Recently

a lot has happened recently and i'm here to fill you in!

i went on a holiday date last week with four fabulous ladies.

we went to opening night of The Nutcracker at BAM
followed by a festive gathering at a friend's apartment. 

one of the ladies has a book coming out!

she traveled the world for a year interviewing

men & women about their relationships,

exploring and questioning this post-dating world

in search for a better answer than "he's just not that into you."

 you can pre-order her book, The Gaggle, on Amazon.

to learn more about the book, click here.

and guess what? New Line Cinema is making it into a movie!

(ahhh! can't wait.)

also, the hostess (the best hostess around) made candied bacon chocolate chip cookies...

I know, I know - sounds completely wack, but they were incredible.

her recipe is here.

...

christmas-card-love:

i hope my cards brought smiles to my loved ones!

...

the smell of oranges has always reminded my mom of Christmas -

- and thus, reminds me of the same.

...

a group of us threw a surprise party on Friday for friends

that are moving to San Francisco in January.

{no photo to show you, but their faces were priceless!}

sigh...I'm in such denial this lady is leaving.

pack me in your suitcase? please?

I got this pillow for their new apartment:

it makes me smile. :)

...

memories of a beloved dog named Jackson:

my good friends had to say goodbye this weekend

to this special member of their family after only 5 years;

my heart aches for their loss. :(

we'll never forget your loyalty & love, jack. never ever.

...

so, i follow naomi davis & her family's journey on her adorable blog.

(we're talkin' huge fan over here.)
as you can imagine, I was delighted to run into

her husband and baby during their nyc visit!

i have to admit, it's a little awkward

running into a stranger you know so much about.

i follow him on twitter, i know his wife just announced they're expecting,

i know that he has an affinity for french fries.

{stalk much? sheesh!}

josh was as nice as he could be, though,

asking about me and posing for pictures.

he asked for my help putting on eleanor's mittens;

she looked at me like "who, on earth, are you?",

but still totally melted my heart.

i tweeted the pictures to naomi and she tweeted me back,

wishing me a merry christmas.

hope she knows she totally made my 2011.

...

i bought new hair brushes for the first time

in a really, really long time.

thought you should know.

...

saw this sign in my local art store:

i dig it.

...

gifts from friends:

glasses for sundaes & shakes?

fun straws?

nail polish?

chevron for my iPhone?

obsessed! oh ladies, you sure do know me.
(thank you!)

...

p.s. i know this time of year can get a tad stressful with what feels like
 one
big
holiday
RUSH.
 ~ so much to do, so much going on, so much traveling ~

remember to take a second and laugh a little. it helps.

I highly recommend watching these minute long clips of

"Sh*t Girls Say" if you haven't already seen them.

they're hilarious!

you can watch episodes 1 and 2 here & here.

until next time,

g