Passover 2013

Passover is one of my very favorite celebrations of the year...every single thing about it is perfectly lovely.  The food, the drink, the beautiful table setting, and most importantly, of course, the friends and family.

Tea Time

Our annual afternoon tea at the historic Brown Palace hotel in downtown Denver was a perfect and gorgeous as always.  I am so, so grateful that my mother treats us to this special outing every year around the holidays.  And it's such a joy to have a little girl in a fancy dress with us!  Her favorite part was her new best friend, the piano player, Jon.  She spent most of the time sitting on the floor next to the grand piano requesting Christmas carols and dancing along to them. 

Pajamas and Cocktails

 

New tradition from here on out.  Every. Single. Year.  No matter where we live or what we're doing with ourselves...holiday pajama breakfast with our neighbors. 

The components that made this so fun and festive for me included:  it was a potluck (I didn't have to do too much cooking);  the fact that we WORE OUR PAJAMAS! (ie:  all I had to do was brush my teeth and I was ready); the beverages (mexican coffee = coffee + kaluah + tequila!, bloody marys, mimosas, etc...); the food; a fancy hot chocolate bar for the kiddos; a spontaneous pick; and most importantly, the neighbors.  I love love love love love my neighbors.  I don't know how I got so lucky to land smack-dab in the middle of a typical boring American-suburban-sprawl neighborhood and find these lovely friends.  But drinking with them at 10 a.m while the classic claymation Rudolph movie plays in the background and our kids and dogs run around in the kitchen in their p.j.s...that's pretty much the most fun thing ever.  Really. 

Making Merry

This may have been the loveliest holiday season of my adult life.  Not sure why...just all the joy and beauty and family and friends that it was full of.  And even though it was oh so busy, all my planning ahead and organization made it so that I was present in all the lovely moments.  I was not (as I am known to do) stressed out about the next event/task/item on my to-do-list while in the midst of something special.  That's a big change and accomplishment for me.  And I'm proud of it.  It was worth the hard work to make it so, because I wanted to be a part all the magic that this time of year has to offer.

Decorating our big, beautiful live Christmas tree...

Holiday pajama storytime in our neighborhood community center (which happens to be a lovely log structure with a fireplace) and dancing with a new friend from preschool

Disney on Ice with my best girlfriends and their daughters.  Such a fun girls-day-out.

Crafty goodness throughout the house...

Instead of a wreath

Peppermint Oreo Pops

cute Christmas Card display and paper snowflakes

Halloween

Mother's Day

Planted my veggie garden...herbs (basil, lavendar, sage, mint) tomatoes, hot and bell peppers in the ground. Seeds for squash, zucchini, pumpkins, two varieties of chard, loads of lettuce and other greens, and onions sown.

Homemade gifts for my two mothers...



And a day spent with my favorite girl....

Passover In Pictures