In THEORY, grabbing take and bake pizzas and salad stuff from the grocery store is a cheap, fun way to make Friday night dinner kind of festive.
Unless that grocery store is Whole Foods.
In news that is more cost-effective, Dorothy's American Girls and Wellie Wishers are getting a second life! Here is about a third of them after some sort of cult ritual
Minnie really wanted to wear her ballet recital costume for tea, but it was itchy
Also! This $3 color-on table cloth was a hit (they wanted a "fancy" table cloth for the tea party (which I did not itron).
I really DO have a case of the Mondays, you guys. I HATE the clutter of my Christmas decorations (this always happens to me). My house feels shabby and crowded and the dog! Is having accidents when the kids are watching her (their fault, not hers), and so it's just DISGUSTING in here. Plus, she can't go down the deck stairs, so when we let her out back, she poops and pees on the deck, and I have to clean it up right away or just LOOK AT IT through the kitchen door, and EVERYTHING IS DISGUSTING. Our house is too small and too beat up and bursting with 6 or 7 people and a DOG.
She got all her big girl vaccines (4 months on Christmas Eve!) and is, as the vet says "street legal," meaning we can board her or get her a haircut (NOT HAPPENING-- love her all messy and fluffy). She is also 6.3 pounds, meaning she has TRIPLED HER WEIGHT since we brought her home!
Grocery bills are staggering right now. I know in our area food bank usage is up like 40% from last year? It is truly insane and just doesn't feel sustainable from a social perspective...
ReplyDeleteTea parties for the win <3
Yes, here, too. We are spending about the same amount per week, but we are running out of food by Thursday, as opposed to Saturday. It is wild.
DeleteAs we laid in bed last night, Phil said: I don't want to go to work tomorrow. I said, I can't wait to go to work tomorrow. So we had very different anticipatory feelings about our Mondays. But then our morning was totally derailed by Will being incredibly resistant to doing anything. He just wanted to lay on the couch so he has the worst case of the Mondays of all of us! He was not built to leave the house at 7 but he's stuck in a family that absolutely needs to leave the house at 7 on weekdays...
ReplyDeleteThe cluttered house feeling is tough. That is how I feel when we have people over. But beyond that we have plenty of space since there are just 4 of us and no pets. I hope the accidents stop happening!!
I actually feel a bit better about the house at Christmas because I put a bunch of stuff away as I'm decorating, and the house is constantly being tidied for guests. The dog poop in the back yard (for us) I'm with you on that.
ReplyDeletePoor Minnie, I hate itchy clothes.
I'm with you, Allison. Our house is even more tidy right now. I mean, it's not CLEAN and would not pass a white glove test or anything, but it's tidy because otherwise I would lose every one of my brain cells.
DeleteI know that feeling about Christmas ornaments, Sarah--I think it's because my house is already maximalist and Christmassy stuff (the stuff I have is cheaply made) feels tawdry and clutter-y. But I want to say photos of your home always look lovely and not at all "shabby" or "cluttered." I hope it's just transient seasonal overwhelm and you're feeling better about it soon.
ReplyDeleteYour seven-people-and-a-dog scenario is like the stuff of a Hallmark classic; I know I look forward to witnessing vicariously through your posts! And as usual this post's photos are lovely.
(That WF receipt is horrific though--remember how people used to call it "Whole Paycheck" in the grad school days?!)
OMG. I feel this so much. My Costco trip this week was more than a car payment and at first I thought I'd been frivolous but nope. Just normal groceries
ReplyDeleteOur Calgary house was small and we would have to rejig everything just to fit the tree into the living room! Things did feel a bit tight for a while and then when the decorations were put away, I was struck every year at how spacious our house was (it wasn't, but you know, perspective)
ReplyDeleteI enjoy our decorations, but I also love how un-cluttered the house feels when they are put away!
ReplyDeletePoor Annabelle, having to do her business inside because the kids aren't letting her out. Does she ask at the back door? I've seen people train their dogs to ring a little bell that hangs on the door knob when they need to go out. Or maybe you could just set a timer to go off every 2 hours or whatever her bladder situation is, and they have to let her out when it goes off?
LOL about the American Girl doll and the hair of the dog...
Well, we don't have a dog, but my house also feels shabby and cluttered. With all the Christmas things out, I HAVE TO be on top of the cleaning, and I've let it slide the last couple days. Well, I know what I'm doing tomorrow after work.
ReplyDeleteI love the photo of Minnie sitting on her bed in the "itchy" dress!
I'm writing this on Tuesday- hopefully your case of the Mondays has passed and your house now looks festive and happy to you.
Yes, I totally understand the feeling of the house feeling cluttered. That's why I start taking down Christmas on Dec 26, lol. I love the coziness of it all until I'm READY to put my home back to normal. I'm trying to hold off on doing anything until after the first weekend of 2025, but we'll see if I can manage that.
ReplyDelete