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why, hello, new year

looking forward to a quiet eve in with my loves

may your celebrations be joyous!

holiday

just a few captured moments

via iphone

christmas, 

to me, 

is by far the most treasured time of year

and to have the opportunity to celebrate with the ones we love

well, what else do you need?

we celebrated with family sprinkled throughout the midwest

minnesota, wisconsin & northern michigan

we ..

attended the candlelight service at church 

 a highlight since i was a young child 

all gathering to celebrate & worship the birth of sweet baby Jesus

embraced a restful escape to the family cabin 

hiked through the snowy woods with the pups

admired the chickadees playfully feed outside grandmother's window

attended a screening of war horse (wonderful)

visited with my girlfriend & family 

 they were blessed with the birth of a beautiful & healthy baby : olivia grace

she's breathtaking!

treated ourselves to some of our favorite rich, seasonal sweets

attended a football game at lambeau

where that really great team plays .. the green bay packers, of course!

it was a lovely way to close the chapter to 2011!

may your christmas weekend be filled with peace, love & joy!

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a favorite in our home

snowballs, mexican wedding cakes, russian tea cakes - call them what you will

we adore them!

--

polvorones

courtesy of bon appétit, via epicurious

makes about 4 dozen

lovely ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup pecans, toasted, coarsely ground

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

directions:

using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. 

add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until well blended. 

beat in flour, then pecans. 

divide dough in half; form each half into ball. 

wrap separately in plastic; chill until cold, about 30 minutes.

preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

whisk remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and cinnamon in pie dish to blend. 

set cinnamon sugar aside. 

working with half of chilled dough, roll dough by 2 teaspoonfuls between palms into balls. 

arrange balls on heavy large baking sheet, spacing 1/2 inch apart. 

bake cookies until golden brown on bottom and just pale golden on top, about 18 minutes.

 cool cookies 5 minutes on baking sheet. 

gently toss warm cookies in cinnamon sugar to coat completely. 

transfer coated cookies to rack and cook completely. 

repeat procedure with remaining half of dough. 

sift remaining cinnamon sugar over cookies and serve.

christmas playlist :: love, the andersons

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a few selections from my personal favorite, 

the christmas playlist

hallelujah, chris botti

have yourself a merry little christmas, judy garland

baby it's cold outside, dean martin

cool yule, louis armstrong & the commanders

winter song, sara bareilles & ingrid michaelson

o holy night, bing crosby

you're here, francesca battistelli

christmas (baby please come home), darlene love

auld lang syne, mairi campbell & dave francis

the christmas song, andrea bocelli with natalie cole

joyeux noel

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oh, christmas tree

from a little tree lot in the city
to
a home that loves & adores this beautiful frasier fir
named "abraham"
after mr. lincoln, of course!

we're enjoying this bright little addition
merry & bright!

back from a couple days away
mostly work, but some play

a nice dose of sunshine
now, that's something i can hang my hat on

but,
i must admit, i couldn't wait to get back to the northeast
it feels much for christmassy!

washington d.c.

we arrived home yesterday after a visit to one of the loveliest cities!

highlights included 

a visit to the monuments at sunset

a performance of handel's messiah at the national cathedral

a delicious grilled lobster lunch

viewing of america's most treasured documents at the national archives (amazing)

 an afternoon in georgetown 

a visit to ford's theatre

& an interesting tour of the smithsonian american history museum 

oh my!

 if you're ever in georgetown, you must stop by j. chocolatier

 her peanut butter cookies

are by far the best you'll ever have!

and, 

we couldn't possibly leave without a stop at sprinkles 

tis' the season for eggnog spice cupcakes

"i'm quite certain that it's moving .. it is .. it's MOVING!"

just a curious little austin exploring grandma & grandpa's outdoor christmas decor!

hello, from washington d.c.

spending a few days in the nation's capital

i must say,

she looks especially pretty this time of year

mr. snow, where are you?

merry, merry!