[off]line and no[line]

i love classic movies......around this time of year, i love classic christmas movies.

while watching these little holiday gems, i'll admit, part of me wishes i could spend christmas in an old vermont inn, or the town of bedford falls. everyone and everything is so genuine and honest in these films. you never see the characters arguing over parking spots at the mall, or fighting to grab the last "must-have" gift of the season.

taking note of this, and needing another blog post for this month, i set out to create my own little norman rockwell christmas. it seems in most every christmas movie the people travel in and out of stores along a snowy sidewalk. that's what i'd do! no computers or malls for me this year!

i decided not to buy anything on-line or venture into any of the national"big-box" stores. this year i spent weekends discovering new stores and shops i never knew existed. i traded the craziness of the mall parking lot for the slow meandering of walking down a sidewalk. instead of dealing with endless lines of cashiers, and spent time talking with shop owners. these smaller stores almost always offered me something to drink with one in particular offering me a mimosa's while i shopped!

i was able to get most of my gifts, as well as supplies to wrap everything up, at local, out of the way stores. i did venture into one large retail store to get a gift, but it's only because i had a coupon i wanted to use up. to be honest, that hour was by far the most stressful of the season, and one hour isn't that bad.

i know it's not possible to create the perfect "hallmark" christmas, but that's not really what i was going for. i just wanted to re-create a shopping season before malls, cars, and the internet. all things invented to make our life easier.....for some reason cause of a lot of stress this time of year. wondering in and out of these small stores and chatting with random people, really put me in the holiday mood this year.

the only thing left to do is spend time with friends and family. the people you love the most.