I'm on an Alcott kick of late. I have something to confess. Though Little Women is my absolute hands down favorite book ever (partially because it is so cemented into the framework of my childhood), I have never read anything else by Alcott before. I wonder if it's because I worried that like many authors I love some of their other writing may not actually be as well written? But, as G is in the middle of reading Little Women (finally! I mean, I did read his favorite book, a sci-fi one called The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress way back when we were engaged.) and due to the season we picked up a collection of her Christmas stories from Barnes and Noble. We just finished Bertie's Box (the first story in the book) and it was a delightful little tale of a selfless boy's desire to create Christmas for others less fortunate.
I love this season because it is a time when G and I have always attempted to avoid getting caught up in consumerism. We both have commented that though this season money might be tighter than we'd like it to be, realistically we're blessed to have enough of the things we want, enough of our needs, and more than enough of love. Honestly, we've said we're filling each other's stockings....but I don't think either of us is sure what to do with that. Instead we've been doing things together. Whereas normally I bake alone, he helped whip those marshmallows into shape. And he's going to be helping with the maddening cookie baking this evening. We're making a huge batch of sugar cookies and icing them. (I say it's work, but G loves these type of activities!) And hopefully later this week we'll be assembling our first real gingerbread house together going by a Martha Stewart project for a Colonial Gingerbread house.
We do these sorts of things not just because we enjoy them but as practice. Someday we will have a boisterous family surrounding us. And something G and I wholeheartedly agree upon is wanting to already have traditions in place that make the children's childhoods magical. And for me, the idea of every year doing a gingerbread house sounds pretty magical. Doing that while drinking hot cocoa and warming ourselves next to a fireplace while Garret reads stories and we listen to Christmas music. Often times the way G and I choose to live sounds old fashioned, but hey, it works for us!
Reading the Alcott Christmas stories takes us back to a time when oranges were common in stockings because they weren't something you could just get any time you wanted one. A time when singing songs together was lively entertainment. And when the holidays were celebrated joyously as a time for family and friends to gather near. A time we hope to be able to recreate through the years.
Oh, and for those who are curious, meet our dream house. At nearly 2 million, it's a little out of our price range (for now), but she's absolute perfection (having been built in 1765).
Ahh, to dream.
*And if anyone knows of a good site for free blog templates or an amazing designer, please let me know. I'm looking for something simple, like a damask in black, purple, grey, yellow. I'm planning on attempting to make a header with photos (found some instructions for that) and re-vamping this blog a bit. I'm also considering merging the two (Une Vie Chic and Une Maison Chic) into one for the new year. Change is good, right?
