Christmas Parties of 2010!

I think Christmas parties are my very favorite kind of party.  I just love them!  I was lucky to be invited to several this year...in 2 different states!  I was sad to have to miss 3 parties in NYC...I had been so excited about my Book Club party, but they had to change it to a different night at the last minute and I couldn't go on the new night.  I also had to miss a wine & cheese party with church people and a high school friend's party.  It is so sad to have to ever miss a Christmas party!!  But, there were plenty I did get to attend and I had such fun at each and every one of them!

Of course, I took hostess gifts to some of these parties.

My favorites looked a little something like this 

And they were filled with a couple of these

delicious little treats!

And a little synopsis of the parties I went to....

Community Group Dinner
This was such a blast.  I think there were 16 of us that night.  It was simple in that we just met at a restaurant in our neighborhood.  It was good Italian food and a BYOB restaurant and we brought plenty of wine and bubbly to go around.  The waiter kept refilling our glasses and I think most of us lost count at some point - oops.  We had so much fun chatting and laughing though.  Favorite part of the night was when sweet friend Katie said, "The decor in here is off.  It looks like it should be in Rome.  Don't they know this is an Italian restaurant"?!  I nodded my head in agreement until Sarah Beth said, "Uh, Rome is IN Italy"!  We laughed SO hard.

Katie's Scarf Exchange
Okay, I know you have all been anxiously awaiting the results of the vote I had for which scarf to get for this party.  Well, I ended up getting #2, the one you could wear a variety of ways.  When I got it, I decided I didn't want to take it to the party, though (That's my problem with ordering things online!!!  Why do I even bother trying?  I really need to see/feel/try on things I buy).  Anyway, I kind of like it, but it is very hard and in some cases impossible to make it do what the person did in the model pictures.  I think everyone would have been at a loss for how to wear it.  I've still got it myself with the thought that I'll wear it sometime, but I have not yet.

I ended up buying a scarf at a store here to take to the party.  It was long and ruffly and kind of a purplish/maroonish color.  I liked it and it got stolen at least once, so I'd say that's a hit.  I ended up with a similar style scarf as the one I took, but mine is gray with silver streaks through it.  I like it a lot and have worn it quite a bit!

We all brought apps or dessert or wine to the party and had a delicious spread.  The group of ladies was a mix of girls from community group, plus a few girls Katie teaches with.  Katie works at a French school...she teaches the English class for 1st graders, but her co-workers are pretty much all French, or at least fluent.  That made this a bilingual party - fun!

Carly, her roommate, and I

The spread.  I took my delicious mozza, tomato, basil apps on skewers.  They're always

a hit and the colors make it look so Christmasy!  The other big hit of the night was

Carly's quesadillas with brie and apples served with an apple/cinnamon sauce - yum!

Katie's co-worker, Hostess Katie, and Claire

Opening my first box of the night (it got stolen by Carly, see in pic below!)

Katie (on the left) is wearing the scarf I ended up with.  Cute, right?

Katie, Carly, Kelly with their new scarfs

Work Party

This was a little bit of a let-down.  Like most companies, mine started cutting back a few years ago due to the recession.  Well, we're one company that actually hasn't suffered much during the recession and have actually grown during the last few years.  After two years of having scaled-down parties in the office, we thought we'd be back to the bigger party this year.  Especially since we knew it had been budgeted for (we're the Finance department...we know these things!).  Alas, they did not return to the off-site party venue (hopefully the budget differential will show up in my bonus this year!).  They make the party in the office is as nice as it can be, but it's still not the same at 3:00 on a Friday afternoon.  They did have a room full of fresh shrimp this year though - yum! (And I had no allergic reaction!).  And there was live music, Christmasy cocktails and an open bar.

Danise's Brunch

My very first morning in Dallas, I went to a brunch at the home of my New York friend who returned to Dallas after living here for just 1.5 years.  It was fun to get to see where she lives in Dallas.  Her house is adorable!  I didn't know anyone at this party since I only knew her through NYC, but it was a diverse crowd of older and younger ladies and I liked that!  And Danise is a fabulous baker so the goodies to eat were delicious.

The spread - the scones and the mini quiches she made were amazing!!

Chatting with new friends

Danise's pretty tree

Bunco Ornament Exchange

It is always nice when my old Bunco group in Dallas can accomodate my travel schedule so I get to attend and see everyone.  In December, we have always done an ornament exchange with each other.  I love it and love the collection of ornaments I have from it.  Jennifer had us to her house and had an awesome lasagna and salad dinner for us.  And the other Jennifer brought some amazing cookies (the kind made from dough you buy from a kid selling it for a fundraiser)...sooo yummy!  We all talked for what must have been a few hours and had the ornament exchange in the middle of it all.  I love the little glass bird I ended up with.

Quinlan Party

Remember my friend Brooke who got married to Michael in June?  Well, they hosted their very first Christmas party as a married couple (with baby-to-be...she got pregnant in July!!).  I was sooooo very excited when I realized that I was already going to be in Dallas the night of their party.  I loved getting to see where Brooke & Michael live, her baby belly, and a few other sweet friends of mine who were at the party.  Brooke made all kinds of fun treats...lots of sweets!  We also had a gift exchange!  I brought some Serendipity Frrrozzzzen Hot Chocolate mix as my gift.  And I loved what I recieved!

With Michelle, Brooke, Andi, and Jenifer

The candle holder in the middle is what I ended up with in the gift exchange.

Brooke's mom (who is sooo sweet) also insisted I take the gift SHE ended

up with...they knew I'd make use of those sprinkles on some sugar cookies :)

Happy Birthday, Jesus! party

About 4 days before I was scheduled to fly from NYC to DFW, my sister called me at work and the convo went a little something like this:

Beth:  Hey!  I was wondering if you would want to help me throw a little Happy Birthday, Jesus party for the kids in our Community Group.

Susan:  Sure, but aren't their parents going to be there?

Beth:  Well, their mom's will be there but they always just talk to each other.  I need someone to help me.

Susan:  Okay, what day are you thinking?

Beth:  Tuesday afternoon.

Susan:  Great!  I can do that.

Beth:  Cool.  I already told the mom's about the party, but I didn't tell them my sister is planning it.

Susan:  Woah!  Hold up.  I'm planning it?!  I thought I was just showing up to help.  I don't have time to plan a party this week!

She said she thought with my love of party planning and expertise I could just whip something up.  Uh, no.  Not in December when I have a week of work, Christmas parties, packing, and last minute shopping to do.  So, I mostly ended up just helping.  I did volunteer to make some cupcake toppers and pick up the cupcakes from Central Market (they are sooo cheap there and pretty good!).  And, I was there the day of the party, along with my mom, to help.  There were just 2 other mom's with kids there, but between the 3 families, there are ten kids.  And Beth was right, the other 2 mom's mostly just chatted with each other and Beth so she did need help to pull it all off.  We had a lot of fun.  And I loved the 2 families that were there.  One of the mom's is a girl I actually kind of knew in college - not well, she was 2 years older than me and the best friend of the sister of one of my best friends.  She has three little girls now and I wanted to kidnap them they were so sweet and cute.  The other mom was a lady I've heard my sister talk about for years, but I had never met.  She was really sweet, too and she has triplets who were followed by a brother just a year-and-a-half younger.  Amazing!

The decor

Cupcakes!

Crafting with the kiddos

Sweet manger craft all the kids made.

My sister's example on the left.  Not sure which kid's is on the right

(guessing baby Caroline's...I helped with hers, but she could do a lot on her own).

The boys having fun with Ryder's Jeep...that thing is big and fast!

Beth led the kids through the story of Jesus' birth.

This is Mary & Joseph walking to Bethleham.

Beth narrating while the Inn Keeper makes his grand entrance

Mary & Joseph in the manager

Things got a little crazy when the baby sheep and wise-men entered.

Beau took off his costume before the play even started!

 Oh, the super sweet angels!  Beth asked these girls if they knew what the angels

said to the shepherds.  She thought they might know "Do not be afraid. I bring

you good news"! But the triplet angel (Hannah?  The girls are identical!) had

already memorized the whole passage from Luke 2....

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.  Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

The triplets are in 1st grade at the Christian school where Ryder is in pre-school and

where all 3 boys will go to school.  So glad it is a place where they are learning

to commit God's word to memory!!

The whole cast & crew!

Pizza party!  Caroline (far left) is such a cutie.  This picture of her tiny self

getting ready to take a huge bite of pizza cracks me up!

Caroline, Beau, Luke, Ryder

Jack, Hannah?, Brantley, Audrey?, and Mary Katherine

   

Cousin Christmas

We had our annual family Christmas party with our Dallas cousins, the evening of December 26th.  My cousin, Amanda, hosted at her house for the first time this year.  I'd never seen it so it was fun to see where she lives...and take a little nap on her new tempurpedic bed (okay, maybe not a nap, but we all did take turns lying on it!)  Amanda made a great chicken and sides and we had a nice family dinner.  The kids had a blast playing with Jake & Bella's new X-box which was the coolest thing EVER.  They have the new one that requires no hand-held remote and can sense your body movements on their own.  It was so cool.  All the adults had fun watching.  The kids all got gifts from each other and the adults did a gift exchange.  I took a Starbucks gift card to this one - I always like to get something that they guys will like, too!  I went home with a John Grishom book.  I left it at the parent's as it's heaviness did not make the cut for travel and I figured they would get around to reading it before I would anyway.  I do like John Grishom though, but haven't read one in years!

It was really a great year of Christmas parties all around with a variety of friends, co-workers and family!  Such fun!

Weekend with Jules

My friend Julie came to visit for a weekend in December and we did a few really fun things! 

We saw a taping of The Marriage Ref.  I had seen online a while back where you could get tickets to this easily and for free so I decided to get us a couple...not really having high expectations for it.  It actually was a lot of fun and extremely hilarious!  I had only seen the show once before and I forgot how funny it is.  I laughed harder than I had in a long time.  It is Jerry Seinfeld's show and he was there and came out and talked to us at the beginning.  The celebrity guests/judges that day were Rachel Ray and 2 comediens who I'm not really familiar with.  Rachel Ray is so cute in person!  And they were all really funny.

We took a day-trip on the Metro-North Railroad.  We stopped in Cold Spring, NY and Beacon, NY.  I had heard that Cold Spring was really cute with a lot of stores (and their website seemed to verify this), but we were disappointed.  In person, the town felt a little run-down and the shops were almost all antique shops.  I do love a good antique shop, but most of these were not very good and there were just too many of them and too much junk.  We did, however, have some good eats in Cold Spring.  We stopped for lunch in a little hole-in-the-wall burger joint I'd found on Yelp.  We both enjoyed our burgers and had fun Christmasfying the table while we waited.

We also had a delicious treat at a popsicle shop in Cold Spring.  I got a pumpkin one and it was SO good.

We went to Beacon because I had seen that there was going to be a Holiday Etsy sale there that day.  We had no idea what to expect from the rest of Beacon, but we loved it!  It was such a cute town and had much better/nicer stores than Cold Spring did.  The Etsy sale was kind of small and nothing spectacular, but we were glad it took us to Beacon - definitely a town I'd consider returning to!

We wandered through the Plaza and saw the Christmas decor there.

Eloise's Tree

We went to experience English Tea at Lady Mendl's at Irving Inn.  Oh, I love this place.  I said it last time I went, but it's hands-down the best traditional Tea I've ever experienced.  You leave feeling full and happy.  Our tea was delicious and so was the food and so much fun, too!

The Inn was decorated so pretty.

This tree was decorated with teacups!

 Tea Sandwiches

 Dessert

 Jules and her delicious tea

We also shopped the Holiday Markets (Union Square and Bryant Park) and had a good dinner at La Lanterna (one of my go-to favs) in the West Village followed by goodies from Billy's in Chelsea.  It was a fun weekend!

Church Services

I've been treated to some spectacular church services recently!  One Sunday in December, I went to AM church.  I usually attend the PM service and only go in the AM if I'm teaching the kids.  But, this particular week, I had to return the pack-n-play I borrowed from the nursery for Shep to sleep in when he was here. I was so glad I got to be there that morning because the worship was AMAZING!! They had Sarah Jane, who I recently blogged about, on stage and she rocked it!! How many of you get to hear Broadway performers at your churches?! It was soooo good! That Sunday, we also had a special speaker...Rob Morris of Love146. Love146 is an amazing organization working to end sex slavery. They have already been able to save many young girls out of this horrific industry and are doing things all over the world to continue to combat this crime. He was an extremely powerful speaker...wow. Seriously a life-changing type of sermon.

AND, for all of my Dallas readers, one of the other co-founders of Love146 is going to be speaking at Irving Bible Church on January 28th from 7-9pm. I highly recommend that you go! Did you know that the Super Bowl is a huge venue for Sex-Trafficking? Thousands of women and children were trafficked during last year's Super Bowl in Miami. With the Super Bowl in Dallas this year, they are expecting a similar problem. So, why don't you do something to help counter this? Go on January 28th and find out how! You can read more about this here.

This past Sunday, I again found myself at the AM service because we had a Kid's Ministry meeting afterwards that I wanted to attend, so it made most sense to just go ahead and go to church then as well.  They had Juliard students playing stringed instruments along with our normal band.  Incredible.  We really are treated to some special things in this city that has so much to offer!

DBGB

On a very brisk Saturday in December, I got treated to another meal with The Bradshaw girls. Lucy's mom and aunt were in town and her mom always loves to take a few of Lucy's friends out for brunch. Amanda and Jessica joined us...such fun friends who all happen to be major foodies! I love comparing restaurant notes with these girls...or mostly just adding to my list of places to go from suggestions they have! Our plan that day was to have lunch at the Meatball Shop...it is ALL the rave and has been for a few months now and I still have not gone. I was so excited to go! Our plan was to get there a little before noon (when it opens)...unfortunately, we should have gotten there a lot more before noon than we did. The line was already super long and we did not make it into the first seating. Our name was first on the list, but that would mean we would have to wait for a table to complete their entire process from ordering to paying the bill. We decided to find somewhere else...not an easy task at brunch time on a Saturday in New York City. We were denied at two more restaurants before we finally ended up at DBGB...Daniel Boulud's less expensive restaurant (he's a pretty big-time French chef in NYC). It did not disappoint! The restaurant itself is huge (for NYC and is why we were able to be seated immediately) and it is decorated so cool...very Frenchy. The food was great, too and the prices weren't bad (plus, I wasn't paying)!

After brunch/lunch, I hung with Lucy and her mom and aunt a bit longer to grab warm drinks and then we tried to head to Martha Stewart's annual craft fair. Unfortunately, the line was super long and it was freezing cold and none of us felt like waiting outside in it. Next year I need to plan ahead to go to this and get there when the doors open!! I parted ways with the Bradshaws and went on to do some shopping of my own. There are some really cute shops on 9th Ave in Chelsea that I like so I popped into those.

Norman Rockwell

One Friday night in December, my friend Stacy invited me to go out to The Brooklyn Museum of Art. They were hosting a special night for JP Morgan Chase (one of the museum's sponsors and Stacy's employer)! It was totally free and included entrance to the museum, a glass of wine and a guided tour of their current exhibit on Norman Rockwell. The exhibit was amazing. It showed how Rockwell used photographs for his paintings. He would put so much effort into setting up the perfect photo...from the different props to how the people were standing. If the painting was supposed to be of someone running, he would have their legs propped up for the photo so they were in a running position. The detail that went just into the photos was amazing. And then he turned them into fantastic paintings! It was one of my most favorite exhibits at a museum ever!  We were not allowed to take pictures inside that exhibit, but you can see an example of his work on display there and how he used photography here.

We toured a couple of other exhibits at the museum while we were there and we were allowed to take pictures in those.  These were a couple of my favorite pieces...

After the museum, we were starving for dinner and ended up going to a brand new restaurant on the Lower East Side that we had both read about in an article that week. It was called Goat Town and was really cool! The food was good, too.  We both were starving because it was late and got big burgers....they were delicious, but I'd love to go back sometime and try some of the other interesting things on their menu!

Hillary and Sunnyside

My friend, Hillary, had her big 3-0 birthday in December and a few of us went out for brunch to celebrate.  Hillary lives out in Sunnyside, Queens.  It was recently rated very high (maybe #1) on the list of best neighborhoods to live.  I was excited to check it out a bit!  We started out at her apartment - her roommate made us delicious belinis to sip on as we chatted and while Hillary opened up some gifts.  For brunch, we went to a French restaurant around the corner.  It was a delightful Sunday morning!

I took a scrumptious candle to Hillary that I bought at a vendor I

discovered at the Bryant Park Holiday market.  These candles

are amazing!!  I bought two for myself and I never buy candles!

New Favorite!

I have a new place to add to my ever growing list of favorite places in the city.  Back in December I was running some dull errands to Home Depot and Trader Joe's when I accidentally happened upon Limelight Marketplace. It's newer and I'd heard of it and it's been on my list, but I didn't really know where it was or that it is located in an awesome old church. This place was soooo cool! Neat shops and foodie stores in a really cool environment. There was a home decor shop that I LOVED....Brocade Home. I almost walked out of there with a new chair. I cannot wait to go back!

Looks like a church, but not anymore!

Really cool on the inside

 On the side, they have an outdoor cafe in nicer weather.

For the Holiday season, it was decorated beautifully and
they had a Christmas Tree stand!