a lot like winter

Hello my lovelies! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with all the trimmings and lots of leftovers. Were any of you brave enough to do any shopping the day after? I know Target opened at 4 am but there was no way I was going to crawl out of bed and stand in line no matter how good the sales were.

Winter is still officially about 3 weeks away but even here in sunny California it's beginning to look a lot like well, winter. It's been cold. We had a few days in the 30's early in the week and today it hasn't stopped raining at all. Wasn't I just complaining about how warm it was a mere 3 or 4 weeks ago? I can't complain now and the best part is....I get to wear boots and my favorite scarves again. Yay!!



Well all these thoughts of winter reminded me of one of my favorite holiday traditions. The Nutcracker ballet. My husband and I use to see it every year on our anniversary. My favorite one was when the Kirov ballet visited from Russia and performed in our city. I just love the sets and costumes, and the wonderful music.



The other thing I love about winter is Figure Skating. I've been trying to watch some of the Grand Prix France whenever I remember. Pairs has always been my favorite. Ever since I saw my favorite pair (and in my humble opinion, the best pair skaters ever) Katia Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov. But there are some wonderful and talented teams out now. I also love the current Olympic pairs champions from China and the US Ice Dancing teams have been awesome this year.



Let me just say that the HP movie is awesome! We have seen it twice and will probably go again. It's definitely dark and very character driven. In my opinion it really kept with the spirit of the book, all the way down to the scenes that made me cry when I first read it. What I love is seeing how those young actors have evolved and how they really inhabit the characters they play. They have done an amazing job. I can't wait to see part 2 in July.

I will be officially announcing my new Artful Bag Challenge next week. I'm so excited about it and I've already heard from several confirmed participants. You can find out more about it here. Have a wonderful rest of the holiday weekend!






5 comments:

Leanne said...

Hello dear Anna ... love the new Winter Wonderland of your blog look! So lovely! I do hope you had a wonderful weekend. I was one of the crazy ones out there in line at target at 3:30AM on Friday - have NEVER done this before (and NEVER WILL again!) It was an adventure - for sure. Yesterday the husband and I caught the new HP movie. I love all of them and think I will have to read the book to find out what happens (I can't wait). I did think some of the forest scenes were slow moving in this part I - but after reading your comment on it being so very character driven, I would agree (thanks for helping me see the light!) ;)

Linda said...

Yes Anna, winter is upon us, but no snow yet. It is hard to believe for Michigan. Since Thanksgiving it has threatened to do so but, not in the forcast. It was 31 when I got up this morning. A little wouldn't be too bad but not too much. Just enough to make it pretty.

Have not yet seen HP but will do so very soon. Lines are way too long. We have it in IMax so I want to see it there. All for now.

Anonymous said...

Hi Anna... happy post-Thanksgiving! I'm actually glad it's over with and we can focus on Christmas! I didn't join the madness of Black Friday shopping; not worth all the craziness anymore since you can get fabulous deals all season long. LOVE the HP movie! Want to see it again... :) mercedes

Charlene said...

I would love to see the Nutcracker again! And I ADORE Ice Skating. Are you watching Skating with the Stars? I haven't yet but, hope to catch it. I'm off to hear about the Artful Bag Challenge. Charlene

Theresa MacNaughton said...

Oh, it is our tradition to go and see The Nutcracker Ballet live each year - with a full orchestra. We have our tickets for this year and are greatly looking forward to it. :) We still haven't seen Harry Potter yet! I know - I am BAD. It is high on our list - if we ever get the time! Theresa