When I hear girlfriend getaways...I think of a gaggle of money-blowin', wine swillin', estro-powered cougars getting themselves into trouble in some exotic locale (e.g. Olive Garden in Spokane, Washington).  The only perk of a Girfriend Getaway (a.k.a. Chick Trip) is it gets the wife out of my hair for a few days.

I love Christmas. LOVE Christmas. And now it's over. Booooo! But as long as I can share my presents with you, I'll be fine. This year was particularly exciting, as I had made a mini-Christmas list around Thanksgiving, and then completely forgot about it. So when I was opening presents, namely, very specific things I had asked for; I was ridiculously excited.

 "OH MY GOD - I FORGOT ALL ABOUT THIS BOOK!"

(From Booklist: For their wit, intelligence, good looks, and politics, the aristocratic Mitford sisters were the toast of the mid-twentieth century. They were prodigious correspondents, particularly between each other. Mosley, daughter-in-law of Diana Mitford, has selected and excerpted from some 12,000 letters between the sisters over a period of almost 80 years, to shed light on women described as Famous Notorious Talented Glamourous Turbulent Unpredicable Celebrated Infamous Rebellious Colourful & Idiosyncratic, as quoted from Jessica's obituaries.

Ed. note: They totally would have been Golightly Girls.)

And

"OH, THAT'S RIGHT! FROM THE WEDDING!"

(A great shot of my sisters and me, on my adorable sister, Ellie's, wedding day. Ellie framed the photo and gave it as a gift. Very challenging to get a shot where everyone looks good AND relaxed. Sister Jessie's first comment was 'Why am I standing off to the side?')

 And

"OOOOH! SHOE SHOPPING, COMING RIGHT UP!"

 (Sister Jessie knows I'd rather shop for my own shoes.)

 And

"AWESOME! I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT THIS TOO!"

 (My mom rocks. My dad also rocks, as he just wrote a nice, fat check, which will most likely magically turn into shoes.)

So I think my brief brush with Alzheimer's made for the most exciting Christmas yet. Both for me, and my entire family. Did you get anything good for Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwaanza/Tet/Festivus? Share it with us! (Just vicarious sharing. You don't have to let us HAVE it. Unless you really want to.)

How do you select your Airport Ensemble?

"Airport Ensemble?" you say.

Yes, and you know exactly what I'm talking about. You're going on a trip, and you're packing, and you have to think about what you are going to wear for the Travel Day. Your Airport Ensemble.

My perfect Airport Ensemble really IS perfect. Almost.

Comfortable underwear (start with a good foundation)

Gray Gap tank. "Gray", not "grey". We're not British, kids.

(tank has built-in bra - nothing sucks more than trying to sleep on a flight, in a bra. Side note: everything should come with a built-in bra. "Bra" starts to look funny if you read the word too many times.)

Gray, long cashmere cardigan.

Brown pashmina scarf (can double as a blanket).

Brown leather belt.

Earnest Sewn light denim jeans (these seriously are more comfortable than sweatpants).

Perfect! Except for one flaw. The boots. Tobacco brown suede, stacked heel, side zip boots. The boots look great, and keep you toasty when the airplane is freezing, and are surprisingly comfortable for walking (they have a built-in cushion). However, boots + airport security = potential nightmare. "Please take your boots off, and put them through the machine".

OH for crying out loud.

This is really not a major issue, if you are only going through security once.

However, if you are foolishly flying Lufthansa Airlines, and are unfamiliar with their transit procedures, you will have to go through security once in Zurich, and then twice at Stupid Munich Airport.

The boots? Kind of an albatross. AND then you're sweating, because you're running through the airport, because you had to go through security TWICE, and take your boots off TWICE, and put them back on (tuck the jeans, pull the bottoms down to eliminate bunching, zip...zip without getting jeans caught) TWICE, and then you've missed your flight.

But the boots are fabulous. FABULOUS. Now, take your missed-flight meal voucher and go get a beer, for crying out loud. (Ed note: I was crying out loud - quite literally).

Bottom line: I'm still searching for the perfect Airport Ensemble. Have you got one?

Tuesday, December 18, 7:00PM

Have you officially signed up yet?  We'll help you out - your New Year's Resolution for 2008 can be "stop procrastinating, and sign up at Holiday Golightly".  Right there, in that Sign Up box.

We are THISCLOSE* to officially launching the trip-planning portion of the Holiday Golightly 3-Ring Cirque.  You will notice, it's not "Circus" in the crazy, weird, ringmaster, elephants and peanuts milieu.  We're fancy, and it's a Cirque.

What we've got:

1)  Delightful online reading material, which is just begging for your comments and opinions (but begging in a highly dignified manner).

2)  Gift certificates!!! (click on the pretty box on the home page)

3)  Travel planning (patience, young grasshoppers, it will happen)

*THISCLOSE may seem vague to you, and while "vague" is a mere one letter away from "vogue", we understand you'd like a better idea of when to expect the travel-planning to be up and running.  Think "early 2008-ish".  Howsat?

A Right-Hand Ring.

Christian Louboutin booties.