Christmas Time!

Maybe it's because I'm an adult now, but Christmas just has a different feeling now. Maybe it's the weather not being super cold. Christmas just doesn't feel as much like Christmas in some ways!

Maybe it's because we're still raking leaves every weekend. KT and I had to take a moment to go enjoy the backyard after Paul did some hard work getting up a TON of leaves. Sometimes it feels like the leaves won't end!

I tried getting KT in the spirit with a little outfit. She was not amused.

Just a few days ago we had our annual solstice dinner with the Woolvertons at our house. (Mom has a good blog post about it too.) The menu was pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself. MG and Ryan made mushroom ravioli with a walnut cream sauce from scratch after being inspired by a cooking class they took last month on their honeymoon in Italy. I kept the theme going with antipasto - prosciutto, goat cheese, stuffed olives, sausage, roasted peppers and other goodies.

The ravioli in all it's glory before it was boiled.

Of course, we had to do poppers. Funny enough, I think the tape measurer, emory board and mirror that popped out will come in handy. I still use a pair of scissors I got one year from the poppers!

Then, we noshed. Ravioli, green beans and stuffed pork loin. Such a good meal!

But, the meal wouldn't be complete without creme brûlée. Always so good! We also enjoyed sitting outside with our fire pit. Such a nice night!

For some reason, I always get such an itch to thrift shop around this time of year. Maybe thinking that people will be giving away good stuff to make way for gifts? The Salvation Army near us had some great mid century finds the other day!

But, Miss Evelyn's junk shop called Odds and Ends always has the best stuff. I snatched up a vintage pure wool throw that is so cozy and soft for $5. The good thing about Miss E is that if she can't find a tag or it's too much trouble to find, she'll just give you a low ball price. So, needless to say, she had a little trouble finding the tag!

We just got back from Christmas with my parents and sisters and I had to share one of my gifts. Mom and Dad got MG and Ryan a set of skewers just like theirs for a wedding gift. I must have showed on my face that I wanted some too. :-) So, they surprised us with our own vintage set. Me and my sisters used to fight over who got what animal skewer when we were little. I'd say the fish one is probably my favorite of the set!

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!