Hello friends!
I hope you’re almost ready for the holidays! We’re headed to Seville and Granada in the south of Spain next week and I’m so excited to finally visit! The longer we live here the longer our list of places to travel grows. But I’m also very conscious of being far from our families, and I miss them a lot. It’s a strange balance, that’s for sure. We’ll be thinking of our families on Christmas and New Year’s especially, and we’ll probably be Skype-ing with them to catch up since we can’t see them in person. I hope you are able to enjoy time with your families this holiday.
We have a few traditions at our house, and one of them is to watch classic movies during the holiday break. The list changes every year, but it always includes at least a few of the following:
- It’s a Wonderful Life
- Elf (every year, without fail)
- Roman Holiday
- Desk Set
- The Philadelphia Story
- West Side Story
- Singin’ in the Rain
- Breakfast at Tiffany’s
- Mary Poppins
- The Sound of Music
- Miracle on 34th Street
- School of Rock
Can you add any films to our list? Anything we absolutely must watch? S doesn’t like anything that’s scary or has a lot of suspense, and we all prefer timeless films. Plus, I like it that she knows who Audrey Hepburn and Katherine Hepburn are. I really want to add Amelie to the list, but she’s not old enough for it yet. We’d love some suggestions!
Pinterest Picks
If you’d like to follow along on our trip to the south of Spain I’ll be posting photos to my personal Instagram account and would love to share them with you. Based on the photos I’ve seen, I’d say this trip is going to be visually stunning.
Here’s a little sewing inspiration to get you excited about New Year’s or the start of 2017. The dress on the left would be adorable for little girls and could be made easily using the Building Block Dress book. I think the outfit on the left could inspire a really festive fuzzy or quilted Butterfly Blouse and metallic Butterfly Skirt for older girls. I know someone who would love to wear this!
Completely adorable melty snowman marshmallows. And they’re so easy to make, too!
I must admit that despite my skepticism I still get sucked into the new year, new start excitement. Mostly I just look forward to cleansing my palette, setting new goals for the year, and having a little extra space to breathe. Part of that always involves a softer color palette with more neutrals and muted colors. Like these.
I have way too much hair for such pretty hair ornaments, but I can still admire them, right? And this pretty midi skirt could be easily sewn by making a couple of modifications to our Liesl + Co Girl Friday Culottes. Wouldn’t it be great to wear something like this next spring and summer? It would be both comfortable and very elegant. That’s the best combination, in my opinion.
Lastly, here’s a little New Year’s sparkle for you:
Weekend (and Holiday) Reading
- As I’m sure you know, there’s been a lot of talk in the fashion world lately about capsule wardrobes and wearing a sort of “uniform” to simplify your morning routine. Here’s a woman who’s taken the uniform idea very literally: she wears the same thing every day.
- For those of us who love fabric, this pattern library might just be the ultimate destination.
- A lesson in Xhoso, the language of clicks spoken in South Africa. (And I thought learning Spanish was hard!) Isn’t it beautiful?
- Here’s a little article about the Mercado de la Cebada, the traditional market where I do a lot of our shopping. Like much of the world, Spain is rapidly changing, and many of the markets are giving way to modern supermarkets. I’m glad our mercado is keeping pace with changes.
- Growing up, I was a huge fan of Paddington Bear. If you (or your kids) are also a fan you might enjoy this profile of Michael Bond, the author of these adorable books. He sounds just as lovely in person as I always hoped he would be. I still have the letter he sent me after I wrote to him when I was S’s age.
- Here’s a fantastic roundup of the best National Geographic photos of 2016. Entertaining, visually stunning, and very informative as well.
- I might need to make a special trip to see House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth next year. The Duke of Devonshire’s jumpers are hilarious!
- And here’s a mini tartan history lesson for you. Because no holiday is complete without a bit of newly-acquired knowledge, amiright?
- This year I tried out and became a fan of the bullet journal. I’m not very strict about it, and mine is anything but pretty. But it really does work. Have you tried it?
We’ll be back tomorrow with a formal holiday greeting, but I also want to take a minute to personally wish you a wonderful end of 2016 and a very happy 2017. XO and cheers!
How about The Snowman based on the (wordless) book by Raymond Briggs? It has lovely music too.
I have been using a bullet journal for a few years now and I love it! I have also found myself numbering pages and adding an index to my sewing notebook…
I haven’t seen that one, thanks! Will look for it. And yes to the bullet journal and numbered pages! They’re sort of life changing–now I can actually find what I’m looking for! Merry Christmas!
That’s a great movie list!! I’d add Christmas in Connecticut-my favorite!!! 🙂 Merry Christmas to y’all!
Oh, we don’t know that one! Thanks for the recommendation, and have a wonderful holiday! xo
One of our favorite films is The Imposters, which was made in 1998 but is Stanley Tucci’s homage to the slapstick comedies of the 1920s and 30s. It is rated R for some sexual content, so it’s adults only for your family now, but oh, so delightful!
I’ll look for that one! Thanks so much, and happy holidays!
Don’t forget White Christmas! Its a FAVORITE in my house!
Ah yes, we watched that a couple of years ago and I couldn’t remember the name. It’s a good one! Merry Christmas!
The 1994 Little Women is one of my favorites and has more than one Christmas in it; Roman Holiday and Funny Face are two of my favorite Audrey Hepburn movies; I also have Fantasia in my Netflix queue as something to have on in the background while sewing or wrapping presents. The Secret of Kells is animated but very artfully done. Enjoy!
Oh, I forgot about Funny Face! All her films are great. Thanks for the Little Women recommendation. And I’m not familiar with the Secret of Kells–sounds great! Have a wonderful holiday.
The Elf is for sure a holiday must. I watch a lot of the same movies that you do, but usually in the summer, probably because I’m a teacher. I love Christmas with the Kranks, Tim Allen is hilarious. The Nighmare Before Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Jim Carey), are favorites to watch with my kids. The Holiday and You’ve Got Mail are favorites to watch on my own 🙂
Yes, we don’t usually watch TV or movies, so Christmas break is the one time we binge on the classics. And Elf is definitely a classic! You’ve give us all sort of new ones to look for, thanks! And have a wonderful (and much-needed, I’m sure) break! xo
The Philadelphia Story is one of my all-time favorites – so so so funny! I love old movies! Here are my suggestions for you, all appropriate for children and fun (I’m with S – I hate scary or creepy movies. I watch movies to laugh.):
– “White Christmas” Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye
– “How to Steal a Million” Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole.
– “It Happened One Night” Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. (Fun bit of trivia – this was the first movie to get all 4 major Oscars. Best Film, Director, Actor and Actress. 1934)
– “Monkey Business” Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Marilyn Monroe. Watched this recently with my kids and they loved it.
– “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World” Spencer Tracy and a ton of famous people from the 60s. Huge ensemble cast.
– “How to Marry a Millionaire” Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable.
– “My Fair Lady” Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn
– “The Music Man” Robert Preston and Shirley Jones
Is 8 enough to start with? 🙂
Are you kidding? This is great! Thanks very much. Have a very happy Christmas!
My husband grew up as a missionary kid in South Africa and can do those Xhosa clicks like no one’s business. He never learned to speak the language fluently, but his dad did, and often translated for white visitors in rural church services. It’s an experience like nothing else. We’re firmly midwesterners now, but I often envy the opportunity my husband had to grow up overseas and learn what it means to be a minority in another culture.
Wow, that’s amazing! It’s a skill I’m certain you can only learn when you’re young. Lucky him! And yes, I think it’s such a valuable experience to be exposed to another culture like that. How amazing for your husband. Have a wonderful Christmas!
Well as an Aussie now living in Germany I have to suggest ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ for its kitchy take on Bavaria. Its a longtime favourite though. You can visit some of the locations where it was filmed should you want to add Germany to your travel list.
Also thought you might like this ballet shoe Christmas tree from Australia…
https://www.facebook.com/theaustralianballet/videos/10154736280961132/
Merry Christmas!
Oh, that’s a great idea Sally! Of course we should watch that one. And we absolutely need to get back to Germany. I was hoping to go for Christmas this year. Merry Christmas!
No one has mentioned “Some like it Hot” yet, my kids loved that and walked around saying “Well,nobody’s perfect”, for days. For a great 50s movie from the other side of the Pond how about The Lavender Hill Mob starring Alec Guinness (sadly black and white, not beautiful Technicolor). Also, a hilarious, not quite so old film from France, “Les Visiteurs”, if S does subtitles.
Ooh, these sound like more good ones! Thanks very much. We might get started on this amazing list tonight!
The WIz, second Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and any of those old stop motion movies starring Rudolph, Santa, or Buddy the Christmas Elf
I love the old stop action movies, and S likes to make them so I’ll see if she likes to watch them too. Thanks!
Love the bullet journal system. Found out about it 4-5 yes ago with plenty of hacks online.
It’s a great system, isn’t it? Mine is so far from pretty it’s not even funny, but it’s also an interesting slice of life, I think. Merry Christmas!
The Thin Man with Myrna Loy and William Powell.
It’s late, but if you are still looking – Holiday Inn and Royal Wedding. Lovely music and definitely fit your genre. Our list for this year also includes Little Women (1994 version is sweet, but there are many options) and Anne of Green Gables.
Bringing Up Baby directed by Howard Hawks, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. A must-see.
Happy Christmas!