christmas in our new home

Since we had no house to really decorate last Christmas, I really went to town this year!  Not really, ok, maybe a little!  We invested in a new 10.5 ft tree and we are in awe of its beauty.  We chose a thin and tall tree as opposed to our old one.  We bought it the day after Thanksgiving and started decorating.  This is probably already practiced by most families, but I think we're going to start a tradition of decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving.  I loved seeing H's face light up when we (mainly Paul) were putting the tree together.  Maybe next year, he can help decorate the bottom of the tree.

our little pumpkin at 10 months

Earlier this month, we celebrated our little pumpkin turning 10 months old by going to a local pumpkin patch.

H didn't really know what to make of the pumpkins.  And he made a grimace every time he touched the hay.  He was too young for all the fun stuff, but we did go on a wagon ride through the "ghost town."  He wasn't really amused either and had a worried look the whole time.  Hopefully he'll appreciate it more next year when he's a bit older.  Visiting a pumpkin patch has officially been added to our yearly fall to-do list! 

I can't believe it's already Halloween tomorrow.  What are you dressing up as?

a week of celebrations

Last week, we celebrated two special occasions.  On Tuesday, we celebrated our second year wedding anniversary at Rick's Chophouse in downtown McKinney.  It was pretty packed for a weekday.  I guess this was surprising to me because we rarely eat out on weekdays.  I wish I knew how big their portions were.  I ordered their ribs, and it was probably bigger than both of our heads combined.  We had salads, calamari for appetizers and even ordered a side of Cajun style Mac and Cheese (I did not regret this), and I was way too full to eat my ribs.  At least I got a week's worth of lunch though.

They gave us our own desserts, on the house, with the usual "Happy Anniversary" written on the plate.  I ordered their apple pie with ice cream and bourbon and Paul had the creme brulee.  Yum!

Since we didn't take a picture at the restaurant, I wanted to take a picture at home to document the day and to keep the tradition going.  I set up the timer on my camera and had Bailey join us.  After a few attempts, here's one good shot (and enhanced via Instagram). 

On Saturday, Bailey turned 5 years old (35 in doggie years).  According to sources, she is no longer considered a puppy =(  She'll always be a puppy forever and ever. 

For some reason, she had attitude that day.  She must have realized that she's getting older.  I had to force her to take a picture with me!

We gave her a Frosty Paw to celebrate.  She loves the Peanut Butter flavor. 

We gave her lots of treats throughout the day and let her pretty much do whatever she wanted.  This was only supposed to last until the end of the day, but it seemed to have continued through Sunday.  We hope she will be with us for another 5 to 10 years.  Can't imagine life without her.

christmas weekend

And just like that, Christmas is over.  Here are a few Instagram pics from the weekend.

We left for Houston on Friday.  It was nice to be able to sleep in, actually enjoy a cup of coffee, and take our time.  On the road, I got bored.  I took a picture of my new (and first) pair of Toms from my sister. 

And I would like for you to meet my new love, Stella.  She is a Canon EOS Rebel T3i, and it was love at first shot!  I've been hinting at Paul for an SLR, but completely ruled it out this Christmas since we just recently bought a load of furniture for the house.  So she was a very nice surprise.  It's actually my Christmas and early birthday present.  He loves me, and I'm so grateful!  Oh, and he also got me our very first board game - Cranium!  It's sort of a joke because I hosted a Games Night with some girl friends a few months ago and we had absolutely zero board games (how'd you like that Mr. AZ reference?!).

I've been wearing the same pajamas for Christmas since 2008.  I hope to continue that tradition for as long as I can! 

My mother-in-law made Paul's favorite cherry pie for dessert.  We had wigilia on Christmas Eve, which is the traditional Polish supper held on December 24th.  We shared the oplatek and had salmon, tilapia, mushroom soup, coleslaw, pierogies stuffed with cheese and potatoes (which I helped stuff), shrimp cocktails,  and sauerkraut in observance of the Black Fast (no red meat).  Lucky for me, I love seafood.  This is a complete opposite of what my family does on Christmas Eve.  In the Filipino tradition, we have nochebuena, where is basically another Thanksgiving feast, with turkey, ham, and a roasted pig (or lechon) as an added bonus.  We did sort of combine the two traditions when we had Christmas at our house last year.  We shared the oplatek with one another, but ate meat! 

We've driven this route many times before, and I am just now able to snap a decent picture of Sam Houston.  My excuses are either a) I'm talking b) can't get a good shot, or c) (and most likely the case) I've fallen asleep after driving for less than 30 minutes.  I've come to a conclusion that I can pretty much sleep anywhere, anytime!  We rarely make any rest stops, but, I'm glad we did because I saw this pretty tiling in the restroom.

All in all, we had a fabulous Christmas!  There was a lot of family time and stuffing ourselves with food.  I also drank enough coffee that could last me through the new year - which is, by the way, in less than a week!  Can't believe it!  Make every last day of 2011 count!

How was your Christmas?  Did you get what you wished for?  Are you about 10 lbs heavier?  I hear ya!

yearly christmas ornaments

We started this tradition last year.  A friend and I were discussing Christmas traditions that we could do with our husband/significant others, and she shared this idea with me.  Each year, we would pick out one new ornament for the Christmas tree.  Eventually, our tree will be filled with all sorts of ornaments that have been collected over the years. 

Last year, I picked out this heart ornament from World Market.

And my sister-in-law gave this to us as a present, and I thought it was just perfect and very thoughtful!

This year, I chose this "T" to go with our letter ornaments. 

Technically, we should have picked out the ornaments together, but both years, I picked them myself.  Sad.  I wish we picked one out together at one of the antique stores we visted during Thanksgiving weekend.  Oh well, there's always next year. 

Speaking of next year, I'd love to try this.  My cousin/bff, Tincy, and her fiance are starting a new tradition called 12 Dates of Christmas.  What a great idea!

Do you guys have any Christmas traditions?  I'd love to hear them!

thanksgiving weekend

I'm so sad that my five day weekend has come to an end.  I can really get used to this routine!  Here's a quick recap of my "vacation."



We hosted our very first Thanksgiving this year, and I was a little nervous about how my turkey was going to turn out.  I've eaten plenty of turkey in my lifetime, but never actually cooked one myself.  Luckily, my coworker gave me some of her recipes and they were a success!  I'll be sharing the recipes with you these next few weeks, and maybe you guys can try them for your Christmas feasts.



Friday, we decided to skip out on the early Black Friday rush and put up our Christmas Tree.  I think we're going to make this a tradition.  Unless you're buying electronics, I don't think it's worth going super early.  My sister and I went right before midnight about two years ago, and I was exhausted, and a few hundred bucks poorer = not worth it.  Why waste precious hours of sleep for this?  Seriously, there are some savages out there.  We did make our way to Target and Best Buy later that evening and came out with two XBox 360 games (Dance Central 2 and Kinect Sports 2, to be exact) for the price of one.  And we're no gamers either!



On Small Business Saturday, we made our way to downtown McKinney to support our local shops.  I've been meaning to stop by bloom since it opened last September.  It's owned by fashion blogger Kendi from Kendi Everyday.  I love her style and it was so nice to have finally met her.  She's even more gorgeous in person!  I only bought a necklace, but I'll be sure to come back (without Paul) and give myself plenty of time to look around.  She had a lot of super cute stuff though.  And when I get the courage and the right staple pieces in my wardrobe, I'd love to try her 30 for 30 Remix.  I'll let you know when I get there!

The Square also had lots of antique stores and they had some very unique pieces.  I actually had self control that day, and only bought two candles.  Pretty proud of myself!  Although one store was giving out fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and I couldn't resist.  You just can't pass up free cookies, especially when they're fresh! Paul immediately said, "no thanks," but I confidently replied,"oh YES, please!" like I'm 5. He can't take me anywhere!


Winter is finally here and it was a boots and scarves kind of weekend.  Yesterday was extra windy, but groceries had to be done.  I put on this "dove" scarf for a quick fashion fix. 

How did you spend your Thanksgiving weekend?