Tim and I had stayed up after we returned from Christmas Eve dinner to finish setting up Marco’s presents. I wanted everything to be perfect for the kiddo to run out and see his gifts!

Christmas morning dawned, and still the Dicksons snored. Marco woke up at 8am, not exactly happy with life. He insisted that Daddy hold him on his chest. The three of us stayed in bed and passed out for an additional 45 minutes. Then, we decided to have breakfast before Marco discovered his treasures.

Marco loves his eggs

Look at his excited face – and his adorable holiday jammies!

After breakfast, we let Marco run out to the living room to discover what was there. He was SO excited to see his tunnel tent!

There was even a special note from Old St Nick

Tim had piled Marco’s gifts into the tent so we could all hang out with Marco in his new digs.

I gave Tim two sets of cuff links (one that is reminiscent of a circuit!), and a cool book by Brian Cox, and the accompanying BluRay documentary. I also gave him a few silly things for his stocking, like binoculars, candies filled with Sambuca, and such.

After a pleasant morning and early afternoon lazing around, we got ready for our Christmas dinner with the Dicksons.

 Marco looked so handsome! Vest, tie, slim fit jeans and Converse.

I made my special baked Brie for an appetizer (by special request), and it went fast! I was only able to get a few bites before it disappeared. We had a delicious dinner, and I spent a lot of time talking with Dad and Tim about photography.

My body wasn’t thrilled with me that day, and I was losing the battle to stay awake and comfortable., so we left around 9 so I could get home to bed.  Overall, a very good and quiet Christmas.

Happy New Year!!

I know I’m kind of behind on the holiday posting! It’s already 2012. Whoops.  I felt so disconnected from the holidays this year, because of how much pain I was in, how tired I was, blah blah blah. Anyway, Marco had a wonderful holiday, which is the most important thing! It felt good to be able to bring such smiles to his face.

The Friday before Christmas, my amazing best friend Micaela came up to stay the night and keep me sane. We sipped a little bubbly (delicious Lucien Albrecht Cremant d’Alsace Brut Rose – YUM) and discussed life in general, exchanged gifts (I’ve held onto her gift for several months, I was DYING for her to finally open it! I found this beautiful vintage locket in the shape of a book; the cover had a cameo on it. It was part of an estate sale that ended up in a shop near my house; the clerk estimated 1950s). Micaela gave me a beautiful raspberry colored scarf/shawl, and an awesome crafting book full of neat ideas that I feel like I can actually do! It’s like Pinterest, in book form

After the fun present part, Micaela helped me chop pistachios and candy canes so I could make chocolate bark:

Dark chocolate with pure orange oil and pistachios

Milk chocolate with almonds (my grandma’s favorite, I made it especially for her)

Dark chocolate, white chocolate and smashed bits of candy canes (micaela took a meat tenderizer to the super-size candy cane)

I also baked some cookies, molasses and ginger snaps, and dark chocolate and mint cookies:

The next morning, Christmas Eve, we enjoyed coffee and conversation, and Marco engaged Micaela in a few rounds of tag and hide-n-seek.

Tim, Marco and I headed to the Gomers for our usual Christmas Eve lunch (2009 & 2010). Marco was really excited to visit and open his gifts:

Woo hoo! Marco loves racing cars around the house, and this one is his new favorite.

Marco and Belle decided to take their mid-day siestas, so the grown ups lounged around. We exchanged our gifts (I’m excited to start reading 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami ! Timmy got a Wii golf game – at least he doesn’t have to wear the weird plaid to play lol!), and I tried to feel less tired.

When Marco woke up, we made the trek to San Jose for my family’s dinner at my uncle’s house. It was good to see everyone, and I was happy to see my grandmother in good spirits. She’s been so frail for so long, it was a relief to see her smiling and laughing again. Marco was free with hugs, and my cousin Tony made an appearance (I haven’t seen him in several years). Overall, a good night. We couldn’t stay very late, because we had to drive back up to Napa. The drive home was difficult for me; I couldn’t get comfortable and the Motrin wasn’t doing anything for the pain.Poor Timmy was exhausted too, so we were relieved to finally make it home.

Christmas morning and day to come in the next post!

I have three random things to post. I hope it’s okay?

First is this song that I’ve been listening to quite often the past week:

Gotye feat Kimbra ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’

Agenda item #2

I feel pretty in these pictures, so I wanted to share them with you.

When you need a good photo of yourself for Christmas cards and it’s too windy for the tripod, the only thing to do is set your camera to the correct f-stop, figure out the spot your husband needs to stand in (and the amount of squat to get the right angle), and tell him exactly when to click the shutter and hope that he doesn’t screw up the focus.  It works pretty well, as long as your hubby takes direction and won’t mess with the white balance.

Thanks, darling!

And the third item…

I recently purchased this book for Marco:

It’s a counting board book with characters and themes from Romeo & Juliet! LOVE.

And there, folks, is a random post for Thursday.

I love Christmas. But, it has to be said that I can’t get merry until it’s actually the Christmas season…in other words, stop trying to force it down my throat the week PRIOR to Thanksgiving! I was not ready for Jingle Bells yet! Don’t despair that I’ve turned into a Grinch – I LOVE it – I am just not ready for it so early!

Anyway, now that I AM ready for decking my halls with boughs of holly (and glitter), I have to share some photos from our adventures at the Christmas Tree farm! Marco was so excited and happy, and we found a lovely tree.  We went to the farm with our neighbors, their daughter, and their new baby son (soo tiny!!), and the Gomers. It was great to share the fun with other families.

He’s such a big boy. Look how tiny he was last year at the farm (click link)

Belle was too busy to take pictures

My hubby

He should be a model.

Our tree!!

it was very windy that afternoon, hence my bad hair.

All gussied up

One of my favorite ornaments

 butterflies

wine grapes, of course!

The owl ornament Marco picked out himself

I can’t wait to put presents under the tree! I’ve been plotting my baking and crafts (yep, I think I’m getting a little crafty this year), and have purchased some presents that need to be wrapped. Our cards are ready to be addressed and mailed, and nail polish has been selected for the fun times ahead…

OPI Fresh Frog of Bel Aire

So, I might have bought some most of the OPI nail polishes from the Muppets collection… Tim, Marco and I saw the Muppets movie the day after Thanksgiving, and we LOVED it! We’re huge Muppets fans, and it was so awesome to share it with Marco. He laughed, giggled, and danced in his seat the whole time.

Our tree is decorated, and it is officially the holiday season (and Santa Claus has got a toy for every good girl and good little boy…)

Bring on the peppermint mochas peppermint schnapps.

Hellooo…

Last week I tried to get pictures of each day’s ensemble, and I sort of managed it (except for the last day, where I got pictures of pieces but not the whole outfit – whoops).  Either way, here’s the week:

MONDAY

Wool beret: Target, purchased 2009
Sweater: Target (Merona, get it HERE)
Floral skirt: vintage
Boots: Matisse, purchased 2007 (previously worn HERE)

TUESDAY

Sweater: Target (get it HERE) Seriously, I love these Mossimo sweaters; I buy them every year. They are SO soft!
Plaid blouse: Forever21, purchased Spring 2011
Skirt: Banana Republic, purchased 2008
Shoes: Target
Headband: Cost Plus World Market (get it HERE)

WEDNESDAY

Sweater: Target (Merona)
Camisole (not shown): Target (Merona)
Pencil skirt: Forever21, purchased 2009
Boots: Steve Madden, purchased 2007

THURSDAY

Dress: Target (previously worn HERE)
Sweater: Target, purchased 2007
Belt: Kohl’s, purchased 2009
Tights: Target
wedge boots: Payless (find them HERE in black)
Headband: Target

FRIDAY

Striped sweater: Target
Silk tie-belt: Forever21 (part of the blouse seen HERE)
Camisole (not shown): Target
Grey cropped slacks (not shown): GAP
Shoes: Nine West (previously worn HERE)
Glasses: Warby Parker
Necklace: bridesmaid’s gift from Adrienne

Phew…it’s hard work coming up with outfits!

Good morning!

Yup.

And I made it myself – though you’d think with an IT husband he’d be more help…LOL s’okay. I GOT THIS. 

M-o-u-s-eeeeee!

It’s Monday. Sigh. Instead of dwelling on the negative, let’s think on happy things! For example: Disneyland! Returning to work last week was tough after such a fun vacation. Marco was tall enough to go on a lot of rides, and his excitement at meeting Winnie the Pooh bear was infectious.

Some highlights of our trip:

I can’t wait to go back because I miss the Churros.

 I know, I know – so many Halloween posts in the blog world!  Seems like this year was bigger than ever. Lots of good times out there.

Last year, my boy was Darth Vader for Halloween (he was only 5 months old):

This year…

You tell me where you’ve ever seen a cuter Yoda and I’ll call you a liar.

In the afternoon, Marco’s toddler class came to trick-or-treat at my office (they’re within walking distance), and I got to show off a handsome Jedi to coworkers.

In the evening, the two of us trick-or-treated conned our neighbors into giving us candy. He actually hugged a few people after they gave him a candy bar!

So happy after a piece of KitKat bar!

Finally ready for bed…

Tim was out of town for a business trip, and missed the Halloween festivities; we missed him!!

Last week was quiet around here, mostly because our little family was super busy – IN THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!! Disneyland post coming soon…

I’ve been ordering my cards from Shutterfly for a few years now. I’ve used them for Christmas cards two years running, and also used them for Marco’s birth announcements and 1st birthday invitations. I love the designs and the quality, so I was even more excited to be invited to take part in their Holiday Card blogging deals!

This was our card design last year:

Here’s a few of the Holiday card designs that are catching my eye for 2011:

 I love the chevron stripes, and I want a sweater in these colors!

 Cute and simple design

This design is elegant. It can be customized as a flat or folded card, with different colors. I like that there’s room for plenty of photos.

Such a cute idea for an update on the year! The back has room for another picture and some more text.

So here’s the awesome part:

I am so thrilled to be able to offer three readers an online code, each good for 25 FREE CARDS! The savings! The adorable cards – all yours!

To win, you must be a follower through Google Friend Connect, and you must leave a comment letting me know which designs you like. Be sure to include a way to contact you with the code! Winners will be contacted Tuesday, November 1st.

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post with a code for free cards from Shutterfly. 

Quick recap of my birthday dinner! Holy mac, can’t believe I’m 27 already.

Heck yes, I wore a tiara.

Check out my shoes!!

Favors for the guests! Mason jars filled with gummy bears, Dutch caramel wafers, English toffee, and madeline cookies.  I decorated them with ribbon and mini-chalkboards (yes, I gave out chalk, too!)

My birthday dinner took place at the 1515 Restaurant & Lounge in Walnut Creek. Food was good, and the cocktails were excellent.

I told them to act natural. Good spies they’d make, eh?

Adrienne couldn’t make it this year, so Justin acted as a placeholder. Personally, I think he should’ve worn the heels.

Adan and Tim lookin’ fly in their new suits

I had a wonderful time!! The restaurant was very cool inside, and though the food wasn’t amazing, it was good and I really liked their house-made hummus. Ooh and their onion rings were delicious!

For dessert, I’d brought cupcakes from Sift; Stud Muffin (Lagunitas beer and brown sugar cake, caramel buttercream frosting topped with bacon and fleur de sel) and Pink Champagne (raspberry and champagne cake with buttercream frosting).

We didn’t end up getting home until almost 2 am, but I was happy tired.

I love birthdays.