Girlymama

This morning I indulged in a mani & pedi.

Three words: Hot. Stone. Massage. Heaven.

Ahhhh…. much needed after a crazy, blizzard-y weekend.

Of course I ruined my pedicure when I had to put on shoes to get to Gracie's doctor appointment on time.

Gracie was at the doctor because she has been up every single night, unable to sleep because she's coughing so hard.

Turns out she just has a monster cold….

And Colin has it.

And I have it.

So, its officially Christmas – we're all sick!

Speaking of Christmas, can we petition Starbucks to keep the Peppermint Mocha around all year?

I'm already dreading that day after New Years when I walk into Starbucks… practically tasting that delicious chocolatey, minty yumminess… and see that its off the menu.

SOB!

ohmyword, my head hurts.

I need a nap.

Or a Peppermint Mocha.

Neither is very likely, though.

Last week, my husband went to Florida. So I may or may not have gotten several snarky telephone calls about how gorgeous and sunny it was, how he wasn't wearing a jacket, blah blah blah.

Where did he have to go this week?

Montana.

Nice.

My Christmas shopping is officially done!!! (Don't be too impressed – our first mini- Christmas is tomorrow, so I'm actually not done that early!)
I went to the King of Prussia Mall yesterday (for non-Philly folks, its one of the biggest malls in America). Its my own fault – I hate going to the mall at Christmas and I've been putting it off. So I bit the bullet.
After discovering that sometimes the mess your children make eating lunch is the car is not worth the time saved letting them eat in the car, I found a parking spot in the next zip code, wrestled a squirming, screaming Colin in his stroller and gave him a lollipop to keep him quiet, gave whiny Gracie a lollipop to keep her quiet and charged in.
The mall itself wasn't too bad, it was the stupid parking lot! It took me fifteen minutes to find a parking spot… and over half an hour to get out of the parking lot!! GRRRR.
But I'm done shopping! For awhile!

*****

So I tried my new Dyson (the D14) and… I hated it. I KNOW, right?! It was supposed to be super amazing!  But was super heavy and hard to maneuver. So I went online and decided to try the DC25 instead. Kohls let me return the first one (Love Kohls!) and I picked up the D25. And I LOVE IT!! LOVE IT LOVE IT!!! It has ruined me for other vacuums.
And let me share the conversation I had with my husband while we were putting the D25 together:
"Well, I was going to get you a Christmas present, but now you have your Dyson."
"WHAT? A vacuum cleaner does NOT count as a Christmas present!"
"A vacuum cleaner doesn't. But this isn't a vacuum cleaner. Its a Dyson."
Not sure I can argue with that one…

*****

Oh, don't forget to enter all of my giveaways this week!

Okay, ya’ll. I cannot possibly make this any easier for you!! Here’s the embedded poll. No signing into Facebook! Yay!

Where does Girlymama get her fashion fix? If you read this blog at all, you've figured out by now that my current favorite clothing store is LOFT as evidenced by:

1. Just about every single fashion post I've posted this year has at least one item from LOFT in it.
2. The first thing on my Christmas list is – and I quote -"Anything from LOFT, size Small."
3. I think every piece of new clothing I've bought this fall is from there.  Seriously. This is my closet floor right
   now:
   
4. I have loved several items so very much this fall and winter that I
   bought them for FULL PRICE. ME!! Paid full price!! I KNOW!!!!!

And its been noticed. By LOFT ITSELF. **faint**

Girlymama has been nominated in LOFT's Blog Wars for Best Place to get your Fashion Fix!!

Would you go vote for me? You can also vote on my actual blog now! (I'll give you TWO extra entries in my $100 Loft gift card giveaway!)

What I'm making for Christmas dinner this year. So amazing, so easy and SO delicious.

Herb-Roasted Leg of Lamb

12 large unpeeled garlic cloves, divided
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 (6-pound) boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and tied
4 to 5 pounds small unpeeled potatoes (16 to 20 potatoes)
2 tablespoons good olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the
oven rack in the lower third of the oven so the lamb will sit in the
middle of the oven.

Peel 6 of the cloves
of garlic and place them in the bowl of a food processor fitted with
the steel blade. Add the rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon
pepper, and butter. Process until the garlic and rosemary are finely
minced. Thoroughly coat the top and sides of the lamb with the rosemary
mixture. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Toss
the potatoes and remaining unpeeled garlic in a bowl with the olive oil
and sprinkle with salt. Place in the bottom of a large roasting pan.
Place the lamb on top of the potatoes and roast for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2
hours, or until the internal temperature of the lamb is 135 degrees
(rare) or 145 degrees (medium). Remove from the oven and put the lamb
on a platter; cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow the lamb to rest
for about 20 minutes. Slice and serve with the potatoes.

recipe origin: Barefoot Contessa Family Style

"Mom, how can Santa see us all the time and know if we're bad or good or know if we are sleeping? I thought only God could do that?"

I never even thought about it that way. How do you even answer that?

My kids amaze me.

(Read why we don't do Santa here.)