Thank you, Santa!

Looks like I wasn't too bad of a girl this year - made out pretty well with Santa's surprises under the tree! Here's a bit of what came around on Christmas Eve - hope you found special things under your tree too!

1.  A Fuji Instax Camera - a super-fun gift that I've been wanting for a while - sometimes there is just nothing like being able to hand someone a hard copy picture.  While normally I take digital photos, of which you can fire off hundreds at a time to get the "right" image, I think this makes you stop and think before you click.

2. A lovely, gauzy light leopard print scarf - in fact, I'm wearing it today.  This will be perfect for jazzing up neutrals and will look great with any of my gold toned chunky necklaces that can hang below for a layered effect.

3. Proper pyjamas - finally! The ones I actually got were from Brook Brothers.  I've never really paid much attention to pyjamas before but I'm pretty sure I will never go back now.  If you're a fan of crisp hotel sheets, just iron up a pair of any of suiting cotton or broadcloth cotton pyjamas for BB and you'll basically be in a hotel envelope all night long.  Bonus, BB can monogram them for you.

4. My mother in law is infamous for saying "just throw a little cashmere over your shoulders"...and she's right, and so is my own mother who told me early on that there is nothing like it.  This year a cream turtleneck had my name on it from one Santa, while a black shawl collar sweater had my name on it from another.  I'm now officially prepared for winter nights!

5.  Fresh shower gel and lotion - I read in some rag magazine that Halle Berry that insists on this smell in her shower every morning.  No idea if that's true and I rarely pay much attention to celebrity product endorsements, but I saw it in a store once and smelled it and it's true, that lemon smell really is all that.  It's expensive so I rarely buy it for myself but I do love love love it.  There is just something about that smell that makes the start of the day better.  I'm waiting until New Year's to crack open these bottles.  As a bonus, I also received the lotion (as well as a ginormous container of the Bliss lemon+sage scented lotion as well - tied for my other favorite!).  I hardly wear perfume because it gives me headaches but a little touch of lemon is enough to keep the spring in my step all day.

6.  A silver serving platter that keeps food hot or cold - much like an earlier lesson in life from mother + mother in law + grandmother about not being able to have too many bowls, you can also not have too many platters.   Diplo-husband once tried to decry a moratorium on platter purchases foolishly, and then realized at our next party that we didn't have enough.  And right now, we hardly have any since most of our kitchen things are packed up in storage, so this has been put to immediate good use.

Thank you, Santa! by thenewdiplomatswife