Vintagey and Christmasey

Thanksgiving is next week, and we are wrapping up some home improvement projects, which means I will soon begin decorating in earnest! I always feel so sorry for Thanksgiving; Halloween comes, then Christmas is already out well head of 31 October...poor Thanksgiving seems to get lost in the shuffle. That's one reason why I'm not going full force on our holiday decorations until after Thanksgiving; I want to give the holiday its due. Plus, as a mom, I have seven years of turkey-themed school art projects to proudly display!

Still, it is hard to resist the lure of the sock monkey. The first one made its appearance last week. I've been collecting decorations from my mom as I want all the childhood ornaments and other ephemera I grew up with. She has some amazing things, including some ceramic Christmas trees made in 1974 (before I was even born!) by my maternal grandmother, whom I adored and miss terribly to this day. These little trees are quite trendy now. I just remember growing up with them, pulling the bulbs in and out of the tree. I couldn't wait to get my hands on them! Sadly the giant one my grandmother made is broken at the top so I am going to have to do some repairs. Luckily, though, the small one is in pristine condition. I ordered some bulbs and put it out immediately, with an elf monkey to keep it company. With it is a mason jar of Christmas pins.

I'm on the hunt for an all-white tree now as I have the perfect display in mind. I'll be looking for it at a thrift store or yard/estate sale, though, as the resell prices are a bit high for my taste. I've found two more green ones but alas, no white.

Soon, very soon, the house will be completely taken over by Our Epic Sock Monkey Christmas.

Combining My Two Loves

Confession: I am a Pyrex-collecting addict. Seriously. It's shameful. I love the old school Pyrex from the 50s through the early 70s. I hit thrift stores on a semi-regular basis in search of it. I blog about it. That's just how I roll.

So when I saw this DWD (that's dishwasher damaged for the uninitiated, and it is death for vintage Pyrex) blue 502 at Goodwill I picked it up, even though it's not really collectible anymore. You see, it had a lid, and lids for the 500-series Pyrex are relatively hard to find. So I got a lid for my next lidless find, and I knew just what to do with the DWD fridgie.

Was there ever any question? This is my first "official" Christmas decoration. He's hanging out with some vintage glass ornaments I also thrifted. We're going through some home improvement that will be wrapped up soon and I swore I would not start decorating until it was done (as a means to make us hurry on up) but I just had to put this little guy out. 

Open House Time!

We are likely a little bit late but we have finally nailed down a date, time, and image for Our Epic Sock Monkey Christmas Open House.

This is not even close to all the monkeys we own...

Of course we still need a menu, inflatable, and you know, to send the invite out. One step at a time. 

Someone Went a Little Crazy at Hobby Lobby

A lovely reader emailed me to let me know she is also doing a sock monkey-themed Christmas (hi Donna!). She also passed on some exciting info: apparently i needed to go to Hobby Lobby stat and pick up some sock monkey gear.

So I did so. The slippers pictured below are from Target but everything else you see is from Hobby Lobby. I got stickers, ribbon, dolls and a long receipt.

I had thought I would wait until Thanksgiving weekend to start setting cup our decor but now I am thinking that is just not enough time, plus I need to see what all I have as well as what gaps need to be filled. It's approaching fast!

Target's Annual Sock Monkey Slippers

I was making my weekly (who am I kidding, really it's every few days) rounds through my closest Target and saw these adorable sock monkey slippers. Every year the retailer stocks some version of these cuties but this year has to be the best yet. The backless pair have a cute little pom-pom hat. The flat ones with the back have far more cushioning than recent years. Of course my closest store was all out in both versions in my big foot size so it's off to another Target to make them mine.

Easy-peasy slip-ons for those middle-of-the-night wanderings

Cushiony yet small enough to wear under a cozy blanket

These will be perfect this holiday season and beyond. I of course am getting both, as I am a slipper addict. I can't wait to wear these while hanging out by the tree.

The Sock Monkey Holiday Gear is Trickling Out

As we all know the holidays are here. Well, at least the mall and the dollar store say so.

As does my local Fry's grocery. Little miss and I went in the other day to get some milk and found the Christmas decorations out and ready. The scent of pinecones filled the air (seriously, they had scented pinecones). And there were some sock monkeys to be found. Since I never, ever pay full price I will be waiting for a sale or promo.

At first my daughter spotted the two dolls, then she spotted the two in boxes behind them. Those light up and play musc. Upon further investigation we found another doll, this one decked out as Santa. I'm going to have to get all three.

My daughter is seven and a bit tall for her age. She wants this giant monkey in a bad, bad way. We already have one giant sock monkey so I don't know that we need to haul another into our small house. Plus, my husband this this one is kind of fugly. I will say this for it...it is very, very soft.

We finally got the sock monkey hats from Lowe's I blogged about a while back. I say "finally" as if we were so far behind schedule. In reality we were there on a Friday night (we are cool, I know), and my daughter and I put them on and never took them off. My husband decided to be a curmudgeon and passed on his opportunity to get a hat. He also helpfully pointed out it looks like we have hot dogs on our heads. 

What better way to commemorate Our Epic Sock Monkey Christmas than with a dated sock monkey ornament? I saw this at the JC Penney home store. It's not yet on sale but I have no doubt it will be soon. This is a must-buy, no doubt about it.

How are your holiday plans shaping up?