The last two weeks, briefly

Sorry for the radio silence around here. We had a major family crisis the week before Christmas and all my plans got thrown up in the air. I ended up (after a few tears) letting go of most of the projects I had planned, in favor of actually getting some sleep and a shower. Always the best choice, even if it's hard to make.

And, as treacley as it sounds, the forced simplicity helped remind me of what is most important - our friends and family (and food, of course). It was a very love filled holiday, and we are very blessed. We had an abundance of parties to attend and lots of people to whom we needed to send cards, and I'm grateful for that, even if it feels like a lot of work in the moment.

We did get our beautiful cards sent out, although we cut it really close.  I kept my Ikea fabric on the table for a full two weeks.

{pre-christmas prep}

One of our oldest friends threw a holiday party that mixed strong drinks with gingerbread house decorating. 

{house party}

We had three family Christmas parties to attend and they were all wonderful. We have seriously massive families (marriages + divorces + remarriages + hippie parents that like to stay friends afterwards).

{family christmas party 2010}

And I had my annual girls' Christmas party. It's our 12th year celebrating together and we've added one baby to the pack and have one more on the way (it was Kristin's beautiful baby shower that I went to just a few weeks ago). 

{girls' christmas party 2010}

I didn't actually wrap anything (delegated the few presents we had purchased to D's excellent hands), but my mom had a pretty amazing wrapping station set up, using just the Ikea paper.

{wrapping station}

Circe condescended to snuggle with my on Christmas eve, and she was granted the privilege of being the only dog allowed in the living room for the Christmas celebrations. Of course, she insisted on wearing her dorky bandanna instead of the trendy cowl I made her last year.

{christmas circe}

I made our usual Christmas main dish, savory bread pudding. I honestly don't think there is a better dish for the holiday - it's easy, you set it up the night before, and it can be served warm out of the oven or at room temperature. I make the standard version with applewood smoked bacon for the meat eaters, and a separate dish sans bacon for the veggies. (Baked and served in my beloved Dansk dishes)

{savory bread pudding}

We had the standard trappings - a blazing fire and plenty of pies (made by my mom - I didn't touch a pie crust this whole season, sadly). 

{firewood}

{pies}

My parents have given up traditional Christmas trees for good, and this year they created a sparse tree from the manzanita branches collected from the garden. It's mostly hung with crystals from the chandelier we had years ago and the china snowflakes that my mom has bought for my stepdad each year of their marriage.

{manzanita christmas tree}

D and I had a very low key New Year's Eve, with fancy champagne and take out Chinese food, a detailed new year budget proposal (my traditional new year's activity) and a Bored to Death marathon. Exactly what I needed.

{new year's eve 2010}

Whew. So I'm back, and easing back into the normal routine, which will hopefully also include regular blogging. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!