Monday, January 4, 2016

Welcome, 2016

Eeek - I can't believe it's already January 4th and a whole new year.  I've had the best time spending much time with family, celebrating the holiday on repeat, enjoying time off and being lazy these past two weeks but today it's back to reality.  I can't wait to share what we've been up to and get things back to normal later this week but today I think I'll ease in with a short and sweet New Years recap.

First, if you're a Lilly Pulitzer fan and missed my post yesterday, you can check it out here for tips and details on the After Party Sale which goes live at 8:00am this morning! 


We aren't huge New Year's Eve people and are not fans of crowds so having "huge" plans never matters to us.  Originally we thought about taking a little trip for the long weekend but ultimately decided to enjoy a low key break at home (and I'm so glad we did - we were so lazy but also caught up on a few things).  After weighing out some options - an overnight to a town close by, dinner out in the city, staying in alone, etc., we had pretty much decided on a night out with friends in the city.  We kept dragging our feet with the hassle of getting in during the holiday craze and since I'd had a cold that kept me dragging all week when my parents mentioned they might do a surf and turf dinner, that sounded like a winner to us!

Derek and I headed over late afternoon on the 31st to get there in time for both the college playoff games and watched with my parents and brother before they hosted a fabulous New Year's Eve dinner.  We even got to see my aunt, uncle and cousin later on in the night and I snuck away to watch some of the New Year's Eve special on TV - so many times I'm too busy celebrating to actually watch and pay attention.

We started off the night with appetizers including a homemade caesar salad (my parents always make this and it's amazing - I'll have to get the recipe from them soon), shrimp cocktail and a tortellini bar with tortellini skewers to dip in marinara/vodka/alfredo sauces along with parmesan cheese.


I was too eager to fill up my plate then grab a picture of the meal but we enjoyed filet mignon, lobster tails, scalloped potatoes and broccoli for the main course and it was all delicious.  Perfect meal to close out the year.  No New Year's Eve is complete without a champagne bar, right?!


For dessert (which was served right after midnight) we went simple with comfort items - peanut butter blossoms, cake truffles and holiday bark - all recipes coming soon.


It was the perfect way to ring in the new year - I'm not sure that I'll celebrate any way other than in a smaller setting again in the future - I find it much more enjoyable this way.  I'll leave you with a couple casual snapshots of the night.


It feels good to be back! Looking forward to all that 2016 has in store for Christina Lea Loves and continuing to grow this place bigger and better each day.  Thanks for reading! 

29 comments:

  1. Happy New Year! I find that the smaller gathers are my favorite, too. The meal sounds absolutely delicious...love the idea of having tortellini skewers!

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  2. New Years sounded and looked perfect, and delicious! I don't feel the need to go out and do big things anymore either--it's nice to feel relaxed, comfortable and be around the people you really care about :)
    Happy New Year friend!

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  3. Your new years was a dream - surrounded by family and good food - the best!! I love the champagne bottle - I wanted to get that one but totally forgot!! Happy Monday friend! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

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  4. Happy new year! I'm way more likely to be found relaxing at home or hanging out with some good friends on New Years than out and about. This year I didn't even make it to midnight. Moving is exhausting, especially with two littles in tow. :) looks like you had a great time!

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  5. Sounds like the perfect fun but low key NYE! Happy 2016!

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  6. I used to love going all out for NYE but I prefer to do things low key now. Love all of the NYE decor, those champagne bottles are the cutest! I almost bought them but then went with rose instead! Happy 2016! <3, Pamela
    Sequins & Sea Breezes

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  7. Sounds like the perfect NYE, it's so much better low key isn't it? All that food looks delish, and even the pup got to celebrate! Cheers to a fabulous week and new year <3

    Green Fashionista

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  8. Our New Years was super low-key too and I much, much prefer it that way!! I think I'm converted for life!! You looked super cute on NYE!! That top is perfect!

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  9. Perfect way to spend New Year's in my book! These days I care nothing about going out. I prefer the comfort and simplicity of my own home or a close family member or friends. My how things change when we get older (;

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  10. Those skewers are such a great idea!! We did a quiet low key dinner too and came home to watch the games and festivities too!! Not a bad way to do it all! Glad you all had a great time! Love the pictures; you guys are adorable!!!!

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  11. A night in with family sounds like the perfect way to ring in the New Year, which is what we ended up doing as well! Stella looks so cute in her NYE hat!

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  12. Sounds like a perfect NYE celebration to me! When my older sister lived here she always had a party, but since she moved we stopped going out on NYE. Going out on NYE in Chicago, no thanks lol. I'm glad that you guys had a fun time though and I hope that the rest of your weekend was fun! :-)

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  13. This is the perfect celebration! I'm pretty sure your family should start a party planning business - you could be like the Middleton's, ha! Happy 2016, lady!

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  14. Happy New Year! Looks like it was such a fun celebration...Love the idea of a champagne bar!

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  15. Happy New Year! It looks like y'all had the perfect celebration. Those champagne bottles are perfect.

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  16. Your thoughts on NYE sound a lot like ours... we were invited by Mike's cousins to a comedy club/dancy party for $150 per person, and instead we asked where their kids would be and hung out with the kids and their grandparents (Mike's aunts and uncles) where we ate soooo much good food! I love all your photos, especially that first one!

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  17. Sounds like the perfect night! I'm not into crowds either - that is my preferred way to spend any evening, haha. And then menu sounds so delicious, can't wait to get some of the recipes.

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  18. seriously you and your fam - TOO cute! i am not even going to pass by and not mention that champagne bar - complete with cute signs just like you did for the mimosa bar over christmas. so many cute details! happy 2016 girl!

    xoxo cheshire kat

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  19. The food looks divine! Love how festive the set up is!
    Sarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts

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  20. What a fun party! I like low key too :) Yours still looked like it had amazing food and lots of fun! Love the decor. We had people over for ours and it was super low key. I think I was the only one wearing a dress :-p

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  21. Small gatherings of close friends and family are always the perfect way to ring in the new year! All of your pictures are so sweet!

    I thought of you Saturday when we (UGA) played you guys in the bowl game... you guys gave us quite a scare toward the end! It turned out to be quite the nail biter, so I just wanted to say good game!

    And happy 2016! I'm excited to follow along with you!

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  22. Looks like a great party! My night was also with a small group and I loved it!

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  23. Happy 2016! Y'all had a great start to the new year :)

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  24. The NYE spread at your parents sounds amazing! I love all the festive party favors and your outfit. Sounds like a fun and not-too-crazy night!

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  25. That's the perfect way to bring in the New Year! We've always stayed at home because we don't like huge crowds and aren't big party people. I almost didn't make it till midnight this year since I worked on putting away Christmas decorations all day lol

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  26. This sounds like a great, low-key NYE! Loving the little party hat on your pup!

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  27. What a great NYE! Those tortellini skewers are a great idea for parties! I can't wait to see what you scored from the Lilly sale! xo, Champagne&Suburbs

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  28. I have been seeing that champagne all over social media! Where is it from?? And was it good? (then again, is champagne ever not?!)

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  29. What a fun NYE! We went out to dinner but were home by midnight! I felt so old lol. Happy New Year!

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