Florida Visit Recap

We captured some really good photos from this past weekend in Florida with my family that I wanted to share. Most of the weekend was spent being silly and fooling around.

The first day John and I spent time enjoying the weather with a nice lunch and visit to my grandmother. Her birthday was on Saturday and we celebrated the big 8-6 with her that evening.

From left to right: Lily, Shannon and me at dinner / my dad and Wyatt at Jaxson's Ice Cream Parlor / Maidson, Aidan and mom-mom / Aidan outside / Aidan, me and Jessie all lounging on the hammock

From left to right: My siblings and their kids taking a walk outside / Jillian, Aidan and Ryan being silly at Jaxson's Ice Cream Parlor

From left to right: My parents enjoying an ice cream sundae / Aidan and Lily playing outside / John and Jessie being silly at dinner / Madison lounging on the hammock.

I really enjoying the visit - getting a chance to spend some time with each of the kids was really important to us and it gave John and I a great opportunity to bond with each of them. Coordinating meals for 13 certainly isn't an easy task, but even with all the insanity, this trip is something we're sure to remember for a long time to come.

sunshine state here i come

John and I are heading out tomorrow morning on quite a big adventure. We're going to be visiting my parents and grandmother in sunny F-L-O-R-I-D-A!!!

Along for the trip are my brothers with their entire families. It's the first time all of us will be together in over two years - and will be that much sweeter since the trip just happens to fall during my grandmother's birthday.

Vintage Postcard from Postcardbooth.com

Excited to be able to spend the next few days playing with our three nieces and two nephews. I'm hoping to come home with an award for favorite Auntie ever!

Hope you enjoy the weekend and I'll see you back here next week...

happy holidays dear friends

By now I've realized that I may not be getting the puppy I've been hoping for (a gift I've been asking for five or so years running) nor all the items on my wish list, but I am nonetheless extremely excited for the next few days of Christmastime.

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It's one of the happiest times of the year where John and I can really relax, be together and spend time with some of the most important people in our lives. Since we met, I've spent the past 10 or so years with his family and it's always been a great routine:

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Christmas Eve Day we visit his dad and his step-mom for Manicotti and delicious treats. It's a great time to catch-up and see them, which we seldom get to do during the year.

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We then head to his mom and step-dad's for conversation and general vegging out. We unpack the car, listen to the ooh's and aah's about how many gifts there are, digest the crazy amount of food from the morning visit to dad's, and then head down the road to his aunt Gerry's, whose husband Mike is in charge of creating The Feast of the Seven Fishes for his entire family. It's pretty casual (which I love) and super festive. Plus the best part is that all the kids in the family put on a darling Christmas play (complete with music, costumes and bells for the audience).

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We stumble back to mom and George's (luckily for us they live just a few houses down from Aunt Gerry) and one by one head off to sleep. Then of course, Santa works his magic.

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And we are all greeted Christmas morning with fresh coffee (from Wawa of course) and happy smiles all around. Gifts are put into piles (by recipient) and we go around in a circle, opening them one by one. It's grand and we laugh and giggle the entire time and Brooke and I are crazy camera people so we photograph every gift which is so fun!

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A few hours later we are all finished. George asks how we'd like our eggs and makes up a delicious batch for everyone.

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Last year we also added a new tradition of decoating gingerbread houses to help give us something to do between opening gifts and having dinner. Each of the couples gets a house and this year we are all responsible for a food group to pick up. John and I have hard candies, Brook and Nick are doing gummies and Fran and George are in charge of frosting. To make things extra challenging, I suggested we each could choose two items that are out of our food groups that will be our wild cards. You and you alone can use these 'secret ingredients' to help give you an advantage over another team.

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Of course after we are sufficiently done decorating and talking trash, we get dressed out of our pj's and ready for dinner. The past year or so Nick's parents have joined in as well as George's mom. It's quaint and lovely and I enjoy every second of the day.

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Whatever your plans are for this special time of year, I hope you have a wonderful time and enjoy the festivities. And for those of you like me who don't get to always see your own family during this time, be sure to let them know you are still thinking of them and wish that you could be in all places celebrating with each one of them. 

Happy Holidays to everyone, I'll be back on Monday with lots to share.

Thanksgiving Recap

I hope you are all feeling nicely rested after a trip back home. We spent the holiday getting to catch-up with family and friends throughout the Pennsylvania and New Jersey area.

First stop was my in-laws. (MIL) Momfran cooked a delish turkey - perfectly brown and juicy thanks to Martha Stewart's wonderful tip (see #5). We dined on mashed potatoes, candied sweets, amazing stuffing and enough pie to make the scale go a little haywire. There was even an appearance of pumpkin flavored ice cream - Thank You Edy's.

Saturday we awoke to bagels and coffee brought in from our favorite local jaunt, Terrace Bagels. Were totally in love with the coffee they serve there — made by Hillier Coffee, it's aptly named Brooklyn Roads and is fantastic!

After a visit to Terrain at Styers to see their amazing assortment of trees, ornaments and more. I got lots of great ideas for holiday gifts and a few cool garden pots/baskets to help decorate my workspace.

That evening we headed over to Longwood Gardens to meet our friends, Elena, John and John's mom, Pat. The trees along the outside grounds were meticulously covered in colorful lights and the conservatory was a glow with festive delights. The display was truly remarkable! The evening was quite chilly so we started with a stop at the cafe for some hot cocoa.

I took nearly 300 photos of all the sights including...

These X-mas trees decorated by local area school children

Dozens of orchids

(L to R) The main room was covered in hundreds of Begonia, Poinsettia and surrounded by a low reflecting pool. Me poising with a red poinsettia and a living sculpture made of hundreds of succulents

(L to R) Momfran and George posing in front of a blue butterfly covered tree. Interior of the dining room. A larger than life live wreath. Close-up of the garland from the massive tree at top. Hundred year old Bonsai. Love this photo of John and his reflection.

There were so many wonderful bronze sculptures surrounding the fountains - each piece was unique and worth a snapshot

And the best of all is that we toured the entire place with a fun group. (From L to R): George, Momfran, John, Elena, Pat and John.

If you live in the area and are looking for a nice day trip, be sure to visit Longwood. It was superb!

Saturday we headed to New Jersey to visit my brother and his family. We spent a few hours getting to see my parents and enjoying time with our nieces and nephew. I asked the kids to snap these photos - they seem to love that you will trust them with your camera - it's such a big responsibility and I love the photos they captured.

(From L to R): Aidan with Josh - check out their matching outfits! Lily and Madison with Shannon

We ended the night back in Pennsylvania to round out the trip and got a chance to see Brooke and Nick.

Lovely to share a peek into our Thanksgiving. Hope your was just as fun.

It's a Boy!!

My sister-in-law delivered a great new addition to the family last night: a baby boy named Wyatt Jacob.

Congratulations Ryan and Jillian and to big sister Jessie!

how cute is this face?!?