Scenes from Christmas

I have been working on this post forever, but kept having problems uploading photos! Anyway, finally got some up and figured I'd better give it a go.
This year I decorated the tree in the dining room with all my old shiny brite ornaments. I love the way it looks! It brings back so many memories of christmas with my mom's family in Pittsburgh when I was younger. I really wanted to use tinsel on it too for a real vintage look, but with the one cat we have left knew that probably wasn't a good idea! I also used some of the angels that my grandmother crocheted many years ago.

Of course I had to make my little villages out of my old and new christmas houses! This church is new from my MIL this year. Also, they are kind of hard to see but I put some vintage choir/altar boys out front.

We spent the weekend before Christmas with my family. My mom loves Christmas and has such a great time planning for everyone!

We did our traditional brunch at my sister's house that Sunday morning. College son is ready to move up to the grown ups table!

Christmas morning at our house:

It was really weird without teen daughter there! But, she texted us and filled us in on all that was going on with her french 'family' and their christmas traditions!

I prepared our traditional Christmas day dinner: beef tenderloin, even though I quit eating beef this past year! Husband and son enjoyed it!


Even though there is nothing I need or want, husband surprised me with a chocolate diamond ring. There is kind of a funny story behind it: A few days before christmas a commercial came on the tv advertising chocolate diamonds. I made the comment "who would want that? I don't even think there is such a thing, it's probably a made up thing just to sell more jewelry!" And then I may have said something about not liking them!
Well, christmas morning when husband handed me a small box, he said " you can take this back I know you don't like it". I was oblivious to what it could have been, I had forgotten about the commercial! I said "how do you know I won't like it?'  and he said "because you told me". Well I opened it and had to eat my words, because it is actually gorgeous! The diamonds are so sparkly and I can't stop looking at it when I have it on! Maybe I will learn to keep my big fat mouth shut! ;)
I worked the two days after Christmas so my supervisor could have the days off. It was busy as heck! We actually had sold out tours and had to turn people away!
New Years Eve was spent at our home in the lowcountry. I had packed the car and we were headed out of the neighborhood when husband made the comment that he really didn't feel like going to the lake house but that since I wanted to we would. I told him that I didn't really want to go either, so we whipped the car around, unpacked the car and spent a quiet night at home! 
I still have my trees up, I just love to see the twinkling lights and of course I love my little Christmas houses, so I may leave everything out until next week! 
It's hard to believe that 2014 is here. I wish a happy, prosperous and healthy new year to each and everyone!