christmas 2010 in rockport

rory on bearskin neck

karoline on christmas eve checking out the store windows

k at christmas eve dinner. she was thinking about it.

josh and i getting cozy on the couch with 2 sets of grandparents to watch the girls.

karoline couldn't get enough of baby jesus

christmas morn'

my sweet parents still set up a tree even though we were there for less than a week. they always make christmas so special.

smiling because the girls are happy

k+r each decorated a feather tree

stockings lined up

visiting santa on christmas morning in rockport to say thank you

rory bird

keke

the grandpa's holding the girls

some of the group

presents wrapped by the fireplace

rory at christmas dinner

my bro, matt

josh with a crown from the english party poppers

matt is bearing a strange resemblance to the santa cookie

fun at dinner

uncle rob with matt

karoline sporting her new vest, necklace and purse

family time. what christmas is all about.

we headed to rockport, ma this christmas and stayed in a rental house by back beach. my parents got there a couple of days early and decorated the place from top to bottom with fresh greens, white sparkly lights, and a tree. josh's parents came too. i guess we had a weird relationship in the fact that we all get along and it feels like a party every time we are together. there were lots of special moments. the sweet children's pageant at the church service on christmas eve. wrapping the girls in fleece blankets and going outside at dusk to check the moon and stars out over the ocean. walking on bearskin neck and getting last minute christmas treats for the stockings. the girls waking up christmas morning to a lionel train chugging around the tree. visiting santa on dock square on christmas morning. antique sleigh bells and huge horses that galloped through town. great meals filled with lots of laughing. seeing the girls interact with their grandparents. losing electricity sunday night from the huge storm that rocked the east coast. all my clothes smell like a camp fire because we kept a fire going almost all weekend. i always leave from visiting my family with my heart overflowing with love.

wrapped presents

i hope everyone had a cozy christmas filled with warm hearts and warm hands. here are some pictures of the presents i wrapped right before we handed them out to our family on christmas. i got all of the wrapping paper at ikea this year and i made the gift tags with some of my stamps i had on hand.  my favorite find at ikea was that red and natural sisal twine.

merry christmas

merry christmas to all and to all a good night! sending warm wishes to you. be back next week and full force after the new year. we will be spending time with family over the holiday with lots of mistletoe kisses. i didn't get around to sending christmas cards out this year... oh well. hope your christmas is magical and filled with your favorite things.

photo from we heart it via cherry blossom.

homemade granola

made some granola last night and wrapped it in clear cellophane bags and tied with red bows for the neighbors as christmas gifts. i used this recipe from ina garten that uses old-fashioned oats, coconut, almonds, honey and lots of cinnamon. i used dried cranberries instead of dried cherries because we seem to have a large quantity of those in the house right now. i love homemade granola on greek yogurt or with milk as cereal. i even had it last night over some vanilla ice cream. it smelled like christmas last night.

image from here.

serene and simple

what a beautiful house! all of these pictures are from annaleena of hem. she has some sick styling skills.
found via simply grove.

mfa

 

my bro and his fiance, briana, had a christmas party friday night so we loaded the girls in the car with an arsenal of movies to play and headed north to boston for the night along with a chocolate torte and some coconut macaroons to share. singing, dancing, and lots of eating and drinking is what happened friday night. on saturday we went to the museum of fine arts to check out the new addition and it was breathtaking. above are some the of the pictures josh took from that day.