Christmas Eve
Sorry for the lack of posts! I've just been a very busy girl since we got back from America on 7th January. We came home and really hit the ground running...I had class the next morning and had to get up at 6:00am! Ouch. I also wasn't in a rush to post because -
the whole family is on facebook now! Including Grandpa! - so if I upload photos to facebook, everyone sees them there. But here are a few Christmas photos. And I guess the difference between this and facebook is that you can actually write something to accompany the pictures here.
This was probably the greatest Christmas ever for me, for a lot of reasons - but I'm always happy when my family is together. Other notable moments:
1) Christmas Day at my parents new house in PA - dad said he felt like this was the inauguration of the house after having a major holiday there. Our dear friends Amber & James spent Christmas Day with us.
2) We did a day trip to Philadelphia to show Andy some of the sites, i.e. Liberty Bell & Independence Hall -but I think he was MOST excited about a hotdog he had with "the works" for $1.25. That was cute.
3) I got to cook and bake a lot with my mom and sister, that was a real highlight for me. Also, I got a cupcake decorating kit for Christmas - you can see my first couple attempts below (haha) - and then there's the mince pies which I am
so proud of!
4) We had a New Year's Eve party at the new house with all our close friends from PA and it was great to catch up with them, I hadn't seen most of them since the wedding. Some friends gave us a disco ball, which we hung, and then it turned into a dance party. Fab.
5) Mom, Dad, Sharon, Andy and I went on a trip to Boston which was a lot of fun, despite the fact that it was absolutely
freezing. Highlights there - awesome hotel, shopping, The Freedom Trail, Mike's Pastry and finding a Wagamama's outside the UK!
6) I got some great presents - two really cute aprons, one from Anthropologie and one from here,
http://www.sommerdesigns.com/ - check out the website! A new Le Creuset pot, the aforementioned cupcake decorating kit, travel mugs (for taking coffee and soup to school), books, some cute clothes, earrings - Santa was good to me this year :)
7) Oh! And Andy got his first proper suit! My parents got it for him for Christmas and he looks H-O-T in it : )
I think that was all the major moments - but of course there were so many little moments that I cherished as well. Like the night dad and I cooked dinner together, these beautiful lamb shanks that take hours to make. And going for long walks with my sister. Going shopping with my mom. It was all just great. I was so sad to go home, but then that leads to me to memorable moment 8....
8) Being upgraded to First Class on a Virgin Atlantic flight....!!!! I have never flown First Class in my life, and I don't think I will again. Basically Andy's dad knows someone who works for Virgin and well, the rest is history. We often get upgraded to Buisness Class, which is awesome - but this was another level of awesome. Chairs that recline all the way and turn into a bed, champagne, food served on China - there was even a stool so that Andy and I had lunch - sitting together, facing eacother with a table in between! Incredible. Never will I forget that.
The house decorated for Christmas lunch
Sharon, Amber and me
Andy & Me - Treeside :)
The house decorated for Christmas lunch
Yes, we had to wait til about 6:00 in the evening to open presents - such is the life of PK's!
New apron!
I guess the greatest thing of all is that it looks like Andy and I
are moving back to the States next December. I know it's cheese, but I'm gonna say it anyway: I think that was the greatest gift. Don't misunderstand me, I am so happy in England - and would stay here forever - but I can't wait to be back with my family and friends. It's been a long time, nearly six years of going to and fro, and I want to settle a bit. Although I know that the minute we settle in the U.S., I will pine for the U.K., such is life when you've really had two homes.
Liberty Bell (hotdog with "works" not pictured haha)
Sunflower cupcakes = a mess. But a cute idea, the centres are Oreos
NYE Cupcakes!
Mince Pies
The only way to do a puzzle - Mary Pickford in hand.
Andy and Dad chopping wood with dad's new wood-splitting axe - the novelty
didn't wear off.
Andy and Dad goofing around at the hotel in Boston - both of them make me laugh so hard.
Papa at the new house
Hot Momma! Looking festive in red.
Dad looking about 12
Decorating the tree in the now-neglected CT house, haha.
This frosting his revolutionized my baking life! I know most everyone loves butter cream frosting, but I don't. I don't like the way it tastes and I find it really hard to work with - first it's too soft, then you put it in the fridge and it's too hard. I know it's a well known thing, but I found a recipe for "7 Minute Frosting" in a book called, "Hello, Cupcake" - and I've never looked back. It looks so pretty & shiny : ) And it tastes like marshmallow fluff! I made these cupcakes for a birthday dinner I had for my friend, Emily. She loved it too :) So if you haven't tried it yet - next time you make cupcakes...or a cake....make this frosting. 
