Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! It's been an amazing holiday season in New York City. Nate and I celebrated Thanksgiving at our apartment in Brooklyn with Jenni last month. We cooked EVERYTHING on our own - using our families' recipes. My sister came down from Columbia so it was really wonderful to all be together on Thanksgiving. We even did our own turkey (plus green beans, mac n cheese casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, biscuits, gravy, yum! That's a little belated post, but it kicked off the holiday season!

Christmas season in New York City is unlike anywhere else. While I miss the memories of Florida, it definitely felt more Christmas-y up here with the cold! We got our own tree - my first REAL tree (my sister is allergic so we had fake trees growing up). It made the whole apartment smell like Christmas! Nate's family is from Iowa/Wisconsin and my mom's family is from Kentucky, so it was funny to see how a lot of our decorations matched - there is a tradition of cross stitching and so we had ornaments and pillows and wall hangings that complement each other! :)



Nate and I both had holiday parties - his was up at his office at Columbia, mine was at a restaurant a few blocks away from the WFP office. I am of the firm belief that holiday parties are an essential component of the holiday season ;) Jenni crashed his party too, which was fun. After Nate's we walked around Columbia's campus, they had beautiful white lights up on the trees along the walkways. Magical :)



We had a fun Christmas surprise this year - our good friend Katie had a group of us over a couple weeks back - and to our surprise, Nate's best friend Dylan was in town! We had a fun night of catch-phrase, tacos, and margaritas. Nate was super excited that Dylan came to visit. We're lucky to have great friends up here!

We were really blessed that my parents and grandmother were able to come for Christmas this year. This was a special Christmas for several reasons - it was my first Christmas ever not in Gainesville, Nate's first Christmas away from his family, our first Christmas together, and my family's first Christmas in New York City! Our first activity was to go to a Christmas concert - Burning River Brass Band at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was so much fun - a short, entertaining concert with lots of Christmas medleys and favorites including an arrangement of 3 songs from the Nutcracker. My family stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square: classic, over-the-top, touristy, we love it.



For Christmas Eve dinner we returned to a family favorite - db Bistro - which is near Times Square. It was Nate's first time there, we had a delicious 3-course prix fixe dinner, very special. The picture of my mom, sister and I above - we have one from 2003 that is exactly the same! We had fun replicating it seven and a half years later! Christmas Day we celebrated at Nate & my apartment in Brooklyn. Nate cooked breakfast for everyone, we opened presents - lots of thoughtful, beautiful presents, and lots of laughing and smiling! Then my mom and sister cooked dinner, Nate & I skyped with his sister and her husband in Colorado and his parents in Gainesville. Even when you can't be together, skype can help, the video is ten times better than just a phone call!



I feel so happy and incredibly blessed to spend this Christmas with my family and sweetheart in the most magical city! All our love :)