It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I’m so happy to be finally posting about the most wonderful time of the year.  December. This December felt more magical than most, and although we weren't around any of our family, sad face, we loved every minute of being together and really tried hard to do lots of holiday stuff. 

Our first holiday outing was to a small town just West of us, Clinton, NJ. They put on an annual Dickens festival complete with horse drawn carriage rides, old Saint Nick walking the streets, and holiday decorations that made the small town sparkle. We walked through the streets and ventured into a couple local shops. If you happen to be in the Clinton area stop off at Citispot Tea & Coffee. We ordered the pumpkin spice latte and it was wonderful. 

Next up, we got a Christmas tree. No, not the gigantic one on the left, even though I think that one would have been perfect, we opted for the cute five foot tree that was little crooked and missing a couple branches on the lower half. We always feel bad for the little Charlie brown trees  

One afternoon we drove to the shore and spent the evening enjoying the sights and sounds of Asbury Park. A lot of the area is still in the re-development stages after hurricane Sandy but Shento, Bear, and I were able to enjoy parts of the beach and boardwalk. After tiring Shento out we headed into the old conventional hall for some delicious dinner. If you look closely in the picture above you can see the convention hall and inside it was all decorated for the holiday. 

One of our newly acquainted holiday traditions is trying a new restaurant that normally is out of our everyday price range. This year we got all fancied up and went to Delta’s. A southern style, jazz music playing, fried chicken kind of a place. The chicken and waffles (with a hint of powdered sugar on top) were out of this world good. 

By the middle of December the weather was starting to get pretty terrible, and venturing outside in the ice and snow didn't seem like a good idea. But visiting numerous coffee shops throughout the area was the perfect date. There is something I love about sitting at a cozy coffee shop enjoying the company of a loved one. 

Bear baked some delicious pecan tassies.  Thanks to an old family recipe that his Mom gave him and his amazing baking skills these quickly became one of our favorite treats. 

Christmas morning was magical. We sat on the floor together and opened our presents. We felt so blessed to have family who graciously sent us wonderful gifts and my Mom who (always) put together the best stockings. We acted like kids, laughing and loving each other. I don’t think we go out of a PJ’s until after 1pm.  

Happy Holidays to everyone 5 months late.