NOW I'm in the Christmas spirit!

Update: I wrote this before the tragedies of the past week. Like many others, I'm now struggling with being cheery while so many are suffering.

I mentioned to Brad that I didn't feel I'd done much Christmasy stuff. But after last weekend's packed schedule, I can say that's no longer true!

We started Saturday by getting our tree and then going downtown for Tuba Christmas. Sunday, we went to Mike and Aj's house for Christmas dinner with the Wood/Goins side of the family.

Everything was decorated so beautifully, as always!

 

I had to explain the fancy double plates to Brad. Obviously, we've never used chargers in our house :)

Aj knew I was on a no-dairy restriction, so she made a couple special dishes just for me - SO NICE! (and yummy!). The main dish was briam, Greek mixed veggies in tomato sauce.

Pork for Brad's plate:

Cutest Christmas mice!

Sharing one chair:

Mike and Aj, always the best hosts, gave us our first gifts of the season: a Runner's World calendar for Brad and a vegan cookbook for me. Perfect!

Donna brought homemade, personalized pillowcases for everyone. Ours were outdoor/camping themed - of course!

Then it was time for dessert. Aj tried her hand at this super-buttery Christmas cake from Southern Living magazine. Looks fabulous!

My dairy-free contribution was the Fruit and Date Lumberjack cake I made last month for Mom's birthday.

I used Earth Balance instead of butter, and it was very good! I think I'll be baking this one a lo.

Everyone else tried a little of both. I took a very deep breath of Brad's buttery cake :)

It was such a nice afternoon with Steve, Donna, Grandma Wood, Aunt Louise, Uncle Dick and cousins Deborah, Mike and Aj! And such a treat to have Dick and Lou here now :)