
Buying our first house right before the holidays was probably more than a little insane. But it was also pretty awesome. While we don’t have a whole house full of the perfect furniture or decor quite yet, we do have a lot of Christmas trimmings.
Even with bare walls and a lot of empty space, as soon as the decorations went up we felt at home.


I didn’t think we’d get around to putting up Christmas lights this year. But Tom took it upon himself to make sure our house wasn’t the only dim one on our block. We kept things simple, but hope to increase the light situation as the years go by. (I spy a tiny dog on the porch!)

In the past, setting up decorations in our apartment almost felt like a waste because we were more or less the only ones who saw them. But this year, we hosted Tom’s family for a five-day Christmas visit. We also had my Mom, brother and SIL over on Christmas Day.

My sister-in-law got us these adorable Christmas dishes for a housewarming gift, and I was so excited to use them.

It’s high time Tom had the chance to really flex his culinary muscles for our family. For his parents he made a rack of pork with rosemary and garlic, burst tomatoes with burrata, and heirloom carrots.


For Christmas day, we had a beautiful prime rib. When I say my husband can cook, I am not exaggerating.

Not traveling for the holidays allowed for a decent amount of downtime to cuddle Ashton and enjoy our cozy surroundings.


Of course, in between all this we were often scrambling around with work, freelance projects and house chores. But even on the most stressful days (hello plumbing issues, drafty windows and flooding backyards) we’ve felt so blessed to be starting this new phase of life and sharing it with those we love.
Our first Christmas in our first home is one we’ll always remember, but we look forward to many more!
It’s beautiful! So happy for you and Tom to be in your first house. Exciting stuff.