dear december, i have a crush on you.

Holiday New Toy Post-Mayhem Bliss

As the first snow flurries of Chicago's long winter dusted Bubby's black (and gray!) coat on our morning walk today, I was reminded that sweet December has, in fact, arrived.  This year has probably been the most intense of my life, in more ways than I can describe in a single post.  But as much as I'm itching to say farewell to 2010 and welcome a shiny brand new year (p.s. yours truly is a new year baby!), I may be this month's biggest fan. To me, December is a symbol of the yin and yang of the eleven months that precede it, full of chaos and comfort, mayhem and peace.

I thrive on being busy, and December is plenty generous when it comes to nonstop action.  It's usually fairly nuts at Mountains of the Moon, and now with Bubby & Bean Art thrown into the mix, I'm confident that I'll be completely sleep deprived in approximately three weeks.  Add to that seemingly endless errand-running, decorating, travels, card writing, making of gifts, etc., and, well, the word "boredom" just doesn't exist during these 31 days.

Then there's the other side of it - the downtime and simple pleasures.  Bubby is fast asleep in front of the fireplace as I type this, and I keep glancing over at the couch, where the boyfriend looks ridiculously cozy under a warm blanket with a book.  It makes me want climb under said blanket, sip on a hot chocolate (preferable with a splash of Bailey's), gaze at the holiday decor that I haven't had time to put up surrounds me, and watch It's a Wonderful Life on repeat until I fall asleep.  For someone who is physically incapable of relaxing before midnight (and that's on a good day), this is quite the big deal.  And I think that's exactly the allure of the comfort side of December and the holidays in general - that feeling of utter relaxation-following-the-madness that only comes once a year.*

Stay tuned for an abundance of December posts, on everything from holiday decorating to DIY gifts to pretty winter inspirations to the delirium that occurs during 3 AM order shipping sessions (apologies in advance to my amazing fulfillment manager, Kari!).

xo,
melissa

*Need some December relaxation inspiration?  Check out the photo of Bubby above, cozy and carefree post-present unwrapping on Christmas day, 2009.