Happy Independence Day Finland!

Happy Independence Day to Finland! I am thankful to all the veterans who enabled me to grow up in a free country. And congrats to the current generation who are working hard to keep the economy running and ensuring that Finland stays on the top of many important international rankings, especially on education, quality of life, corruption-free government, etc. I was so lucky to be born there and am very proud of my birthplace that has given me such a privileged start in life.

So Many Temptations

I read in some business journal that companies are printing fewer catalogs this year due to the online presence. And I guess it is true that I've received fewer catalogs from the traditional mail order firms such as LL Bean, and middle market stores like Macy's. But I feel like the higher end stores and department stores have gone all out on their catalogs this year. Our mailbox has been full of their beautiful glossy catalogs, tempting to shop, shop, shop. Today I even received the Americana mall look book, hand delivered by UPS! I must be a valued customer ;-)

It is hard to resist the temptation, but I must. My closet cannot handle one new item until properly purged. There are also items hanging there that have never been worn, and, yikes, items that are still in their carrier bags (shameful!). My rule of thumb has been for the longest time: never buy anything new until you've worn everything you own at least once!

For Christmas shopping, I plan on doing most of it online. Being an Amazon prime member gives you free fast shipping, and better prices than you'd get in a store. So why schlep around in stores when you can shop while laying on the sofa eating chocolates...

Three Weeks to Christmas

This weekend was the kickoff to the Christmas season. On Saturday we went to the Finnish School's Christmas Bazaar and the Christmas Carols at the Finnish Church. The girls participated in the Lucia procession which is always the cutest part of the event, and the small church was full of our friends and "family". I love Christmas songs and singing them, and the atmosphere at the Finnish Church is casual, warm and fuzzy. In other words it's the perfect start for the Christmas season. On Sunday we decorated our tree and put up some lights in our front yard. I also had a chance to pick my Christmas present (but I can't open until Christmas morning..).

Casual Thursday

Yes, yes, I know. Fridays are supposed to be casual, not Thursdays. But there's a good reason why I'm casual today. I've been wearing a (very traditional) variation of a skirt and a blazer outfit for the beginning of the week, and wanted to wear pants today, realizing that my good black pair is at the dry cleaners, and the other good pair requires high heels (how the hell do I own only two pairs?). Now my toes were hurting as I'd been wearing heels for three days in a row, and therefore I could not put on heels and wear those longer dress pants either (isn't that a farty word - dress pants?). So this is what I ended up with. Skinny H&M cotton pants, Target boots, made-to-measure tailor made silk top, and Ann Taylor cardigan. The outfit could be a little less casual if I had put on different boots..but after all that pant confusion, it was too much for my early morning brain to figure out. And anyway, my daughter assured me the outfit was not too casual. So if it's good enough for her, it's good enough for the financial industry, duh!

Gotta Be In It To Win It

New York is in the grips of a HALF A BILLION dollar lottery jackpot. Yes, the lucky winner will get $500,000,000.00, minus of course the half that will go to Uncle Sam. So of course I went and played for ten bucks, even though I rarely lotto. And here's what I'll do if I win:

1. Charter a private jet and get somewhere warm and luxurious and hide out with the family until we had a life plan
2. Hire a personal trainer and a nutritionist to whip me into such shape that I can live forever enjoying my riches
3. Get a live-in massage therapist
4. Travel around the world for one year in first class, with an entourage of nannies, tutors, above-mentioned trainer, nutritionist & massage therapist; in the end of the year make a decision where to settle down.
5. Give ridiculous amounts of money to charities benefiting women and mentally ill in third world countries, building schools in Afganistan, Doctors without Borders, UNICEF, and many many others.

What would you do if you won?

The Weekend in Photos

It was a nice, low key, long weekend spent with family. Lots of relaxation, one night I actually slept ten hours. And lots of christmas shopping: my two favorite malls - Americana at Manhasset, and Roosevelt Field mall; and a quick jaunt at Fifth Avenue, NYC, where we visited the American Girl doll store, which is always amazing, no matter how many times you go. The weekend also included some leftover eating (yummy paninis, and I made a delicious quiche out of leftover turkey and some veggies & cheese). Despite the deliciousness, after four days of leftovers, the word turkey is beginning to sound like more of a four letter word, so I guess we'll have to live turkey free for a while. We also put in some outdoor activity, and Christmas decoration. On top I squeezed in a gym visit, a nanny interview and some laundry... So maybe it wasn't so low key after all...

Hostess

Our Thanksgiving was perfect. It was casual, warm, and still festive enough to feel like a special day. The food came out delicious, and the turkey was probably the best ever this year, thanks to a new brining recipe found from Pioneer Woman's archives. And with all the leftovers, I don't have to cook for at least a week (which is a GOOD thing after yesterday's cooking marathon).I will go and get a panini grill today (and brave the Black Friday crowds, yikes!) so that hubby can make some delish turkey panini for us. He's been talking about the turkey paninis for weeks and I'm not planning to let him off the hook now..

This was my hostess outfit yesterday: Kirna Zabete for Target tunic dress, BR skinnies, Tiffany necklace, bare feet. Funny thing about that Kirna Zabete dress; I had seen their stuff online (I always check out the Target collabs), but it had absolutely no appeal, it looked drab and boring with weird colors and prints. But then I went to Target anyway for some toy shopping, and the Kirna Zabete rack was right there in the front, 30% off, no less. So I browsed, and was amazed how much better the stuff looked in real life. I ended up loading on a ton of the Kirna stuff, and have been super happy I did..