dinosaurs and polka dots

I went to Old Navy on Monday to get my Christmas pajamas (every year my mom buys everyone in the family new pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve) and ended up finding these amazing tights (and maybe a couple cardigans, too...) The photo didn't really capture the pretty mocha color but they're lovely in person! They're also pretty thick so I think they'll be getting a lot of traction this winter.



I've been wearing this coat constantly -- it's actually surprisingly warm and toasty. I tend to gravitate towards longer coats (like this one. OMG!) but I like having a shorter one to wear this year so my pretty dresses and skirts aren't always hidden.

On Wednesday I threw a little last-night-of-Hanukkah party. My parties are always goofy and totally amateur but I have so much fun! While I was grocery shopping for party food I came across the matzoh and a lightbulb went off in my brain -- a matzoh-bread house. I had NO idea if it would actually work but I was pretty certain it would make for a fun party activity. So I picked up some icing and gumdrops and crossed my fingers. My family and I had a blast putting it together and -- surprise! -- it actually worked. The icing held it together and it's actually still standing in my kitchen two days later! I sense a new holiday tradition ;)

dress- forever 21 | t-rex necklace - sweet and lovely | coat - c/o oasap

cardigan and tights - old navy | shoes - asos | hat - forever 21

my cat-friendly menorah

My dad was raised Jewish and my mom was raised Christian, so I'm one of those lucky people who gets to celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah! We've always made a bigger deal out of Christmas since my dad's family was never big on holidays, but lately I've been making more of an effort to celebrate both sides of my heritage this time of year.

The one hindrance to doing so in my own apartment is that I have very ornery cats (and, I have to admit, I'm a huge klutz myself) so lit candles are just not an option. Even if I sat at a safe distance with my cats locked in another room I'm pretty sure one of us would still manage to set my building on fire. Enter -- the cat (and Kate) friendly menorah!

I purchased this wooden toy menorah from amazon and simply painted the base pink with some leftover wall paint. The candles were already colors that I'm smitten with so I left them the way they were. Now here's the awesome thing about this set -- the little flames are removable! So you can technically "light" each candle! I love it!



Target is carrying wooden menorahs this year, too. As long as the shape is pretty you can really paint it any color to suit your own style! Obviously I will always go the pastel route, but I also think it would look so pretty painted white with gold candles and light blue flames!