Happy New Ear

As I type, I note that the date on my computer tell me that it's 1 January 2013.
But where I am in California, it's still 2012.
Clearly, I'm caught between Two Worlds like in my own episode of The Twilight Zone.

Anyway, Happy New Ear whatever Time Zone you are in.
I hope you like my little Holiday Ornament above which I spied in the Gift Shoppe at The Huntington Library.

Look above at the photo.
You would hardly believe that it's the same person. Or if you did think it was, you would hardly believe that the two photos were taken within days of each other. Maybe only even one day.
It's MBFF Marge showcasing the Devastating Effects of Wearing a Hat in Middleage.
And perhaps not smiling when being photographed.

Next is a Rather Smug Me at the Historical Santa Barbara Mission in front of a little posse of  Tiny Dogs in Holiday Frocks. Note I'm wearing a hugely o'ersized Gloria Vanderbilt cozy shirt that I recently thrifted at the Salvation Army Depot in Thousand Oaks. I only bought it because of the name & also because I had some half-baked idea that I might look like a 60s Beatnik in it.
 Sadly, no.
Also of some note is the Real Not Toy Chloe Paddington Bag that I thrifted from BednobsEtc recently. I was jumping up & down with joy at My Good Fortune at snaring such a find until I discovered that  a pivotal part of the Paddington is a Prominently Featured Lock which of course didn't come with the bag.
That's probably why it was donated in the first place. But of course I'm wearing it anyway.
 After all, it's not as if The Paddington Bag Police are going to come after me & confiscate the bag because it doesn't have a lock.

Talk about a Quintessential Christmas Scene.
Maeflower & Me positioned in front of a blazing Artificial Fire amid a sea of beautifully wrapped Christmas Gifts that we were up until 1am the previous nite wrapping.
They took two hours to unwrap.

Maeflower got a couple of books & plenty of other things like v.v. dark nail polish.

Naetitia got a year's subscription to an Italian Cooking Magazine.
You can see that she was thrilled.

Marge was initially thrilled with what appeared in the Salvation Army Depot to be a Real Not Toy Kate Spade Bag. She had only recently been trawling through a catalogue of these bags & had set her heart on almost this exact same bag except that it was in Shocking Pink. For a brief moment, Marge thought that she had finally sharpened up her Manifesting Powers.
Sadly, she hadn't.
Once we got it home & were able to inspect it closely under Huge Arc Lamps, we realised it was a Fake.
There's a lesson in there somewhere but I'm not quite sure where.

Lastly, My Message to You, Dear Reader: Feel Good.
Happy New Ear.