{Holiday Recap...Better Late Than Never!}

November & December are my absolute favorite months of the year!  I love every single thing about the holiday season...the lights, the decorations, the colder weather, attending & hosting parties.  Unfortunately, because it's also one of the busiest times of the year, it seems to go by super fast.  Thanksgiving is over, Christmas is over, & New Years is over.  It's January 11th already...how did that happen?!?  Here is a quick recap of my holiday season!

Because of the new house, unfortunately there was no trip to NYC this year.  Don't get me wrong, the house is FABULOUS & I LOVE it....but I sure missed boarding a plane, riding the subway, shopping on 5th Avenue, & seeing the Rockefeller tree.  This year for sure!!

December began with back to back Blue Bell Christmas parties.  Good times with great friends for sure; I definitely have been blessed with great coworkers!

 

I was finally able to break in the new kitchen & do a little holiday baking for some friends & neighbors. It was a lot of work & my kitchen looked like a tornado hit it, but it all turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself.  {except the divinity...it tasted good, but you needed a spoon to eat it}

 

I celebrated Christmas with family on Christmas day at my Grandma's & then I hosted a New Year's Eve party at my house for family & friends.  I think at one point, there was about 30 adults & kids there.  Because it was cold & then rainy later in the night, we had to stay in the house, on the deck or in the garage.  Needless to say, my house got broken in really well & I loved every second of it. =)  Toys can be picked up, dishes can be washed and floors can be swept & mopped.  At one point, there were 5 kids in my bed watching Frozen, a pitch game going on in the garage, and beer being drank & marshmallows being roasted on the deck by the chiminea.  I was afraid everyone would be bored & want to go home by 9:00...but the last guests left at 1:45am!  I am just glad that people felt comfortable making themselves at home.  That's what I want.  Hosting more parties & having friends/family over more is one of my goals in 2015.

This past weekend, the tree & all the decorations came down & it was a very sad day.  My house looks so blah now.  It hit me that my house has been decorated for the holidays ever since I moved in...first Fall & then Christmas.  So now, I have no clue what to put on my fireplace mantel or on my coffee table.  I am seeing a shopping trip in the very near future. =) 

2014 was a pretty darn good year.  Construction on my house began in March & I closed on it in August.  That whole process definitely had it's ups & downs, but it was so worth it in the end.  I absolutely love it & I couldn't ask for better neighbors.  In fact, we had our first "Ralston Creek Ladies' Night" this past Friday night.  It started out at 6:00 with dinner & drinks at Los Cabos & then ended with wine at my house til after midnight.  There was talk of future ladies' night & forming a bunco group...can't wait!!

So far, 2015 has started off kinda rough for several friends and I am hoping & praying it gets better for each & every one of them. One thing for sure, everything they are going through has given me a new perspective.  Life is good...there is no point in sweating the small stuff.   
I do have lots of fun & exciting things happening this year that I am looking forward to...and good thing because now that I am finished with the house, I wasn't sure what I was going to blog about! =)