<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mind_the_goat/310538617/sizes/o/in/photostream/" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-8535" title="310538617_7eba0dc35b" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/310538617_7eba0dc35b-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>A couple of months ago, I announced that I was forming a book club.  Or more specifically, a Wishing Club.  (You can read more about it <strong><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/10/25/day-364-would-you-like-to-join-my-wishing-club/" target="_blank">here.</a></strong>)

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Many girls at work enthusiastically agreed to read the book, <em>The Wishing Year</em>, as well as form a Wishing Club in which we would share our wishes for 2012.

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My plan was to discuss the book and wishes for 2012 over a Holiday Tea at a lovely and charming Tea House.  Somehow, this "Tea House" evolved into "Michelle's House".

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<span style="color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;"><strong>Let me just say that I am not an entertainer.</strong></span>

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Okay, I take that back.

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Entertainer on the stage?  Yes.

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Entertainer in a blog?  Yes.

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Entertaining people in my humble home?  No.

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When it comes to gatherings, I prefer to be one of the entertained.  I enjoy relaxing at gatherings, not running around like a harried, hot mess.  Silly me.

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Entertaining comes naturally to some people.  My friend, Sarah, for example.  She entertains effortlessly.  She appears to relish Hostessing with the Mostessing.  And I always delight in being a guest at one of her domestic goddess productions.

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So when my idea of "Tea House" was <strong><a href="http://www.thephoenician.com/dining/lounges-casual-dining/lounges-casual-dining" target="_blank">Lobby Tea Court at The Phoenician</a></strong> and the girls' idea of "Tea House" was Chez Michelle, I instantly panicked.  Not only am I a Late Bloomer of an entertainer, I also don't decorate for Christmas.  And shouldn't a Holiday Tea boast a few decorations?

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<span style="color: #008000; font-size: medium;"><strong>No, I am not a Scrooge.  I am single.</strong>  </span>And putting up (by myself!) an 8 foot artificial tree dating back from my previous life as a smug married does not sound like fun to me.

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And why go through the hassle when I will eventually arrive in H-Town and soak up every square inch of parental unit Christmas decorating.  We're talking a couple of trees, countless candles that could fill a Hallmark store, a heavenly host of angels, a Nativity scene, a singing and dancing Santa, an award-winning outside light display, and probably a lot more that I am forgetting but will be reminded of in less than 24 hours.

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This strategy has always worked for me.  I always delight in securing a backstage pass to the Parental Unit's Christmas Spectacular!

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Until this year.  When suddenly I found myself directing a Holiday Tea.

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Humbug.

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<span style="font-size: medium; color: #ff0000;"><strong>And then I realized something pivotal:  Even though my 365 Days of Living Curiously project was technically over, shouldn't I still be Carpe Diem-ing regardless?</strong></span>

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Humb...

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Yes.  I suppose so.

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I told myself that I would think myself into the Christmas Spirit!  I envisioned a manageable live tree (a first for me!) with a tasteful motif (another first!) and a few other simple decorations of holiday cheer.  I could almost smell the fresh pine scent.

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I pictured myself floating around my house as Hostess with the Mostess.  I would bake scones from scratch!  I would serve them with Devonshire cream and strawberry preserves!  I would offer a wide variety of teas!  I would ask all book club/Wishing Club members to bring a dish!  (I may be a dreamer, but I'm also a realist.  It was going to take a village to host a Holiday Tea at a non-entertainer's home.)

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<span style="font-size: medium; color: #008000;"><strong>Act One:  The Decorating</strong></span>

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As I mentioned, I've never put up a live tree at Christmas, although I've always dreamed of "someday".  Live trees somehow seem more "Christmasy" to me.  And this was the year of turning "someday" into "today".

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[caption id="attachment_8503" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="My First Live Tree Expedition"]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=8503" rel="attachment wp-att-8503"><img class="size-medium wp-image-8503  " title="photo" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/photo-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

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I had never strung lights before.  I kid you not.  That job was always performed by either Dad or a significant other.  This year, it was tackled by yours truly.

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I found a strand of 150 white lights in the closet.  They looked like something from one of my Christmases Past.  I found a date on a tag:  1995.  Yep.  Waaayyyyy past.  But Christmas is a season of miracles, and those puppies lit up like...well...a Christmas Tree!

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=8504" rel="attachment wp-att-8504"><img class="size-medium wp-image-8504 alignnone" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/PC060005-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=8505" rel="attachment wp-att-8505"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-8505" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/PC060003-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>

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Next step:  ornaments in tasteful motif.  In Christmases past, I crept down memory lane with childhood ornaments, ornaments from my former students, yada, yada, yada.  Yes, it's awfully sweet and sentimental, but this year I craved style over substance.  Is that wrong?

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I Googled "Christmas tree decorating ideas" and found this:

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=8510" rel="attachment wp-att-8510" target="_blank"><img class="size-medium wp-image-8510 alignnone" title="christmas-tree-decorations2" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/christmas-tree-decorations2-177x300.jpg" alt="" width="177" height="300" /></a>

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I consulted those with decorating prowess (Dina <em>dah</em>ling and my mother) as to where I could find baubles such as these at a reasonable price.  They agreed with my "hunch":  Tarjay aka Target.  Hurrah!

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I popped in during my lunch hour with the above photo on my Crackberry.  I swept up and down the Christmas aisles holding my phone up to various boxes of ornaments.  I'm sure people thought I was strange, but when you're a former theatre major, you're used to acting weird in front of people.

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After approximately 30 minutes of this phone to ornament box "method" (I don't do well with too many choices), I realized that my lunch hour was quickly dwindling.  I settled on a box of 40 small ball ornaments for $6 and 20 sparkly star ornaments for $5.  Tarjay, I don't know how you do it, but MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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[caption id="attachment_8521" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Did I come remotely close to my target? (Pun intended.)"]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=8521" rel="attachment wp-att-8521" target="_blank"><img class="size-medium wp-image-8521  " title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/PC100023-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

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Obviously, I'm not giving up my day job for a career in interior design, but I think I did fairly well for a clueless decorator.  (That fab faux fur skirt is also from Tar-zhay.  The family heirloom disintegrated upon removal from the storage box.  Sorry, Mom.)

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Excited over my live tree and it's fresh pine scent, I opted to leave all Christmas chachkes in the closet and focus on decorating with more greenery.  MERRY CHRISTMAS, Trader Joe's!  (Members of the TJ cult are jumping up and down at their computers right about now.)

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[caption id="attachment_8524" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Poinsettia: $2.99 Rosemary Tree: $8.99. Rosemary scent and Holiday Cheer: Priceless"]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=8524" rel="attachment wp-att-8524"><img class="size-medium wp-image-8524 " title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/PC100020-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>[/caption]

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And that's not all.  Because Trader Joe's has Holiday Cheer bursting out of those giant boxes outside of the store . . . .

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[caption id="attachment_8525" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="My First Ever Live Wreath. Inhale...Ahhhh. (I&#39;ll never go back to artificial again.)"]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=8525" rel="attachment wp-att-8525"><img class="size-medium wp-image-8525" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/PC100019-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

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. . . . And at the checkout for those of Impulse Holiday Shoppers.

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[caption id="attachment_8528" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Christmas Magic for $3.99. The Trader Joe&#39;s Cinnamon Broom."]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=8528" rel="attachment wp-att-8528"><img class="size-medium wp-image-8528  " title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/PC220002-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

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Oprah, are you still making your Favorite Things List, and if so, is the TJ's Cinnamon Broom at the top?  It's magic powers will send aromas of cinnamon throughout your entire house!  (O.k., not <em>your</em> house, Oprah, but my certainly throughout my comfy condo.)

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That's it, Ladies and Few Token Gents!  A few Gold Canyon Christmas candles that smell like Mrs. Claus's kitchen, and I was set for my dream of simplified, smell-good decorating!  Good thing this isn't a design blog, eh?

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I have to admit that all of this sprucing up around the house for the party and Carpe Diem-ing worked wonders.  As I write this blog post, I am looking over to my sweet little tree, and I think my heart just swelled to three times its size.  ho, Ho, HO!  :-)

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<span style="font-size: medium; color: #ff0000;"><strong>Act Two:  The Holiday Tea </strong></span>

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I have to pack for H-Town, and you have to shop (and maybe pack for hopefully a more Winter Wonderland of a destination), so let's cut to the chase.  The Holiday Tea was lovely.  You really can't go wrong when sipping tea (caffeinated a plus), nibbling on tea sandwiches, and slathering homemade scones with Devonshire cream (you don't want to know the fat content, girls).  It's all terribly civilized.

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[caption id="attachment_8532" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Not exactly a Martha Stewart presentation, but I do my best. The wine helped me to not care. Good thing this isn&#39;t a food blog, eh?"]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=8532" rel="attachment wp-att-8532"><img class="size-medium wp-image-8532  " title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/PC100013-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>[/caption]

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There was the small "incident" of me underestimating my timeline and therefore waiting until my guests' arrival time to start baking the scones, but hey!  I warned each and every one of them that I am not an entertainer!  No one was surprised.

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All the girls coached me through the initial uncivilized, self-induced mayhem with soothing voices and gracious spirits.

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And my homemade scones turned out to be the best I've ever had, so all was well in my world.   (Yes, they were even better than <em>yours</em>, Phoenician!  Imagine that!!!)

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<span style="font-size: medium; color: #008000;"><strong>Act Three:  Wishes for 2012</strong></span>

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To be continued after a brief intermission.

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Because we all need to pack, travel, shop, and then share our wishes together next week before New Year's.  :-)

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In the meantime, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Carpe Diem!

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