Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Our annual Christmas photo. Christmas Eve Eve 2008 - Santa Rosa, CA

pretty in pink

this is another fun project that i took on while listing to christmas music, a gift for the best hostess i know.

the materials and colors, mark helped me to choose, and i can't thank the fabric store sales assistant enough for her helpful suggestions and tips!

here's what she taught me:

• pre-washing the fabric helps to prevent uneven shrinking
• before beginning, use fabric finish on the freshly washed material to give it light body and a crisp (but not stiff) ironed look. this also makes it easier to sew. note: always allow the fabric spray to dry before ironing - this prevents spots and flaking.
• sewing a double layer of material, with the "right-sides" facing, is easier than having to roll edges. simply sew the pieces together leaving enough room to turn them right side out, and then topstitch around the edges again for a clean finish. this tidbit gave me the added piece of information for the gift:

hostess apron...

...fully reversible.

there was a byob wine bag made primarily out of the smaller-print fabric, too!

i'm really starting to get the hang of this sewing thing....

quailty friday: there's no place like home for the holidays

a song couldn't be more right. it was such a treat for mark and i to be back in chicago - together - and to celebrate the week between christmas eve until new years eve with family and friends.

christmas eve
despite beginning the day 2000 miles away, we were able to keep with tradition, and celebrate christmas eve with mark's dad and sister at norman's home in hyde park. it was the first year we have ever had pizza for christmas eve dinner, but low key and easy also equals stress free and fun!

we continued the evening by heading to our dearly missed church for a beautiful candlelight service. the scriptures and music celebrated Jesus and the true meaning of christmas. and walking through the doors felt like coming home, and the warm and tender greetings from our dear friends touched us deeply.

and it didn't end there. we then joined melissa and steven's at their home for late night catching up with melissa's mom, lillie.

christmas day
we have always spent christmas day with my family, and since we stayed with them all week, this year it was fun to be able to sleep in. we spent an enjoyable morning and early afternoon preparing the meal together. in fact, the day was so laid back that we didn't even get to opening gifts until the sun had already gone down!

that's how you can tell we're all grown up. no one's begging to open presents on christmas morning:)

the cute couples. and yes, that's a mojito glass in shruti's hands. who would have ever thought in a million years that there would be drinks served?

brandon, shruti, daniel, casandra and jonathan

i think this is such a cute picture of casandra and jonathan. and have you noticed the cute haircuts on shruti and casandra? both recently donated their hair. i'd like to think i inspired them:)

gift time!

the highlight of the night was definitely enjoying dessert after all the presents were opened. the conversations and anecdotes got so funny that i tried to capture them on video, and would share them with you, but they just don't do the night justice. all i can say is that brandon attempting to put cooling eye drops into mark's eyes had me laughing so hard that i literally fell out of my seat and was rolling on the floor crying.

love those times.

the rest of the week

we tried to pack in as much as possible during the days that followed.

we played board games a few times (and yes, the boys did beat us twice at cranium). my mom and leslie and i spent an afternoon downtown in the snow. i laughed till i cried at the movies. mark reconnected with a close high school friend. we saw many loved ones. the list goes on and on.

and from trips to friends homes, to poker and xbox games, to brunches and lunches and dinners with any and everyone that would come out to play with us, we had a great time.

lunch group at fogo de chao. talk about over-indulgence.

dinner crowd at carson's. (l-r: norman, leslie, stacie, reggie, burton, kim, audrey, wylene, mark)

the week flew by, and by the time we left we were tired (exhausted, really) and extremely content.

we headed back to california on new year's eve (sadly, missing out on the fun at "4133"), and got home just in time pop open a bottle of champagne, turn the tv on, and countdown to the new year. and then collapse into our extremely-wonderful-and-very-missed bed!

annual christmas photo

christmas eve eve 2007 - vallejo, ca

another tradition! ever since we've owned a digital camera, we've taken an annual christmas photo.

usually, its taken at around midnight on christmas eve, after having spent the evening with mark's family and just before opening our presents to each other - which means that sometimes the photo sessions are cut short due to a combination of tiredness and anticipation!

this year's photo was taken two days before christmas....we wanted to take it at our home, and tomorrow we'll be heading back to chicago for the week!

so i'll take this opportunity to wish you a very merry christmas. may God richly bless you this holiday season.

love,

audrey

christmas eve 2006 - rogers park, chicago, il

sadly, our photos from 2003 - 2005, when we lived in evanston are permanently "stored" on a crashed hard drive. anyone know how these might be retreived? three years of photos is a lot to loose.

christmas eve 2002 - schaumburg, il

christmas eve 2001 - our first christmas married - des plaines, il

christmas day 2000 - newly engaged! photo taken at the cruz's home, chicago, il

isn't it fun to see how much we've changed (and grown up) over the years?

quality friday: christmas traditions

Christmas time is here
Families growing near
Oh that we could always see
Such spirit through the year







with christmas just around the corner (yay! hooray!), the week has brought with it a few christmas traditions for mark and i...

christmas trees

since we've been married, we have only ever purchased fresh christmas trees for our home. we love the smell of pine and the festivity that it adds to our home.

last year, our rogers park apartment didn't really have room for a tree so sadly, we didn't have one. and this year, since we'll be traveling to chicago for christmas, we briefly considered forgoing one again.

we quickly discovered, however, that although mid-50 degree weather doesn't make it feel like christmas outside, a tree, decorations and candles lit inside will do just the trick! off we went, found ourselves a fresh tree, and smiled at the cheer it brought to our home.

that, and the little ceramic tree with tiny colorful lights, that's pictured above. as a little boy, mark loved decorating this mini-tree, and although the bright star on top broke many years ago, and a few of lights have been lost over the years, we hope that some day our children will love doing just the same.

that very first gift

although i didn't realize it as a tradition until this year, i now recognize that opening the very first christmas gift in our home deserves its own place on the list.

you see, the earlier we finish christmas shopping (for each other, that is), the sooner this tradition surfaces. some years it finds its way into our homes on the morning of the 24th, just after all the gifts are wrapped. and on other years - like this one - it happens even sooner.

inevitably, my dear husband (who loves christmas and presents very much), will look at me with sweet and innocent eyes, and ask, "can we open just one?"

"please?", he asks. or worse, "i really want you to open one. i don't care if i do or not."

i've never been able to resist the pleading, so why start now? officially, its a tradition in our home - one that we celebrated on thursday this year.

and my gift? this lovely wristlet that i'd been wanting. thank you sweetie! more traditions will follow as we make our way to christmas day. until then, happy quality friday to you!