Holiday Tour

I uploaded these pictures the weekend we got our tree, but forgot about them and never revisited the draft to make it a post.  So here goes...

In the past year, we've added a few more Christmas decorations to our collection thanks to 90% off prices in January :)

I changed out the roses from this bucket at the bottom of the steps to this sparkly holly pieces.  29 cents each means I filled it for about 90 cents haha.

We don't have an advent wreath, nor do I have a place to really put it, so I made something like comparable to one.  For roughly $20 bucks I purchased the candle holder, candles, and pieces of greens and pine cones.  With a little creativity, this was the finished product.  I love it!  Purple symbolizing repentance, fasting, and the royalty of Christ the King.  Pink symbolizing joy and the rejoicing of the coming King.  And white for the purity and holiness of Christ.  

This is our new tree topper.  It matches our rust and gold ornaments nicely and sparkles form all of the glitter and beads on it.  

In case you missed my older post with our tree, here it is again.  Just lovely :)

Apparently Cadi loves the tree this year too! And she considers herself the best gift :P

Here she is again scoping out a good spot to nap.

One more picture of Cadi.  Doesn't she have a nice profile?  Haha, goofy cat.

Paula gave us this ornament which I think is really cute and rustic looking.

We also inherited Paula's old curio since no one bought it from her on Craigslist.  We love how it looks in the living room and with the light on, it's so cozy.  I've put a couple of our willow tree figures in it as well as some Christmas things for now like the Tiny Tim and Scrooge figures my great aunt Pat made from clay.

Here's a mix of old and new.  The top shelf with the angels and tree are from my mom.  The second shelf has a new bell on it that I picked up for $3 and a bowl to the matching cream and sugar set on the third shelf.  Also on the second shelf is an old wind up musical that was passed from my NeeNee (mom's mom) to my mom and now to me.  The third shelf also has a little snowman couple I purchased for $2.50 when our Boscov's was closing in October.  On the bottom shelf is a tea light holder I got for less than $2, an old bell that belonged to my NeeNee, and a small wreath.

I got a new tablecloth for our table for free which I like a lot because it matches the red and greens I have up this year.  I also got this new cookie jar from JCP this year which I think is adorable.

Last year I had snowman dishes up that my aunt and uncle gave us, but this year I went with the Christmas dishes I purchased on Craigslist back in like March I think.  They are the same set my NeeNee and mom had.  My mom still has her set as well as my Neen's.  I got 12 place settings and a serving set for $35-great deal!  On the bottom is where I put my advent "wreath".

We of course put up the Christmas village again and even have two new pieces to the collection.  They are two small houses Pat made from clay that had snow on them so we put them in our village.  They look great.

I got these little snowmen tea lights from Lowe's 2 years ago for $2.  They match my towels and pot holders very nicely.

Peter set up the nativity this year and I think he did a wonderful job.  I always grew up with the three wise men approaching the manger site.  I like how Peter positioned everyone to be huddled around the baby Jesus.  :)

This is another ornament Paula gave us.  It's one of my favorites.  Click on the image to make it larger so that you can read the tag that goes along with it.  I think it's so neat.  She picked it up at the Arts Center.  An awesome ornamental reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.

My favorite new Christmas CD...

Hands down: Casting Crowns: Peace on Earth.

Love the song "While You Were Sleeping"!! Apparently it came out in 2005 with their "Lifesong" CD, but I just heard it this year with their Christmas CD. The lyrics are a bit different on the Christmas CD this year, so I had to type them out myself:

Little town of Bethlehem
Looks like another silent night
Above your deep and dreamless sleep
A giant star lights up the sky
And while you're lying in the dark
There shines an everlasting light
For the King has left His throne
And is sleeping in a manger tonight, tonight

Oh, Bethlehem what you have missed while you were sleeping
God became a man and stepped into your world today
Oh, Bethlehem you would go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping, While you were sleeping

Mary shivers in the cold
Trying to keep the Savior warm
Born among the animals
Wrapped in dirty rags
Because there was no room for Him
In the world he came to save

Oh, Bethlehem what you have missed while you were sleeping
For God became a man and stepped into your world today
Oh, Bethlehem you would go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping, While you were sleeping

United States of America
Looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies
To save the trees and kill the children
And while we're lying in the dark
There's a shout heard 'cross the eastern sky
For the bridegroom has returned
And has carried His bride away in the night, in the night

America, what will we miss while we are sleeping
Will Jesus come again
And leave us slumbering where we lay
America, will we go down in history
As a nation with no room for its King
Will we be sleepin, Will we be sleeping

United States of America
Looks like another silent night

Weekend Catch-Up

What a fun and busy weekend we had! I can't believe it's already Monday! It feels like Peter just picked me up and it was Friday evening!

Chippewa E Free was doing their annual Christmas performance this past weekend so we headed up there on Friday after work. On the way, we hit a bit of a white out on the highway-it was so beautiful but kind of dangerous with the nutty Pittsburgh drivers. After swinging by McDonald's for a quick, and I mean quick dinner,(10 minutes to get in, use the bathroom, eat, and get out to make it the E Free on time) we safely arrived at our destination. Once again E Free did a fantastic job. As much as I enjoy our church we're currently attending, it was good to be "home" at E Free. Peter and I both really miss it, and if it wasn't so far away from our current house, we'd still be attending. Who knows-maybe we'll be back someday? In the meantime, we stop by occassionally, but especially for the Christmas performance. The drama, singing, and message were all fantastic and a great way to refocus on the true meaning of Christmas. On our way home, I commented on how fabulous it was and that it's a free Christmas performance too. It's probably the best tradition Peter and I have right now :)

Saturday morning was another trip to Goodyear. We've been there several times in the past month since having new tires put on the car. Something's not right so they changed out two of the tires, which has helped but still might need another trip for the other 2 to be switched out. We don't know if the tires are bad or what, but we're trying to get everything in order before our Christmas travels next week. We killed an hour or so at the mall while waiting and I got a few extra presents at JCP. Roughly $150 of merchandise for $18! Thanks to coupons, JCP cash and extra special deals I felt like I made out like a bandit :P

After our morning excursion, we came home to shower up and head into the city for our annual Christmas theater date. Last year we saw "A Christmas Carol" so this year we opted for "The Nutcracker".

It was quite sunny on Saturday and super bright since there were still 3 inches of snow on the ground. So we both sported our sunglasses on our way out the door.


We had a $50 gift certificate to Jamie's Restaurant in Mt. Lebanon (I won it on the radio in the summer and was saving it) so stopped there for dinner. We were told they recently remodeled and it was beautiful inside. The had an area as "the before" and it was nice, but the remodel made it very elegant and classy.


The food was fabulous! Even with ordering a glass of wine, salad, an appetizer and the two most expensive entrees on the menu, our total was only $80 with tip. Minus $50 certificate = we only had to pay $30. It wasn't crowded at all since we arrived early as to allow plenty of time to get into the city and to the theater by 7 for the show. We were seated in a corner booth near the Christmas tree which just made for a great little dinner. Unfortunately it was too dim in the restaurant to get any nice pictures of the surroundings. The flash made everything in the background too dark to see and without the flash it was too blurry. Maybe one day I'll invest in a Nikon or Canon, but for now these blurry ones give you an idea.




Here's a picture of me, enjoying a quiet dinner out with my hubby.


We shared a "Wild Mushroom Flat Bread" appetizer. It was made with Shiitake, Cremini and Oyster Mushrooms on Flat Bread with Plum Tomatoes, Basil Pesto & Goat Cheese. Delicious!


I had the Crab Cakes entree (Twin Jumbo Lump Cakes, Spicy Remoulade, Confetti Rice and Greens Beans) with a house salad. Even more delicious!


Peter ordered the Petite Filet with Crab Stuffing (Grilled Beef Tenderloin Bordelaise and Jumbo Lump Crab Stuffing, Potato Pancakes and Red Pepper Asparagus) which he said was fantastic.


We don't dine out like this often so it was a treat for us. As yummy as it was, we'd never want to do it everyday since I love being in the kitchen and we prefer it to be the exception rather than the rule, if you know what I mean :P

Even better than the food was my amazing handsome date:


We took a picture outside the restaurant, but you can't see the sign or the wreath-only the shiny bow. Oh well-it's still a nice picture of the two of us :)


After a leisurely dinner, we headed to the Benedum for the show! As is evidenced by the picture, it was quite cold out and our faces were nearly frozen from smiling haha.


I love the Benedum. It's such a beautiful theather. Though these are dark/blurry pictures, it again gives you an idea.





(Love this ceiling!)

Here's the big nutcracker clock:


And the opening scene:


We had great seats-just where we like to sit! We ordered tickets back in September since I knew where we wanted to sit. Last year we got the first row in the first tier but it was kind of far to the side by the time we ordered them (still able to see the whole stage) but we wanted more in the middle. From now on, we'll pick the seats we had this time (if we can). First row in the first tier and as much to the center as you can get. The first tier is great because floor seats aren't elevated enough to see past people's heads and they're more expensive. The first row means we can hang our coats over the railing instead of checking them and we get a little extra leg room :)

The show was great! The music, dancing and everything just flowed together so well. It was so much fun to watch the dancers glide and leap across the stage effortlessly. And the little dancers dressed as bees and children were adorable! I just love kiddos. :)

Here's me and the hubby getting ready to enjoy the show!

Sunday after church, my parents drove over from Hollidaysburg with Ryan and Bryson. We enjoyed lunch at Carino's (minus the somewhat rude service) and then split up. My dad, Peter and Bryson headed back to the house and my mom, Ryan and I went to Burlington Coat Factory. I dropped off a few coats for the "One Warm Coat" organization. I hadn't worn them in a few years and thought they'd do a lot better keeping someone warm than taking up space in our closet. And as a bonus, I got a 10% off coupon to use for my purchases. I picked up some last minute gifts for nephews, etc. and scored some cute (and cheap!) fashion jewelry. 4 necklaces and a pair of earrings for $15.

After shopping, we joined the others at the house and had some hot chocolate before sending everyone on their way home. It was super cute to watch Bryson, who's 5 now, enjoy his very first cup of hot chocolate. What a mess-but super cute!

The hubby and I rounded out the evening watching Christmas movies on Lifetime and enjoying the lights on our tree while snuggling on the couch.