We had an amazing trip home for the holidays: 12 days, 3 cities, and too many memories to count. So I'll just list the highlights:
- First and foremost, seeing my family after nearly 6 long months! Lots of conversation, laughs, good food, and late nights. There's nothing better.
- Helping my sister find THE dress. It was the only one I pulled off the rack for her at the bridal salon while the sales ladies filled her dressing room with other gowns. She tried it on towards the end and I could tell immediately from her expression that we had just found a serious contender. I remember when I found mine and it was like stepping into my favorite jeans in the form of a gorgeous white silk bridal gown-- it just felt like me. The really cool thing is that she is also the one who pulled my gown off the rack for me when we went wedding dress shopping together two years ago. So it was kind of a sweet moment. And, ultimately, she ended up buying the dress I had picked out for her.
- Seeing almost all of my girlfriends in Seattle over lunch or drinks on two different days (except for you, DK... can't wait for your trip to Austin!) Spending time with so much of our family was wonderful, but managing to catch up with my best gal pals too was just icing on the cake.
New York!! Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures in Portland or Seattle, but I got a few good ones in the Big Apple. Our first night there, K & D treated us to the 8 course pasta tasting menu, with wine pairings, at Mario Batali's restaurant, Babbo (as an extremely generous Christmas present.) Yes, I said pasta tasting menu. That may sound like extreme carb overload to some, but it was pure Heaven for me. There is no such thing as too much pasta in my book (and to be fair, 3 of the courses were dessert! ;) We enjoyed delicacies such as black tagliatelle with parsnips and pancetta (delish), ravioli stuffed with beets and marscapone in a poppy seed sauce (I die), an amazing gnocchi with wild mushrooms (scraped up every morsel and I don't even like mushrooms), and papardelle with the most amazing bolognese you've ever tasted, comprised of veal, prosciutto, and pancetta. And this was only one of several fabulous dinners out that we enjoyed, so, needless to say, I've been hitting the gym pretty hard this week. But it was worth every single last calorie. Us, pre-pasta binge. Can you tell we were excited??
- Then of course, we did lots of walking and sight-seeing in the city. I loved checking out all the Christmas decorations that were still up... the tree at Rockefeller Center, the amazing store window displays up and down 5th Ave (Bergdorf's was particularly cool), and the crazy Christmas ornament overload at a German bar we went into near Gramercy:
- And last, but certainly not least, New Year's Eve. We gorged ourselves on amazing dinners out each of the other 3 nights we were there, but decided to spare ourselves the crowds (and $150+ cover charges) on New Year's Eve by cooking dinner at home and staying in. Battling the crowds to go shopping for groceries at 5pm on NYE at the Fairway on the upper west side was more than enough excitement for us. (And I'm not kidding-- it was like a bumper car derby in there... people jamming their carts into each other, throwing elbows, and the like. My sister-in-law is a far braver woman than I for dealing with that on a regular basis.) Of course, after a delicious 5 course meal, lots of champagne, an episode of Jersey Shore, and the big countdown, we had a little energy to blow off and decided that we should go sledding. On a hill outside their apartment down to the Hudson River. In plastic garbage bags. Pure genius and probably one of the most fun New Year's Eves I've had in a long time.
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