Christmas is coming...

I'm one of those rare people that actually feel bad about widespread Thanksgiving neglect. Starting the day after Halloween, radio stations are infiltrated by Christmas songs, decorations and yuletide decor pop up in Target, and Thanksgiving falls by the wayside. Don't get me wrong - I love all that December brings, but I try my best every year to keep Christmas cheer at bay until after my birthday. This weekend, however, made that goal a serious struggle for me.

We turned up the heat in our apartment, snuggled into the couch, watched football, and ate pumpkin pie cupcakes and homemade chili. We also tried out Broad Ripple Brewpub for the first time and loved the tasty food and comfy atmosphere. I had the chicken nachos and Wheat did his best impression of a European and ordered the bucket of mussels.

After dinner, we spotted a new French-inspired bakery in Broad Ripple called The Cake Bake Shop. Unbeknownst to us, it was opening day for the bakery, which had its cupcakes prominently featured in Dumb and Dumber To recently.

I couldn't have resisted the place if I tried. The gorgeous cottage-turned-bake-shop was decorated for Christmas and the beautiful white tree beckoned me from inside. Upon entry, we were overwhelmed by the smell of gingerbread, the gorgeous French chandeliers, and the crackling of the fireplace. Small groups of people lined the walls, sipping champagne, wine, and French-pressed coffee while enjoying pieces of cake, cookies, or scones. Every inch of the place was the perfect combination of France and Christmas and I practically melted into the floor with excitement.

We ordered two ginger molasses cookies and a slice of red velvet cake (topped with a macaron!) from an attendant wearing an authentic French apron. We sat on a bench lined with pillows at a table topped with a candle and devoured our dessert. It was a perfect little French retreat. We closed the night by seeing St. Vincent, which was both funny and heartwarming and featured Bill Murray at his very best...and that's saying a lot.

Sunday afternoon, Wheat and I bundled up and headed to Crown Hill Cemetery for some exploring. The cemetery, which is the final resting place of several notable people, was absolutely gorgeous. About halfway through our trip, it started to snow that light, fluffy, snow globe-like snow, so we ambled through the empty cemetery as it gently fell on the tombstones. We stopped at the graves of John Dillinger, President Benjamin Harrison, poet James Whitcomb Riley, Dr. Richard Gatling (the inventor of the Gatling gun), Robert Irsay (owner of the Indianapolis Colts), author Booth Tarkington, and Eli Lilly.

I suppose this was all a long-winded way of saying that I feel like blasting Michael Buble's Christmas CDs, eating candy canes, and hanging our stockings. Bah, humbug.