It's a Pony Christmas!

Uni Pony approves! 

OH BOY CHRISTMAS PRESENTS!!! I hate to do a swag brag, but I want to properly thank all my wonderful pony friends!

For example, many thanks to Alyssa for making C-Rage into a Christmas unicorn pony just for me.

ponies!

Lindsey and Alyssa and I had our annual poor-folks-who-loves-ponies gift exchange.

Alyssa got me a cool bridle charm, a custom vinyl cut out of C and I, and a super cool Hammer & Clay ornament.

camera decided to focus on midgets instead of mug

And then Lindsey got me a super cool custom coffee (I guess you could put other things in it) mug with some of my favorite pictures from this year on it! (and I got them cool pony things too, but that's for them to tell).

AND THEN!!!!

JenJ (who not only keeps my haffie PADDYKINS for me, but also is an awesome person) was my blogger secret Santa. She sent me a GIANT box.

obv needed a brocade saddle pad. yes.

OF AWESOME

love it!! (back when we could see the ground)

She re-covered a sweet dressage saddle pad and trimmed up a matching bonnet! I hadn't even told anyone that I was secretly making eyes at brocade saddle pads. It's beautiful.

OH AND THEN because I have the best friends ever, another friend drove across several western states-worth of ice to come to town, and not only brought me hand made pony-shaped delicious cookies, but also came to play with Courage in the dark on a cold winter night AND got us a treasured gift card to a major equine retailer.

you can't tell but it was pitch black outside and freezing

And apparently my complaint about my family never getting me pony things was ill-founded. My super awesome SIL took my tiny adorable nephew to a tack store.

this kid has taste. the hairy one is not SIL.

 He picked colors and they came out with a fun purple halter and matching brush!

so relaxed in purple

AND THEN because I wasn't already spoiled enough, my dad remembered me pointing out a Breyer horse that I thought looked like Courage in terms of conformation and color. He bought it, had my mom get on facebook to get the markings just right, and even consulted a long time friend of mine to make sure they had it, then custom painted a Courage, just for me.

basically perfect

 If you know me, you know I love presents and surprises. It's not about the money spent--it's about that little extra thought and effort to let someone know you care. I'm enormously grateful for my friends and family. They are truly an embarrassment of riches. :-)

Pony Presents!!

What Christmas looks like

I frequently whine that my family thinks I'm some sort of addict and won't buy me horse related presents. I love my family and they are great, and OMG I have the best barn friends ever. The Musketeers (TM) got together for a fun pony gift exchange. You already know Redheadlins, Alyssa, and Micaylah, plus our final member who goes to school in another state. (wtf who does that). And my BO from our last barn gave me a present, because she is the best ever.

Anywho. It was a really fun night with lots of laughs. I am the worst friend because I'm doing Valentine's Presents this year (ugh so poor need to space presents out right now), but no one cared and I feel guilty for all the incredible presents I got.

Quick rundown:

Sparkle bell boots, omg! Not only are they blingtastic, but they also make Courage look like a fancy dressage horse. It's an all win situation.















You've all seen my trunk before, but the stickers are new. Specifically, you're probably noticing the Dapplebay sticker which (YESSSSSSS) came with the matching OTTB Dapplebay shirt.

It is a short sleeve shirt, so it probably won't see a lot of wear until spring, but I love it and wanted it and never would have bought it for myself.

Oh, and I'd link you to their website but it's acting super weird and I have no clue. Just google if you want it.

I need to get a pic of this, but also the super awesome "under control" shirt with all the bits on it. Because bits. It's perfect.

ALL THE PRETTIES

Ok truth: I have wanted one of those thermoquilt stable blankets FOREVER. I never could justify one and I don't really think it would fit into my blanket round up at all, but I love the look and the material.

Oh, and then the ever-wonderful B got me a quarter sheet out of that material for Christmas. :-D

So thrilled. I love it. Perfect weight, super soft, just right for those in-between days.

Makes me want to clip C-rage EVEN MORE.

AND. AND. I adore navy and silver and the OTTB Designs swag. They JUST came out with navy and silver and I drooled all over it, but the $$$ were not happening and WHOOP WHOOP OMG super awesome present.

in all it's unedited glory

Yikes. So many nice presents I feel like some sort of embarrassing brand 'ho or something horrible, so I'll leave off with two things:

1. I seriously have the best friends a girl could want.

2. Spot the super cool present in this picture that I haven't mentioned yet:

Christmas Time!!

I've spent the past week being anxious/depressed/generally annoyed because I hate winter. Then Wednesday I got my first ride this month (more on that later) AND my blogger secret santa present. Thank you so much to Amanda over at An Eventful life!!! I just found her blog (and like it) and I am super excited to use the soap. :-D Plus it's perfect timing since I just dirtied my tack.

Also thanks to Tracy at Fly on Over for organizing the exchange. :-) This day makes me so happy.

I think I can deal with a few more weeks of fog and cold and snow now that I have beautiful soap to try out and sniff.