Fat pants. It’s beginning to look a lot like fat pants. I’m kidding (not really), but we have officially entered the season of treats. Not only have I started baking my annual holiday loaves (this year’s flavor is Gingerbread), which naturally means I have to taste each batch, but I’m also receiving extra treats from others (this weekend I’ve been gifted a pack of Levain Bakery cookies…one of my NYC favorites). And then there’s the holiday events. Between holiday brunches and dinners and luncheons and parties and cookie exchanges, the calendar is as full as my belly will likely be ALL MONTH LONG.

It's a bit hard to explain why this is the first Christmas tree I've ever had in all these years of on-my-own adult life. Except it's not. Hard to explain. Because my first house in California was a little beach bungalow that really didn't have the space. Before that I was in studio apartments in Manhattan, first on the Upper East Side and then in Harlem, that didn't have the space either. Before that I was in Cleveland, and while I did have the space, I always chose not to since I didn't have any decorations and always traveled home for the actual holiday anyway.

I had visions of Rockefeller Center dancing in my head when I heard about a tree lighting in the beach town just north of mine. Now, to be clear, I assure you I did realize there would be a difference. Like, a big one.