Holiday Goodness

First things first--Happy Holidays everyone!! This year Hanukkah (which my husband Mike celebrates) and Christmas (which I grew up celebrating) overlap, so instead of having my holiday activities spread out, I've had this sudden burst of festivities.

To kick things off, I got an unexpected Christmas gift in that a case I was working on suddenly closed. Score! No coming in to work the day after Christmas and over New Years!

As soon as that happened, I immediately thought I needed to buy myself a celebratory gift. I decided on a new pair of winter riding boots, as my toes have started to feel the cold days at the barn. And who doesn't want a new pair of shoes?! I picked out a faux-fur-lined pair by Mountain Horse, which is the brand I have for my normal tall riding boots. I highly recommend them for tall boots (for short paddock boots, I prefer Ariat.) They arrived last night, and they are toasty-awesome. Here is a picture of me reveling in my new purchase. I had to try them on with my usual grey winter breeches to see if they would fit, and then when they did, I had to share my excitement with a picture.





Then Mike gave me for Hanukkah two model horses I've been wanting for a while: Ravel and Sapphire. These are models of two horses who have competed on the US Olympic/International dressage and show jumping teams, respectively. I immeadiately put them up on my shelf, joining the parade of model horses I've collected over the years (dating back to high school).



Sapphire is the dark chestnut in the middle. Breyer, the company who makes these models, reuses their molds by releasing them in different colors. You can see that Sapphire is the same mold as Monte, the lighter chestnut to the right.


Also this week, I've been to two Hannukah dinner parties, which were quite fun. The only downside is that afterwards my hair has smelled like latkes for days now, even with repeated washing. The smell was also in my overcoat. It's finally wearing off this morning. I don't know what it is about the oil smell that gets into my clothes and hair!

Today I have the day off, so I'm cleaning house and finishing up Christmas preparations. This afternoon Mike and I are going to see Sherlock Holmes, which I'm looking forward to.

Tomorrow I'm heading to my parents house for Christmas, and hoping to just veg out. I'll need the recovery time after this jam-packed week.