Dear friends

Wishing you all health and happiness in the New Year!


{A goofy picture of us taken while out with friends this week}

We are spending the evening with a few good friends here in our home. In keeping with our low key holiday season, we opted to have a nice dinner safe at home. Kevin is making {most of } dinner and the other husbands are bring appetizers and sides. The new year is already off to a good start in opinion :)

Happy 2011 to all!

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What goes up ...

must come down.

I spent the better part of the day putting away our Christmas decorations.

My heart really wasn't in all the hoopla of the holidays this year. There really isn't a reason that I can put my finger on. I just couldn't keep the spirit going for very long.

I was ready to take it all down the day after {actually before if I'm being honest with ya} Christmas but I talked myself into trying to enjoy it a for a few more days now that  all the hype is over.

Nope, didn't work. It was becoming a source of major stress.
















So, bright and early, I began the laborious process of dismantling the displays, pulling out the bins, wrapping the ornaments and tucking away the ever growing amount of holiday decorations. Whew!

After the roads were travel ready, from the blizzard, my hubby and I went tree shipping. We found a beautiful artificial {fake} Christmas tree. For various reasons ~ allergies being the biggest ~ we decided this would be the year to purchase an alternative decoration {my friend's description of fake trees} for next Christmas.



I offered to save this in a zip lock as a special reminder for my husband :)

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A few of my favorites

This is one of the many traditions my family has for Christmas. It's been passed down many generations. I have some on my tree that my great grandmother gave to me. Each year in our stockings,  Santa leaves a special ornament. I look forward to unwrapping this special gift every Christmas morning. This is only a small sampling of our collection.

One day when my son has a home of his own, with bittersweet emotions, I will pack up his hand selected ornament collection to decorate his Christmas tree.

Each ornament has a story, a memory or some significance.

Humpty Dumpty ~ When Nicholas was just a little guy I made him a humpty dumpty costume for Halloween. He was adorable if I do say so :)

Ice Skates ~When I was younger I took skaking lessons for many years. I even got to skate with the MSU hockey team ~ what a thrill!

Santa at the grill ~ Our yearly Oktoberfest with my husband manning the sausage on the grill.

Suitcase ~ My husbands never ending {or it seems} travel.

Bull dogs ~ Our bullies Max, Bozley and little Bentley.

Reindeer ~ My mother made him when I was a little girl and loved Rudolph.

Mitten ~ I have many as reminders that I'm from Michigan. They are very thoughtful gifts from friends and family.

Naval officer ~ My husband's college and career memories

Cupcake person~ Sweet gifts for those I'm always making and sharing cupcakes with throughout the year.

Santa mug ~ My parents gave my brother and I Santa mugs when we were very young. We drank hot cocoa from them and when they weren't in use, they displayed our candy canes.

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Let it snow ...

          let it snow,  let it snow

We've had blizzard warnings here in Connecticut since last night for our area. There was a light dusting on the ground Christmas night but nothing to really get excited about.







We are singing a different tune now. The wind is picking up, the snow is falling a little faster and the roads are really slick. Kevin and I went out this morning and on our way home we saw 3 accidents along with numerous sliding and one very impressive spin out by a small truck. He handled it well and no one got hit or hurt. That's all it took for us to head straight home.

There is a cozy fire being tended by my husband, I'm making a pot chili for supper and most importantly ...

We are stocked for the blizzard of 2010 with plenty of red wine and chocolate! :)
{milk and bread are so overrated ~ ha!}


Stay warm and cozy.

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Joyeux Noel

                                        Joyeux Noel



              Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed Christmas filled with love, peace and joy!

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'Twas the night before Christmas ...

not a creature was stirring in our house



because they were sick on the couch!


The stockings were newly made {this very afternoon} with Tessa in mind



and hung, just in time, by the chimney with care {whew!}in hopes
that the NyQuil would soon kick in with the desired relief!


Our Christmas Eve plans went down the road less traveled this year. My husband informed me this morning that he wasn't feeling all that well. I loaded him up with over the counter, under the counter and anything in between medications that we had on hand. 

He did a stellar job of holding his own for as long as he could before he waved the white flag. Poor guy knew how much I wanted to attend Christmas Eve service {such a beautiful welcome to Christmas}. A quick glance in his direction before dinner told me that we would be spending a quiet evening at home.

I'm all about the gift of giving unless it's germs!

So, Merry Christmas Eve to all, and to all a restful nights sleep! :)

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Christmas quality time

My husband has been away for the month of December. As a result, we haven't spent any quality holiday cheer together. He arrived home this week and I wanted to share a little holiday festiveness with him.


What says romantic Christmas more than a carriage ride on a crisp
December evening with a light snow falling? The newly renovated Ocean House was hosting a carriage ride complete with a glass of champagne and hot chocolate. We snuggled in the carriage seat together for warmth against the biting ocean breeze. Our conversation was lulled by the pull of Silver our beautiful carriage horse as we talked and shared quiet moments while enjoying the beautiful scenery all aglow for Christmas.


It was a prefect night.



Afterwards, we went to one of our favorite restaurants close to home. The Daniel Packer Inn is a very quaint New England restaurant on the two main floors and a cozy pub in the basement. We know the owners and always enjoy when Allie stops by our table to catch up with us. There was a fire blazing in the big stone fireplace and everyone was filled with Christmas cheer. A table of ladies behind us were exchanging Christmas gifts. I must say they had great taste and I added a few things to my list as the gifts were unwrapped. I even had my husband turn around a few times so that he could see :)


One of my personal treats for the season is all the baking. It is really relaxing to me for some reason. Odd, I know :) I made several different varieties of cookies aside from my cookies that I made for my cookie exchange.


Our evening ended with the delivery of the cookie boxes. I've been told by friends that they look forward to their "special delivery" every year just before the big day.



Those simple words warm my heart all year long!

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