12 Things

Today I am doing my usual post-Christmas cleaning fest. The day after Christmas, I like to get every last wreath and ornament packed and put away neatly for next year. Taking down the decorations is what my mother calls “a drag” and I agree. Which is why I like to treat the 26th of December like a band-aid. Rip it off quick so you can start the New Year fresh.

Meanwhile, I thought I’d share 12 of our favorite Christmas moments with you. I did this last year and it was so much fun, I thought I’d do it again. Looking forward to seeing everyone’s pictures and posts this week!

Twelve Things at Christmas VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Merry Day After Christmas!

love, elizabeth

Sweetness and Peacefulness and Dreaming

My mom and I were talking about this on the phone yesterday. We both decided we like Christmas Eve better than Christmas Day. I don’t know why…but in my head, Jesus was born on Christmas Eve and then His parents got to sleep in on Christmas Day (#thelogicofchildhood). Growing up, Christmas Eve was rife with tradition. We would go to the candlelight service and sing my favorite Christmas carols like this one. We would drive home in the snowy cold (I feel like every Christmas in Colorado was a white Christmas). We’d unbundle ourselves from coats and scarves and boots. Dad would grab the snacks and the camera. Mom would heat up her cup of coffee and we’d head for the living room and the tree. Dad would read the Christmas story aloud and then we’d open presents in a circle, one at a time so that we could enjoy them with each other. My mother was the quiet conductor of all of this, sipping her coffee and nodding that it was someone else’s turn. Mom and Dad would open presents from each other last and have the annual Hunny Bunny argument (both would insist that the OTHER person was “Hunny Bunny #1” and so no packages were ever marked to “Hunny Bunny #2”).  I would sort and pile my gifts in a box and, when we had finished, I would take them to my room and set them where I could stare at them in the dark. They would stay in the box for days, maybe a week, shining up at me all new and special. I liked to horde them for a few days, to keep them new and bright and separate from my regular, everyday belongings. Christmas morning was the leisurely version of this and we’d take as long as possible to open our stockings, just to make them last to the very last toe of the very last stocking.

This Christmas Eve will be different than the ones I had as a little girl but that’s okay. It will be a day full of baking and singing and movie watching and snuggling and candle-lighting and praying and present-opening. It will mostly be just me and Kyle but I like that. Someday we’ll probably have babies and then the babies will grow up and be children and Christmases will be different. This year I am cherishing the peacefulness and sweetness and quietness. I have a growing feeling that this is a rare gift.

I hope whatever your celebration looks like, it’s wonderful and that it feeds your soul.

Merry Christmas Eve,
elizabeth

Help Me Decide…

One year when I was little, my dad made plum pudding for Christmas dinner and don’t ask me why, but I’ve been wanting to try it again since then. It seems like a very festive, very grown-up thing to cook. So I did what any sensible blogger does and hit Pinterest for recipes. Apparently, however, ‘plum pudding’ means a lot of different things, some of which are more cake-like and not so much with the pudding. I’ve narrowed it down to a few different possibilities but I really only have time to try one of these this year so…I’d love your opinion. Which of these sounds the best to you? Have you had plum or ‘Christmas’ pudding before? Did you like it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: allrecipes.co.uk via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

Source: tastemag.co.za via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: retroplanet.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: guardian.co.uk via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: octoberfarm.blogspot.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

 

I know. This is a highly momentous decision. Thoughts?

What is your favorite Christmas dish?

love, elizabeth

I Pumpkin Halloween

I have nothing profound to say today so here instead are some adorable baby pumpkins. I have just one more Halloween recap to share with you…it should be up this afternoon.

In other news, Kyle is flying back from Colorado this morning! He’s been out west visiting his family and celebrating his sister’s engagement (yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!). I am feeling fairly giddy about picking him up from the airport. I know it’s only been 4 days but it feels like 4 weeks. I am but a shell of a woman without him. I swear, for most of the weekend, I couldn’t remember what day it was. Not good.

Anyway, Happy Halloween! I like this holiday, mostly the pumpkin part and the scary movie part. And now that it’s almost over…I guess we need to start thinking about Thanksgiving? I want to listen to Christmas music but I am forcing myself to wait until after my last day of candidacy exams (November 19th). Then it’s ON. Normally I try to hold out until Black Friday but after 18 hours of comps, I feel I will have earned a little Frosty the Snowman.

So how are you celebrating Halloween? Are you dressing up this year?

love, elizabeth

Twelve Things of Christmas

Christmas week was wonderful but I have so many pictures, I thought I’d share twelve as a representation of the whole.

1. Madigan loved Dad. She spent lots of the week in his lap…

2. Jeni’s, the best ice cream parlor in Columbus (maybe the best ice cream ever). My favorite holiday flavors? Smoked Tea & Plum Pudding and Cumin & Honey Butterscotch Cake. Yes, yes, and yes.

3. Fantasy of Lights at Alum Creek. Sooo pretty to drive through…

4. An afternoon at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. What could be better?

5. Starbucks with Mom, Dad, and Kyle. Another bonus of being married to a barista.

6. Starliner Diner for a traditional Cuban breakfast.

7. Rummikub after dinner. Mom killed us.

8. Vegetable Medley Soup. Absolutely delicious and so easy! Recipe to follow.

9. The Poinsettia Tree at the Franklin Park Conservatory on Christmas Eve.

10. Perfect fortune cookie for our Christmas Eve dinner at Hong Kong Buffet.

11. Candlelight service at church.

12. Dad read one of our favorite Christmas stories aloud, Papa Panov’s Special Christmas by Tolstoy.

What kinds of things did you do this Christmas?

love, elizabeth

Elizabeth Gets Christmas-y

Thanksgiving weekend, Kyle and I decorated the tree. Oh, let’s be honest. I decorated and Kyle admired (and did the heavy lifting bits). Decorating for Christmas is kind of on my top five list of things to do. Thought I’d share a few of my favorite snapshots…

I’ll have more in the weeks to come. I’m excited to peek around all of your blogs and hear more about your holiday plans! Anyone else been decorating?

love, elizabeth

Christmas Shopping

That’s how many shopping days till Christmas. A little frightening how quickly that happened.

This year, I have vowed to stay out of the malls (they just make me feel sad and lonely most of the time) and to give more creatively. My family has agreed to exchange only books this year and I’m so happy about that! So except for one more book and some stocking stuffers, I am DONE with my Christmas shopping for 2011! And it feels grreeeeeeeeeat….

What about you? Any special gift-giving strategies this year?

love, elizabeth