Hey ya’ll!
Anyone still out there??
I’m back and ready to update ya’ll on all of our Holiday Goings On…

This past weekend we finally finished decorating our house (what is it about a new house that makes decorating take so.much.longer?! We had to move the tree three times until we found the right spot for it…and Justin still isn’t convinced that we made the right call) and we hit our first Holiday Party of the Season.

(apparently, I left my eyes at home)

On Sunday, we recuperated from all of our hard decorating work and watched my all time favorite Christmas movie, Love Actually.

I was a happy girl all snuggled up and hiding from the snow.

Now that I’ve wrapped up the weekend, I just have to tell ya’ll about my favorite Holiday Tradition: Christmas Ornaments.

Growing up, my brother and I always knew that my mom was collecting Christmas ornaments to give to us when we moved into our first apartments as “grown ups”.
When we would travel as a family, my mom would search out just the right Christmas ornament to represent our trip.

The McKinley Explorer, all the way from Alaska

Once she found the perfect one, should would buy 3 ornaments – one for our family tree and one each for my brother and me. When I moved into my very first apartment after college, my mom and brother came down to Charlotte to bring me my ornaments and help me decorate my first tree away from home.

I can’t explain how special it is knowing that my Christmas tree is filled with family memories from my childhood…in fact, that box of ornaments is one of my most prized possessions. I make Justin store it in just the right spot that won’t get too cold or too hot, despite that fact that the container is water tight (clearly, this irritates him).
Each year, I dig through the box and read the notes she included with each ornament – usually she noted how old I was on the trip and the thing I loved the most about wherever we were.

Justin and I continue this tradition for our own tree and search out just the perfect ornament on every trip we take.
Whether it’s close to home, like The Biltmore (used to be)

 
Or far away..

Usually, it has to do with a funny memory and Justin typically knows exactly what he wants.
See this NYC taxi cab?

Justin had.to.have. this ornament to celebrate our engagement weekend and the fact that I demanded to take taxis everywhere “because we are on vacation!” instead of taking the subway.

I just love this tradition -all of the thought and effort my mom has put in for decades makes each one of these ornaments so very special. So, thanks Mom! You’re the best!

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