Holiday Happiness

I love love love this time of year.  The potential exists every year that I will overbook, overplan, overcraft, and set unreasonably high expectations for myself.  I really try my hardest to avoid that...and it's going well so far.

It takes a lot of planning, a kick-ass spreadsheet, starting early, and making sure I'm well rested, well hydrated, and getting some exercise.  So far, so good!
 

Favorite moments so far....

 
Performance of Annie at a new-to-us theater in downtown Littleton...

Our annual tea party at the Brown Palace.  SUCH a special tradition, and made so much more special now that we have a little girl in her new Christmas dress joining us....

 Decorating the tree and making the house merry on a freezing cold Saturday afternoon....

Annual bookclub party with spouses and without kiddos (except for the two brand new babies in the group).  My face and throat and head hurt so badly by the end of the night because of all the out-of-control laughter.  I love hosting this party at our house..it's such a fun reason to get the house looking and smelling good, light all the candles, put on our favorite Christmas music, and wear a pretty party dress.  I love these friends and their partners SOOOO much...I feel so full of emotion after this night.  So thankful for these people in my life.  

 The season has just begun and there's still so much fun to be had....just trying in every moment to soak in the beauty, joy, and wonder that this season brings.  

Preserved

Mom and I used Labor Day weekend to take another shot at this canning and preserving business.  Last year it was pickles.  This year we tackled a much more reasonable quantity of cucumbers, and added tomatoes to the mix.  We canned tomatoes, and also made salsa.  It took us all weekend to get it done.  Friday night we peeled garlic (and peeled garlic, and more garlic, and more garlic), washed dill, washed cucumbers, read and reread our pickle recipe and canning tips, loaded the jars in the dishwasher, and talked through our process.

Most of Saturday was about pickles.  But we were much more efficient and organized than we were last year.  We also did one batch of tomatoes before heading out for dinner.  The tomatoes were a pain in the butt...they have to be in the canning bath for SO LONG.  Especially since we were canning at 7,500 feet above sea level, we had to add another 20 minutes to all the canning times. 

When we got back from dinner we were over it for the day, so we watched a movie instead.

Sunday was salsa, which was easy and fun.

This past week we made and preserved applesauce and apple butter.



Sadie watched movies and played, and mostly let us do our thing.  And every year I'm hoping she'll be able to (and interested) in helping more and more.

Recent Photos I Love

Sadie at the circus. I had tears in my eyes watching her watching the show. It was great fun.

Sadie sleeping the day away in her silky pajamas. I'm pretty sure she was fighting off the 24-stomach bug that Brian and I were floored by the day before. She handled it quite well.


Sadie enjoying a beautiful fall day at the pumpkin patch for our annual family pumpkin outing.

Tea Time

One last holiday activity post to wrap up, and one of my favorite special occasions of the season. My mom, my brother's fiancee Mari, and I headed downtown a few days before Christmas to the Brown Palace Hotel for afternoon tea.

The Brown Palace is definitely a Denver institution. Here are some fascinating facts found on their website.

• On Aug. 12, 1892 the Brown Palace Hotel opened its doors in the heart of downtown Denver. The hotel has remained open and welcomed guests every minute of every day, since opening.
  
  
• Every U.S. president has visited The Brown Palace since Teddy Roosevelt (1905), with the exception of Calvin Coolidge.
  
  
• The Brown Palace contains 12,400 surface feet of onyx, a semiprecious variety of quartz, which was the most ever used in a single building at the time the hotel was constructed.
  
  
• The hotel's original artesian well is located 720 feet deep beneath the lobby floor and still provides water to every faucet in the hotel.
  
  
• Four of the hotel's suites are named for their famous residents: The Beatles Suite, Eisenhower Suite, Reagan Suite, and Teddy Roosevelt Suite.
  
  
• Before the Beatles' visit in 1964, the hotel saw a great surge in applications for housekeepers by young girls. After the Beatles' stay, monetary offers were made for the dishes from which they ate and the sheets on which they slept.
  
  
• In 1937, the hotel opened the Skyline Apartments which housed permanent residents in suites with kitchens on the top two floors of the hotel. The last of these residents moved out in the mid-1980s.
  
  
• The Brown Palace Club, located on the second floor, served as campaign headquarters for Dwight D. Eisenhower prior to his election as president.
  
  
• Two of the cast iron grillwork panels on the railing surrounding the hotel's eight-story atrium are upside down.
  
  
• Soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division tried rappelling from the balconies during a visit to the hotel during World War II.
  
  
• Except for crackers and sandwich bread, the hotel prepares all of its own baked goods in a unique, carousel oven - catalogued at more than 50 years old. The oven is one of only three in the world known to be in existence and is still used every day.
  
  
• President Eisenhower hit a wayward golf ball while practicing in the room and made a dent in the fireplace mantel in the Eisenhower Suite. It remains today as a souvenir.

The hotel is decorated so beautifully and ornately for the holidays each year, and was such a beautiful spot to spend the afternoon with two of my favorite ladies.


The tea service was truly luxurious. After starting off with a kir royale, we each chose our own type of tea from a very extensive menu.


The tea is served in individual silver tea pots, and drunk from beautiful china.

Despite the loveliness of the beverages, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that my very favorite part was the food. Fresh scones served with Devonshire cream and preserves, savory tea sandwiches, a decadent selection of classic and chocolate tea pastries, and a signature Brown Palace truffle. YUM!

It was so fun to see all the little girls who were dressed up in their finest for the occasion and joining their mothers or grandmothers for a special afternoon. We can't wait to bring Sadie along for what we hope to make an annual holiday tradition!