25 days of christmas

Each year I try to record our days from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I LOVE the holidays so much that sometimes I get caught up in the daily grind and forget the special things I do each day that make the holiday season so fun and worth remembering. Here's a few of our daily doings that I think are worth recording.Jeff's Grandparents: Anderson, SC

Thanksgiving: Jeff and I have been married for three years and each thanksgiving has always been different. We hosted the first year at my mom's house. I shopped and cooked, ,both families dined, and Jeff joined us at the last minute after taking the train from DC late on Wednesday night. Year 2: I relocated to Florida, Jeff was still working for the man in DC. He drove 13 hours to spend the holiday with me in our little rental house. We made up for lost time, if you catch my drift, needless to say a turkey dinner & pumpkin pie were the last things on my mind. 2009 marks our 3rd thanksgiving and we spent it apart. Yes, you read that right, apart. Jeff's family was gathering in South Carolina and my grandparents were staying put here in Florida. I didn't feel up to a Martin reunion, I had bronchitis, and the pups do not do well with cats. Jeff left early Thursday morning for Anderson, SC and my only plan was to relax and shop the ads, until my mid afternoon dinner at two. I missed him, but I think we made the best choice.

My adorable Grandmother and her beautiful Thanksgiving table.

Black Friday:11/27
3:30 - Wake-up call.
4:00 - Leave for Walmart
4:15 - Search for a parking space and end up parking in the rental car lot. (Praying I didn't get towed!)
4:30 - Find my cricut, put it in my cart, and head for checkout.
4:45 - Find a digital frame for G&P
5:00 - Checkout, I am the second person in line!
5:15 - Arrive @ Target
5:30 - Shop for Jeff, the Cubbages, & Nicole
5:45 - Quick coffee stop @ Dunkin Doughnuts
6:00 - On to Michael's! Yay for cricut cartridges & a 40% coupon!
7:00 - Home! 1/2 of my shopping is completed & my bed is calling my name.

11/30: Biltmore Estate - America's largest privately owned home. It's even more beautiful at Christmas. The home belonged to George and Edith Vanderbilt's and boasts 250-rooms. It is located in Asheville, NC only a 90 minute drive from Jeff's grandparents home. Walking the halls takes over two hours! Jeff raved about the gorgeous library with over 10,000 books and the dining room that was the size of our home. Pictures are prohibited, but you will see an original Renoir, Napoleon's chess set, a 20 foot Christmas tree in the dining hall, 65 fireplaces, and finally an indoor pool, and bowling.

12/1: I heart eggnog! I really don't enjoy egg nog by itself. In fact a few years ago I detested it! Then my mom stepped in and found a way to mix eggnog with my favorite food group carbs! Introducing Egg Nog French Toast. A Jill Fisler secret recipe. It's amazing! And I bought enough eggnog to be able to make it for the entire Christmas season. Yum!

12/2: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! The tree is up and it is beautiful!
I love looking at all the ornaments we have collected over the years. I have two new favorites this year. The leg lamp from "A Christmas Story" and my hermit crab ornament from Ocean City, NJ. I am so excited to be going home in three weeks.

Me with the new haircut. I really like my bangs.

12/3: Season of giving. We made a third trip to Target this week, (my 3rd in three days!), to shope for Joey our giving tree child this year. Joey is a six year old boy who loves action figures, Disney movies, and books. I found him an awesome outfit to make him a styling at school this January. And Jeff was way excited to shop for the transformer's action figures! He will be so excited if we have a boy.12/4: What a day! Science fair, fossil quiz, parent helpers, project judging, (It's much harder than it looks! They are all so good.), ice cream sundaes at the staff meeting, and not getting home until 5:30. Jeff had a rough day too. I think the crazy clients are starting to get to him. We settled for a Publix catered dinner of mojo chicken (so good), couscous & peas. We ended an utterly awful day with dinner, a ridiculous movie , and red velvet cake. I really loved the cake!

12/5: We have a sick Sophie. Sophie threw up twice today. It was projectile and big and gross. She is on a broth only diet for 24 hours and we have endure her cries of hunger. It's awful & I feel terrible. I don't think we are ready for kids yet. Let's hope she feels better tomorrow and we can still head to IKEA.12/6: IKEA: I fell in love with IKEA my sophomore year of college. We have had a long successful romance and I still swoon when I walk through her doors. Today my mission consisted of two sets of curtains for the TV room, new sofa pillows featuring colorful accents, and two throws that will keep me toasty in this winter season. Jeff tried to keep me on task, but as per usual, we came home with a few more things. A new quilt for our bed, red lanterns for the front walk, and an embrodiered floral pillow for the living room sofa. We also visted the Mall of Melinia, I wanted to see the Christmas decorations. The tree and whimsical Santa's village were gorgeous! It almost made up for missing the tree lighting @ Rockefellar center. We also made a quick stop to Anthropologie where OUR BEDDING WAS 70% OFF! Double score! To celebrate our lucky break we had lunch at PF Changs where the crispy honey shrimp are outstanding. Sophie is feeling better today and was able to keep down broth & grits. I think she is on the road to recovery :)12/7: Christmas cards! They are printed. They are awesome. They will be in your mailboxes soon.

12/8: Science fair, Christmas concert, and a date with my grandparents oh my! It was a great night filled with family and the sounds of Christmas.

12/9: I can (w)rap with the best of them.

12/10: A pre-Christmas dinner Benni Hana style. I am in love with the Hibachi restaurant on 210.