Happy New Years, and a holiday recap....

Wow - what a whirlwind of a holiday! It was very busy, with a lot of travelling (and consequently some difficult nights for Zachary us), but it was filled with wonderful people, fabulous food and many magical moments. It was all very worth it.

Here are a few snapshots of the holidays, so far...

 ^^ I put together a blind wine tasting game for my family. It was a big hit. I wrapped all the bottles in aluminum foil and had everyone rate each wine and try to guess the type of grape it was made from. It was a lot harder to guess than I had imagined, and it was so interesting to learn what our taste buds truly like best when we are not influenced by the label or price tag ^^

We were hit by a major ice storm while we were out in the country at my parents house. Everything got covered by a thick layer of ice and the trees looked absolutely magnificent! 

The trees were so weighed down by ice that a few fell down, and we lost power for a while. We had to cook dinner on a camp stove out on the porch in the freezing cold!

 ^^ my mother rolling tortillas by candlelight, and my cousins frying them up on the camping stove. 

A labor of love, no doubt! ^^

Thankfully we got our electricity back by Christmas eve, and enjoyed a full turkey dinner.

^^ amazing chocolate orange pots de creme (would you like the recipe?), Zac falling in love with wrapping paper - who cares about the actual present, right?, and cookies galore! ^^

^^ Sunflowers and branches, frozen in time ^^

^^ Taking Zac for a walk in a makeshift sled, using a green recycling bin! ^^

On Christmas day we drove down to New Jersey to celebrate Christmas with my in-laws. We've done this every year for a while now, and it has become an unexpectedly nice ritual for us. Even though we have to spend 5 hours in the car on Christmas day, it is actually a nice break between the chaos of two big wonderful families, and we get to be just the three of us again for a little while.

 ^^ Zac hanging out on the floor with his great grandmother - I can only hope to be that nimble in my eighties! And endless piggy back rides from daddy - this boy never tires out! ^^

All in all, we had a lovely holiday. And between Chisasibi, Montreal, Toronto, New Jersey and New York City, we somehow survived all the travelling, and we still managed to find some relaxing moments.

I hope you've been having a wonderful holiday as well, and I wish you a very happy new year!
oxo
Vanessa.