Remembering December

The holidays are over guys! I know it’s sad to see them go, but to be straight I’m kind of glad to get back into a routine. December was a wonderful whirlwind, peppered here and there with stress. The usual, I suppose.
We started the month off on the right foot by getting away to the mountains for a weekend. It was so nice and relaxing and really made tackling the holidays easier. I can’t wait to go again next year!
The rest of the month was spent looking for my holiday cheer, with varying degrees of success. We did a lot of local Christmas shopping and spent time with friends. One week was particularly eventful. I went out with my friend Lauren and after a fun sushi-filled night we decided to have a drink at POV Lounge, the rooftop bar at the W Hotel.
The next night was our third girls’ night at Filomena. I’m so impressed that we’ve continued to do this every month – it’s usually impossible for four women to align their schedules that often. This month we’re planning to do afternoon tea – so excited!
Dinner at Filomena inspired me to finally start to get my diet in order. I felt sick after eating the pasta and had been having stomach issues for the past few months so my friends gave me some tips on reducing my refined carb intake. So far, so good!
That weekend we had Tom’s holiday party, a fancy fête at Occidental Grill.
I’m pretty awkward in these types of circumstances, but we had a fun time. It was nice to meet more of Tom’s coworkers and the food was incredible. Can’t nobody complain about a free meal, am I right?
The next day kind of sucked after a rude encounter with a stranger. I’m still deciding if I want to write about it or not, but suffice it to say there were tears and I had a hard time pulling myself out of the resulting funk.
But one can only wallow for so long. A visit to the Capitol Christmas Tree got me in a better mood, and then it was time to celebrate. Christmas Eve morning, we opened our stockings before heading to New Jersey to celebrate. The best part is always watching Ashton try to figure out what’s in his stocking.
He just makes everything more fun. We didn’t have too much time to linger, though, since we needed to be in New Jersey and dressed for Tom’s birthday dinner by 5 p.m. We left a little later than intended, but miraculously hit very little traffic and made it just in time.
Dinner was a lot of fun, and I even managed to enjoy myself without overindulging for once. More on that in a new wellness post soon!
We stayed in a hotel while we were there with rooms close to Tom’s parents and his brother and sister-in-law. It was nice to have a quiet place to sleep while still getting in some quality family time. We had a great time playing games until the wee hours of the morning.
The next day we had breakfast together as a family at the hotel before exchanging gifts. My in-laws are incredibly generous and got us some great stuff, and it was fun to give them the local gifts we’d purchased. My sister-in-law even brought in a mini Christmas tree for the occasion!
In the afternoon we went over to Tom’s uncle’s house to celebrate with his extended family. This side of his family is Italian, so of course there was a ton of delicious food!
His uncles are excellent hosts and the goodies just kept on coming. After dinner, they brought out the cordials and made us this adorable little drink called a “short beer” made from Licor 43 and cream. They looked just like tiny pints of beer, as the name would suggest. So cute.
I had such a good time getting to know his aunts and uncles and cousins better and can’t wait to go back and visit again.

We returned to DC on Saturday in an effort to beat the Sunday traffic and made pretty good time. It was nice to have some time to decompress before heading back to work. Sunday, we celebrated Tom’s birthday with a loooong walk through the city (about 4 miles total in less than comfortable shoes). I spied the Canadian Embassy’s Christmas tree on the way to our final destination.
I have a work deadline tomorrow, so I worked most of the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Luckily, my office was dead so I worked the entire week from home meaning more quality time with my little man.
He’s such a cat.
Tom got off early on New Year’s Eve so we decided to go on one last river walk of 2015. I know I’ve said it a thousand times, but I love our neighborhood and having such easy access to green space.

We stayed in for New Year’s Eve, with the goal of watching my Sooners win their first playoff game.
Sadly, that didn’t happen. I’m not ready to talk about it yet. Luckily, we had company so I wasn’t able to pout all night as is my nature.
We had an epic feast, with a gorgeous meat and cheese plate Lauren provided and surf and turf for the main course. Tom grilled crab legs and steaks and both turned out so well! It was the perfect meal to end 2015.

The rest of the night was spent watching music videos and dancing ridiculously and then watching the count down. Exactly my kind of chill New Year’s Eve.

And that was it, a beautifully crazy month complete and an amazing year in the books. Now it’s back to the real world. Are you ready? This guy isn’t.
Have a great first full week of the New Year everyone!