Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

Friday night was our 3rd Annual Christmas Party and it did not disappoint. Thanks to my husband's loose lips, we ended up with about 50 people at our house!

Although it can be stressful, we really enjoy throwing our Christmas party and plan feverishly for weeks leading up to it. This year we couldn't decide what kind of food to serve so we went with a mulitcultural theme and got party trays from our favorite local Mexican restaurant and Panda Express. Nothing says Christmas like orange chicken and chimichangas!

The party was a blast and it was so much fun to get to share some holiday cheer with our friends. Herbie and Kristin, our friends from Arizona, came up for the party and a big group of Bryan's coworkers came, so there was a big mix of people and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun.

This year Cookie asked us if she could have a new outfit for the party. Being the good dog parents we are, we agreed and bought her the cutest Mrs. Claus dress. She was a huge hit and has slept the past two days away recovering from all the excitement.

Jingle, Jingle...

Well apparently Mother Nature reads blogs because just a few days after my last post, the temperature plunged into the 50's and has stayed there. Who knew?

Bryan and I had a great (and busy) Thanksgiving with my family. When we returned, we immediately started decorating for Christmas. I insist on eking out every single second of my favorite holiday so as soon as the turkey is digested it's time to get this show on the road! This year Bryan talked me into getting a small fake tree for the family room but only on the condition that we could still get a real tree for the living room. Yes, fake trees are much easier to set up than real trees, but you can't beat the pine smell of a real tree. The fake tree is our "designer tree" with color coordinated ornaments and ribbon, while the real tree is our family tree with all our personal ornaments. We spent all day Sunday decorating the trees and putting up all our lights and other decorations. The picture doesn't nearly do it justice, but the tree is huge (thank you high ceilings!) and it looks beautiful!

And of course, what holiday would be complete without an outfit for our precious puppy?? The shirt says "Santa's Little Helper." Obviously supervising while we set up the house is really exhausting work.

Today we all did absolutely NOTHING! It was cold and gray outside and perfect for having a cozy pj day inside by the fire (or space heater disguised as a fire place...but that's neither here nor there). I am thrilled because I got more than half of my Christmas shopping done online from the comfort of my cushy recliner while watching home improvement shows. Seriously, technology is a magical thing. I finally dragged myself upstairs to take a shower, and came back down to this little scene:

I swear, I have NEVER seen a dog who has to be so attached to her people. As you can see, we all had a fabulously relaxing day.