Christmas parties

Last night we watched Michael Vick and the Eagles win against the Cowboys, sat by the fire, and I tried to write a final paper.



We also went to 2 fun Christmas parties on Saturday with two less-than-$5 gift exchanges. We ended up with a really strange mix of gifts: Sausage, an old wood carving tools set, shot glasses and some snowman coasters. Maybe we'll keep one or two specifically for regifting next year at a party. But I can assure you, we will eat that Hickory Farms summer sausage.

Christmas Tree

Last Sunday afternoon, we went out to Newport to Clover Hollow Tree Farm again and cut down our tree. The farm is beautiful, and the people are really nice. It was fun going out in the snow and cutting it down. The snow really makes it feel like Christmas time, even though I still can't believe it's already December.





And we were again impressed with their special tree-bundling machine.



You know, there's something very manly about cutting down a tree.

ACC Championship

Last weekend, we drove down to Charlotte and cheered the Hokies on to win the ACC Championship!! We tailgated with Aunt Judy, Uncle David, family and friends. Andy and Lindsey flew all the way from Buffalo, NY! It was really cold (low 30s) and rainy, but a great win!




We had awesome seats for the game literally next to the Hokie band.



But with a really annoying fan behind us, and knowing Dad was sitting by himself, we decided to move to the upper section and sit together.

VT vs. UVA

Bryce and I both had never been to the annual VT vs. UVA game the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We tailgated at the German club with Kate, Jeff, and family. It was nice to tailgate inside, it was cold!! (40s and very windy!)




Like my pin?



Kyle and Cayce sat with us at the game. They got engaged the day before Thanksgiving-Congrats!! We are unbelievably excited for them.



We were freezing. Can't imagine how this crazy guy felt...

Birthday

So, I just had my "golden birthday" - I turned 26 on the 26th. We were in West Virginia with Bryce's family. It was pretty low key, we watched football, went for a run, then went out to dinner at a really good local Italian place called DaVinci's. Oh, and we stopped by the mall to get ideas for Christmas. It was fun.

One of my favorite gifts was:


I love cookbooks, mainly the ones with awesome photos. This one is beautiful. When we sit down to relax, sometimes I just read and flip through the pages of cookbooks to get ideas for recipes and look at the food photography.