Christmas Eve(s)

Yesterday I basically skipped the day and had a "lazy" day.  I was really making an effort to kick this cold and after a long walk outside with Stella and a grocery store run, I grabbed some Panera soup and once Stella jumped on my lap on the couch it was over, nap time was in full force and we lounged.  I didn't touch my computer, my to do list, anything.  I grabbed dinner with Derek and my parents last night and think the relaxation is doing it to feel better.  Tonight we're having another "Christmas" event with our extended family - at our house!  Anyway, back to "Christmas Week"…

Christmas Eve Eve and Christmas Eve go down as my two favorite days of the year - even more so than Christmas Day.  The anticipation and the hustle and bustle are my favorite parts.  We kick off the holiday every year on the 23d, Christmas Eve Eve.  This year was a little different and the first year that I wasn't "home" for this part of the holiday.  Since we weren't heading over for our stay at my parents house until the morning of Christmas Eve, I asked to host our annual dinner and my mom happily said yes.

Christmas Eve Eve:
The weather was horribly rainy and slowly starting to get warmer and warmer - we had the windows open, fans going and finally caved to put the air on until things could cool down a bit.  Derek had a half day and when he got home it was an array of final wrapping, Christmas movie watching, packing and prepping for dinner.

My parents and brother (and Nash) came over for some appetizers {Feta cheese dip, jumbo shrimp and kielbasa & pineapple bites} as well with a cocktail hour of our very own "Christmas Cheer" along with our traditional Christmas Eve Eve meal of beef tips with noodles and salad.  We had a variety of fudge/chooclate covered pretzel (leftovers that I made for Derek to take to work) as well as leftover birthday cake for dessert.  It was such a fun evening and the excitement of what was to come the next few days set in.

Post dinner I prepped our cinnamon rolls for breakfast the next day (another favorite tradition!) and I thick everyone regretted my parents giving me the tripod from their old video camera because I had too much fun setting it up and testing it out.

Christmas Eve:
Despite staying up well past midnight the night before, I was up early with excitement and ready to go. After a quick workout Stella and I packed up the breakfast casserole and hit the road to my parent's house - Derek had a work lunch and was meeting us there later.

Another one of my responsibilities is our Christmas Eve morning breakfast - cinnamon rolls and some type of side (this year it was a crockpot casserole we'd used at a tailgate and some fruit santa hats).  I tried a new recipe for the cinnamon rolls this year and it was out of this world - definitely will be used each year to come and it requires no yeast!

We randomly lost power for an hour or so because of an accident down the road which prompted some time to rest which was quite welcomed.  It's my job to fill the stockings each year (except my own, of course) and I love doing it.  I mentioned before that everyone has to get five things for everyone else's stockings and mom "Santa" handles the rest so everyone passes the items off to me, I dump them all out and fill the stockings as well as the big overflow bags to the brim.  Some Christmas movie watching (Christmas Cupid) and a quick power nap and it was time to get ready for the night's festivities - with a new outfit choice due to the very warm weather (it took forever to dry/curl my hair due to the heat!)

Stella was happy to watch her "grandparents" open their gifts ornaments from her 

It always feels like Christmas once I'm the one moving the mouse into the 24th spot

We go to the same little delicious italian restaurant on the main strip of town each year followed by the candlelight church service (the church is just a couple blocks from the restaurant so it's a nice little routine).  The restaurant was filled with laugher, crowds and loudness and we had the best time enjoying our wine and meals.  Church is always a favorite on Christmas Eve especially singing "Silent Night" by candle light.

We don't get too many "posed photo times" but I always take advantage of the holiday season to take plenty just to have

With the iffy weather it was unsure if the neighborhood luminary candles would be able to be a go but we lucked out and the whole neighborhood was lit up.  To round out the night there was a mix of getting the bows onto the presents for me, mom whipping up the breakfast casseroles for the next day and everyone else watching (and some falling asleep to) Christmas vacation.

No matter what age, there is just something so magical about going to sleep on Christmas Eve.

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Christmas Just the Two

Christmas has come and gone - I can't believe it.  I am looking forward to some quiet/normal winter days but I'd be lying if I didn't say I was sad that it's over already.  I had such fun with all the Christmas posts this season and recapping the actual holiday will be no different, I don't want to forget anything (I love going back to read the details of years' passed) plus I'm busy enjoying Christmas break so I'll spread the Christmas experiences out between a few days keeping it short and sweet.  I also caught quite the cold (luckily it came the day after Christmas) and am most enjoying being lazy with extra naps to cure it. (I blame the constant crazy changes in the weather)

We had the best time having a "vacation" at my parents house for the past few days and enjoying the holiday, the eve of Christmas and the eve eve (all to come).  A tradition that we started last year was to celebrate the holiday "just the two" before all the actual Christmas celebrations began.  This has grown to become a favorite of mine because it's a time to just focus on the two of us enjoying Christmas by ourselves.

This year we celebrated on the 22nd and intended to go out for dinner (like we did last year) then come home to open presents under our tree.  It was pouring the night we celebrated (similar to most of this week) and we decided to ditch the dinner plans and order in - strombolis and a salad to share.  This was Stella's first time getting a stocking gift bag and girlfriend loved it - she didn't pay a minute of attention to us opening up our gifts because she was too busy opening up her own.

the final gift of the night that I was instructed to find in the tree - Santa most definitely did great this year.

Later this week I'll be sharing about the Eve(s) of Christmas as well as Christmas day.

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Merry, Merry

Christmas Eve is here! We had the best time last night hosting a "Christmas Eve Eve Dinner," stayed up way too late getting things done, making cinnamon rolls and such for breakfast this morning and enjoying the excitement this season brings.

I'm overjoyed that this holiday is here and for all the traditions that go along with today, tomorrow and the next week (plus it's Stella's first Christmas).  The weather around here is going to be record breaking - in the mid 70's (I thought last year's record in the 60's was nuts) so it's not quite feeling like Christmas in that sense but everything other than that is right on track.  I woke up early this morning (despite lack of sleep) excited and ready to get going.

Wishing you all the most blessed and happy holiday! Enjoy the day, enjoy time with your loved ones, enjoy opening gifts, enjoy all the delicious food and most importantly - enjoy celebrating the reason for the season.

Merry, Merry Christmas! 

You can keep up with all of my Christmas excitement here. 

Looks & Life Lately {11} Christmas Season

Merry Christmas Eve Eve. Just two days away from Christmas, how did we make it to this point so quickly! I think this day might be my favorite of the year - with all the anticipation of the next few days ahead.  The wrapping is done - and done WAY later than normal this year but done nonetheless.  Well almost done.  I'm waiting on one final delivery later today and we'll be good to go! Baking kicked off last night and we made some treats for Derek to take to work.  The plans are all laid out for what to bake tomorrow, for Christmas night, the day after and for all the Christmas functions next week - I'm ready for some un-rushed time in the kitchen by spacing it all out and not trying to cram it all in tonight (since there isn't much time around here!) 

Last night Derek and I celebrated our "Christmas Just the Two" for the second time and continue enjoying that new tradition of ours.  Speaking of traditions, for the first time ever, I'm hosting our Christmas Eve Eve dinner - just a simple meal, I think it came about when I was in college and looking for extra family activity but I'm thrilled to be hosting (especially since this is my first Christmas "Eve Eve" not at home - we'll be heading over there tomorrow!) 

Lots to catch up on from the holiday season (and also unexpectedly, lots of tradition sharing), so here we go.

Christmas Break:
Most recent first, right?! Yesterday was my last day at the office for a few hours and other than a couple hours next Tuesday, it's time for Christmas vacation until the new year!! My mom always has the best holiday outfits and yesterday we both ended up wearing plaid for the final morning.

Christmas Light Night:
This one we've been doing for years - some times on my birthday, sometimes Christmas Eve, sometimes just a random night.  Now Derek and I still do it too.  Friday night we stopped by Christmasland at the farm near my parents to pick up some stocking stuffers and headed out on our ride around town with Stella. And hot chocolate.

Second Annual Family Christmas Dinner:
We've had many Christmas traditions for years that we continue to carry on in my family and once Derek joined we didn't alter them much but we did add in just one more - a family Christmas dinner in early to mid December.  This was our second year to all get together at the mall for a little shopping then to Maggiano's for a delicious italian feast.



Angel Tree Gifts:
One of my favorite parts of December is shopping for our angel tree gifts.  Derek and I spent plenty of time picking out a bunch of little goodies for our angels.  I always love how pretty our church looks in the month of December too.

Wrap
I haven't been shy on my love for wrapping and usually it's done before the last minute.  This year I've set up a little wrapping station in my office (I'll miss it but also be happy to get things tidy) and have gotten paper and tags on the boxes but for the sake of time, I'm saving the bows to do on Christmas Eve once I get to my parents house.

Christmas Cheer:
I shared after Thanksgiving how we had made our batches of my family's Christmas drink, Christmas Cheer.  It has to sit for two weeks and on Monday we enjoyed our fist glasses.  It's quite strong and quite tasty and will be a staple around here over the holiday break.

Other Happenings:

Derek and I literally fight over who moves Santa each day! My mom has two advent calendars and each year on Christmas Eve/Day I hurry down to be the first one to move the mouse/snowflake - these little calendars are a huge favorite of mine.

I'm really going to miss this view!  No presents under the tree?! I am not a fan of presents under the tree until Christmas morning, even though most people are.  Growing up all the presents "appeared" after we went to bed on Christmas Eve and I love it that way.  Plus it keeps things cleaner :) (just dog toys - Stella's toy bin is right next to the tree)

Like I said on Monday, I had the best time celebrating my birthday.  "Cheersing" to me with one of my favorite drinks with my favorite people - what more do I need!?

Last weekend (in the crazy mild weather) we wanted to spruce it up a bit and added some extra lights to the bare tree and bushes and hung these little evergreen balls on each light opposite our garage.



A couple weeks ago in the miss of the Christmas chaos, Derek got a new car! We've had a great time cruising around in it.  Now that I think of it, I've yet to drive it so I'll need to get on that over break!



During the busy weeks, some nights just call for a relaxing night in.  Instead of just getting a pizza, we decided to try a couple different types of smaller ones by having a little buffet.



All these new recipes are fabulous (and I love baking them) but some times it's fun to just get back to basics and pick up a pack of the slice and bake cookies staring you right in the face at the grocery store.



I met my parents for Christmas errands and lunch two Fridays ago and we stumbled upon these darling holiday plates that look like both of our pups.  If they weren't part of a set with two others we would have surely scooped these up.  Speaking of pups, one little one had a mix up and we forgot to ask for a trim as opposed to her normal do.  She knocked the bow out a day later and has her normal fluff back now in time for Christmas.

Some Christmas blooms to bring some life to the living room (a perfect touch to the decorations) and some rare downtime with my girl.

Last but not least, my parents holiday card! They have been doing a nice holiday card along with a holiday letter for years and years.  My mom started a collection for both my brother and I and I love looking back on past years.  I'm so glad Christmas cards have always been a big deal for me because now I take find such excitement in picking out my own for my little family.  Sharing ours tomorrow...

'Tis the season… Just TWO days left! 

Linking up with Jenn & Jessi for "What's Hap-pinning Wednesday"

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