Happy New Year, friends! How was your holiday? Were you home or away? We had a full house here with David’s family visiting from Canada. It was a great Christmas for us, and I wanted to share a bit of it before we’re off to new projects for the year.
Our sweet niece baked cookies. They were so yummy: each is sandwiched with Nutella, then topped with melted chocolate and a walnut piece.
We caught Winston hanging out on his favourite but forbidden wool blanket. Sneaky dog.
I pulled off Christmas Eve dinner! Thanks to some major planning and help from my mother-in-law, I managed to prepare all of my favourite Polish dishes. I wanted the table setting to be unfussy, since this is traditionally a quiet occasion, so I went with simple greenery and charcoal grey against white and gold.
Christmas Eve is a big deal on my side of the family and this year I got to introduce David’s family to it. I love the coziness and ceremony of this meal, which starts with everyone exchanging greetings individually before sitting down to eat.
Dinner started with beet soup and mushroom-filled pastries, then braised sauerkraut, beet salad, green beans, and pierogi, all homemade per family tradition. This was the view from my seat.
We followed this up with tea and a tower of sweets (gingerbread and panettone from the local Italian grocer), and watched a mid-century classic: White Christmas.
On Christmas morning, a dusting of snow appeared by our fireplace along with gifts under the tree. We unwrapped presents and made this amazing pumpkin pie French toast bake for breakfast. Then lazed around in pyjamas for about half the day.
After the festivities, we spent most of our time touring our visitors around the San Francisco Bay Area, including multiple trips up to the city and the coast. Lot of driving, fresh air, and that California sunshine.
I snapped a few quiet moments around the house while everyone else was wiped out from all the activity.
Of course all the loveliness had to come to an end. Now that I’ve finished vacuuming up the last of that glitter snow, I am so ready for 2015! We’re planning to kick off our landscaping overhaul this year and I’m really excited for it. And I’ll probably end up painting more walls. Maybe traveling. Definitely thrifting and furniture hunting, as usual. And finishing my client’s house (two rooms left!)
And so: my very best to you and yours for a happy, fulfilling, and healthy New Year!