Good morning!
I hope all of you enjoyed a day away from the craziness of everyday life yesterday. For those celebrating Christmas, I hope your Christmas was fabulous and that you were able to spend time with loved ones.
Christmas Eve
Our Christmas Eve began on a positive note when my mom was released from the hospital earlier than we all anticipated. Her surgery went well and we were happy to have her home around lunchtime!
We spent most of Christmas Eve preparing a delicious dinner and running some last-minute errands to make sure we had everything in order for Christmas the following day.
Before dinner, my dad made margaritas by following a recipe he found that called for fresh cranberries, orange juice, mint and tequila.
They were delicious and much stronger than any of us anticipated!
While we sipped on our margaritas, we worked in the kitchen and put some final touches on our dinner.
This was my first time prepping beef tenderloin and it was much easier to prepare than I realized. For some reason, preparing certain kinds of meat intimidates me and beef tenderloin has always seemed really easy to mess up. Now I know I’d feel a lot more comfortable tackling it in the future!
I followed my mom’s recipe and let the beef sit overnight after I rubbed it with spices. Then, two hours before it went in the oven, we let the beef sit in a shallow mix of a cup of worcestershire sauce and two cups of water before we roasted it for 35 minutes. We served the beef with lobster my dad caught in the Keys a few months ago, green beans with almonds and mashed potatoes and gravy. It was a great meal!
After dinner, my mom shared her annual family Christmas poem with all of us. Every year, my mom writes a poem about the past year to share with our family on Christmas Eve. She is so talented and her poem always makes all of us laugh and reflect.
It was a highlight for sure!
Once the table was cleared and the dishes done, I took some time to place the presents Ryan and I brought for everyone under the tree. Since I was on the floor, Sadie took this to mean it was playtime!
I love that little rascal.
Before it was time for bed, we had one last Christmas Eve tradition to uphold and everyone opened a new pair of Christmas pajamas! We had to laugh when my mom gave my dad, Ryan and Ross festive boxers that came with ridiculous night caps.
My dad got Santa boxers while Ryan and Ross were his two elves! Ha!
They are quite the trio!
Once we opened our Christmas pajamas, it was time to slip into them and head off to bed!
It was a wonderful Christmas Eve and I’m so glad I could spend it with people I love so much.
***
P.S. I will be choosing the five winners of the Stitch Fix giveaway this afternoon!
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Looks like you had a great Christmas eve. What a beautiful family. I love Christmas Pj’s. I think everyone should get festive jammies for Christmas. I’m so glad your mom is okay. That is the best gift you could get!
Looks like a lovely Christmas Eve! What funny pjs. So glad that your mom is having a speedy recovery!
Glad your mom is ok! And I love her gift to your dad, Ryan, and Ross. I can totally see my mom doing something like that!
Those pajamas are hilarious!
Love the tradition of Christmas Eve pajamas, my family has done it every year as well. What a beautiful tradition of your mom writing a poem about the year!
Wow, we had almost identical dinners!! We had beef tenderloin, garlic and herb mashed potatoes, and green beans with caramelized onions and almonds! It was. Fantastic meal to say the least.
It’s a delicious meal for sure!!
Great to hear your mum got out early, didn’t realise she was in having surgery. Hope Christmas Day went as amazingly as Christmas Eve for you guys!
Love the pictures of you and Ryan, and of you and Sadie, super funny and cute!! Merry Christmas to you guys! Looks like you had a great time :).
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! It looks like you guys had an amazing day!
Looks like you had a wonderful Christmas Eve! I love the tradition of opening up a new pair of pajamas the night before. So cute!
It looks like you had a very blessed and joyful Christmas! 🙂
Mmm beef tenderloin and lobster sounds fabulous! I’m loving your little traditions also. It’s so sweet that your mom writes a poem that reflects on the year— such a good idea!
Sadie is cracking me up in the pictures with Ross! I love when my pup makes dog forts under blankets!! Glad your mom’s surgery went well… a true Christmas blessing!
Merry Christmas!! It looks like your Christmas Eve was fantastic!
Glad your mom is doing well! Looks like you all had a great Christmas! If you don’t mind me asking, where did you get your white sweater with the black stripes from? It’s adorable!
Merry Christmas Julie! Looks like you and your loved ones had such a wonderful holiday 🙂 and I CANNOT get enough of Sadie. Please tell me you tried to dress her up like Santa. i dressed Buddy, my golden retriever puppy, up in a Santa hat for about 2 seconds before he tried to eat it 😉
Haha! Yes! We call her “Sadie Claus.” 🙂
Its so, so cute how close everyone in your family is, looks like a great way to spend christmas eve!
Looks like a great day! I was in Fred Meyer the other day and noticed there was a man in the Customer Service line, trying to hide the velvet Santa boxers that he was trying to return. I definitely laughed- poor guy! 😉
Ha ha LOVE the boxer/nightcap sets! 😀 It looks like a wonderful Christmas Eve Julie, and I’m so glad your mom is doing well!
Awww love the “pajamas” looks like you all had a wonderful Christmas Eve!
I looks like you had an amazing Christmas! I love the Christmas pjs tradition your family has. It’s so cute.
Oh Sadie!!
Your mom is so beautiful!!!!!!
Stitchfix sent me that same sweater 🙂
Oh my gosh, I love Sadie, she is too cute! Looks like y’all had a great Christmas eve 🙂 Glad your mom got out of the hospital early, that’s always a nice surprise!
Merry Christmas!! It looks like your Christmas Eve was fantastic!
theres nothing better than a dog who just wants to be with you all the time 🙂
where did you get your shirt? I love it!
It’s from Stitch Fix! 🙂
That’s so cool that your mom writes a poem every year! What a great tradition, and I’m sure it means a lot to everyone each time.