Good evening ladies and any other lurkers. I'd love to continue this great dialogue happening. However, it is Christmas Eve for me and the holiday spirit has just captured me, so I'm distracted.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas for those who celebrate or acknowledge the day. I am here in my apartment quite content with my busy day. It's nearly 11PM.

I'm quite the procrastinator when it comes to holidays, so I was frantically sewing up until about 9PM tonight for my mom's gift (she wanted a cover for her KitchenAid mixer). I'm please with how it turned out.

I've also spent the past few days cooking up a storm. I made a 4x batch of Limoncello this year which has been sitting for several months. Looks like I get a bit of extra for myself this year, and perhaps some other friends I don't typically gift to. I'm also making an Irish cream this year which is a quick thing I'll do tomorrow (cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, cocoa, Jameson). I have a hot sauce I'll pulse together tomorrow, and I also need to strain and bottle the ginger liqueur I made. I made a 2x batch of bacon jam with one spicy and the other not so my mom could enjoy some. I love giving food gifts.

I made a chocolate swiss roll that has mascarpone cream in the middle. I made it last year, and it's light but decadent. I can't wait to enjoy it - I greatly enjoyed licking the bowls clean.

Oh, and some cranberry-Campari Jello shots grin

I didn't do my traditional homemade panettone this year (which takes 2-3 days and is intense and insane) because I no longer have a mixer. Perhaps I'll use my time before New Years to make it by hand. I had made Pizzelle for coworkers, and will make pignoli in the next few days.

In case you couldn't figure it out, Yail is Italian.

(Side bar: I made the pizzelle for a bunch of coworkers, one of which is my work-crush. She's also Italian. And I've discovered she's dating someone and very much not available BUT I still love having my little secret crush on her. And she was so thrilled by the pizzelle she gave me a big hug and declared she loved me. She was grateful, and I was so thrilled to have made something so appreciated. It made my week!)

I got a tree this year. I wasn't going to, then said "oh, screw it, I'd love one!". Last year was not a very festive one for me, but this year I'm celebrating. It's adorable in my apartment. I have the lights on it, but did not have time to put ornaments on. I plan on doing so after this post as I listen to my "Hipster Christmas" radio station and drinking wine in my fancy pajamas.

I also will wrap gifts after that, which isn't done. Yep, procrastinator!!

Tomorrow I will spend the morning finishing my food gifts and then head over to my brother/SIL's house about 20 minutes away. They are at her family's home, and I'll let myself in and get the roast in the oven by noon. They will return around 2PM and my parents and grandma will come over for 4PM dinner.

The only very tiny less-than-perfect element of tomorrow is that my rabbit will be at home while I'm with my family. She's my little buddy, and in my very perfect world she'd spend the day with me. But i'll spend the evening with her instead. My dad stopped over with some gifts for her - one was a carrot - and I tied it to the tree with the ribbon he had on it. Her very own ornament!! A new tradition. It's currently the only ornament. A tree with a carrot tied on it - that's it. Oh, yes, it looks insane and makes me giggle!!!!

Wishing you all tiny moments of joy and peace during this time of year. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not it is post-solstice and our days will be getting longer in this part of the world. And a New Year is around the corner.

Cheers to my internet support system. You all listened to me this past year and got me to this other side. I am toasting to you from my cozy living room and giving my gratitude to the Universe.