merry times, fancy tastes & two guys under a mistletoe

finally an update on the holiday party: i scratched the poinsettia idea and took ellen & dave a red & gold ornament ball filled with gourmet chocolate truffles instead. shawn, mary and i went together, and the drive up there was scenic. (ellen lives way out past all the wineries and near wintergreen resort).

the food/beverage was fabulous! my inner-oenophile was pleased. ellen made delicious curried lentil butternut squash soup, and a beautiful salad with walnuts & goat cheese; dave made chili, and there was mulled cider and a coconut cake, among other things. i got tons of compliments on both my colorful, festive sweater from nordstrom, and on my mediterranean white bean dip(recipe coming)! ellen shared pictures from last month�s morocco trip. there was also a chinese gift exchange. unfortunately i picked a low number and had presents taken away from me twice. but i still ended up w/ a great gift, so it was fun. and how can one NOT laugh when two guys inadvertently end up under the mistletoe together and exchange a hilarious kiss?

on the way home, i hung out at shawn & mary's for a while and gave them their christmas gift. i also got a tour of the super-cute next-door house, which they recently bought and are fixing up D-I-Y style to rent out this spring. and mary sent home an armful of made-from-scratch blackberry muffins with me.

fast-forward to right now now: my upcoming january deadline is, uh, sobering. someone pour me a drink! i'm headed straight home to a bubble bath and something warm to eat.

more later�