Happy weekend!
I hope that all of those that celebrate it had a wonderful Christmas. I arrived back in SoCal late last night. I had a fabulous time in Jersey, but as always, it’s nice to get back home too.
My week at home sped by, and while it was a pretty quick trip compared to how long I typically go home for, I had a ton of fun. Here are some snapshot highlights of what my days in Jersey looked like:
Lots of family time:
My brothers, sister, sister-in-law, nephews, my brother’s girlfriend, my parents, their new puppy Jada, my hubby and me
My entire immediate family was together a few times: once for a party for my sister’s birthday, and once for Christmas Day.
{The best family shot that we could muster on Christmas Day}
{With my parents and sister}
{Christmas with my hubby}
{With my youngest nephew Danny – though there soon will be another nephew in the family come March!}
Our annual Christmas cookie baking extravaganza:
New ink:
My sister, cousin and I all got matching tattoos as a tribute to our grandma during what was her absolute favorite time of the year. We got her handwriting inked onto our wrists. This was her signature way of signing cards, and every time I look at it, it makes me smile.
My sister, cousin, aunt and me at the tattoo parlor
A grandma Christmas sweater party:
Also as a tribute to grandma, my family all wore her Christmas sweaters together. My grandma had all of these crazy sweaters that she constantly wore during the holidays, and it was pretty funny to put them on! On Christmas we also played old videos of her on their old projector. It was a total trip seeing my grandma and grandpa as 25-year olds, and it was neat to see my mom as a kid running around.
Lots of food & wine (of course)
….probably too much, but hey it’s the holidays and I enjoyed myself! There was no shortage of wine, warm spiked apple cider, desserts and wonderful carbs. Pictured above are apple pies with a caramel pecan drizzle that I made for Christmas celebrations. I couldn’t leave Jersey without eating a few slices of pizza either:
Luckily I fit in a bunch of workouts over the course of the week. My goal was to sneak in 3, and I wound up working out 5 times. YEA! What can I say, I just love breaking a sweat and then enjoying my wine and pie. 🙂
Stats from a sweaty HIIT + Jillian Michaels DVD workout that I did with my mom
A trip to Longwood Gardens
One evening I ventured into Pennsylvania with A and his family to see the beauty that is Longwood Gardens. It’s a gorgeous botanical garden that gets all decked out for Christmas, and we walked around and checked out all of the lights, plants and trees. It definitely got me into the holiday spirit!
I’m off of work until January 5th and am thoroughly looking forward to having a few days off at home. I think that unpacking and organizing, food shopping, and some rest & recovery from traveling is on the docket for my day, so off I go! Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!
Tell me… What’s your favorite kind of Christmas cookie? What was your favorite Christmastime indulgence this year? Do you have any tattoos?
I have two other small tattoos, but had gotten my previous ones both when I was 18, so it had been awhile since I’d gotten inked!
Happy Holidays Nicole!! You looked so pretty on Christmas and it looks like your trip was a ton of fun!
Aww, you are too kind! Thank you!
We don’t eat traditional cookies here in Italy, our Christmas cookies are very weird if I may say so. We haven’t eaten many sweets this year and even my favorite cookies, called roccoco’, were not around.
You have a beautiful family, they all look great and you parents are so young and fit! I’d love to get a tattoo on the wrist one day, I’m just waiting for inspiration. Happy Sunday!
Interesting, I’ve never been to Italy during the holidays so I had no idea that Christmas cookies aren’t that popular/yummy there… especially given the fact that Italy is my favorite place to eat nonstop!!
THANK YOU! I grew up in a health conscious environment for sure, and my parents definitely instilled healthy lifestyle ideals in me.
I hope you had a great Christmas. It certainly looks like you did 🙂
I definitely did, thanks Dannii!
Do I see a certain someone in these photos that you “kick boxed”……??? LMFAO!!!
NOT PICTURED!! Haaaa!
Aw, I love the tributes to your grandmother! I’m sure she was smiling down on all of you. The tattoos are so sweet.
I’m happy to see you had a lovely Christmas, lady! I hope 2015 is full of amazing memories for you! xx
Thank you, Sarah! I certainly hope so. I think she would have liked us all together watching old videos.
Such great family photos, happy to hear you had such a great time in Jersey. I LOVE your new ink and what a great reason to get it. Happy New Year!!
Thanks so much, Nellie! Happy New Year to you too!
Ahhh I can’t believe you got a tattoo! That is so amazing that you did it for your grandma and in her handwriting. Such a great tribute! Glad you had such a good holiday! Mine felt like a whirlwind! 🙂
I’m sure that having a newborn during the holiday season is a total whirlwind!
That is so special how you all got those tattoos- Nice one, Nicole!
Looks like a fun festive season full of the best 2 things- Cookies and family….yes, in that order. 😉
Ha! Ah yes, there were MANY cookies in my life!
Happy, happy holidays! A bit of a delayed reaction on this post .. but you looked great and it looks like you had a very merry Christmas at home! Loving the Christmas sweaters, new tattoos, and all the sweets. 🙂 ‘Tis the season!
Thank you Emily! I did have a great holiday season all around and a lot of fun with my family.