Throw-back Christmas

Ok, so this post is just-for-fun. I don't know about you, but when I am at home, one of my favorite things to do is look at old pics. At my parent's house, all of my albums from middle school, high school, and college are in my closet. Flipping through my college books, I found photographs of my condo in Athens when it was decorated for Christmas. I was lucky to have friends who loved these girly gatherings then, and even more now. We got together and cooked and swapped presents. It gave me and my roomie Linsey a great excuse to decorate the condo, plan a fun menu, and pull out all the stops for the night. Well, I must admit, Lin is a fabulous cook, and always did these wonderfully beautiful things that I just helped put on the plate to serve. So, in the spirit of nostalgia, I shared these photos, but I know there are a few girls who will get misty over these fond memories!

I apologize for the bad photo quality! The red square behind the tree is a canvas covered in Christmas red and gold fabric. The presents are a mix of real gifts and empty wrapped boxes.

A few fresh greens from the "yard"

Places set for 10!

Linsey's amazing creme brulee!

And, finally the 12th...

And here we are, at the finale of the Christmas gatherings. And wow, it has been awesome. To say we're blessed with family is truly an understatement. I love being with family, and I think its safe to say we all feel that way. Sunday night, the 26th {which happens to be Brince's birthday too} we all headed to Gongaman's house for our Hardin family Christmas. (BTW, there are many spellings of Gongaman's name...Gongamin, Gongoman, G'man, etc. Somehow, when I was a young babe, I made up this moniker, and it obviously stuck.) We had a delicious meal of lasagna and salad topped off with a piece of Brince's bday cake. Afterward, we moved into the living room to hand out our Hardin Secret Santa presents. And yes, I have a very large family and we do a Secret Santa swap for each of them. I received a precious gray sweater from Jill and David got a buck knife from Chandler.

The Christmas tree!

An expanding family makes for crowded stockings!

G'man with all of this grandkids!

Check out these cuties! Chandler (15), Asa (17), Ivy (17), and Hugh (13)!

The girlies...Gracie (11), Jill, Abs, Mom, Me and Bec! 

Happy 26th Birthday Brince!

David and I were enjoying our time with Muffy while Gracie, Ivy and Hugh waited patiently on presents!

A delicious Pat Coody red velvet cake!

The 11th Gathering

On Christmas morning, David and I hopped in the car around 7:30 and headed to Hawkinsville. There, we found Mom, Abs and Dad cooking in the kitchen...we were so happy to finally be there! Soon, the rest of the crew joined....Brince and Asa woke up, my uncle Bruce, aunt Susan, their sons Chase and Ryan, Datee pulled in the driveway; Patti and her daughter Holly, and my Gongaman all showed up. It was nice to have a house full on this beautiful, chilly morning! We had an amazing spread - mimosas, shrimp & grits, M&T sausage, croissants with almond filling, fruit, bacon...and plenty of sweets! We enjoyed brunch, and had a small siesta. Then, Santa Mom and Dad kicked us out and us kids rode around while Santa came. We started this a few years ago and it is fun for us kids to hang out and for Santa to get all the sleep he (they) need! When we got home, we got to open our gifts, and as always, Santa was too good to us! We gave Mom and Dad their prezzies, and then did our Coody kid Secret Santa Swap. It was a wonderful day!!!!

Santa Dad at the grill!

A table set for Christmas morning brunch

Sleepy Brince with Abs and Dad

Asa and I with our cousin Chase

Happy girls....Abs, Me, Holly, Patti and Mom

A bit of a siesta before Santa...

Driving around waiting on Santa!

Our loot!

The 10th Day of Christmas Events

One happy, excited little boy!

On Christmas Eve, David and I had the pleasure of attending the service at Gainesville First Methodist. It was extraordinary! Just beautiful with a wonderful message and lots of singing! Afterward, we headed to Amanda's for a Christmas Eve dinner, and to exchange prezzies with my in-laws. It was so fun to share in the excitement with Ben too! We dined on beef loin, twice baked potatoes, asparagus, and a delicious salad. Coincidentally, about 10 deer found their way through Amanda's yard - Ben was enthralled! David explained that they were Santa's scouts, who had come to see where the real reindeer were going to land. Good thing there weren't any hunters around! :/ Hollie gave me the wonderful idea of a Santa message you can design on-line. She did one for Reese, and I did one for Ben. If you want to see it, click here. I think little Ben was really taken with it. David and I received some beautiful things from his family...Ben even picked out and wrapped gifts for each of us, with a little help from Pammy of course! He got me a re-usable grocery bag, and David got a koozie. Pammy took the time to make us all a family calendar for us to enjoy throughout the year, and we had wonderful "stockings" filled with Trader Joe's goodies! Amanda commissioned a beautiful painting for us...it was taken from a photo I took on my family's farm. I was very touched by the thoughtfulness she had!  We also got some great gift cards, a magazine subscription, and David some much-needed everyday work khakis. Our big prezzie was new ski coats....we are tickled to sport them on the slopes in a few months!

Hollis - the sneaky little elf...you never know where he's going to be hiding!

Placing cookies on the plate for Santa and his reindeer

On the 9th day of Christmas...

....We hosted my in-laws, Amanda and Ben for a Christmas EVE Eve dinner. We had Amanda's incredible toasted pecans, Amy's cheese straws and a mimosa to keep us tied over while David and I prepared our meal. We had Ina Garten's tagliarelle with truffle butter, steamed broccoli and grilled chicken for dinner. And I know, tsk tsk, but I had cookies that I swiped from the store for dessert. The pasta from the Barefoot Contessa was extraordinary if I do say so myself. It was exquisite! If you want to prepare a meal that seems like it took a lot more time and effort, but is infinitely delicious, try this one.

• Kosher salt  
• 1/2 cup heavy cream  
• 3 ounces white truffle butter  
• Freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 (8.82-ounce) package Cipriani tagliarelle dried pasta or other egg fettuccine  
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives  
• 3 ounces Parmesan, shaved thin with a vegetable peeler 

Directions
Add 1 tablespoon salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large (12-inch) saute pan, heat the cream over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Add the truffle butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, lower the heat to very low, and swirl the butter until it melts. Keep warm over very low heat. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, exactly. (If you're not using Cipriani pasta, follow the directions on the package.) When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta. Add the drained pasta to the saute pan and toss it with the truffle-cream mixture. As the pasta absorbs the sauce, add as much of the reserved cooking water, as necessary, to keep the pasta very creamy. Serve the pasta in shallow bowls and garnish each serving with a generous sprinkling of chives and shaved Parmesan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve at once.

 

White truffle oil, butter, fresh chives, and freshly grated Parmesan all paired with heavy cream....what's not to love?

For the munchkin

Ina's version of the tagliarelle...mine didn't look exactly like this, but it was delicious all the same!

We sell these at Heery's Too...they're the perfect size to just "pop" in your mouth!

Mimosas

Ben in his Christmas pj's sweetly petting Sandy

Love him!

On the 8th day of Christmas...

Here's a few photos from my 8th Gathering of Christmas, the Magical Nights of Lights at the beautiful Lake Lanier Islands Resort. If you're in the area, you have to go!

The line was so long to get it...and it was a pleasant night - not too cold for once! Groups were touring the lights on golf carts!

I loved Aladin!

And the Wizard of Oz

How adorable is this?