Sigh. So I never did get around to taking pictures of things Christmasy around our house this year. There's not too much though. With me being away early in the month and then with Miranda being in Hawaii, we seem to be layin' real low this year. Never did do more than this to our tree...
Can you spy little Atticus under the tree? :-)
We have been out and about doing stuff this holiday. Last night we went to Glen's brother's house for the evening. What a fun evening! I didn't want to stay too long but we ended up hanging out for 4 1/2 hours! Dang board games! :-)
Friday night, as I mentioned, Glen and I went to the Queen Anne Victorian Mansion and I'd like to share some pictures from that with you. This place is absolutely breath-taking. (We'll go there next year Miranda!!) There's LOTS of inspiration in these pictures. Maybe these will get me planning for the holidays next year...now! :-)
On the way home from the Queen Anne, I took this picture from the car. I've ALWAYS wanted a picture of this sign! You can barely make it out but during the holidays, the nose is red!!
Today Glen and I went to the Willamette National Cemetery and The Grotto. What a lovely, lovely afternoon. I wish this to be what I do every Christmas Eve. Between visiting these two places, I am filled with love, gratitude, and peace. I feel completely blessed and renewed and ready to set my intentions for 2008.
After WNC and The Grotto, we stopped by Miranda's old place of residence and picked up Bastian. Bastian is Doug's cat and Doug's living situation is in transition so it was agreed that the little furry guy (Bastian, not Doug) would come live with us. We are now a three cat family! Yowza!
Okay...time to go put on my jammies and cozy up with Mr. G while we wait for Santa. We got the fire and grapefruit martinis going and have some DVDs to watch. We have 30 Rock and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. We'll be keeping the laptop up and on noradsanta.org so we can watch Santa as he makes his way around the world. This is something we've been doing for years! Oh and since I've been talking A LOT about grapefruit martinis, I thought I'd share the recipe with you. Be forewarned...it's a yummy drink and goes down real easy like so plan ahead! :-)
Holiday Grapefruit Martinis for Two
1/2 cup grapefruit juice (I use Odwalla but fresh squeeze would work!)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed satsuma mandarin juice
1/2 cup Vodka (my Vodka of choice is Ketel One)
2 tbsp simple syrup (or granulated sugar to taste)
Shake in martini shaker with ice.
Pour into sugar rimmed martini glasses, wine glasses or jelly jars. :-) Enjoy!!!
And with that, my dear family and friends, I will say Merry Christmas to you!
I wish you and your loved ones peace, happiness, and good health.
XO,
Michelle
...And a very Merry Christmas to you, my dear sweet sister. I loved the pictures and got a little teary-eyed seeing Daddy's marker again. It looks beautiful with the flowers....thank you for doing that. Just had the whole fam damily over for Christmas Eve celebrations - much fun and much good times. Enjoy your martini's (yummers!!), DVD's and cozyness with Mr. G and assorted furry ones (the cats, not Mr. G). Love ya!!
Posted by: Simone | December 24, 2007 at 09:40 PM
Merry Christmas, Shellster! The photos are splendid and seeing Daddy's marker on your blog makes me feel like I'm there, each time you display it - thanks ever so!
It has been a crazy few days here as Nate and I have been united over and over again in San Jose with his family gathering from Milwaukee, San Diego and the OC. I heard about Simone's wonderful gathering and was happy to hear that Nicole joined in with some home-baked pumpkin pie action.
I'm home alone now preparing for the possibility of company later today as Nate and his brother may be joining here sans kids, for snacks, a movie, and warm-up for their 24-hr Reno getaway tonight. Glad I'm not going!
I'm looking forward to quiet relaxation time and plans for new year beginnings!!!
Love You!
Posted by: renee Hanes | December 26, 2007 at 11:09 AM
Michelle- Happy Holidays to you and hope your mom-sitting went well. I played with your lovely swap gifts again tonight. I can't stand it any longer-I think I will blog about them next. But, if you do a Mermaid swap, I'll plug it then too!
Posted by: Gina Smith | December 27, 2007 at 07:32 PM
Merry Christmas, Michelle!! I'm back now with a new blog too! Don't forget to stop by for a visit. :)
Posted by: Julie Prichard | December 27, 2007 at 08:31 PM
Oh! Your White Stag sign is making me homesick. Next time I'm back, I'm determined to get my own photo of it!
Posted by: Deryn Mentock | December 28, 2007 at 06:12 PM
Hope you had a blessed Christmas. Best wishes for the coming year!
Posted by: jay | December 28, 2007 at 09:16 PM