Holiday Recap

Sticking with my New Year's resolutions!! Here it is - second Monday in January and here is my second post :)

In other resolution news, I was literally so sore from the gym last week (so... I'm more out of shape than I thought....) and I missed 2 days out of the 6 but I was acitve outdoors on Saturday for most of the day. The weather in the GTA was heavenly and Justin didn't work so we got to spend some quality time outdoors (while fighting about the pressure washer hose - never a dull moment)... looking forward to an even better week this week.

In other weekly news, I picked up my skis (never thought I'd say this but I'm hoping for snow so they can see some action!), Justin and I spent a lazy Thursday night sucked into TV shows such as Big Bang, Two and a Half Men, and beleive it or not, Greys... that show always gets me - soooo drama packed. Sushi on Friday and then a relaxed weekend at home with friends - uneventful but those kind of weekends are nice every once and a while.

Anyways... as much as I'd like to think I have a very gripping life... I don't. So, moving on to the main point of this post... my holiday recap!

I was sitting at my computer the other day and some Christmas music came on - my mind wandered and I realized I was wishing for Christmas time back again... too soon for that. The holidays were great, over too soon but that always seems to be the case.

Our local Santa Claus Parade is at the tail end of November - Chauka and Chico made another appearance. I couldn't find Chauk's Santa costume so he had to wear a sizetoosmall reindeer cosumte.

Chauka's 2nd birthday followed about 2 weeks before Christmas. He got some toys and lots of love - if only he understood what birthdays really mean...

The alligator he got is literally the same size as him
and he loves it

For years, I've known Christmas was near when my sister and I go out for High Tea with my aunt Catherine and cousin Neive. I think we started when Neive and I were about 10; every year there was a theme: pearls, gloves, hats etc. We'd get all dressed up and sip tea from fancy cups and eat delicious scones. While we don't dress quite as fancy anymore, we look forward to tea every year.

Following Afternoon Tea was a birthday dinner for my friend Sam who was home from law school. After some reservation confusion we were seated and had a great time with friends.

Christmas day was quiet. My now 18 year old sister and I used to sleep in the same bed every single Christmas Eve and talk and gigle until the early hours of the morning. We'd fall asleep only to be awake a few hours later, begging my mom to get out of bed at 6 or 7. Now in most cases, children grow out of this early rise routine on Christmas Day. Emily has but me... not so much. For this one last year, Emily and I slept together in my bed and I woke her up around 7:30 am (despite her protests). We ripped through our stockings and then promptly woke my mom up. Overall, it was a great Christmas and I was thrilled with all my thoughtful gifts. I finally got the William Sonoma recipe stand I've been asking for, relaxing teas and yoga passes, and the coveted Burberry scarf I wanted oh-so-badly. Poor Justin... a month is being conservative... I went on, and on, and on, and on about how badly I wanted the scarf and I got so sulky when I thought I wasn't going to get it (yes, I know - di-va!) - I didn't ask for much else because it was such a large ticket item. In the end, I got the scarf (and may have shed a few tears while opening the wrapping) from my lovely boyfriend and his wonderful Mom.

Opening the scarf

My recipe stand!

Cousins (and my Burberry scarf!)

I was quite excited for my gifts to Justin as well - normally I'm terrible at surprises and am awful at giftgiving. This year, I discovered Etsy mere weeks before the holidays; wanting to get something thoughtful, I searched for pirate-y/nautical items and came across money clips. When travelling, Justin always says how he would like a money clip to carry the different currency and even though he didn't ask for it I think I got him the perfect money clip.

My aunt, cousin and her boyfriend Adam ventured north to our place a few days after Christmas; even though Neive and Adam have been dating over a year, my sister has yet to meet him! My mom arranged a Saturday night for everyone to come together, share drinks and a meal, and play some games. The gaming didn't end very well (I'm a VERY sore loser) but it was fun to get everyone together and my family has offically voted Adam in (hear that Neive??). Justin and I can't wait to have them up for more games (maybe... maybe not) once the house is finally done!

Finally, the dreaded New Years plans. In classic Meghan and Justin fashion we did not finalize our plans until mere days before the 31st. In the end, Justin's parents let us have some friends up North at their cottage. We got up there Sunday night and had a few relaxing days with all the snow. Not a huge crowd but good friends made for a great New Year's. No pictures of this and considering how sloppy it got, maybe that's a good thing...

As the holidays wound down I realized - this is the last Christmas Justin and I are going to be in our family homes! Next year we'll be starting new traditions together - sooooo excited.

What about you guys? How were your holidays? Anything monumental for New Years?

Until next time...