I flew back to DC from my parents' house in Chicago this morning and went straight to work, so I didn't have time to download my nice pictures (well, nicer) off my camera. So here are a few little cell phone snaps of yesterday.
We went to church at noon after opening presents. I swooned, as always, over the flowers. When Frank and I first got engaged I wanted a Christmas wedding so I wouldn't have to decorate the church—doesn't it look beautiful all dressed up for Christmas?
The Christmas wedding didn't work out but we're keeping the crimson color scheme—and in fact, this is the church where we're getting married!
I couldn't help but imagine what it will be like to walk down this aisle arm in arm with Frank on May 25.
Just 5 months away... I can't wait!
Around the house, I enjoyed my mom's simple, pretty decorations.
It's comforting to see the same little decorations year after year.
One of my favorite presents came from my godfather, Uncle Frank, and his wife Aunt JoAnne: an ornament celebrating our engagement.
It made me so happy. I can't wait to hang it on our tree year after year.
Aunt JoAnne also thoughtfully offered to host a family bridal shower in Miami this spring. I was really touched.
I didn't get a picture of our whole Christmas spread (it was a feast!) but I snapped a picture of my mom's clever creation: Caprese salad on a stick.
It was so simple: miniature mozzarella balls from Trader Joe's, cherry tomatoes and a leaf of basil on a toothpick, lightly sprinkled with salt and olive oil. Oh man, delicious! And healthy too... sorta?
Angela got knitting and sewing kits for Christmas and let's just say she lived up to her nickname of mini-Theresa. I love those types of crafts (does anyone remember my "I am a grandma" post?) and yesterday afternoon I taught her to sew. By the end of the day, she had whipped up a little stuffed dog.
We spent a good part of the afternoon relaxing in the living room. You can see my stockinged legs as I lounged contentedly in the armchair with a glass of mulled mead and a book, while Angela worked away on her little stuffed dog with occasional help from me. It was the perfect lazy afternoon.
Christmas was very low-key this year and so relaxing. Now that I'm back in DC (an back to working), I'm wishing I could go back. I miss my family so much sometimes.
I'll be back later this week with What I Wore on Christmas and some funny stories about this weekend—let's just say traveling around the holidays is quite the adventure. How was your Christmas? Hope it was lovely!
What a precious ornament! So sweet :) Ahh, May 25 was my Grandmother's birthday. A beautiful date to get married :) God bless you, and Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteWow, that's so cool! Ever since we picked that date, I keep finding out about cool anniversaries and birthdays on it - in fact, it's my aunt and uncle's wedding anniversary, so we'll be sharing an anniversary with them! It makes the day that much more special. God bless you too, and merry Christmas!
DeleteWe got married on my aunt and uncle's anniversary too, which I thought was the coolest thing ever. We had them bring up the gifts so we could wish them happy anniversary during the wedding ceremony. May 25 is my dad's birthday and my brother-in-law's too!
DeleteKate, thank you so much for sharing this story! You inspired Frank and me to ask my aunt and uncle to bring up the gifts at our wedding too. What a GREAT idea!
DeleteMerry Christmas, Tess and Frank!! Peter and I were *almost* going to choose the 25th for our date, but it turned out that the chapel and reception hall were more available the week before. Your church is soooooo beautiful. I can't wait to see WEDDING photos from there.
ReplyDeleteMay God bless you as you continue preparing! <3 <3 <3
Oh man, how funny would it have been if we chose the same date! True blog soulmates. :) I can't wait to see your photos and hear about the preparations too... the CYW blog will be a bit of a wedding album for a little while, and I bet our readers will love it! Good luck with all the preparations!
DeleteThanks, you too!
DeleteI have little right to say this since I still have to do this, but... you should post your story on CYW at some point. From the bits and pieces I've seen here, I'm sure it's just beautiful.
And actually, I should email you sometime and talk about the future. I'm not sure what you and Frank are planning, but Peter and I will be living out in VA after the wedding and it would be great to meet up with you sometime.
Oh my gosh, Clare, you're moving out here?? That's so exciting! I would absolutely love to meet up with you! It would be so much fun to finally meet in person after communicating over the blog world for so long. :)
DeletePlease keep me posted on your plans! And yes, I would love to post my story at some point. It's just so long though (you know how that goes) that I don't know if I could get it whittled down to a manageable length. But yes. I do need to post on there more often - possible New Year's resolution?