Christmas was...

I am borrowing this recap idea from Lisa over at knitting yarns.  Here is how I would describe our holiday...

Christmas was...

1. Learning to really love driving trips.  I so enjoyed the time I got to spend with Mark as we drove from Beaufort to New Orleans.
2. The season when we got married and being able to celebrate our anniversary with a night at the Le Pavillon Hotel was so special.  
3. Apparently a distraction for our Saints.  It seems they were more focused on Christmas presents than football seeing as we've now dropped two games in a row.  In spite of the losses, we truly had such an amazing time tailgating with all of our friends and fellow members of the Who Dat Nation!
4. Being able to enjoy Reveillon menus at New Orleans' best restaurants.  We had a very nice meal at Mat and Naddie's where the highlight of the dinner was the Mocha and Banana Tart Filling in a Shortbread Crust.  Can you say melt in your mouth?  We also had a superb dinner with even better company (JT and Katherine) at Upperline.  Their Reveillon menu had such a wide array of choices.  I started with their Turtle soup, which is my favorite version of this dish in the city, and it was even better than I had remembered.
5. Spending time with my parents.  We had such a nice time getting to spend time with them.  Whether it was having lunch at Luke and walking through the lobbies of the downtown hotels dressed in their holiday finest or grocery shopping with my dad and Christmas shopping with my mom.  I enjoyed every minute of our time together.
6. Hanging out with my sister and her bf, Milton.  We especially enjoyed our double date at Adolfo's.  This quaint little Italian place might just be the gem of the Marigny.  The food was amazing and the atmosphere was so unique and original.  After dinner we had a great time listening to a fantastic jazz band on Frenchman St.  
7. Full of traditions.  The whole family went to Celebration in the Oaks and heard my little cousin sing with her choir.  We hosted the annual Bernard family Christmas Eve celebration.  We capped off Christmas Eve with my dad's reading of The Polar Express.  We spent Christmas morning cooking all of our favorite Christmas dishes for our lunch with my grandparents and great uncle. 
8. A time spent with all of our friends.  We were especially happy to be able to drive back through Birmingham where we were able to spend time with our friends Anna and Diego.  We saw our sweet as pie Goddaughter, Bayona and met her adorable sister, Arabella.  Bayona may be the cutest, smartest little one I have ever met.  She made us laugh for hours and made us want to get back to Bham very very soon.
9. A reminder of how much I love New Orleans.  Every day we were there I would experience something that would make me realize how incredibly unique and special of a place it is.
10. A week that went by in the blink of an eye.  I always find myself a little somber at the end of the holiday week.  It means another year has come and gone.  I find myself looking back at this last year and hoping that I made the most of every day in it.