Desprate for Gift Ideas

I know, I know...Christmas is still three months away.  Desperate for gift ideas this soon?  YES!  I've found that coming up with the spare quiet time to think, the spare time to shop, and the spare time to make/craft is limited now that I am keeping track of a little baby.  :)

Organization is key.  Thoughtful gifts are important.  Budget is very, very limited.  Sooooo, this is why I feel like I should already have a plan and feel anxious that I don't already have the perfect homemade gift ideas ready to work on. 

If you have any great ideas send them my way.
I have a feeling I'm not the only one out there who has this on her mind!

Merry Christmas - From my Family to Yours!

(picture taken 11.26.09)

3 Foot Gold Tinsle Tree

A Charlie Brown Christmas....
I decided it was too much for me to dig out any holiday decorations this year not only because I'm late in pregnancy but also because our storage unit is completely packed with a year's worth of extras jammed in the front. It's hopeless.

Luckily, my sister in law Lori sent me this super cool gold tinsel tree. It rules! Janice shared with me a mobile from baby Matt's nursery which has temporarily made an appearance in the tree as ornaments. I thought it turned out perfect for this particular year.

Thanksgiving 2009

This year we enjoyed Thanksgiving in Philly with Ryan, Megan, and Cora! We also got to visit with Matt's cousins Dustin, Raven, and Sandy who also live in Philly. Aside from feeling the effects of swelling feet from sitting in the car when 8months pregnant, we had a really fun time!





PS - Baby Cora rules!
PSS - Matt is feeding Cora baked sweet potato fries home made by Megan.

Happy Halloween '09

Last weekend, with Matt's Mom in town, we decided to take another visit up to Salem, MA.
As expected, Salem lived up to all our Halloween expectations.

I'm nearly 28wks along here! ----- This last picture is terrible butt it makes me laugh so hard. I was taking a picture of a grave stone when Matt couldn't resist taking a picture of my caboose! I had no idea of this until I was looking through the pictures afterward!

October

I love the fall.
I love October.
I love spooky graveyards in Boston.
I also love that Halloween is such a weird holiday.

4th of July: Boston SPECTACULAR!

Matt's brother and wife, Nick & Ashlea, came out for a visit surrounding the fourth of July weekend. We had a great time touring around Boston and celebrating Independence Day.

In addition to enjoying great company, here is a short summary of what we did over the extended weekend:

• Kelly's Roast Beef: The most incredible roast beef sandwich you'll ever eat! (Pretty good clam chowder for a cold night too) We went to their flagship location in Revere, MA right on the beach. It was too bad that it was cold and cloudy but it was still a beautiful location.
• Richardson's Ice Cream: Dairy farm fresh ice cream. No really, it's so fresh that you can smell the dairy cows in the surrounding area! More flavors that you could ever dream up and even when ordering the smallest size you get more icecream than you can actually consume in one sitting. I can't wait for more Richardson's ice cream!
• Lexington & Concord: The Minute Man National Historical Park and Museum, musket shooting reinactment, the old North Bridge, and late lunch in the old town.
• An amazing Italian dinner in the North End.
• Fireworks on the Charles River: Boston Pops, Neil Diamond, Craig Ferguson, local flavor, and amazing fireworks with an impressive amount of ash and other firework debris!
• Matt and my first Red Sox game at Fenway Park! Sox vs. Mariners...a perfect game for us!
• Dinner at Durgin Park next to Faneuil Hall: Classic Boston grub! Matt LOVED this place.

(This last picture is Matt holding the 12" long wick that was still burning. It landed on our bag!)

I'm missing so many other details but we obivously had a great time with Nick and Ashlea!