Holiday Hustle

This is a Milliren family quilt...Pat always has the room looking like a B&B. I loved how festive this quilt looked/felt.

Fresh greens on our bedside tables...

It is no secret that I crave quiet nights by a glowing Christmas tree...cookies baking in the oven...candles burning.  Lots of moments of holding onto my Connor-Crush.  All the cozy, peaceful aspects of the season. But, then there is real life and the holiday to-dos. I did bake some ginger molasses cookies last week during a storm and found time to write my Christmas cards too... but I need more nights like that!

 
This past weekend Connor and I took time for a quick holiday visit to Port Angeles to see Aunt Pat and Uncle Alan.  We had a lovely time. Our visit to the recently removed upper dam of the Elwha River (part of a restoration project) was such a treat. 

The overlook from the dam still remains.

But, looking down, you can see where they removed a 200+ foot deep dam.

And, looking back, you can see the old dam from the bed of the once Lake Mills.

After that, we stopped at Madison Falls - just a short walk and a bend in the trail reveals this amazing waterfall!

Pat and Alan striking a pose.

I haven't been writing about food...but that doesn't mean we aren't eating well!  Here are a few meals that I found to be delicious.

Dutch Baby (a pancake that you cook in the oven!)

We sliced it and served it with lattes and nectarines/blueberries.

Pork Carnitas...guac, corn, rice, refried black beans... queso fresco, salsa, homebrew. YUM!

Braised short ribs...jasmine rice, arugula... (A WCT masterpiece!)

Lots of things to do before our venture to Marion this coming weekend. We can't wait to spend some time with family.  I better get back to work...before my 30 lbs of fat cats climb on me again...

Does this make me look like a crazy cat lady? 

Hoping that your holiday hustle is bringing you joy and fulfillment!

We are Thankful!

Despite the rainy and typical weather, we were able to get our for at least one good walk. 

 We had the BEST Thanksgiving weekend with some of our favorite Texas Tuckers. We are so grateful that Dad and Neana came to Washington to spend the holiday weekend with us.  What a treat! We just hope that they had as much fun as we did!

Daryl helped us welcome them to WA with a few beautiful boxes of Fran's chocolates.

We took them to some of our favorite local places... This is the Churchill glove factory.

A local antique shop - specializing in clawfoot tubs. This was a 6 foot beauty!

Our Thanksgiving feast turned out perfectly. We have heavy hors d'oeurves for lunch during the cowboys game...

Sangria, mini-quiches, salmon dip, stuffed mushrooms, etc.... I could have sat on the couch all afternoon and skipped dinner!

Dinner included all the usual fixin's...nothing too fancy, but it sure was yummy!

I can never skip dessert.

We probably could have used a few more walks... playing football on the streets was much needed after all the food!

Traveling for the holidays (and anytime we want to see family) and dealing with airports is one of the things we hate most about living in WA.  So, we are especially grateful that we got to spend a holiday with family but we didn't have to get on a plane to do it!  Dad and Neana kept us laughing all weekend... we had a blast. From our morning coffees...to drives around town...to our candlelit evenings.  It went too fast...but we sure did cram in all the love we could into those few days.
As always, we feel so blessed.  We give thanks everyday for all of our blessings.  Can't wait for our next family holiday.