Category Archives: Holidays

The 12 Dates of Christmas

December 15, 2015

We polished off a couple more dates this weekend (’tis the season!) And though our dates are a little less exciting than previous years, it’s really nice to carve out a little bit of quality time just for KC and me.

Our sweet peanut had a mild cold this weekend (’tis the season for that too, unfortunately), so she napped a bit more than usual. We took advantage of our time alone together and tackled the huge pile of Christmas gifts that were waiting to be wrapped. We turned on Christmas music and wrapped gifts for awhile, taking breaks to drink homemade mochas and catch up on our overflowing DVR. It might sound boring, but it was so fun to hang out with just the two of us, chatting and joking while wrapping Christmas gifts.

On Saturday night we lit the fireplace, turned on the Christmas lights, and watched Elf together. It was just like old times, when we had so much TIME to just lay around and watch movies. So magical. And really, Elf just never gets old. I love it.

On Sunday we lounged around in the morning, listening to podcasts and drinking coffee while P napped. After she woke up we headed downtown together to finish up shopping for a few more gifts and to buy some more gift wrap. P ended up falling asleep in the stroller, so we grabbed a quick bite to eat at a local restaurant. The food was mediocre and the service was sort of terrible, but there’s really nothing like being able to snag a quiet moment together these days. The holidays are full of so many obligations and activities, it’s really easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of it all and have it just whoosh by without hardly taking a moment to enjoy it. Our little dates are such a nice reminder to stop and take a breath every now and then and just soak up all the joy of the holiday season together.

Five dates to go! I hope that your holidays have been very merry, and that you’ve been able to sneak a few moments just for you.

Holidays

Our Christmas Card 2015

December 14, 2015

I’m quite proud of the fact that we actually managed to send out Christmas cards this year. We’ve never sent them out before, but since we have a wee lady living with us now, I thought now was a good time to start.

We took a few photos in Alexis’ backyard the week of Thanksgiving, and then used Tiny Prints to create our card. The website has a lot of nice designs and is really user-friendly, plus the cards were affordable and shipped super-quick! I didn’t spend a whole lot of time looking through all of the holiday cards designs on the website before choosing one, but now that we’re getting other peoples’ cards in the mail I’m seeing more and more cute designs. I guess I’ll have to do a little more browsing next year. 😉

And in case you’re thinking that our last name looks weird (because it totally does), that is actually the correct way to pluralize it. Don’t believe me? Or wondering how to pluralize your own last name? Check out this post.

Happy holidays!

Baby / Holidays

My Christmas List (+ Prim’s List, too!)

December 2, 2015

My Christmas list (like most years), is pretty boring. There’s not much that I want or need this year; and given that we currently lack a permanent residence, it’s even more incentive to not stock up on unnecessary trinkets and goodies. Here’s my very minimal list:

Kindle Paperwhite: because my Kindle is 5 years old, and even though it still works great, I really want one with a built-in backlight (perfect for those middle-of-the-night nursing sessions!)
Didymos Wool Baby Wrap: to keep my Sweet P nice and toasty while I tote her around this Winter.
JCrew Chateau Parka in Stadium Cloth: because apparently pregnancy changes your body in all sorts of awesome ways so even my jackets don’t fit. (Yayyy…)
An initial necklace or name ring: because everybody needs a something fun on their list, right?

We’re trying to keep Prim’s list minimal as well, but I did manage to find a couple things she could use (as well as a couple things that are frivolous and just for fun!)

Stroller Bunting: it’s been weirdly freezing over here lately, and with KC’s frequent trips to the mountains, this would come in really handy.
Knit Pants: so P can be fashionable and warm, all at the same time.
Books: because you can never have enough (we do a lot of reading in this house!)
Baby Moccasins: because they’re totally unnecessary (but totally necessary, right?)

(*I should also mention that Prim’s two front teeth are on her list this year. Um, and on mine. Teething is the worst.)

*Santa, please take note.

12 Dates of Christmas / Holidays

December!

December 1, 2015

The very best month of the year is finally here, so you know what that means — nonstop holiday cheer for the next 31 days! ^^We don’t have our tree just yet, so that’s a picture of last year’s tree.^^

We spent this past weekend Christmas shopping, and even managed to brave the crowds (for a very short period) on Black Friday. Granted, we went out in the early afternoon — not at 4am, or whatever ridiculous hour the sales start at. (Even though I’m up at that time most nights… But really, I wouldn’t choose to be up at that hour. Y’know, if I had a choice.)

Anyway, we actually got a good chunk of our shopping done, which is pretty exciting. Now I have this massive pile of gifts in the bedroom that are just staring at me like, “Wrap me.” And, ugh, as much as I love a nicely wrapped gift, I can’t say that I really enjoy wrapping presents.

Aaaand since Thanksgiving is over, the 12 Dates of Christmas have officially started! Since we’ve got Prim in the mix now, I think I’m going to be taking a pretty loose view of what constitutes a date. Even living with the in-laws, it can still be tough for KC and I to sneak out to have time with just the two of us, so some of our “dates” will definitely be including our little Sweet P.

We got off to a great start this weekend, tackling four (4!) dates.

For our first date, we went Christmas shopping on Black Friday. This included an adorable trip to BabyGap, where I was like, “We have to get gifts for other peoples’ kids, but wouldn’t this look so cute on P?!” And KC basically just rolled his eyes at me and said, “Do what you want,” because that’s totally how our marriage works and one of the million reasons I love him.

Our second date we were able to sneak out and go to dinner on Friday night while KC’s mom stayed home to keep an eye on Prim who was already in bed. We went to a Greek restaurant, which was decent, but kind of loud. But it was so nice to just have some time for the two of us. We talked about all the big changes that are on the horizon for 2016, and discussed plans for our upcoming anniversary. We also discussed a budget for Christmas gifts for each other, but somehow managed to avoid deciding on an actual figure, so… I guess it’s gonna be a free-for-all this year!

Our third date was on Saturday night, when we rented Trainwreck on demand and vegged out on the couch. The movie was so funny (I was laughing out loud basically the whole time), and it was so nice to relax together on the couch, just like the pre-baby days.

Our fourth date was turning on holiday music, simmering a spicy scent on the stove, and decorating the house together on Sunday. We didn’t finish decorating, (um, decorating a house is a little different than decorating a one bedroom apartment!) but we made some good headway, so things are at least looking a little festive over here.

Eight more dates to go! I can’t wait.

Holidays

Thanksgiving

November 30, 2015

How was your Thanksgiving? Ours was delicious. Alexis hosted this year and we had such a good time. She ran into the same issue I did the first year I hosted, with the turkey being done much earlier than expected (those freaking online turkey calculators are so inaccurate). But, no harm was done — it just sat wrapped in foil until we were all ready to eat.

And I mean, hello, look at that thing (delicious!):

We caught up over light appetizers and drinks to start, and Prim got some quality time in with her favorite Auntie Alexis:

I snuck into the backyard with Alexis and her little family to shoot pictures for their Christmas card (the shots turned out great!)

And finally we sat down to eat. The menu consisted of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, sweet potato and swiss chard gratin, homemade biscuits, and homemade cranberry sauce. And we of course followed everything up with pumpkin pie, apple pie, chocolate pie, and coconut bars + coffee and copious amounts of whipped cream.

It was a great night, and it got me so excited to sit around with family over many more delicious meals during the holiday season (isn’t that what the holidays are really all about?)

I hope your Thanksgiving was full of food and happiness, and your holiday season is the best ever! A post about the official start of the holiday season is coming up tomorrow. (Ahhhh the best 🙂 )