Have Yourself a Magic Little Christmas

On Christmas day, children happily wake to the arrival of Santa Claus and his bounty of gifts, adults sip their eggnog and wonder why they have to spend the day with their in-laws and everyone over-indulges in chocolate and other calorie-laden goodies as they hum along with their favorite Christmas carols. In my household, we vary on this routine just a bit, but rest assured, Santa did leave me some choice pieces from Henri Bendel and Saks under the tree. Happily, I am now the proud owner of my very own eye-mask just like Holly Golightly's in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Andy procured this extremely thoughtful gift at the amazing Patchouli's in Rosemary Beach and now my beauty sleep is going to be just a little more beautiful. After tearing through lots of gift boxes filled with more lovely things from my darling husband, taking a long walk with 'Santa Scout'* and sharing a leisurely and not-so-healthy brunch, we were off for our own Magical holiday tradition.

We spent the day watching the Orlando Magic play, and beat, the Boston Celtics in an incredibly exciting game. Red and Green might be the colors of the holiday, but not so at the Amway arena (and faithful readers would know that I wouldn't be wearing green anyway). Only Magic blue and maybe a little red just in the logo of Superman's cape were to be seen, save for the few unfortunate Boston fans. The only other green visible was on the Celtic jerseys donned by the Big 3 and company. Or at this point, should we call them the big 6 or 7 or 8, as their talent runs very deep? It was a truly amazing game and I am so happy that the husband and I were there to 'witness' the event. And of course the Magic win over such a talented team is a tremendous Christmas gift.

Throughout the holiday season, we receive lots of very interesting, creative cards with adorable pictures of adorable children, but this one of a kind card tops all. My very clever niece Sallie sent us this very appropriate Christmas card. She created it just for us, complete with the verbiage, while the rest of her fans received an equally precious photo, sans the basketball. It must be nice to have an uber-talented photo-journalist dad to snap such great pics, and a savvy and thoughtful mom to create the card. (*the photo of Santa Scout is one of Devon's shots too)

So just as Devon, Mathilda and Sallie wished, I did have a a Magic Christmas, and I hope you and your loved ones did too.

Happy Holidays,

xoxo

The Girl Who Rocked the Hornets Nest

Happy Saturday from the Big Easy, where I am presently enjoying a spendid view of the Mighty Mississippi from my hotel room. If New York is the city that doesn't sleep, I can't imagine what to say about this fine city. It's been action packed since the moment I rolled into town with my charming husband and sweet but beastly dog in tow, beginning with a quick stop at Saks, and what better way to start the evening/end the afternoon than a drink at the the royal environs of the Windsor Court with these festive blonde beauties and dear friends, Heather and Wendy, true-life queeen bees.

Next stop: New Orleans Arena to see the New Orleans Hornets play the Oklahoma City Thunder, with friends Jay, George (of Smiling Fish Cafe fame) & Gayle, who was definitely the classiest and most beautiful fan in attendance. This was my first time to see either team, and you can imagine my delight at seeing CP3 (Chris Paul) take to the courts with calm control of his team and to "witness" last years NBA scoring champion, Kevin Durant silently and without fanfare make shot after impossible shot. These two players are truly some of the most talented guys in the sport today and I am so thankful I was able to see them live.

After getting cozy with one of the Hornet Girls, I'm sure Andy and George were sold on "bee"ing for the home team. Naturally, I too was cheering for the Hornets given my love and familiarity with this city (although if it was Hornets/Magic I think you know it would be a different story). So, I was a Hornets fan last night, but not so blinded by my team du jour to miss the importance of seeing the rising power of this powerful, young and upcoming Thunder team. The teams played close the entire night, with the Hornets keeping a small lead most of the game. It was a high scoring, high action game...but when it came down to the last few minutes, even with our fan power, the Thunder rumbled to 97-92 win over the Hornets. I suppose it just wasn't meant to "bee".

After apologizing to the nearby Hornets fans for showing loyalty to the visiting team, and after elbowing several young kids out of my way, I made my way down for some high fives with the Thunder. I feel inspired to have been touched by the greatness of Kevin Durant. I hear people say they don't want to wash their hands after shaking with the likes of the Pope, John BonJovi, etc., but me, I'm just going to go with the more sanitary route and keep the memory and this photo.

And just when you think the evening is over, not so...On to a loud and crazy holiday party at a friends loft. Ahhhh, New Orleans--so much to do!

Must end now as I am on to Galatoire's to linger over a recovery lunch with the husband.

xoxo

Homecoming

Who says you can never go home again? Going home is usually a sweet experience as we are surrounded by the people that love us best and welcomed into such familiar and comforting environs. Isn't that what the holiday bustle is about, preparing our homes to warmly welcome friends and family? There's even the Christmas song, "I'll be home for Christmas" la la la "if only in my dreams".

Well tonight might be more of a nightmare than a dream for LeBron James as he returns to the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland to play his former team for the first time as member of the Miami Heat. It sounds like he wont be getting such a warm welcome at this homecoming of sorts. Since his extremely public and ridiculous announcement that he was "taking his talents to South Beach", his former fans in Cleveland have turned very bitter towards the self proclaimed King. It's been reported that they will beef up the security in order to keep LeBron safe from the hostile fans as their anger towards the former league MVP might lead to violence. In addition to the extra security precautions, Cleveland is banning any "Anti-LeBron" clothing from the game. Hmmmm, I wonder what anti LeBron clothing is? Do they have anti LeBron shops now that the city is bound together with their fury over the humiliating departure of their hometown boy, the beacon of the Cavaliers for all those years? As seen in this photo during "the Decision", Cav fans not very happy.

Tip off is at 7:00 Central on TNT, and trust me that this game will be pure entertainment, as well as good basketball. Let's not forget that the Cleveland Cavaliers still have some amazing power players (i.e. Mo Williams, Anderson Varejao) and they aren't far behind as the 8th ranked team in the Eastern Conference (7 wins, 10 losses) compared to Miami at 4th place with 11 wins and 8 losses. Will the excessive booing hype up the Cavaliers, or will LeBron and team embrace the Boos and turn LeBron's homecoming from a nightmare to a dream come true?

In his Nike ad, LeBron asks, "should I accept myself as a villain? What should I do?" If he's asking me, I think he should stop belly-aching and play ball. Happy Homecoming LeBron...

xoxo