I hope you had a wonderful Christmas or Hanukkah with your family and friends.
It was sunny and unusually warm here -- not a snowflake in sight -- so it didn't feel quite like Christmas. We had a quiet day with family members, lots of good food & conversation, and some generous gifts.
Lilly Pulitzer is one of my favorites; from time to time I post things here with her prints on them. Chris surprised me with a Lilly yoga mat, and a pair of fun watches. His brother gave me a book with recipes and ideas for yearly holidays.
Other books I received were from two mystery series I follow. The Haunted Bookshop mysteries have a ghost detective, Jack Shepard, who lives in and haunts Penelope's modern day bookshop. He died in the shop in the late 1940s while on a case, and speaks and acts just like the detectives in the films from that period. He can't get past some of the modern notions, like bottled water, but he has a crush on Penelope and helps her to solve the murders in her town. These could be lame, but they are very well-written.The other two mysteries are from the Crimes of Fashion series. Lacey Smithsonian is the fashion reporter for a D.C. newspaper, who constantly tries to move beyond fashion into current events. These events turn out to be related to murders, which get her into trouble with her boss Mac (until of course, she brings more attention, and readers, to the paper).This is another series that could be lame, but often unfolds into unbelievable adventure.
The stretching book wasn't a gift, except to myself. You know how that is -- you're shopping for gifts for others, and then you find lots of things you like! It's arranged by sections of the body (neck & shoulders, back, hips, upper & lower legs, etc.) and has stretches for every kind of sport and/or injury. The diagrams show where the muscles are and how they are used in each of the stretches, so if you have a particular injury, or just woke up with a sore neck or back, you can slowly and safely stretch things out. I bought this book to help with the bursitis in my hip. Last year at this time I started a cycling fitness program, and by week three, had aggravated my hip/IT band too much to continue. I've figured out that before I try that again, I need to get the muscles much looser, one of my goals for the new year. I'll write about them more in my next post.
What were your favorite or most useful gifts? What goals will you strive for in 2012?
I hope you have a happy, healthy new year filled with blessings!
What a fun Holiday! I especially love the watches. Happy New Year, my friend!
Posted by: Kara | January 01, 2012 at 02:09 PM
Nice yoga mat and a great collection of books! My favorite gift was my winter cycling shoes; now my toes can be warm! I hope you are well, and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Posted by: Rebecca H. | January 01, 2012 at 07:27 PM
Looks like you have good presents for keeping you busy through the winter. Happy New Year!
Posted by: Sarah | January 01, 2012 at 09:08 PM
Merry Christmas!! My favorite Christmas gift was probably the warm weather you mentioned - I'm sad that it's long gone. I also really love my Kindle Fire - I didn't think I'd like an eReader because I love the feel of real book with crisp pages (love their scent too). But I have to say, my Kindle is pretty awesome.
Posted by: Karen | January 04, 2012 at 05:55 PM