A good friend dropped off an early Christmas present at my house this morning…this little homemade string of lights–made with plastic Dixie Cups and decorative paper–tucked into this Santa bucket tote. Love.

This afternoon has been all about brittle.  I’m on my fourth batch of cashew brittle, and really ready to call it quits, so luckily, this is the last of the day.  I need a little Christmas, right this very minute…

So I slipped into my younger son’s room to snap a photo of the little Christmas tree he decorated himself, with a few glass balls and a colorful collection of melty-bead ornaments designed and created by him.  I love it.

Butters and I went to Austin this past weekend, without the boys.  I did a little research for “Contract Book 2″…it is really amazing how much the city has changed since I lived there 10 years ago.  Mind-boggling, really.  We spent a lot of time driving around, scoping things out, getting the up-to-date lay of the land.  We also dined in some delicious spots.  Saturday night we attended Butters’ company Christmas party, where the highlights were a bruschetta bar, a dessert contest, and the White Elephant Gift Exchange.  I’d never heard of a bruschetta bar before, and it was vastly more interesting than I thought it’d be…it wasn’t just bread and toppings–there were other topping-carriers as well!  I personally did not participate in the WEGE, so it was all very low stress and quite funny.  It was a nice, relaxing weekend, and now we’re back, ready for the final push of class parties, festivities, gifts, and outings right up until Christmas.  Looking forward to it!

Here’s a shot of the Texas Capitol Building with this season’s holiday decor.