’t packed our suitcases. I can’t even get into her room right now to access her closet. And, worst of all, I can’t even watch T.V. because it’s all disconnected.

In summary, my life involves a myriad of first world problems.

But I figured this was a good time to put together a little gift guide in case you need a few ideas for Christmas gifts. Or in case you just want to treat yourself to something as a reward for all the Christmas shopping you’ve done.

1. chevron throw

I’ve really been wanting a chevron throw for my living room. This one is a really soft microplush material and comes in some really cute colors at a great price.

2. little women

Possibly my favorite book ever. And every time I see this cover of it in Target, I swoon a little.

3. lodge moccasins

Who doesn’t need something cute to keep their feet warm?

4. wired tech hat

This is so clever. It’s a knit cap that you can fit your earbuds in. Music and warmth while running or whatever.

5. hummingbird farms lavender lotion

This is my favorite, can’t live without lotion. Seriously addictive and smells like heaven.

6. atom art bowl

A few years ago one of my friends gave us one of these cute bowls filled with sweet and spicy pecans and wrapped in cellophane with a bow. The pecans are long gone, may they rest in peace. But we still use the bowl all the time.

7. gameday boot socks

I want these so bad. But they have them for other schools in case you don’t share my love of Texas A&M.

8. wimberly charm monogram necklace

I love these. They come in a bunch of cute colors and would be a perfect gift.

9. nahuala rectangle trays

These trays are darling. I’m always looking for something to put things in.

10. o holy night sign

I’m a little obsessed with this. And wish I would have ordered one sooner. Now I’m thinking I’ll wait until next year, but LOVE. And they also make great signs with any quote you may want.

I’m sorry I didn’t include pictures, but did I mention my house is a wreck and I’m not packed for New York and I still need to wash my hair?

Because you can’t go to New York with dirty hair. Or maybe you can. I just can’t.

Happy shopping.

Well, other than celebrating the Heisman trophy making its way to Aggieland, this weekend was fun-filled.

Why, you might ask.

Or probably not because you have other things to worry about like where to hide your dadgum Elf on a Shelf.

But I’ll tell you anyway.

It was the 21st annual Gulley and Mel Christmas shopping weekend extravaganza.

At least we think it was the 21st annual. We can’t really remember. Probably because we’re in our forties and memory isn’t our friend. But, sufficed to say, we’re over the twenty year mark.

And in case you’re new, this is our tradition. The husbands take care of the kids and we spend our entire weekend, from Friday morning until Sunday, shopping for Christmas presents and drinking wine and wrapping all our presents and solving at least 3/4 of the world’s problems.

It is a tradition I highly recommend. Granted, we started it long before we had kids. Or husbands. But it’s the one thing we put on the calendar for the following year as soon as the weekend is over. It’s non-negotiable and we’ve been known to turn down several other exciting options in lieu of the shopping weekend.

For example, I rescheduled a dental appointment.

And this year we must have been feeling nostalgic because we reminisced over Christmas shopping weekend times of old. Mainly because this was the hottest shopping weekend we can ever remember. Except for the Christmas that Gulley was eight and a half months pregnant with Jackson. The temperature was in the thirties and she wore a short-sleeved black shirt the entire weekend and complained about how hot she was. And every time I suggested we sit and take a break, she’d tell me she was getting bigger by the minute and we had to keep going.

Meanwhile, I was wearing a wool hat. And mittens. And still freezing.

Sadly, I think we’ll repeat this experience sometime in the next decade except it will be hot flashes instead of pregnancy. Hormones are fun.

Anyway, Gulley and I left my house at 9:15 Friday morning. Our first stop was Starbucks where you will be glad to know that I was greeted by my Starbucks friend who immediately handed me his credit card and told me my coffee was on him since Kate is pregnant. (I nearly said Knocked up, but she is a princess. Seems wrong.)

I told him thank you and joked that maybe I’d get a breakfast sandwich too. He kind of laughed, but Gulley assured me it was a courtesy laugh and he looked a little nervous. So I made sure that he saw that I only bought a peppermint mocha.

And then we made our way out to La Cantera where we spent the rest of the day. Sadly, I didn’t find the majority of things I actually needed to buy, but found a few other things that just called out to me. Specifically, I was trying to find a pair of camo leggings for Caroline and had seen them online at Zara, but they didn’t have them in the store and I had to order online. Hooray for free shipping.

We also went to Homegoods and didn’t buy anything. Then we stopped at LifeWay and bought Caroline and Jackson each a new Bible. Will had informed us that he was really too young to “enjoy” a Bible right now. But then we stopped in Michael’s and I got new garland for my mantle marked down to 60% off. Which was a steal except for the fact that the lines at Michael’s always make me want to gouge out my eyes and put on sackcloth.

After that we came back by my house because the painters had left for the day and it was getting dark and we needed to turn on some lights. Then we ventured back out to Old Navy and Learning Express before finally deciding to drive around and look at Christmas lights before going to eat a healthy dinner of artichoke dip and wine.

On Saturday we did the same thing. Except we started our day with Mexican food because OF COURSE. And then we went to Academy right before we made an unfortunate trip to Lids inside the mall. After that I felt like I needed a bleach shower because there’s something about a salesman with a hat that says DOPE who is in dire need of a belt that just feels sketchy. Not to mention that the mall in general seemed like a giant petri dish of flu bacteria.

So we made a few more stops to some local stores. And then one last obligatory stop at Target to get all the things we forgot to get at Target the day before. And then our alarm went off notifying us we had one and a half hours until the Heisman ceremony. So we MADE HASTE (much like the shepherds) and picked out wrapping paper at Container Store, stopped by Central Market for cheese and crackers and a delicious peppered salami and got home in time to watch ESPN drag out an hour of television that could have been summed up in three minutes tops.

But when they finally called Johnny Manziel’s name, Gulley and I jumped up and down screaming like we were his mother. And then we vowed that if the Aggies play in the national championship game in the next few years that we’re going no matter what.

Which I told P when he got home on Sunday evening. And he said something about it being expensive.

Whatever. Those tickets are only $15.

Which, coincidentally, is the same amount of money I spent Christmas shopping this weekend.