holiday cheer

So, I took a little nap this afternoon since my boss gave us a half day off today.  When I woke up, for some reason I was singing a christmas carol.  I guess I've still got a little holiday cheer laying around :)

Seems like a good time to share some of our holiday fun with you. Just in time to take the ornaments off the tree.

 

 This was what christmas looked like at our house...ornaments and lights on our Norfolk Island Pine, a wreath above the fireplace, stockings hung on the fireplace, and presents around the tree.  David hung our christmas lights on the rain gutters of the house and we had pretty red bows on the stair railings outside.  Of course, since the roof needs to be replaced, those lights may stay on the gutters until next summer when we can replace the roof, to minimize damage each time we go up there.  Yes, we'll be THOSE people. :)

 

 I just love the beautiful colors in these jams, jellies, marmalades, and sauces from Will and Sandy.  Can't wait to try one! 

Funny story about these.  When we got them in the mail, we set them around our tree like the other gifts, not knowing what they were.  One day when I was home working, I heard a loud "thud" over by the tree.  By the time I got up to see what it was, I saw that Sam had one of these wrapped presents in his mouth, and was headed to his bed to dig in.  So, for the rest of the holiday, we had to keep those wrapped presents up high out of Sammy's reach. :)

 We did our normal shellfish (king crab legs this time) and twice baked potato dinner this year, but we did it on christmas eve instead of christmas.  On Christmas evening, then, we ate cheese and crackers, and these yummy little appetizers that I made.  They are called Polenta Cakes with Tomato Jam and Goat cheese.  Pretty easy to make--hardest part was waiting for them to get a little brown/crispy in the frying pan.  David found the recipe on the Seattle Times and brought it to my attention.  Glad he did.  They were delicious!

And finally, a photo of us.  We had a groupon/living social coupon for a fancy french restaurant, and I decided that December 23rd would be a great night to go out to a nice dinner.  So, this is us, dressed up before our dinner date at Le Gourmand in Ballard.

It has been a great holiday.  I'm looking forward to my day off tomorrow, and a fun New Year.