the holidays...

I LOVE the holidays. I love the meaning, the joy it brings, the atmosphere and most of all, I love spending time with the people I love the most. From Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, I have managed to spend every weekend with family and friends - reminding me of how blessed and grateful I am to have such a wonderful set of friends and a supportive and loving family at my side. Attached, are a few photos from the past few weeks with friends and family.

Joey and I hosted Thanksgiving Dinner for his family the day after Thanksgiving at his house.

I wanted a creative way to assign seating, plus give something to our guests to take home -- so I purchased felt ornaments from Michaels and inserted a picture of each person with their dog (we all obsess over our dogs). Not only did it serve as a place card, but an ornament they could decorate their tree with for the upcoming Christmas.

Our beautiful Christmas tree. At least we didnt' scratch the roof this year!

Joey and I hosted our second Ornament Exchange Party this year, but with a twist, it was a Tacky Christmas Sweater Party as well! Although the decor was nice -- our food was phenomenal! And I wouldn't expect any less from my wonderful and talented boyfriend/chef.

Our dessert spread. I also created menu cards, incorporating the sweater motif used in our address labels and invitations.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!