Christmas Wish List | Black Friday Deals

Black Friday shopping has never been at the top of my wish list. I have, however, had to work a retail job on this day, and I don't really want to do that again. That being said, online shopping isn't so bad. I could get used to Black Friday shopping if it involves shopping from home while wearing pajamas.

Christmas isn't too far away, and there are so many great deals right now. I've managed to knock some items off of my shopping list, but I can't help looking a little for myself as well. Here are a few things on my wish list. A couple of them are great Black Friday steals!

Christmas Wish List 2016 by ashjane55

I typically ask for pajamas each year at Christmas, and these pajamas are perfect for Christmas day. --- thermal pajamas

For years I've wanted a Rebecca Minkoff bag. The Avery bag is on sale currently, but I love this Mini mac bag too. --- crossbody bag

My Christmas wish list wouldn't be complete without a pair of Kate Spade stud earrings. I usually get a pair for a gift each year. Pst! They're on sale. You can't go wrong here. --- stud earrings

I worked at Anthropologie for a while, and I often found myself sniffing the Voluspa candles after the store closed. They are quality candles and smell amazing. This fragrance is perfect for winter, and it makes your house smell like a Christmas tree. Yum! --- voluspa candle

These booties have been on my wish list for quite a while, and they currently have an amazing Black Friday price. --- cutout booties

If you read my post from last fall, you know that I really wanted this dress back then. I finally got my hands on it during this Nordstrom Black Friday sale! It's about half off, and I can't wait to wear it. --- black trapeze dress

What's on your Christmas wish list?!

Merry Christmas

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!

We hope you have plenty of reasons to be grateful this holiday.

Among all the distractions the holiday may bring...

may we remember to be the light in another's life.

Merry Christmas!

Red, White, and Blue

Happy 4th of July! I hope you're doing something fun and festive today. If not, that's fine too... because I'm totally just relaxing at home while my husband flies around to who knows where this evening for work. It's not always fun being home alone on a holiday (thank goodness it's not Christmas, although I've been alone then too), but this alone time did give me plenty of time to play around on the internet. Naturally I wasted tons of time online putting together a festive collage featuring some pretty home decor that I can't afford. While the husband's away, the wife shall play.... on the internet.

modern red, white, and blue room

I don't know about you, but I often find myself wanting to change our decor. Now if only I could strike it rich playing the lottery, then maybe I could finally afford some of these expensive pretty things I daydream about... oh, to dream.

Happy 4th of July

Valentine's Day is for Movies

In honor of Valentine's Day, I want to take advantage of the loving mood that swirls about each time this year. My husband is working tonight, so I see plenty of movies and nibbles of chocolate in my near future. Nothing says love like a good romantic comedy and some Ghirardelli, right?

There are tons of great romantic comedies available, and Valentine's Day is the perfect time to bust out your favorite and have a good laugh/cry.

Unfortunately, our dvd collection is small, so I'll have to settle for watching the few that we have. I'm leaning towards watching Serendipity or Sweet Home Alabama tonight. I typically watch The Holiday around Christmas each year, so maybe I'll pass on that tonight. Wrong holiday.

Here are some of my favorite romantic comedies:

Pretty Woman

Sleepless in Seattle

Crazy, Stupid, Love

Serendipity

The Holiday

50 First Dates

Sweet Home Alabama

Hitch

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Do you have a favorite romantic comedy? What would you add to this list?

Christmas Ornament Swap

It's official. Today is the beginning of the Christmas ornament swap. This year I'm co-hosting the swap with two sweet blog friends. You may already know them, but if you don't then you should hop on over to Alisha and Meg's blogs and get to know them too.

To sign up put your information below in the comment box or if you're not comfortable with that, email your blog address, and your full name and your snail mail address to ash.pilot.life {at} gmail {dot} com.

Don't wait too long, you have just a week to sign up for the swap! (:

Important Dates and Deadlines!

December 3rd - deadline to participate

December 3rd - addresses assigned

December 7th - deadline to mail out your ornament

December 19th - come back here and link up your swap

Once your assigned blogger and address information has been sent to you, take a few days getting to know them through their blog before you send out your ornament. I can't wait to see all of the pretty ornaments through our link-up next month!

Disclaimer: For timing and meeting deadlines to make sure everyone receives their ornament by Christmas, we've decided we have to limit to just US resident bloggers.

Grab the button and spread the word!

<center> <a href="http://alishabrandon120410.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="HolidaySwap" src="http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m489/afeller17/HolidayOrnamentSwap-01.jpg"/></a></center>

Happy Thanksgiving

Lately I've struggled to find the right words to write on this little blog. So many thoughts run through my brain, and it often seems like there's no room left to produce a meaningful post for this blog. With that being said, I know a blogger who just so happened to write about the very thoughts that have been zooming through my head lately. She took the thoughts right out of my brain.

Do you already know Tina?

If not, go read her Thanksgiving blog post today on her blog, Like Ordinary Life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Tiny Box of Thanksgiving

This time of year is my favorite time. It's not quite yet the hectic pace of the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's like the little calm before the holiday storm. My husband located our box of holiday decorations a couple days ago, and he pulled out the tiniest little box of Thanksgiving decorations from our large tub of Christmas items. It's so cute.

a box so tiny and cute

there's my cute little pumpkin

don't be a turkey

It's almost comical how small the box is compared to the size of our tub of Christmas decorations. It's far too easy skipping over Thanksgiving when it comes to all the attention surrounding Christmas, but I'm too stubborn to let that happen. The turkey tea light holders and pumpkins will go out, if even for just a couple weeks.

Having the tiniest of things to be thankful for is far better than not having anything at all. It's sort of like our tiny box of Thanksgiving decorations. Christmas wants to overshadow today, but there's a few little pumpkins and turkeys that just want to be noticed. Sometimes we just need to remember to give thanks for what we have today, and not focus too much on the future, or we run the risk of missing out on today. What are you thankful for today?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Oh, and if you haven't yet entered to win the Starbucks gift card and handmade bracelet I'm giving away... head on over to Tina's blog Like Ordinary Life and get entered to win!

Merry Christmas!

I tricked you with my winter hat and jacket, didn't I?

You may have confused my recent blog absence with a long and dangerous trip to the North Pole, but I never really left the comforts of hot and sweaty Florida for even a day. See how tricky I am?

Actually, I've just been working a lot crazy hours this holiday season. Retail is a very demanding line of work this time of year. Apparently so is the aviation industry, because my husband is flying to the worst state ever today. (If you're a Michigan football fan, you know the state.)  I am indeed home alone on Christmas, if you count only human company, for the first time in my life. It's actually not as bad as one might think. I have plenty of new books to keep me company. Mainly Mockingjay and Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Oh, not to mention the company of some chocolate friends too. I have the air conditioner cranked so that it feels sort of like winter, and hopefully I'll make a figurative, and not literal, dent in my new books today.

Hopefully you're all enjoying a lovely day with family and friends,

and if you're not, then I hope you at least have some peace... or even a good book to read.

Holiday Decorations { it's about time }

Usually I'm the first one jumping aboard the 'let's decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving' train, but this year my husband and I haven't exactly been in the holiday spirit. The 80 degree weather we're having in Florida doesn't exactly help either. My husband and I are are both used to snow and cold this time of year, so sunburns and sweat aren't sitting very well with us this Christmas. Our snowboard and skis are useless in our storage closet. My Sorel winter boots, that I got for Christmas last year, are collecting dust in the closet. I'm actually thinking about rebelling against this very 'un-Christmaslike' Florida weather and wearing them one day anyways, but I digress. After almost a month of stalling, I broke down and opened up our tub of Christmas decorations.

After lots of sulking and excuse-making for not decorating our place for Christmas, I finally put on my 'big girl pants' and did some decorating. And you know what? It actually felt kind of nice. Maybe all we needed to get in the Christmas spirit around here were some stockings and a present, or two, under the tree. Who knew it was so easy?! I just love the memories that go rushing through my mind while unwrapping each ornament and decoration. It's nice recalling happy memories from years past together.

All of our beautiful and special Christmas decorations were doing no good for our spirits packed away in boxes. It's difficult to enjoy their beauty when they're put out of sight and memory. Our Christmas denial was surely not going to make the holiday go away. We really need to appreciate this time of year together no matter what the climate or location. Although I do think Christmas is slightly more special when you're wrapped in cozy blankets while watching the snow fall outside. I mean, listening to the song 'Let It Snow' while the air conditioning runs is a bit absurd.

If anyone has blog posts about ice skating, hot chocolate,

sledding, making snowmen, or anything else winter weather related please let me know!

I will live vicariously through you. (:

Holidays are Coming!

my dad | husband | me | my cousin
{ this picture is from Thanksgiving 2 years ago }

This picture was taken outside of St. Nicks, my favorite holiday store in Denver.

My dad came to visit for Thanksgiving that year,
so we made the annual trip while he was in town.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We are now less than one week away

from the biggest holiday shopping day of the year.

Wasn't it just Halloween yesterday?! Gosh.

Just yesterday I saw this holiday survey over at Ashley's blog { Sloanbook }.

Go check out her answers too! Since Christmas is getting closer with each passing day, I might as well start thinking about what the holiday brings....

I hope my answers aren't too long and that you'll read all the way through.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

That's a tough one. I'd say egg nog in November and December, and hot chocolate every other month of the year. Egg nog gets its time to shine too. Although I really do enjoy a mug of hot chocolate topped with marshmallows. Yum!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

My best guess is that the elves probably wrap the presents and Santa just takes credit for it. All I know is that whoever wraps our presents does a pretty nice job and puts a lot of time into it. They must really love wrapping presents ;)

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

I love both. I think it would be fun to have two trees some day, one with colored lights and another with white lights. They both have their place in Christmas decorations. (:

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

We don't have one now, but there was always a mistletoe hanging at my Grandmas's house. I'd have to say that's something we'll add to our decorations in the future. It's fun to have in the house!

5. When do you put your decorations up?

The day after Thanksgiving! Since I'll be working on Black Friday this year, we'll probably have to wait. I'm sure the very first chance we get after Thanksgiving our place will be filled with lights and decorations though. I am really a big proponent of not decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?

I always loved my Grandma's homemade macaroni and cheese when I was younger. It's still a favorite, and it's tough choosing just one. I'd have to go with all of the baked goods and sweets that we always had around my Grandma's house!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?

I come from a very musical family on my dad's side, and Christmas eve was always my favorite time. My Grandma hosted a Christmas party every year on Christmas eve, and the entire house would be filled with my uncle Ray playing piano and everyone singing along to Christmas carols! It was sort of magical.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

I remember one year asking my parents why they had the same wrapping paper as Santa. It was around that age when most kids find out, but boy was it disappointing knowing that guy in the red suit wasn't the one dropping them off the night before Christmas.... oh well.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

With enough pestering, my parents usually let me open one gift the night before. (:

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

I have a small fake tree that my aunt gave me as a birthday gift when I was in college. We decorate it with lights and tons of ornaments that have accumulated over the years. It's an interesting collection. You'll find everything from wood to glass and vegetables to animals. It's always fun recalling memories with each ornament that we place on the tree. It's a great tradition!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?

If you had asked me this while growing up in northern Michigan, I would have said I hated it. After moving to Denver, I learned to love the snow. Mostly because it didn't stick around for a solid 3-4 months straight. I love the snow now! My husband and I are both going to miss it now that we live in Florida.

12. Can you ice skate?

Yes! Again... I grew up in northern Michigan, which could be confused with Canada at times. I used to get out a shovel and attempt to shovel the snow off the ice on the lake outside my house. I'd usually shovel off a little rectangle big enough to skate on, but it would always be very bumpy and difficult to skate on.... it was good enough to skate around on though!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

Oh boy. One comes to mind. I loved everything Barbie, and one year Santa gave me a Barbie mansion complete with working elevator. It was a few feet tall and had multiple rooms. That mansion was a source of many hours of entertainment and imagination.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?

Even though Christmas can get expensive and stressful at times, I think the most important thing to remember is what the holiday is really about. Any pettiness, hate, or judgements should be checked at the door. 

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?

Homemade cookies are number one. Not sure if this counts as a dessert, but we always had homemade Chex Mix at my Grandma's. The spices were always so yummy!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Besides getting together with family to decorate the Christmas tree, I'm not sure what my favorite holiday tradition is. I really look forward to making new holiday traditions with my husband though. We used to make an annual trip to a Christmas store in Denver to buy a new ornament, so we'll have to try and find a store like that in Florida to carry on that tradition.

17. What tops your tree?

A gold star.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?

Both!

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum?

Yum, yum, yum.... and yum yum!

20. Favorite Christmas show? Show or movie?

I have a ba-jillion favorite Christmas movies! National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is probably my favorite. I also love A Christmas Story! "You'll shoot your eye out, kid."

21. Saddest Christmas Song?

The saddest would probably be I'll Be Home For Christmas. Listen to it { here }

I always get a little teary-eyed when singing that one.

22. What is your favorite Christmas song?

Oh my goodness. It's too hard to choose just one.

I'm going to pick my favorite Christmas album instead.

I absolutely love the Vince Guaraldi Trio's: A Charlie Brown Christmas very much!

Again, the piano reminds me of Christmas Eve at my Grandma's

with my uncle playing piano to all of these songs. (:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Let me know if you fill this out too!

Again, go see Ashley's answers over at { Sloanbook } also.

Happy Holidays!

Is It Too Soon?

Halloween has come and gone, the leaves have fallen from our trees, and the shelves are already stocked with gifts and holiday merchandise in preparation for "Black Friday". Before we know it, we'll be ringing in the year 2012. Where has the time gone?

Wait a minute, let's slow things down for a second here!

Why the rush?

Is it just me, or does this time of year always seem to rush by in a hurry?

I know one thing.

Seeing how eggnog is only available for a short stretch of time each year,

we're enjoying a glass (or two... don't tell anyone) tonight.

We always enjoyed some eggnog during Thanksgiving when I was growing up,

and over the years that's something that will not change.

Good thing my husband loves eggnog too,

because I'd sure hate to drink a whole quart all by myself. *wink, wink*

There's also no shortage of holiday candles around our place either.

{ candles both from anthropologie Aloha Orchid tin and Balsam & Cedar }

In our household we do have a pretty steadfast rule

of not putting up our Christmas tree or listening

to any Christmas music until after Thanksgiving though.

You have to draw the line somewhere.

Oh My Gourd!

Yesterday we bought some gourds at a pumpkin patch. That's a little ironic, huh? The man at the pumpkin patch told us there is a pumpkin shortage in the area. We picked out a couple of gourds and figured they would serve as decent substitutes for pumpkins. How silly of us! After getting them home and attempting to cut into them with a paring knife, I realized they were pretty much rock hard.
Gourd carving fail!

Hopefully the pumpkin patch near my work still has some pumpkins, because I'd really like to carve a pumpkin this year. There's something very satisfying about carving a fun design into a pumpkin and then lighting up your hard work with a candle.

Pumpkins or not, last night my husband searched our storage closet for my favorite little turkey tea light holders. It's starting to feel more like fall here in Florida with each passing day. Before we know it, we'll be eating turkey and cranberry sauce and then opening Christmas gifts. Whew!

Happy Halloween!

Eat some candy for me.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

p.s. That blue bear in the first photo appears in our wedding pics...

I should really share those some day soon!

4th of July and Fireworks

I know I already shared some of our 4th of July activities with you,

but there are just a couple more things I'd like to share.

I have a 4th of July tip and

a fireworks video {it's at the bottom if you want to see it first} for you!

We got off to a late start yesterday, because we thought it would be a good idea to visit Clearwater Beach on the 4th of July. Lesson learned: Do your research! Never visit Clearwater Beach on the 4th of July! Okay, maybe I'm being a little melodramatic here, but we spent what felt like hours {it was probably more like 20 minutes} driving around 'hunting' for a parking spot. It was less than an enjoyable, and we felt that being charged $30 for parking was highway robbery! {yes, some parking lots, the ones that still had spaces available, were charging that much to park for a few hours at the beach} Needless to say, we drove away from the Clearwater Beach area as quickly as possible and headed towards another beach that we had in mind.

After our little 'Clearwater setback', we drove off to our second beach of choice! Honeymoon Island is a Florida state park near the town of Dunedin, and we thought that the $8 entrance fee (for two people in one vehicle) might deter some people from spending the 4th of July there. That $8 entrance fee was well worth the peace of mind that came with finding a parking space the second that we pulled up to the beach! After parking and carrying our things to the beach, we spent a really lovely afternoon at the Honeymoon Island beach. The beach was crowded, and that was expected on a holiday. However, parking was easy, and that made us happy.

We parked our umbrella, blanket, and chairs and promptly headed straight for the water!

The sun was shining, and the breeze, thankfully, was blowing.

Our day on the beach would not have been complete without sipping a couple of Colorado-brewed beers. The red, white, and blue cans were appropriate for the holiday.

After the parking setback at Clearwater Beach, we were really happy with our decision to bail and head to Honeymoon Island instead. It was busy, but the smaller beach was more down our alley.

The 4th of July is obviously a very popular, and really busy, holiday in this country. People are on vacation, kids are out of school, and everyone wants a good party. Patience is key. Know what you're getting yourself into when you visit popular tourist destinations... especially when visiting them on a holiday.


I know myself well enough to know that I'm one of those people who would rather visit places during the 'slow time' of the year. Disney World is much more enjoyable between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The ski slopes in Colorado are great during the week days. After yesterday, I've learned to avoid any major beach destinations during the 4th of July. Have some patience, know yourself, plan ahead, and your holiday will go more smoothly.

Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for:
{warning: turn down your volume}

The Saint Petersburg Pier fireworks!

I hope you enjoyed them as much as we did. (:

Happy Birthday, America!

Happy 4th of July!

The 4th of July was always one of my favorite times as a child growing up in northern Michigan. As kids, my friends and I would spend the entire day swimming in the lake, and we'd all look like bright red lobsters by the end of the day. Fitting for the 4th of July I suppose. What better than to sport red skin and a blue swimsuit for the holiday? {Oy vey! Sunburned skin is so taboo in this day and age.} I can still picture all of our picnic foods and hot dogs cooking on the grill. One of my mom's friends would always make a big batch of fruit salad, but she would use the watermelon as a 'basket' to hold the fruit. However, in the midst of all the holiday activities, the one thing that I always loved about the 4th of July was the fireworks! 

I'm still a sucker for a good fireworks show.

Even though today is the 4th of July, I already wore some red, white, and blue over the weekend. I could hardly contain myself.

red bracelet: forever21

blue&white bracelet: handmade by my cousin

Over the weekend we also enjoyed a minor league baseball game.

I mean, it doesn't really get any more American than baseball. Plus we enjoyed hot dogs and a couple of cold beers. Watching a baseball game was the perfect 4th of July activity, and we stayed for the fireworks after the game too!

Even though we watched

a baseball game and fireworks over the weekend,

I've been most excited about the food we've been eating lately!

Alisha, over at Alisha & Brandon, shared this really great recipe for strawberry shortcake, so of course I had to give it a try!

We may, or may not, have eaten this for breakfast yesterday. Oops.

{don't judge us} The strawberry shortcake turned out amazing, and that recipe is going in my binder of favorite foods! Thanks for sharing, Alisha. (:

Even though we ate strawberry shortcake for breakfast yesterday, we did enjoy a really healthy breakfast of fruit, granola, and yogurt a few days ago.

It was appropriately red, white, and blue for the holiday!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Please remember the people who serve our country,

and keep them in your thoughts today {and every day}!

May you also spit lots of watermelon seeds, eat too much food, watch a firework display, and maybe even play with some sparklers. (:

Happy Valentine's Day

Today is all about love. As much as it might 'stink' to be single on Valentine's day, it does not mean that you cannot give and receive love and enjoy the day. Tell your family that you love them, spend time with a good friend who is also single, or maybe even just smile at a stranger. Hopefully you find some reasons to feel the love. Today is all about giving and spreading some L.O.V.E.

Happy Valentine's Day

Busy Month

This time of year is a rather busy one for my husband and me. I just had another birthday, and then just a few days after that we celebrated our first year anniversary. Whew! Then there's that love-y dove-y holiday that is Valentine's day this coming Monday. Yikes.

a whole year ago already!

This is what our dining room table looks like covered in birthday and anniversary cards. Just a few nights ago, while eating dinner, Nate complained that he couldn't use his right arm because there were too many cards in the way. I think there are worse things that could happen than having too many cards (the greeting card kind) on the table.

I made an anniversary card for Nate, because I love a chance to get a little creative once in a while. I used iPhoto to choose the wedding pictures that I wanted, and then I just printed them as a contact sheet so they would come out all on one page and in small sizes. My old architecture school supplies (xacto knife and cutting mat) always come in handy when I need to cut things out on the apartment floor.

Nate bought me a really pretty bouquet of flowers, and the last lilly just opened yesterday. I was really sick during our first anniversary, and it made me really happy to look around and see all of the cards that people sent. The flowers made me smile. So until after Valentine's day, our apartment will be covered in cards and flowers.

After Valentine's day is over, we don't really have any other birthdays or holidays that require cards until the fall. I love having a table covered in cards as a reminder that people are thinking about you. I just might have to find some other reasons to give cards... because I sort of like getting and giving them.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I hope everyone gets a little something sweet on Valentine's day!

Happy New Year!

We hope everyone has a fun and safe night and that next year brings happiness and success!

Our Not So Traditional Christmas

Our Christmas plans didn't exactly go the way we wanted this year. I should have known better than to try and plan for anything while flying standby. I had planned on being at home in northern Michigan on Christmas day, but that didn't pan out as planned.

The prices for airline tickets were crazy high over the holidays (like they normally are), so I thought I'd chance it and fly as a non-revenue passenger. That was a great, good, and bad idea all at the same time. It's much cheaper to fly that way, but you're also at the mercy of so many unpredictable factors like weather, flight loads, holiday travelers, etc. Unfortunately, I ended up buying a last minute one way ticket back to Denver (which was surprisingly cheap for such a last minute purchase), because the flight was filling up and flying standby wasn't happening. If the flights hadn't looked full for days on end during the holidays, I would have stayed in Michigan. However, I wanted to spend Christmas and New Years with my husband, so back to Colorado we went.

That being said, Nate and I flew back to Denver extremely early on Christmas morning. We woke up at 2am (that was my bedtime in college) in order to return our rental car and make the 4 hour drive to the airport in Detroit. Nate made an earlier flight than me, so I had some hours to kill at 4am in the Detroit airport. What better time than 4am to wander around the airport taking pictures with a borrowed digital camera, right? After killing a few hours taking photos and chatting with the gate agent in Detroit, I boarded my flight (which was crazy full due to lots of passengers re-routing their flights due to cancellations through Atlanta) and headed home to meet Nate in Denver. Thank goodness I bought that last minute ticket back home.

Due to sheer exhaustion, we had a quiet and sleepy Christmas this year. After spending all day traveling, we both napped during the afternoon. Feeling the need to do something Christmas-y on Christmas day, we took a drive to see an amazing display of lights. By chance, Nate had heard on the radio about two houses that went in on a display together. We made the drive on Christmas evening, and enjoyed a light display set to music. Unfortunately our camera's memory card was full, so I only had room for one video of the lights... but, I did get a pretty good video!

After getting our Christmas light fix, we decided to eat dinner out since our refrigerator and pantry were barren after being away from home for so long. I thought for sure that it was going to be easy to find somewhere to eat dinner, but boy was I wrong. We drove around a couple of towns, and Nate was running low on patience and his tummy was rumbling. It took some convincing to try one more area, and low and behold we found ourselves not one but two Asian food restaurants that were open on Christmas evening! A little pad thai and sesame chicken on Christmas never hurt anyone. We both had a good laugh, because the family in the movie A Christmas Story ate at an Asian restaurant on Christmas evening too. They really are the only places open on Christmas. :)

We had ourselves a nice little Christmas, even though it was not the most conventional one ever. It was definitely a fun and interesting Christmas this year.

Do you have any Christmas stories of a not so traditional Christmas?