2 day pass

i cannot explain exactly what happened this weekend.

i felt happiness to levels i have been missing.

what's more...the good feelings didn't come and go.

i spent most of the weekend smiling...inside and/or out.

not frenzied bliss, but more calm contentment.

friday morning i met jess for a walk along the lake.

it was so nice that she had the day off and that i was not wigging out about my party that evening.

i love to entertain, but often i get a little psycho as the event draws nearer.

i have been known to obsess over all the details and perhaps to overdue it.

i made a concerted effort to simplify this time.

let me tell you...it is all it's cracked up to be.

i focused on the stars of the show: my soup trio.

then i paid special attention to what i am best known for: my desserts.

i put together a simple cheese/antipasto tray for noshing and relied on my favorite bread store for a loaf to pair with each bowl.

i didn't worry about having the perfectly decorated house.

i had fun making the spaces we would gather in beautiful and comfortable.

it may have just been the first time ever that i was ready and waiting for the doorbell to ring to receive my guests.

my lovely, relaxed day set the tone for my night...they always do.

the evening was festive and joyful.

sharing my favorite things with some of my favorite people was the best gift of all.

saturday we enjoyed a slow start after a busy week and a late night.

the only thing i absolutely wanted to do was get our family tree.

and we did.

it felt a little off to head to a local nursery just the four of us instead of the festivities we usually share with grandma and grandpa at the farm, but only until we got the fat fir home and standing in the picture window.

i like enjoying the tree for as much of the holiday season as possible so i didn't want to put it off any longer.

something's got to give is in the same vein as simplify.

i recommend it as well.

saturday afternoon brought an impromptu pizza party with the cousins our way.

we woke up to find this sunday morning:

a note from fred and...

 a toliet papered tree.

crooked too.

we went to church despite the rain and the strong urge to hit snooze and ignore the alarm.

i am grateful.

i don't like to miss church during advent.

coach and i walked to get a coffee while the kids were in sunday school.

we sat staring at what should be a skating rink.

sadly it's a puddle for the second time in the past month.

at least the rain north of us turned to snow today.

we went out for breakfast.

that garners great excitement around these parts.

we tried a new place...a very good place.

a place that has been featured on the food network as a matter of fact.

it was really the only meal i ate all day.

the only one i needed to.

so instead of cooking dinner, i decorated the tree with miss bit after coach put the lights on.

she listens intently when i tell her the stories about all the ornaments on the tree.

i know from whence they all came and from whom.

someday she will too.

there were a few solemn moments...some hugs...and smiles.

the boys came around to marvel at her beauty once the trimming was taken care of.

we may pretend we don't like it, but i think maybe we do.

now we are all watching the packers play and lusting after the flurries swirling around them on the field.

the boys have been cuddled up on this chair for all the day and now the night.

coach has been like the paparazzi snapping pictures of them for his new instagram.

but then they are used to that.

i am hoping the happiness of this weekend doesn't leave our home this week.
here...here!