snow day!

earlier this week we had a bit of a snow day in north carolina!  although i may not get as excited as most people about snowy days (ya know, since hospitals never close... gotta go to work), i do feel a tinge of excitement when i see fresh snowflakes falling.  it's fascinating how silent the world becomes, and absolutely beautiful to watch the snowflakes dance around in the sky.  after covering a few shifts at the hospital over 24 hours, i managed to get a day off mid-week, so i did what any 32 year old woman would do on a snow day all to herself... i slept in, stayed in my leggings all day, drank hot coffee and took pretty pictures of the snow!  here's a look:

the birds were going crazy in our backyard!  they were jumping around, and chasing each other on the ground in the snow!  it seems like they get just as excited about those lovely snowflakes as much as we do :)

hi, baby bird.

not gonna lie... i popped this snowball into my mouth and ate it after i took this picture :)

timmy the tortoise

my mom boasts many talents and lovely attributes, but i have to say her ability to nurture is up there with the likes of mother teresa.  to have her as a mother, is to truly know what being loved is.  in her mind, there is no sacrifice too small for your children.... or your pets (who she also considers her children).  my mom has helped take care of many family pets over the years.  she even adopted my dog bentley about five years ago... he went to my parents house for a summer vacation and decided he loved it there so much that he wanted to stay there permanently :)  

when my mom realized a baby tortoise made his home in their backyard under a rock she placed in her garden, her need to nurture instantly kicked in and she took him under her amazing mama wing.  the tortoise "timmy" (lovingly named after gainesville's pride and joy, tim tebow) has been living in my parents yard for a few years now.  my mom checks on him daily, helps keep the entrance to his tortoise den clean, and hand feeds him kale and various other foods tortoises enjoy eating!  it's really the cutest thing i've ever seen.  during my last visit home i snapped a few pictures of my mom and her pet, timmy:

isn't he simply adorable?  i just want to kiss that sweet tortoise nose!  below is a little video i made of my mom feeding him grapes...

welcome to the family, timmy (for the next, er... hundred years or so!)

wedding guestbook quilt

i finally got around to making our wedding quilt (which doubled as our guestbook)!  i used the same tutorial that i used for this baby blanket, but i changed the dimensions to a twin-sized quilt.  i pre-cut the quilt squares/flag pennants, and laid out fabric markers for people to sign them with at the reception.  it turned out exactly as i imagined, and i'm really excited that i created our first family heirloom!  i especially enjoy glancing at it and reminiscing about that special day, and all the special people in our lives who were there.

here are a few of my favorites:

the peach polka-dot flags are from a small batch of fabric my grandma gave me when i was a kid (we both shared a love for sewing).  she and i were very close, and even though she passed away over 16 years ago... i felt like she was right there next to me the whole day.  i'm glad i could incorporate a small part of her into the quilt, too.

christmas traditions

cory's traditions:

• the tree:  my family would drive together to a nearby tree farm in michigan, and cut down our tree.
• christmas morning:  
• we would wake up to santa's boot prints starting at the front door (since we didn't have a chimney), leading to the tree and santa's cookies, and then back to the front door (a mixture of my mom's creativity and a little baby powder).
• us kids would wake up a little before our mom and dad, and we were allowed to open our stockings before they woke up.  we would inspect all of the wrapped gifts and try to guess what was inside all of the boxes until my parents woke up.
• christmas evening:  we would have a big traditional ham dinner with my dad's family christmas eve, then do the same thing all over again with my mom's family for christmas dinner the next day.
• movies:  all day christmas eve and christmas day,  "a christmas story" was on repeat on our t.v., and we watched "it's a wonderful life" every year too.

beth's traditions:

• the tree:  a few weeks before christmas we would all go to a tree lot (we grow really great palm trees in florida, but not so much with christmas trees) and pick out a tree.  we would decorate the tree together as a family and reminisce of the years past, and which ornaments were our favorites (my mom would get us a special ornament to signify each year, like a car ornament when we turned 16, etc.).
• christmas eve:  
• my brother and i would go outside christmas eve and look up in the sky to see if we could spot santa's sleigh and reindeer in night sky.  the next morning we would wake up and search the front yard for reindeer prints.
• our parents would allow us to open one gift of our choice christmas eve, in an attempt to ease our anticipation of christmas morning.
• my brother and i would leave out milk and cookies, along with a special note for santa.  they would always be mostly eaten, and we would get a note back from santa (in handwriting that looked vaguely familiar to my mom's).
• we would pile into my dad's truck, pick up a few hot chocolates, crank up the christmas music on the radio, and ride around town.  we would cruise through the fancy neighborhoods with beautifully decorated houses and brightly lit front yards.  this is one of my favorite traditions, all of those colorful lights were so magical to me as a kid.
• christmas morning:  my grandma would come over christmas morning and watch me and my brother tear open our presents... then she and my mom would sit on the floor and help us put them together or play with us for hours.  meanwhile, my dad cooked a huge breakfast (it's all about food in my family, and i'm okay with that).
• christmas evening:  we would join the rest of my mom's family later that day at my grandma's house for a delicious christmas dinner complete with turkey and her famous macaroni and cheese! 
• movies:  we would watch all the christmas classics, my favorites were "the grinch", "a charlie brown christmas", "the christmas toy", and "one magic christmas".

our new traditions: 

•  the card:  take a fun family photo every year (like the one above) to use for christmas cards to send our friends and families.
• the tree:  
• drive to a christmas tree farm in the appalachian mountains in the western part of north carolina, and cut down a tree together(as seen in my last post).  then come home and decorate the tree together with our childhood ornaments, as well as our new ones we've collected together as a family.
• pick out a new ornament together every year, signifying something important that happened that year (i'm thinking this will be a good one for 2014).
• christmas eve:  
• the night before christmas, i like to prepare a vast setup of different appetizers, specialty cheeses, crackers and wine.  lots of wine.
• when there are baby trottiers running around, we will all wear matching pj's to bed christmas eve, (which will make for super cute photos christmas morning).  yes, i realize this is cheesy... and my family will just have to deal with this.
• movies:  continue watching the classic movies listed above (except i'm hereby removing "the christmas story".... ugh, never liked it).

christmas tree pickin'

new trottier christmas tradition:  drive to western north carolina to one of the many christmas tree farms, cut down the most beautiful tree, strap it to the car, then drive back to raleigh and decorate it.

we spent last weekend in boone north carolina.  we were mostly there to cut down a live frasier fir for our house this christmas... but, as you all know, the husband i can't visit a new town and not check out the local shopping and beer options.  we had fun perusing at mast general store and had an amazing dinner followed by a few ipa's at lost province brewing company.  if you live in north carolina and have never been to boone, you should definitely go.  no matter where you are, you're surrounded by beautiful rolling mountains.  there's lots of great restaurants, a few good breweries, and for the most part the people were really nice and laid back.  here's a few photos from the christmas tree farm we visited:
 

just a little tip from me to you:  don't wear nice shoes when picking out a christmas tree

yay!  that's our tree... and it's taller than cory!

all set to head back to raleigh

^^^that view!  excuse me, is this house for sale?

here she is in all of her glory!  needless to say, our house smells pretty good right now.  i love our (not so little) tree, and it really makes me wish christmas was 365 days a year.  what a fun little weekend excursion we had... makes me super excited for all the christmases to come!

oh, so thankful!

the husband and i had a wonderful time in his hometown of new baltimore, michigan over the week of thanksgiving.  it was full of donuts, cider, snow, jazz and food.  lots and lots of food!  here's a little video i made, and a few snapshots of our visit to michigan:

music by: ingrid michaelson

^^^my current road trip food of choice...

oh, these puffy tacos.... if anyone has any tips or recipes on how to help me recreate these at home, i will give you my firstborn.

can't wait until next time, new baltimore.  and thanks to cory's wonderful family for all of the hospitality and amazing company throughout the week.  we certainly do have so much to be thankful for.