I had one of the most fantastic Christmases ever. I don’t know what it was about this year. Maybe it was having my little niece around celebrating her first Christmas, or the way everything seemed a little more low-key but just as special. The cold weather just in time for the holidays and the amazing presents my family and boyfriend’s mom got me didn’t hurt either!

Here are some snaps I took on Christmas Eve at my grandma’s house and Christmas day at my parent’s house.

Sydney insisted on putting on reindeer ears and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. She really gets into the spirit. Crazy dog.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from my family to yours!

Today for lunch Josh and I headed over to Frank (@hotdogscoldbeer) after doing some Christmas shopping at local downtown stores. I was craving something filling and awesome. We both wound up choosing specialty dogs. I chose the Chicken Fried Dog (hot dog battered, fried, covered in gravy), and Josh chose the Vietnamese dog. And we ordered a side of super-hot spicy fries. Soo good, but so spicy. And to cool our mouths down after all that? Bananas Foster!

Yum. Yum. Yum. Would it be wrong to do all this again tomorrow?

Last weekend we had a houseguest and so we walked over to South Congress  and ate at More Home Slice. Yummy yummy pizza. I just love the interiors of this place and the ease of just ordering a slice, grabbing a seat, eating and leaving. No fuss. Plus Italian beer and decent wine? Full of win.

Looking forward to the weekend! We plan on getting a Christmas tree Saturday, so I can’t wait to have it smelling and looking like Christmas in our house. And we are going to see my little cousin perform in the Nutcracker tonight. Christmas is all around us.

Also.. I love this window in the morning.. especially on foggy days.

You’ve seen me post about cake pops on here before. My friend Kathy makes super-amazing, creative, cute ones. Well, in about a week and a half she is teaching a class here in Austin on how to make Christmas cake pops! Sign up here if you’re interested.

Below are some photos I’ve taken of Kathy’s cake pop creations in the past.. and check out her blog for more cake pop posts.