Let It Drizzle Depressingly (and Interminably)

Hey, as we've discussed, we're all about realistic expectations around these parts.  At least the uptick to experiencing typical Parisian weather over the holidays is that it beats driving in blizzards, and it sure as heck beats having to rely on two homeless men, a random passser-by, and three OSU students to push my car out out of the mountain of snow under which it had been buried by the snowplows (not that I speak from personal experience or anything).

The stockings my mommy sent have been placed 'neath the skylight with care.  So yes, Virginia, despite the lack of snow I've actually managed to find plenty of time to be festive and merry in the month of December.  Here have been some of the highlights:

AH, the man who is so Grinch-like that he refuses to allow a Christmas-tree in our apartment and has been wishing people a "Happy Winter Solstice" (I had to fight tooth and nail to keep him from putting that as the greeting on our holiday cards), actually suggested that we go to the Marche de Noel (Christmas Market) on the Champs Elysses.  Mulled wine was drank, sausages were consumed, an ornament was bought (for our non-existent tree)...

...and giant, animatronic dinosaurs moved slowly and creepily next to a little person in a Santa hat who was calling people to take their places in line for the "Age de Magique," sounding like he would rather be putting a nail through his foot than yelling at a bunch of disinterested holiday shoppers.  Seriously, I could not make this s--t up.

The holiday fun continued this weekend with the arrival of Tour Guide Barbie, stopping in Paris on her way home to the States for Christmas.  We promised her Christmas-themed happytimes, and thus we set off for Galleries Lafayette which has famously elaborate holiday window displays. The theme of the displays, however, seemed to be "angsty marionettes":

Because nothing says punk rock like puppets.

 And the WTF-ery continued with this window.  They look like pygmy puffs (shout-out, HP nerds!) as styled by the Kardashians.  

However, we managed to finish the night with a visual palate cleanser courtesy of Place Vendome:

Last night the Christmas momentum continued with a fun night of cookie-baking with some of the swell gals from the ACP youth group.  The chocolate chip cookies that we made were so good that AH actually had an Aunt Cheri moment with one, so I'd say the evening was successful.

We also baked sugar cookies, which meant that I got to bust out the Eiffel Tower cookie cutter that my mommy sent me.  I got to feeling a little prematurely sentimental, and decided that I would take pictures of the Eiffel Tower cookies, lovingly decorated with homemade frosting and sprinkles, and send pictures back to the parental units in the Midwest.  Instead, this is what came out of the oven:

The Pastor's Wife and I decided that, perhaps, the Eiffel Tower cookies should not be presented to the kids to decorate.  So I set mine aside and decorated it as appropriately as I could:

So enjoy your festivities, everyone.  AH and I are off to Cologne, Germany tomorrow to do much imbibing and museuming.  Wish me luck dragging him to the Christmas market.  Lord knows I won't be able to bribe him with a cookie.