Friday Favorites-Christmas Eve Eve Edition

Oh my goodness friends... only 2 more sleeps til Christmas! And it's Friday... so I am linking up with  Andrea, Narci, and Erika to share my favorites from this week.

It's my favorite week of the year... my birthday, cookie exchange, neighborhood caroling, Christmas fun at school, the start of Christmas vacation, and ending the week with Christmas Eve! Everything about this week is pretty much my favorite! Here are a few highlights.....
One
My birthday! Had such a nice dinner with my parents and sister, topped off with a Coconut Cream Pie...my favorite! I got some fun gifts from Paul & the kids from my favorite shop too....

If you are local...be sure to check out Research & Design!

Another birthday bonus..this free eyeshadow at Ulta. It's full size and a really versatile shade. So if you are not a reward member there, be sure to sign up!

As I tucked Ella into bed on my birthday, she asked if we could take a "selfie" with her mini Polaroid. A few days later I found this page in her bedside journal.

We may have our "days"... as most moms & 9 year old daughters do... but this sure made my heart smile! The best birthday present ever! 

Two
Cookies! Every year since we have been in our neighborhood, a few of us have gotten together for a cookie exchange. Not only is it great to get a bunch of cookies... but even better to share a glass of wine with great friends! I look forward to this night out every year!

I made Snickerdoodles & Peanut Butter Blossoms. 

Three
Christmas Cards!
I get giddy with the kids opening these each afternoon....love seeing all the beautiful pictures of our friends and family. I shared our card earlier this week, but if you missed it, here it is again.

Four 

Sharing Christmas traditions!  On Tuesday we shared some of our traditions for Christmas Eve & Christmas morning. I had so much fun looking through pictures from the past 9 years with Ella & Luke. I loved seeing them doing the same things each year....and hope they look back at these memories with as much love as I do!  

One of our traditions is the kids making fresh OJ with Paul Christmas morning and this pic of Luke is one of my favorites!

I mean...that face sums up how he feels about life!

Another fun one was Paul and the Victoria's Secret box that he has opened very year since 1998.

You can catch up on the fun story behind this and our other Christmas traditions here. 

Today is the last day of school for the kids and then they are off until 2017! We are caroling in the neighborhood tonight...a new favorite tradition! And then three days of Christmasing with family and friends. I hope you all have a magical weekend with your families & friends. We will be back on Monday wrapping up all the fun from our house! I hope you will join us...there's always room for one more at our family table.

Merry Christmas!

xoxo

Genevieve

What's Up Wednesday December Edition

Four more days til Christmas!! I can't hardly stand it! Once a month, I link up with Shay. Mel and Sheaffer for What's Up Wednesday.

A fun monthly post where we share "What's Up". You can visit last month's here. 

What we are eating this week.....
I cooked my first every turkey on Sunday and it was delicious! It even looked pretty too...

We ate this for a few days. I used a recipe from Ina Garten that you can find here. 

We are also having Coconut Crusted Cod. It's a little taste of the tropics on a winter day & you can find the recipe here.

What I'm reminiscing about...

Our sweet gingerbread party we hosted a few weeks ago. It was such a fun afternoon with some of my girlfriends and their girls. You can check out all the details here.

What I am loving......

All thing Christmas! All the feels of Christmas... the lights, the sounds, the smells.. the traditions. It's my favorite month of the year and we are soaking it all in! I shared some of our Christmas Eve & Day traditions on Tuesday. If you missed it you, can check out all our fun traditions here. 

What we have been up to....

More Christmas shenanigans! Visiting Santa, checking out Niagara Falls in the snow and starting to bake for our neighborhood cookie exchange this week! The kids have also been loving all the snow...they have been outside playing in it every day!

What I am dreading.....

Not much right now, I am just soaking in all the fun this month..... not thinking about January...yet 😉

What I am working on.....

Some healthy twists on casserole recipes to share next month. Everyone loves a cozy casserole, especially in the cold winter months. They are often loaded with lots of carbs & cheese.... so we are switching it up with some better for you casseroles. Ill be sharing these recipes in a post next month.

What I am excited about.....

All these fun Christmas cards coming in! I LOVE seeing everyone's family each year! I know some people opt out of cards, but I get so excited seeing them come in and we hang them in our kitchen. The kids love opening them each day after school and seeing all their friends on the cards! Here is our card from  this year..

What I am Watching/Reading

We started watching "Divorce" on HBO, only because I love Sarah Jessica Parker. We are 3 episodes in and I am on the fence with this one. Can't decide if I like it or not.  We will give it one or two more to see if it clicks for us!

What I am listening to.... 

Christmas music! #obviously  But I have been mixing in a little Bruno Mars for fun... I love his new CD. #danceparty

What I am wearing.....

It's been pretty cold here, so we have been bundling up! I got the cutest pompom hat at Research & Design. Perfect for Buffalo winters!

It comes in black too. #mightneedanotherone

What are we doing this week....

Baking cookies! I have our neighborhood cookie exchange this week. I love to get lots of different cookies, but only bake one kind! We are also doing our neighborhood caroling on Friday night. We had so much fun doing this last year. And the weather looks pretty good...yay!

What I am looking forward to next month....

I just ordered a new workout DVD and I cannot wait to start it! I love being able to workout at home.... especially during winter! If you want to try this one too, you can order it here.

What else is new....

 Not too much besides our Christmas fun! Luke had a neat project for school where he had to design a new ride for Santa. He had to sketch it out and then make a model. He came up with a cool blue car that was extra fast!

Bonus Question!

Favorite Memory of 2016

Wow... this was tough... so many great things this last year! I think my favorite memory was our trip to Crystal River in Florida to swim with the manatees. It was such a cool experience for the kids to snorkel right alongside the manatee. 

Can' beat family photos in snorkel masks and wetsuits!

Whew!!! That's it for What's Up... we sure are packing it all in this month! What are you guys up to?? Hope to see you back for Friday Favorites....there's always room for one more at our family table.

xoxo

Genevieve

Christmas Traditions

I am linking up with Andrea today for Show & Tell Tuesday to share some Christmas Traditions!

I must warn you there is a bit of picture overload... I was having so much fun looking through photos of the last few Christmases!
Christmas Eve we usually celebrate with afternoon Mass and dinner at our house. Ella and I always wear our matching aprons that we got when she was little... Holiday Hostess & Hostess in Training.

We try to get a good family pic in our holiday best....

And Paul gets a gift in a Victoria's Secret Box from my mom!!

Story behind that...the  first Christmas we were dating, my mom gave Paul his gift in the VS box as a joke. I think it was a t-shirt or a gift certificate for car washes inside, but the look on Paul's face when he unwrapped a Victoria's Secret box from my mom was priceless! She asked for the box back and has put one of his presents in there every year for the last 18 years!

We finish out Christmas Eve sprinkling some reindeer food on the front porch.....

....then read The Night Before Christmas, lay out some cookies & carrots and get tucked into bed!

Our Christmas morning goes a little like this.....
I am always the first one up...I mean I truly think I am more excited than the kids. I get up and put on some Christmas blend coffee...plug in all the lights...light a Christmas candle... I just want all the smells and feels of Christmas. And then I sit and wait....I give Paul a little extra time,but then I get him up too! Our family room is an open, two story layout, so the kids can look out their rooms and see presents from upstairs. I beg Paul to get that picture or video of the kids expression each year. I can't tell you how much video we have of me running up and down the hallway trying to get the kids up! Yes...it's quite a scene.

Ella is the first one up. She is so excited and we try to wake Luke up. That is literally the hardest thing!!  I mean what kid is not jumping out of bed on Christmas morning? Luke... that boy LOVES sleep. He says the presents will still be there and he needs more rest!
Once we get everybody up...the unwrapping begins! The kids go to town on presents from Santa. I take candid pics along the way...most are fuzzy because everyone is jumping with excitement!
They take a break mid way through to give each other the special gift they picked out to give. This is their favorite part!

I just love how he is holding her arm to show her his gift!

Paul and I exchange a couple gifts and then give a few to the kids. We usually give them stuff they need... clothes, PJs, socks and one fun toy.

 

The kids look through their stockings last...which usually leads to eating candy at 8am!

We give Maddie a few new toys. Last year was her first Christmas with us... we gave her a stuffed gingerbread, which she destroyed in 2.5 seconds. We are staying away from any plush gifts this year!

I always make my mom's Sausage and Egg Casserole the night before, so I just have to bake it Christmas morning. We eat that, along with something sweet (cinnamon rolls/pastries), fresh fruit, and the kids make fresh squeezed OJ every year.

We celebrate with my parents on Christmas Eve ...... so Christmas Day is PJs and playing all day! I love being able to stay home and play! Some of my favorites from Christmas Day playing!

My brother and his family come to visit on the 26th to celebrate...

Paul's parents live in Florida, so we don't see them on Christmas...but we go visit for Winter Break and celebrate Christmas a little more!

We are lucky to celebrate Christmas on a few different days each year! I would love to read about your Christmas traditions... drop them in the comments below!
We will see you tomorrow for What's Up Wednesday... sharing a little bit of our life lately! Hope to see you then....there's always room for one more at our family table.

xoxo 

Genevieve