Christmas 2016 in Pictures

Nope, no snow yet for us. But a girl can dream! Here are a few snapshots and memories from our little Christmas celebrations. This week I'm enjoying a super self-indulgent week off from work, watching movies, doing my nails, running errands. 

For the 10+ years of the "ugly Christmas sweater" trend, I never had an excuse to buy one! No one I knew actually threw an ugly sweater party, but this year, our work party had the theme and I was ready. A local antique mall has a booth that sells only vintage ugly Christmas sweaters and I scooped this Cats x Stranger Things homage sweater for just 16 bucks. On the back, it has a cat wearing its own ugly sweater. It's magical.

A parting shot of the wrapped gifts before we packed them up for our journey!

We started our Christmas trip in my hometown, where we always get together with my friends for "Ludichristmas."

We all majored in group photography in college. Here's a classic prom shot...

And a CW teen drama cast shot. We spoiled each other with magical gifts; I received a triceratacos holder and life is 100% better.

The next day we had a fun breakfast with my BFF Jamie. We're always ready for a goofy shot.

From there, we ventured to my dad's house, where I played Dr. Dolittle with their two dogs and cat. What can I say? Animals dig me (or my scratching skillz). We had a fun day of noshing, talking about the news biz and watching "It's a Wonderful Life" (a family tradition).

 We spent Christmas Day with my mom, where she and I giggled nonstop while trying out Snapchat filters.

 We also opened Christmas crackers and tried to keep up with the boundless energy of my nephew, who was basically going strong past all our bedtimes. That Christmas mojo is no joke!

Finally, on Monday we ventured to see my grandma, who is still knocking us out with her wit and humor, even when she isn't quite sure what we're saying or which blurry blob is talking to her. She embodies good spirits!

I came home with a big stack of great reading material, plenty of lip gloss and a glass link necklace I've been eyeing for years! Another successful holiday of family and friends in the books.

Dream Come True: Staying at the Inn at Wise

 When I was growing up, downtowns were over and strip malls by the large thoroughfares were in. But I've always treasured the idea of a vibrant downtown, with businesses filling the historic buildings, sidewalk cafes, art-house movie theaters and weekend farmer's markets.

Wise just took one step closer to that dream town with the renovation and reopening of the Inn at Wise (formerly the Colonial Hotel), which has sat empty and crumbling on our Main Street since I was in elementary school. It always broke my heart to come home and see it fall further into disrepair, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out recently that the project had moved forward and the hotel was ready for guests just in time for our holiday visit!

 The hotel was originally built in 1910 beside the bustling Wise County Courthouse. The renovated lobby retains much of the look of the original building; it was emotional just to walk in because it took me right back to the last time I remembered being there, as a very little girl.

 For my money, the most beautiful space was and still is the elegant patio. If I had a reason to have a private event in Wise County, I'd book this area in a second.

 The inn has a diner called The Corner Diner, featuring delicious hamburgers and milkshakes similar to those served at my dearly departed favorite Wise restaurant, Shannon's. I thought the Nutcracker display was the CUTEST. I love shelves in front of windows for this very reason.

 Most of the wood floors appeared to be original, and I was blown away by these floors with the wood peg-covered nails joining the boards. So pretty.

 A shot of the hotel in its prime.

I was in love with all of the duck blue trim and old-fashioned lights...gorgeous.

The entire Inn is filled with local and regional artwork. I was beaming with pride when I saw our room included a file photo from my dad's newspaper.

 Behind the front desk was the original mail shelving. I love that so much was able to be restored...it's truly a miracle, because the Inn suffered a fire in the early 90s and then sat empty for two decades.

 Everyone in Wise County came out to get a picture with the beautiful tree in the lobby.

 The tree was decorated with past pictures, a lovely reminder of its former glory and hopefully, fortunate future. I can honestly say the hotel was not only the nicest place to stay in the county; it's one of the nicest places I've stayed anywhere. I highly recommend it!

The Giant Christmas Circle of 2014

 We just completed a nearly 1,200-mile round trip for Christmas and we. are. pooped. BUT, we feel so lucky and blessed that we were able to see so many of our loved ones and enjoy great time in our favorite places. We started out on the road last Tuesday, with Sean nursing a heinous cold that he's thankfully managed to shake off. We returned last night, with my voice completely gone! Sure sign of a fun time! Here are a few pics of our holiday adventures:

We started our trip in Alexandria. I got to eat the most delicious steak tips with lime penne pasta at Mike's American Grill with my California favorite, Mark.

 I loved this present from Sean: a promise that I can FINALLY get a cat. (Side note: I'm a little nervous he might have a pet dander allergy...so we have to investigate that first.) We also got a fireplace starter kit, which I'm champing at the bit to try out! From there, we drove 7 hours to visit my grandmother, and then another hour to my hometown!

 In Wise, we stayed at the newly renovated and reopened Inn at Wise (more on that later!) and I got to celebrate my lifelong BFF Jamie's birthday!

 From there, I carried on to a dinner reunion with hometown friends, and we staged our annual Melrose Place-inspired photo shoot and played Cards Against Humanity with hyper-customized cards that had us dying laughing. The next morning, Sean and I set off for my dad's house on the border of Tennessee, where we had a fun time visiting, exchanging presents and having delicious pizza at Mellow Mushroom.

 I had the Red Skin Potato Pie, which is basically a pizza version of potato skins. Super sinful and super worth it.

 Daddy and I with the Mellow Mushroom's crazy sculpture guy.

 We drove another hour further to Asheville, NC where my grandpa's family rented three cabins for the week! I wish we could have stayed longer, but alas, we only could stay for the weekend. I can't wait to go back.

 It was great to gallivant around the city with my mom...

And admire the mountain sunset with my Papa.

Whew! What a whirlwind trip. We got spoiled to death, with new tools and much-needed house stuff, plus chocolate galore and books for the new year. I also had the pleasure of seeing lots of art, so I'm going to post about my favorite things I saw later this week! How was your Christmas?

A Lake Eden Wedding

The real reason we went to Asheville last weekend was to celebrate the marriage of our cousin, Emily, and her new husband, Thijs. They met volunteering in post-Katrina New Orleans and proceeded to endure a transatlantic romance before they finally were able to both live in the Netherlands. They returned to the states to marry and we're so happy they did!

We started the wedding festivities with a delicious rehearsal dinner at the legendary 12 Bones, where we dined on pulled pork, bbq chicken, mac and cheese, cornbread and more. It was scrumptious! Us girls then proceeded to MG Road for super fancy cocktails with new-to-us ingredients. It was so fun!

Emily is an artist by training and you could totally tell in the wedding details. Instead of a traditional guest book, they had a watercolor map with bicycle stamps (a recurring nod to Amsterdam) so we could each mark where we came from. Emily did all of the illustrations for the wedding stationary and paper products and Thijs did the graphic design.

Her incredible cake decorator was able to replicate the watercolor motif by projecting the design onto the cake.

The centerpieces had sweet watercolor Dutch and American flags.

The food was INCREDIBLE. Seriously, some of the best I've had at any wedding anywhere. This meat buffet had meatloaf cupcakes, beef and chicken skewers with a horseradish, pesto or peanut sauce.

But the best part: DIY Appalachian bruschetta bar. I topped mine with pulled pork, pimento cheese and bacon. It was so amazing. We also sampled a great fruit salad and Israeli couscous salad.

I'm pretty sure the meatloaf cupcake might be Sean's new favorite food.

The international flavor of the wedding made for some incredibly personal and magical moments. Emily's French friend rewrote four classic French songs to tell the story of their romance and sang them a capella perfectly. It was such a special toast.

I was doubly charmed when the entire Dutch contingent sang a traditional song of congratulations. It was really lovely and finished with a great, "Hip hip hooray!"

I tried to cope with the warm summer air by preemptively braiding my hair, but lord my hair looked ratty after a night of dancing!

We had a GREAT dancing crowd, which is always my favorite thing about weddings. You ain't seen nothing until you've seen a dance floor full of Dutchies, French and Americans screaming the lyrics to "I Gotta Feeling."

We finished the wedding with sparklers, but for those of us staying at Lake Eden, the night wasn't over yet...

Thijs and his father built a bonfire and we roasted marshmallows for s'mores. It was one of those moments where, as it's still happening, you're treasuring the memory. What a wonderful day!

Asheville Adventures

We've just returned from one of the loveliest weekends I can recall, spent in one of my most favorite places: Asheville, N.C. We ventured there to see our cousin Emily marry her love, Thijs, on the beautiful grounds of Lake Eden and squeeze some sightseeing in while we could.

The art history nerd in me was WIGGING OUT that the families and wedding party were going to be staying there because it's the location of the former Black Mountain Art College, a sort of modern art superstar breeding ground that operated from the 1930s to 1957. The teachers and students were a Who's Who of modernism: Josef Albers, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, Robert Rauschenberg, Jacob Lawrence, Buckminster Fuller, Willem de Kooning, Elaine de Kooning and on and on and on. Some cool stuff happened, like...

Buckminster Fuller and his students built the first geodesic domes. SWEEEEEET!

We stayed in the Sequoia Cottage, which was originally built for a German composer who was a professor at the college. If I could, I would buy this house! I loved it that much. It was tucked into the woods, lovely and modern, and had a great layout.

 The artsy and ethnic decor was perfect.

 The view outside our door: a teepee! So fun.

 And me, in front of the sweet house.

On Saturday, Miss Margaret, Katie and I went to the Thomas Wolfe house and took the tour. Wolfe's book, "Look Homeward, Angel," is autobiographical and tells the story of growing up in his mother's boardinghouse, so a visit to the home is particularly great because the tour guide points out spots that are portrayed in the book. Even if you haven't read his books, it's an interesting peek into the boardinghouse culture of the early 20th century and at the end of the day, it's a pretty house! I loved the butter yellow and blue porch!

How gorgeous is this mantel? Apparently Thomas Wolfe hated the house (he had more modern taste), but it's really quite lovely.

 Let it be known I'd kill for a sun porch like this!

 After our tour, I asked a woman at the visitor services desk for a restaurant recommendation that would be "quintessential Asheville." She immediately said The Green Sage, which ended up being hilariously on-point. Asheville is a hippy dippy town, and this is a hippy dippy restaurant! When I ordered, the waitress kindly asked if I'm gluten-sensitive. Everything was super fresh and really delicious; I had a grass-fed beef burger with peppers, monterey jack cheese and chipotle mayo. I had it with a side salad with tangy lemon tahini dressing that was so, so good.

 After lunch, we had a quick visit to the Asheville Art Museum. In keeping with the influence of Black Mountain Art College, its collections are devoted to 20th and 21st century art.

Being the magpie that I am, I was drawn to a new installation, called "Community." Artist Sharon Louden worked with community members to create this aluminum piece. It's mesmerizing. Its reflectiveness causes viewers to multiply, give it color and movement. If you're in the area while it's on view, be sure to check it out!

On Sunday, the whole Kennedy clan went to visit Biltmore, the largest private home in the United States. It's totally a spectacle, but it's very hard not to appreciate the craftsmanship and artistry of every single detail of the home, its grounds and even the estate's carefully planted forest.

 It's totally pricey, but definitely worth the visit in my book. The ticket price covers entry to the home, the gardens, the winery and more.

One small pro-tip though: it's not air-conditioned, so if you go in the summertime, be prepared. I'm so glad I keep a small container of bobby pins in my purse!

It was such a great visit back to Asheville and I'm amazed that such a small city still has so much to see and do after all the times I've been there. I can't wait to go back!