Sparkly Like a Holiday

Stick went out to get that typical American gift, a dozen red roses, but in China nothing is mundane. The roses came with glitter, tinsel, rose-printed cellophane, magenta tissue paper, and purple curling ribbon. Did you ever see that part of Love Actually, when Mr. Bean wraps up the Christmas necklace? Like that but with more glitter. Way more more glitter. Stick said he adamantly refused — via charades — a plastic skewer decorations, but he was too late to stop the florist from chopping off the lovely long stems.

12 roses in a tiny apartment is a lot. It’s gorgeous… roses in the vase with the bamboo, roses in an empty wine bottle next to my computer*, roses on the coffeetable, roses by the window.

When I was a kid, my mom would never let us buy or use glitter. As I look around my rose and glitter filled apartment, the reasons behind this rule have now become quite clear.

*Just to clarify, I put the bottle there to hold the flowers, I didn’t have an empty bottle from a late-night blog-reading and binge drinking session.