who what where when why wednesday.

q:  

have you received any christmas presents yet?

given any away?

a:

yes and yes!

'tis the season to be merry. and exchange gifts!

bestie christmas happened on monday night.

things happen a little different now that bestie jen is a mother and showering is a luxury. 

last month, we would have gone to dinner at trio or beto's even. but we opted for a christmas celebration at home.  all the better, i think, since that means maximum navy time. 

we ate chicken, homemade mac + cheese, and frozen peas {in honor of holly}.

also a luxury, at this point in fresh motherhood, clean dishes.

i made chicken and mac + cheese with nothing more than a butter knife and a silicone spatula, y'all!  all the necessary utensils were running in the dishwasher. i'm the mcgyver of the kitchen, my friends.

and another new tradition in bestie christmas: $20 christmas.

you guys, that was hard.

we've been known to spend a lot on each other. like, shopping spree a lot.

we decided to challenge ourselves to scale it back.

i think it stemmed from a conversation about people who think we only like expensive things and are hard to shop for. 

QUITE THE OPPOSITE.

i like all things. allllll things.

small things, cute things, clever things, useful things, unnecessary things, functional things.

and so we did it. we spent $20 on each other and we were pleased as punch.

bestie jen bought me a cookbook: for the love of soup.

and since we're still curing ourselves from unabashed gift giving, navy bought me a lady in waiting plate. the one that teases me by being in the store, but then not. available online, but then not. in stock in the back when i call, but mysteriously missing when i go to the store.

and i bought bestie jen the most delicious, yet completely untraceable {blogged here!}, pair of tights in both tomato soup red and pea soup green {see.... i have a thing for soups}. ohhhhmiiigooooosssshhhh, i wanted those tights all for myself.

and, of course, to the rest of my friends {real and recipe exchange friends} - christmas will come in january this year {again. as always}. you're all getting recipe cards... surprise!... i'm just about done typing and formatting and prettying, and then onto the printer to do his thing.

what are you giving? what are you getting?