11th annual girl christmas

oh thank goodness it is once again the sweetest day...girl christmas!  maybe we start talking and planning it a year in advance.  maybe we try and cram all of our favorite things into 24 hours.  maybe it's a glorious jumble of all things joyful and cheery and...plaid.  it is a gift.  we say this every year but this was the best girl christmas ever.  now that we all live in different cities [and states] it is all the more special to be together, celebrate Jesus and pamper each other.

rachel, me & jenna [in plaid]

holly, shan & cory

this year we switched things up again.  that's become a habit for us nowadays.  always finding new ways to keep things interesting, fresh and awesome.  this year we decided to draw names and our gift for that person could be thrifted or crafted or both.  thrafting will definitely be staying in the girl christmas rotation.

holly drew my name and thrifted me all things precious.

i got these vintage shakers that are going to look perfect on our counter as i start our kitchen evolution [which is in the works...in my head anyway].  she also gave me a wooden crate with a chalkboard front.   i can only think of about 500 things i'd like to do with it.  i'd really really really like to have potted succulents in there but i don't know if that's possible without getting the crate wet?  i don't want to ruin it...it's too sweet.

what would you do with this little guy?

i had rach which was scary for me because she is a fantastic thrifter and crafter and i wanted to give her something she would actually love and use.  something that she would choose for herself [which means that it's awesome].  i wasn't sure if i would go the thrifting or crafting route so my sweet mom babysat emmie one day so i could devote myself to exploring, shopping & deciding.  while thrifting i found this date slate which i thought was absolutely perfect.  you could do a million different things with it, keep the kids schedules, make notes about ministry, meal planning & due dates for business.  it is pretty large so i think it could make a sweet statement in any kitchen, craft room or office.  i hope she enjoys.  and the frame would be really simple to paint if you were 'over' the wood at any time.

here's all the loot!  cory was the only crafter and lets be honest, i wanted to steal everything that she made.  i tried to tell jenna that all the crafts were ugly in hopes that she'd leave them at the house but she took them anyway.  drat.

from there we were off on a mission...lunch and thrifting.  our plan was basically to make our own mini 'craft weekend' but it turned out that we weren't so good at following through on the 'crafting' part, but we'll get to that ha!  my sweet parents offered to watch emmie for a few hours and it was amazing to be a free woman!  we ate at the soup kitchen which is kind of like a little hole in the wall, full of soup.  i don't love soup so mid-grill cheese i realized i didn't pump before we left home.  so turns out, i'm not as "free" as i thought.  just as free as my pump will take me!  i made it back to the girls before too long and we were off again.

we went thrifting at feather your nest; it was the first time there for most of us.  we loved it there!  it's much smaller than the peddlers mall and each booth was worthy of a thorough look through.  we each left with at least a couple treasures.  if money wasn't an issue we could have bought out the place!  i bought this [below], the most wonderful blanket you've ever seen.  it screams WINTER in my face.  and my couch says "please slap some winter on me momma!"

along with treasures i'd die to have there were also gems like this giant wooden gnome [complete with ken doll repelling down pointed hat] and deer feet as wall hooks.  something for everyone...ha ha!

post-thrift, we came back to home base, aka my house, so i could relieve my parents from the little monster bean and the girls could get organized and run to the store to prepare for din din.  before the store a lil photo shoot was in order - duh.

cory, rach, shan, holly, me & jenna - bootfest

and because i don't think either of them would post this awesomely awkward picture of themselves i'm obliged to take that responsibility on.  who could deprive the world of this?

this is why we're friends.

i can almost guarantee that jenna is silent laughing in this picture.  i was hitting people with my arms. it's hard to dance in a small space.  this pretty well captures us.

then... din din!  i should have taken a picture of all the yum yums.  jenna made red lobster rolls and rachel made us shrimp linguini.  everything was delicious and the company of course was top-notch.  this is something we've never done before.  we've made apps and desserts before, or gone out for a nice meal but we've never had a homemade, table-set, extravaganza like this.  it was nice to stay in and so yummy to eat but i don't know if this will become a 'yearly' or not.  maybe a rotation?  personally, i just think there's something nice about not cooking and cleaning when we go out.  story of my life right?  since i don't get many meals with the ladies anything that makes it more relaxing for everyone is something i'm for!  also, i bet most restaurants would have a corkscrew.  sorry ladies.  but in all - i'm craving those rolls right now!

by far my favorite addition to girl christmas this year was a slumber party!  with everyone living out of town: me & rach in lexington, shan in sc, jenna in indiana, holly in louisville and cory in nky it was kind of a necessity but the best necessity ever!  i loved having the girls over for an extended amount of time.  it's kind of my dream.  the only small stressor was a small person.  a tiny reindeer elf named emmie.

don't worry, she got loads of love and snuggles and kisses from her aunties and didn't cry too much in the middle of the night.  hopefully by next year she'll either be ready for her own slumber party over at the grandparents or be sleeping so soundly throughout the night that she doesn't wake up the neighborhood.

we watched every chrismukkah episode of the o.c. while we were 'supposed' to be crafting but most of us pooped out.  i want every reindeer sweater seth cohen has to wear in real life.  i really really think they're cool.  someone, anyone?  buy me one?  the determined ones were rach who made 5 wool felt balls for a garland-to-come and cory made a fourth of a gorgeous scarf.  the rest of us lounged, ate cookies and made hair trains.  duh.  we decided that we either need to have a very specific craft pre-planned [instead of all of our crafting baskets, pinterst, and no plans] or just take another opportunity to craft together.  we've got big dreams.

girl christmas is such a highlight of my year.  my friends are so dear to me and the fact that we share so many of the same interests makes our time together all the more fun.  we'd love to have all of our girl friends join us in this celebration but having it little really lends itself to intentional conversation & fun where everyone there can be included, i love that.  the older i get, the more small group situations are my jam. [yes, i said that].  thank you girls for all the joy you bring into my life, and emmie's too.  i treasure your friendships, your creativity & gifts [talents, not presents].  i'm blessed to be surrounded by so many strong, hilarious & generous women of the Lord.

long-live girl christmas.  my favorite tradition.

a trip down memory lane here & here.  and i just realized i never posted about 2011 girl christmas!  i just found it in my drafts!  i'm such a spaz.  i'll see if i can wrap that up for ya!

merry christmas friends and fam, i hope all your days are merry & bright.  besides my screaming kid, it certainly feels pretty sparkly and wonderful here.  now, if we could just get a crying mute button & a couple snowflakes...

ps all images are stolen from jenna