Abel

Abel came to visit last week and we had a lot of fun :).

Christmas Eve

Amy and I hosted the family for Christmas Eve dinner Sunday afternoon.

I told Amy she could be featured in Better Homes and Gardens magazine with all the special touches she puts into hosting a meal like this. We spent Saturday preparing for the meal.

We served:

leafy salad with citrus poppy seed dressing, pomegranate, and toasted slivered almonds

homemade lasagna (using tomatoes preserved from Amy's garden)

steamed green beans

garlic toast

and...

homemade cooked custard with fresh berries for dessert.

oolala.

Angels

I joined the host of angels in the pick-up Christmas pageant Christmas Eve.

first snow

In celebration of the first snow of the season, I baked cinnamon rolls Saturday afternoon.

Sadly, the snow accumulation was a mere skiff.

Maybe we'll get more next time :)

Christmas Cookies

for the office :)

We had a bit (ok, so, a LOT) of extra sugar in our house last weekend...

Thankfully we shared the wealth.

holiday tea pick

This year's top holiday pick from the tea aisle: Stash's Christmas in Paris.

I picked up a box of said herbal tea a couple weeks ago and was skeptical...

however, as evidenced by the fact that the box is now empty,

the raving compliments printed on the outside of the box were not empty boasts.

~perfectly delightful with a splash of milk and highly recommended~