Our First Christmas!

Oh boy! What a crazy month December was! I honestly cannot believe we fit everything in.  We packed our days and nights and lived every day to it's fullest.  The holiday season included several momentous occasions which I will re-cap.

My sister visited from Charlotte towards the end of November to see "White Christmas" at The Fox theater.  Kevin and I gave her the tickets and dinner for her birthday back in October.  It was a fabulous evening and one I hope she remembers forever. 



Dinner at La Grotta (visiting 10 years later on her 26th birthday!)



"White Christmas at The Fox Theater"



"Sisters" who actually dressed up for the show!



The night Kevin and I got engaged was the real highlight of December and 2010!  Here is a photo from our special night in the lobby of the St. Regis hotel in Buckhead!

On the subject of engagements (and slightly out of order in this post-sorry!)....I was so happy to hear my dear cousin Tiffany got engaged on January 1st!  We spent time with Tiffany and Parker over Christmas and just love the two of them.  Kevin and I couldn't be more excited for them and all that is in store in the coming year! Congratulations to you both!

I loved being home for a week and a half especially since my parents were hosting Christmas Eve at our home.  My parents made a beautiful meal and the house looked so pretty this year! It meant so much to me that Kevin spent our first Christmas with my family this year.  I loved showing him all of our traditions.

Parents at Christmas Eve dinner at our home





Christmas Day at Papa's house...Florida Christmas Tradition- Stonecrabs!!!

Christmas Day Dinner at Papa's

I have never had the pleasure of actually being with Kevin on his birthday which is the day after Christmas! We had quite a treat in store for him this year....a trip to see my Father's family for Christmas in south Georgia!  The three hour car trip (inclusive of the entire family + puppy dog) was spent creating an excel spreadsheet to organize a preliminary guest list so that we know the amount of people we would need the reception site to hold!  The trip up to Georgia flew by as we were all shouting out names as fast as Kevin could input them.  We even got to see a few snow flurries in north Florida! Kevin got to meet my grandmother and then we enjoyed lunch at my aunt and uncle's home visiting my other cousins, one of which (Maggie) is getting married in October! (yep, you read that correctly, three girls in the family all engaged at the SAME time!)  The drive home seemed like forever but we had a special birthday dinner to look forward to!  My parents took the Birthday boy out for a tapas dinner at Sabore in Gainesville.  It is a fabulous tapas restaurant with even better sangria and mojitos! We had a great celebration.  

Kevin's 25th Birthday Dinner!

The next day was all about rest and relaxation.  I think we all slept until 10am!  We awoke, had coffee and spent the entire day at our breakfast table discussing our vision for the wedding! It was really fun to officially kick off the wedding festivities.  I was so blessed that my sister and mother had stocked up on endless amounts of wedding magazines and etiquette books.  Even my Aunt Lynn in Miami had sent wedding magazines!  That evening, Kevin was in for yet another treat- a girls night with my best friends from high school (Amrita, Whitney and Kittery aka RAWK)  They named Kevin an honorary member...making RAWK --> RAWKK!  We went to our usual favorite hangout spot in Gainesville, Yamato Japanese steakhouse! Followed by an outing at The SWAMP. The sequence of these photos is hilarious:

Kevin and I also got to spend some quality time with my grandfather, Papa!  We took Papa to lunch on Tuesday to the Ivy House in Alachua, FL.  Alachua is a small, quiet town and the Ivy House is a great Southern Restaurant.  Papa and my sister love the fried green tomatoes there, and I think Kevin officially joined the fan club!  It was a fun lunch and we were thrilled we got to spend some quiet one on one time with Papa!

Foyer of the Ivy House...waiting for our table

Papa and his "girls"

On Thursday, we left for the beach and spent the New Year's Holiday at the beach condo.  It was a little chilly but warmed up enough for some walks on the beach on both Friday and Saturday.  We ate very well, probably too well for this bride's diet!  We went into St. Augustine on Friday for lunch and we had the traditional ham, black eyed peas, and hoecakes on Saturday.  We watched far too much football for my mom and sister's liking, and far too little for Kevin's liking.  Kevin and I drove home on Sunday and it was sad to see the holidays end.  It was such a fun magical Christmas with a full house of joy!  However, knowing that my birthday is next week and that my mom is coming up to Atlanta on Wednesday to celebrate with me and start wedding planning meetings makes me smile! 

We are working furiously on a date and venue.  We have several meetings set up which puts me at peace a little.  Mum's the word right now, but the date and venue are coming along!

I hope your holiday's were fabulous and filled with joy like mine!  Wishing everyone a happy start to 2011!