Oh what fun!

Do you know your elf name?  It's very simple to figure out:

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Now how about a shiny new photo to go along with your brand new moniker!  Interested?  Elf Yourself!

For even more fun with elves, check out the present drop game over at Santa's Village:

I'm not big into video games myself, but this one was fun, even for an amateur like me!!

While you're at the North Pole, ask Santa to place a call (or email!) to someone on your "nice" list.  Who says fun and reindeer games are just for kids?!  ;)

And speaking of calls... if you can't be in the same geographical location as your loved ones for Christmas, why not hang out with them?  It's easy AND free!

Enjoy, and Merry Christmas from Buddy Monkey-Buns & Elvis Superplum!

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Santa's Workshop

With only a few days left until Christmas, Santa's been quite busy up at the North Pole, and I've been helping him!

We are getting ready to... Ho, Ho, Ho!

How about you?  Has your shopping and wrapping all been done since you finished the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers, or are you a last-minute elf?

Our Holiday Home

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!  Happy Winter Solstice, everyone!

Typically, Shep and I don't get our holiday act together to Christmas-tize our home until much later in the month.  In fact, I'm pretty certain we've at least once (or twice, or three times, or maybe twice) bought our tree on Dec. 20-something.  Last year, we didn't decorate at all because we moved in mid-December.  Boooo...  Well, not this year!!!  This year -- thanks to a holiday party we had earlier in the month {more on that later!} -- ours halls were decked in the first week of December!!!  {Shocking, we know!}

Without further ado, I present:

Our Home for the Holidays

Mantle & Christmas Card Display

Master Bedroom Christmas Tree

I love my berry vase!

I'll have a bluuuuuuuue Christmas...

Tree Love

Oh how I love coming home to a Christmas tree!

Holiday Carols

Here's some holiday arithmetic for you:

Michael Buble + SNL holiday duet skit = HILARITY!

When Shep and I first saw Michael Buble's SNL holiday duets skit last year, we laughed so hard we actually cried. I almost needed CPR! We love SNL and Michael Buble (he did sing our wedding song after all!) so we may be biased, but if you haven't seen it, you're missing out! Even if you have, do yourself a favor and watch it again. :) Merry Christmas!



My favorites are Taylor Swift & Lady Gaga. What are yours?

Ho, ho, ho! Ha, ha, ha!!

Sympathy for Sandy Hook School Victims

This weekend, my prayers go out to the victims and families of the shooting that took place in Newtown, CT.  Like many of you, I was horrified when I heard the news.  My first reaction upon hearing the news was fear -- my best friend and her beautiful twin daughters were occupying kindergarten classrooms in CT on Friday morning.  The name of the school and the town reported on the news alerts sounded vaguely familiar to me, so I frantically searched to find out whether they could possibly be in the line of fire.  After learning that Newtown was far enough away from where they live that I needn't worry for their safety, I was relieved for a brief moment, and then terrified on behalf of all the other families out there who unfortunately couldn't say the same.

This kind of senseless tragedy would be incredibly difficult to deal with at any time, but it's especially heartbreaking to see this happen during the holiday season.  Those 20 children should have been writing out wish lists to Santa, leaving snacks for reindoor, singing carols, ice skating, drinking hot cocoa, and opening holiday presents.  Instead, parents are planning to lay their innocent children to their final rest, before they've even had a chance to live their lives.  It is disgusting to know we live in a world where this could, and did, happen.

I am praying for all the victims and their families, and hope they find the strength to deal with what has happened in their lives.

As for me, I am very selfishly looking forward to seeing my best friend and her two cuties in January.

Oh, Christmas Tree!

You know the old adage "a picture is worth a thousand words"?  Well, I'm going to let the photos do the talking in this post.  Now presenting... our Christmas tree!

Here are some of our sentimental ornaments...

Stay tuned for more photos of our holiday decor -- we have lots of little Christmas vignettes scattered throughout the apartment and we love sharing our ideas and photos!  For now, I'm going to sit and gaze at our tree...