Tag: Christmas

Weekend Things

LaurenLeave a comment

Hi!  How is December treating you?  For me, it’s been really excellent so far!  And even though I have a cold, I still did ALL THE THINGS this weekend because how can you not this time of year?  There’s holiday markets to peruse, menus to plan, movies to see, parties to attend and even some leftover time to read and relax.  It’s the best!

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Friday night we stayed in to cook ourselves dinner (Black and Blue Steak Salad + Mini Baked Sweet Potatoes) and watch my favorite Christmas movie, Scrooged.  You know when you’ve seen a movie a billion times, but you still find things to laugh at?  That’s this movie!  That part where Bill Murray wakes up in a frozen sewer and says “Where are we, Trump tower?” felt extra funny this time around.

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Saturday, after finally dragging ourselves out of bed, we posted up at Black Eye Coffee for toasts and Christmas menu planning.  It’s basically the same as last year, except we’re dry-brining the turkey and I’m really nervous/excited about it!  Since we were already out and about, we went directly from breakfast to Union Station for the Denver Flea.  I couldn’t feel my feet by the time we left, but we did get a little bit of Christmas shopping done, so it was worth it.

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Maybe took a afternoon nap, but then we went and saw The Favourite and guys, it is SO absurd and bizarre… I loved it!  It was actually less violent than I’d expected and all those incredible actresses give such knockout performances.  I can’t decide if it’s a refined Yorgos Lanthimos film or a toned down Yorgos Lanthimos film.  Joey was less enthused but he’s not sure if it’s because it was too weird or not weird enough.

The movie got out shortly past 6 PM and we maybe went to Hobby Lobby afterward to buy a stocking for our dog.  It seemed like a very uncool thing to do on a Saturday night but the place was packed so what do I know?  We had dinner at Pizzeria Lui, since we were already in the neighborhood and the pizza was borderline too hot in both senses of the word.  Made it through half of SNL before the whole day of exciting adventures caught up to us and we crashed into bed.

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Should I have just read and rested all Sunday morning?  Yes, but instead I made us pancakes, brewed/bottled some kombucha, cooked some beans and wrapped a few Christmas presents.  Then we made our way to a “Pregger Kegger” for Jory and Betsy, who are expecting a daughter in February!!!  It’s so exciting, I can hardly believe it!  Lori is famous for her diaper displays and this one did NOT disappoint.  I was very very impressed!  If you can’t tell, it’s a house divided when it comes to football 🙂

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Back at home, Joey watched the rest of the Cowboys game — I was doing my best to ignore all the yelling and read in bed, but I guess it was an exciting ending? — then we tag-teamed dinner/vegetable broth for soup later this week.  It’s the second time we’ve made this Autumn Vegetable Grain Salad and I’m still very into it!  Are you making your way through the second season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel?  Us too and that Catskills episode was giving us strong Dirty Dancing vibes.

Also, if December is not treating you well, please don’t take my opening paragraph as an insensitive brag.  This month, for all its gatherings, sparkly sights and gift giving, is also busy and stressful and easily derailed.  I’m trying my damndest to keep on the positive side, but if that’s not where you are, I get it and I know you’ll make it through ♥

Christmas 2016

Lauren2 Comments

When I think of Christmas 2016, I will think of the hellish month that led up to it.  I will think of the deep undying sadness of those days and the way Joey and I dropped all usual holiday priorities for things and people that were much more important.

I will think of the way we spontaneously volunteered to cook Christmas lunch for 15+ people, never having hosted that many people or even cooking a turkey before.

I will think of the week leading up to Christmas.  Of the supportive and understanding conversation I had at the book swap I went to.  Of the dinner I shared with Lori, Adam, Chad and Joey.  Walking through the Renaissance Hotel all decked out in holiday glitz.  Of the show we all attended that was so so inappropriate but also so so funny and how good it felt to laugh that hard.

I will think of the way Joey and I slow danced to Amos Lee in our living room.  How I stood in the doorway between our hallway and kitchen later that night, surveying our little home and our Christmas tree all lit up and feeling so fortunate and happy.

I will think of Joey’s grandma telling me she liked the restaurant I picked for Christmas Eve breakfast and realizing how much that kind of approval means to me.

I will think of how much work and preparation went into that Christmas lunch.  How many things we crammed into Joey’s truck to make it all happen.  How Adam, Steve and KJ got out the crystal, ironed the tablecloths and napkins and set the tables.  How Joey cooked the turkey perfectly, mashed the potatoes like a pro and made gravy like he’d been doing it his entire life.  It could not have gone easier or smoother and I could not have done it without this amazing person that uncomplainingly commits 100% to anything I get us into.

I will think of Lori and how she does so many things that make the holidays what they are.  She takes us to shows and dinners and movies and showers us with gifts and attention.  I could not possibly dream up a more loving mother-in-law.  I am not worthy, but I am so grateful.

I will think of my own mother.  Of how, even at 27, she makes Christmas feel just as special as it did when I was a little kid.  It has taken me this long, but I finally realize how much she puts into these holidays and how she does it all for us.  She is a saint and I love her so much.

I will think of Christmas Eve with Joey’s family.  How hard we all laughed as a present wrapped ten times was passed around the table, each of us taking a turn trying to open it with oven mitts on our hands.  There is a steady and reliable positivity about this family that is joyous to be around.

I will think about sitting in my brother and sister-in-law’s living room, passing around old pictures of my family, laughing at hairstyles and fashions of the past then watching Trolls with my niece and nephew.  I may have been way too into that soundtrack.

I will think of the hedgehog-shaped mittens Sharon bought Kyla, Javaiah and I just before Thanksgiving and how I could feel her there with us, even if just in spirit.

Mostly, I will think of that amplified feeling of love that was all around.

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