Celebrating Christmas

Since we started dating, AJ and I have been pretty good about splitting the holidays between our families as best we can but this year, since we'll only be home for two days, we're doing everything we can to maximize our time with both families!

What makes this a bit easier for us is the fact that our families have different traditions. Being from South America, AJ's family opens their gifts at midnight on Christmas morning while my family has always had the tradition of waking up early Christmas morning to open gifts. Growing up, my sisters and I always had to go to bed early on Christmas Eve so Santa could come. 

This means that this year, AJ and I will get the best of both worlds! And, because we want to see both our families on both Christmas Eve and Christmas day, we are doing just that rather than being with one family one day and one family the other. 

So, this evening we are hopping on a 6:51 Amtrak that will get us to Stamford around 10 (if everything goes well!) and we'll go straight to the Cabrera's home for the night. I'll go to my Mom's the next morning to help her prepare Christmas Eve dinner (which is eaten around 1 in the afternoon). We typically do the traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner of fish, although we don't make 7! We'll eat an early dinner with my family and in the afternoon we will meet back up with the Cabreras to go to 7 o' clock mass. From there, we go to AJ's uncle's house for a later dinner (we'll be eating a lot I think) and wait until midnight to open presents! It will be very fun to see AJ's little cousins and siblings ripping through packages and boxes with excitement. When the festivities die down at his uncle's and everyone heads to bed, we'll drive back to my mom's in the middle of the night to sleep there so that we can wake up and open the presents under my mom's tree on Christmas morning! See, best of both worlds, really! My family also eats Christmas dinner around 1 o' clock so we'll spend the morning and early afternoon with them before going back to AJ's uncle's where all his family will still be. They spend Christmas day in their pajamas and make ceviche! That is a very good tradition in my eyes! So, we'll be back to spend time with them again before we spend the night at my mom's. We have to wake up first thing on the 26th and drive back to Boston because AJ has to work in the afternoon!

This is a photo from Christmas last year, a little over a month after we got engaged and it is so crazy to think how quickly the past year went by! How is it Christmas time already? I love this time of year and I always feel anticipation leading up to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but this year is different because now the anticipation is less about gifts and the festiveness of Christmas morning. This year, the anticipation is all about seeing our families and hugging and kissing them and catching up! Not to mention, we'll get to meet this little guy!

My mom went and bought herself a Christmas puppy, Stuart! We can't wait to meet him!

Wishing everyone a very happy, joyous, and blessed Christmas! May all your days be merry and bright! Safe travels!

Christmas in Connecticut

My blog-silence over the weekend was due to the fact that, after working for two weeks without a day off, AJ took a few days off so we could spend a long weekend in Connecticut with our families. After a yummy dinner at Boloco, we hopped on Amtrak and got to Stamford around 10. AJ's dad picked us up with Christmas music on the radio and took us to his house where we slept and caught up with AJ's family.

The next morning, I ran some errands with my mom and had lunch with her before we picked up AJ again and headed to Kiwanis Park in New Canaan for our tree! This has been our tradition ever since we moved to CT. Everyone at Kiwanis is a volunteer and the money you spend on the trees all goes to donation. The trees there are all perfect and we usually end up buying the first one we see. This time, we got one that's about 6 feet tall and very full! The volunteers strapped it to the top of the car and we headed to my grandmother's house nearby to pick her up so she could spend the night at our house.

Once we headed home, we realized that the tree was probably not going to make it home so AJ opened the sunroof, grabbed the tree by the trunk, and held onto it that way for the rest of our drive home. It also started hailing at that point so we all got a bit pelted with ice but it's all in the name of a good tree!

We spent the rest of the day decorating the tree and my mom's house while watching Elf. My sister came home from Manhattan, too, to help decorate.

I'm really glad that we were able to go home to pick a tree and help my mom set it up. It's one of my favorite things to do and AJ and I have been doing it every Christmas since we met. I'm glad we could keep it up! I know my mom appreciated the help, too, and it wouldn't have felt like Christmas without picking out a real tree and stringing it with lights!

We had so much fun being home with our families and tried to fit in as much fun time with them as possible. Thankfully, AJ was able to workout his schedule so that we can be home for Christmas, too! We'll head home late on the 23rd, spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Connecticut and head back first thing on the 26th. I know we're lucky that even though we live in a different state than our families, we're still relatively close to them and it's an easy train ride to get home. But we are both so close to our parents and siblings that we feel we can never see them enough! We're very lucky to be able to go home when we can and we are especially blessed to be able to spend this holiday with them.

I hope all of you have great plans for this Christmas!

What I'm Thankful for This Year

The title of this post is probably a misnomer because these are things I've been thankful for in the past and that I will be thankful for in the future. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to share the (many) things I am most thankful for in my life.

My husband, of course. And I'm thankful that we are spending this holiday together as man and wife for the first time! I'm thankful for our relationship and the love he gives me. I'm thankful for the way we work as a team and for the conversations we share on a daily basis.

My family, including my amazingly wonderful mom, my two sisters, my grandparents, my in-laws, my many cousins, and all the friends who are more like family than friends. This year has really shown me how much love my family has for each other and I can't believe how lucky I am to have so many great people in my life.

My education, past, present, and future included. I went to a great public school in Minnesota that taught me so much. The university I went to for undergrad is where I learned to love learning and where I cultivated my interesting in writing, reading, and academics. And now, I am pursing my master's degree and I am really enjoying what I am learning and studying.

This place where I live. Boston is a fun and inspiring place to live. There's so much to do and see. It's a city that really feels like home and I'm happy to be spending my newlywed years here with AJ.

Lastly, I am the most thankful for the fact that the things I just listed are daily blessings and that I am able to be thankful for them all year round. Let's all strive to give thanks every day for our many blessings and for all the moments that make life wonderful.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you and yours! Enjoy this day with family, friends, and loved ones who make you happy!

Bridal Shower

Last weekend, my mom threw me a beautiful bridal shower! She had wanted to make it a surprise but when so many people are involved, little slips are bound to happen here and there! So I kind of knew I was having a shower and I guessed it would be our last weekend in Connecticut but the people that came, the festivities involved, and the beautiful gifts I was blessed with were all surprises to me!

I was kicked out of my mom's house on Saturday afternoon and told to sleep at my grandmother's. Meanwhile, my mom, sisters, family friends, godmother, and AJ's parents were all at my house getting things ready! On Sunday morning, AJ picked me up from my grandmother's and took me to church. Apparently, we had to kill time before going to my house so we drove aimlessly for a bit before heading home.

making an entrance

When we walked in the door, I was amazed at all the hard work and planning that my mom and family had put into the day. The house was filled with people spread out between the family room, kitchen, and living room. There were decorations galore and delicious food that exemplified the bridal brunch my mom had planned because she knows I love brunch.

Mom even planned the food to represent me! There were plenty of munchkins from Dunkin' Donuts, because those are a childhood favorite. Cinnamon raisin bagels with cream cheese. Rosemary chicken and honey baked ham. Chocolate covered strawberries. Croissants. Quiche. Fruit salad. And she made mini pancakes on a stick, garnished with a blueberry. My stomach is growling as I write. Plus, there were mimosas and iced tea.

After everyone had enough to eat, the men that came (AJ, his dad and brother, and some cousins) retreated to the basement with a few bottles of wine while the ladies moved into the living room to open gifts. First, everyone went around the room to say how they knew me which elicited kind words in Spanish from AJ's grandmother, tears from my grandmother, and laughs from those who chose to share stories.

All of our guests were extremely generous and thoughtful in their giving. I was overwhelmed with appreciation and the feeling of being so loved by so many people all at once! In all honesty, I was more touched by the number of people who came and helped so much than by the gifts themselves.

too beautiful to eat!

Once all of the gifts were opened, we hurried to the cake! My mother-in-law made the cake. It was three tiered and she made the flowers to match those on the invitation for my shower! The bottom layer, which was quickly devoured, was a vanilla cake filled with cream and raspberry jam. The second layer was chocolate with Nutella filling, and the top layer was chocolate cake with coconut and dulce de leche filling. It was to die for! Everyone asked to take a piece home.

Along with the cake were the cookie trays. Cookie trays are a tradition in our family, they are made for every baptism, first communion, wedding, and some birthdays too. My mom's cousins pitched in and did lots of baking for the cookie tray and oh my goodness were those cookies amazing! There were so many different kinds, too! My grandmother made magic bars (AJ's favorite) and biscotti, some plain and some with cherries. My sister's godmother made chocolate marriage cookies and pignoli cookies. My grandmother's friend made anisette cookies with icing and sprinkles. My mom's cousins made almond biscotti and butterfly cookies. My godmother's daughter made butterballs and her delicious and addictive chocolate chip cookies—that is one recipe I'd do anything to get! All the cookies that did not get eaten are now sitting in my mom's freezer! Maybe post-wedding I'll pull them out for a treat.

As for the favors, my mother-in-law made adorable cupcakes for everyone to take home and my godmother specially ordered chocolate hearts from my favorite store, The Chatham Candy Manor. The Candy Manor has always been a special place to us and she knew I'd love that she thought of it!

It was a wonderful day filled with love. I could not have imagined a better bridal shower! Keep reading for more photos from the day!

Mom had this made, now we can keep it in our apartment!

my sister Sarah, Mom, me, my grandmother, Marina

my amazing mother

everyone blew bubbles while I cut the cake. marina stood on the table to get a better angle

photo credit to AJ. he took this while we killed time outside before the party

my moms and grandmothers. I'm so blessed with these ladies!

cake and photos

the most important women in my life, mom and sisters.

when we first walked into the party. my left eye gets super squinty when I'm really happy

marina's longtime friend, Katelyn, who has been a maid of honor many times before and therefore made my ribbon bouquet

my pretty sisters

and with my new sister!

of course

my sweet godmother

Sisters in the City

A weekend in New York. All right, here we go. Friday afternoon, I hopped a train to Grand Central to spend the weekend with my sissy, Marina. She lives three blocks from Grand Central so I got off the train and walked to her building. We hung out for a few minutes, catching up, before heading out to the Morgan Museum and Library.

 It was a nice walk and not too far from her place and the museum was gorgeous. So many books! So many libraries! And there was an awesome exhibit on modern literature, showcasing rare editions, hand-edited manuscripts by the authors themselves, and interesting tidbits and facts about writers and their works. Both of us could speed through a museum pretty quickly, but we took our time here because all of the displays were so interesting! This museum also tends to change up their exhibits pretty quickly (and they are usually literary themed) so I feel like it's a place you could go to often and never get bored!

After the museum, we kept walking, went down through Union Square, and ended up at The Strand bookstore. I was in heaven. And of course, I have no photos to share because who has time to take photos when there are miles of books to be bought? I think we spent a good hour and a half to two hours in there, browsing. I must've picked up ten different books and carried them around for a while before deciding I had to be practical about what to buy. I only left with two books, The Valley of the Dolls and The Complete Short Stories of Flannery O' Connor, because they were both so well priced, but the walking and looking and reading was so fun and I will definitely be back.

All the book shopping tired us out so we took the subway back to Marina's and relaxed for a bit. We had dinner plans with some of her girlfriends who were coming up from DC but they wouldn't be in until 9 or later so we had plenty of time to just hangout. We put on a few episodes of Friends and Marina set out some cheese, crackers, and fruit and we started the bottle of rose we got to share with her friends.

Once we heard from the rest of the girls, we walked to a nearby restaurant called Tuttles. The four other girls met up with us there and we had a great night together! It was after 10, so Marina and I got some small plates to share and the whole table shared a bottle of Prosecco. We sat in the outdoor dining area that was enclosed by other buildings. It was beautiful summer night and we enjoyed the bright city lights.

I slept surprisingly well that night. I thought I would be awoken at all hours because of the noisy city, since I'm used to sleeping in the quiet suburbs, but I didn't wake up once! We didn't rush in the morning. We had breakfast, coffee, and I started reading The Valley of the Dolls.

Around eleven, we made our way down to Soho to check out the New Museum. They had an exhibit on Middle Eastern art and Marina and her friends used to live in Cairo together so they were all very interested in that!

From there, we made our way to The High Line and walked around it for a bit. It's so beautiful and such an odd feeling to be walking through a green park, winding its way through tall, city buildings. It was another gorgeous day but it started to get very hot in the midday sun and we were all hungry for lunch by then so we didn't stay up there too long before heading to the Chelsea Market for lunch. There, we ate and shopped around at the pop up shop.

After lunch, we walked to a nearby bar that had a roof deck for a glass of sparkling rose before Marina and I went back up town to get ready for dinner.

Dinner on Saturday night was probably one of the best parts of the entire weekend. We went to a great little restaurant in Chelsea called Bottino and sat outside on their patio that was strung with white lights. We had a good three and a half hour dinner. We split apps, had delicious entrees, and shared a big slice of tiramisu for dessert. We talked non stop and laughed like crazy. Our waiter commented on the fact that we had covered a wide variety of discussion topics over the night, spanning from Catholicism, Middle Eastern politics, waxing, weddings, the usual gossip, and college stories. Our waiter also fell in love with Marina's friend and slipped her a little love note as we left, which we then promptly performed dramatic readings of on our way down the street.

It was a great weekend made even better by the great company we had. I'd been wanting to stay with Marina in the city for a while and I'm so glad I was able to do it before I move to Boston! She was the greatest hostess and she guided me around the city like an expert. I love you sissy!

Here Lately

I've been slacking over here in blog world but I haven't really felt the great urge to write about my trip to spend the weekend with my sis in New York, probably because the task feels very daunting. We did so much and took so many photos that I know the post will be a job. But I will do it. Soon. At some point.

Until then, here are a few things that have been going on.

From Friday to Monday, I acquired so many new books, which is perfect considering I was already having difficulty deciding which books to bring to Boston. I could probably dedicate an entire post to all my new books. I think I might.

As of yesterday, we are only two months out from the Cabrera-Gabriel wedding!

Also, as of the day before yesterday, we were two weeks out from moving to Boston! Have we started packing yet? Of course not!

My mom and I got to hangout with AJ's family and his relatives visiting from Peru. They all loved each other and shared stories in English and Spanish and I got a round of applause for speaking my first full sentence in Spanish to AJ's grandmother.

I decided to stop reading Bellefleur. I'm on a roll of not finishing books lately, but like I said, I have so many books to read and this one was not getting me excited enough to pick it up. I'm on to others.

I feel like it would be wrong not to mention Robin Williams. His death is devastating. All I want to do is reach out to his family, his kids especially, but that's impossible and probably wouldn't do much anyway. I can't imagine what they are going through, and I can't imagine what he was going through in the moments before his death but I feel it's important to say that depression is an illness and like any illness it requires medical attention. I wish it was not a stigma to seek therapy or medication because it actually takes a lot of strength and bravery to accept help. But for those who need it, I hope you seek it. And now all I want to do is watch Mrs. Doubtfire and Aladdin.

Sorry for my absence around these parts lately, but make sure to keep your eyes open for posts about books and New York City!