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I meant to post these very Christmas-y pictures on actual Christmas day; it seems a little silly to post pictures wearing these colors after, but the hotel we were staying in did not have wifi as advertised. We did ask why it wasn’t working and supposedly the hotel had called the internet company, but when it still wasn’t up two days later, I’m ready to write a bad review about that. But I didn’t bother complain too much to them since it was almost the cheapest place we found, cheaper than any hostels with shared rooms we found even. I’m not sure if I’ve shared this tip before, but if you’re travelling I definitely recommend looking for lodging on Priceline.com (or if you know of similar sites you use do let me know). Oh, and we are in Belgium right now! I guess I’ve been sharing on Instagram whenever I’ve found internet (with photo dumps all at once – so if you have Instagram follow me @cuddlycactiblog : ).

Just a couple days ago we decided to take one last advantage of Jonny’s flight benefits and visit our dear Belgian friend who we met doing a work exchange in Phoenix in 2009. But more about all this excitement soon; we’re kind of crazy I know.

Outfit details: blouse- hand-me-down; boots- thrifted; bracelet-handmade in Mexico; dress (worn as skirt)- gift from Elana.

This dress is my special Secret Santa gift from Elana of Room 334 via Flock Together. Of course I couldn’t help pull out my green tights for early Christmas celebrations with family on Saturday; the dress is just too perfect not to! When I was swooning over how cute the pleats were to J he commented that it was really cute but not something I’d usually wear, and that’s the best thing about gifts in my book! It’s always great to see what someone else picks out for you, and even better when it’s something love but different than your usual wardrobe. Elana got the sizing spot on, I imagine knowing the dress of hers I’d borrowed before was a wee bit tight on me and got a size bigger than her own, and left a sweet note saying she thought the color would be great on me. Thank you so much Elana! I only wish I’d gotten a shot of the full thing without my blouse but oh well. I also want to send a huge thank you to Erica, who say my panicked message on the Flock Together Facebook and re-sized my picture and added in my own blog link as well as Elana’s, sometime in the wee hours the morning this post went live – so kind! And check out everyone else’s Secret Santa items here and see more detail’s of the gift I sent Katie here.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas if you celebrate it and many truly special memories from this season either way, it really is such a magical time of year!