Christmas is only 5 days away!! It seems like 2013 has flown by and I can hardly believe it's time to wrap up the year. We are loving the holidays at our house and just enjoying everything that comes along with it.
The best parts of my week were...
1. We had a lovely dinner at PFChangs this week. Olive has been pretty unpredictable at restaurants lately but we were feeling brave and wanted to go out. We weren't sure what to expect - sometimes she sleeps, sometimes fusses, sometimes wants to be held and sometimes she is a dream baby. This night she decided to be a DREAM BABY. She smiled at all the people sitting near us, was quiet and played with her toys, was mesmerized by the candle on our table and was good as gold. We had time for appetizers, dinner and fun conversation. No rushing and just enjoyed an evening out. More of this please baby girl!! Oh and another somewhat related highlight, a few people said Olive looks like me in this picture. I n-e-v-e-r hear this because everyone says she looks like Kevin so it made me extra happy.
2. I made some new garland for my Christmas tree this year. Our tree theme is TRAVEL so I used an old atlas to make my garland. Check out the tutorial here.
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MUMOwJ4x_xs/Uqq39LlZeWI/AAAAAAAAhX0/ckjj2LZdW3c/s400/Maps.jpg)
3. I am 100% done with my present buying and wrapping. I spent one whole evening wrapping everything and my cats were so happy. They played in my tissue paper, thought my yarn pom poms were cat toys and then fell asleep on the job. I'm usually wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve so this is a first for me. It feels good to have this all done and now I just get to enjoy the pretty presents and keep my cats from eating all the bows.
4. My husband traveled to Utah to defend his dissertation and he passed!! His presentation went really well and his years of hard work researching and writing have paid off. He's spent our whole married life (9.5 years) in grad school and it's exciting/strange/wonderful that he's wrapping up. Now he's got to finish his current internship and graduation is just a few months away. PhD here we come!! Oh and I kind of LOVE this picture of the two of them we snapped when we brought him lunch earlier in the week.
5. I made a TON of caramel + chocolate dipped pretzels for my husband's co-workers, our neighbors and for us. They turned out SO yummy and festive!! I packaged them in cellophane bags and tied them with Christmasy twine. Check back in for the complete how to in a few days.
Hope you have a great weekend!! I'm hoping to download some new Christmas music, make a gingerbread house from scratch and watch Elf!!
The idea of the atlas tree is great! We are trying to take Caroline to all the states before her graduation date, but I did not purchase tree ornaments when we went to the states:( That is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteLove the atlas tree garland, so unique and fun!
ReplyDeleteCheers for a Dream Baby at a restaurant :)!
Your treats look so tasty! Stopping by from the link up!
Merry Christmas
Your baby looks just the same age as mine!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas :) Stopping by from Insta-Friday
http://www.nataliessentiments.com/2013/12/insta-wednesday-50.html
aww what a sweet little one you have! I found you from five on friday and i can't wait to read more of your blog :) happy new year!
ReplyDelete