Home Is Where the Heart Is

Going home to CT for Christmas was perfect. It was amazing to see everyone and spend time with so many people that I love. It was jam packed with family, friends, and Christmas. Here's a picture recap of my time home!

 Reunion with my baby boy :)

Lots of cookie and candy making with Mom and Suzie

 Christmas Eve morning

In pirate heaven

 Reunion with so many great friends

 Dancing boy- he's a total riot

Lots of family time with my sisters and these 2 cuties

      And more cuties :)

It was such a wonderful visit! I am so grateful for the health and happiness of my family. I felt so lucky to be able to make the trip home and spend the holiday with everyone.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Have a safe and happy new year!!!

Bundled!

The way to get through the Alaskan winter is to have the proper winter gear! We learned this pretty quickly. Even though it's been very cold, once I'm bundled I actually feel perfectly warm, except for my cheeks :)

Ice river crevices- that should give you an idea of how thick the ice gets!

 Laying in the middle of the lake

 Really cool ice sculptures

Our bundled walk felt amazing!

Happy weekend!

Christmas is Coming!

This weekend was a Christmasy weekend. We went to Jason's work Christmas party, saw a village of gingerbread houses, got our Christmas tree and I decorated our apartment!

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is my Christmas Village. I grew up admiring my mother's Christmas village and then was lucky enough to inherit my great-grandmother's North Pole village. It is so special.

I have always loved Christmas, but going home for Christmas this year has definitely added an extra sense of excitement for me! Only a few weeks until I see everyone from home!

Homer

We spent the last 2 nights in Homer, Alaska. Homer is a beautiful small town 4 hours south of Anchorage with amazing views, good food, and art. 

Our drive along the Seward Highway was gorgeous....

We stayed at an adorable Inn in Homer....

And this was our view....

We saw a few animals...

 Female moose on our drive to Homer

An eagle flying from a branch!

We also saw several sea otters floating and flipping around in the water--too cute!

We ate some good food...

Halibut (in honor of the "Halibut Fishing Capital of the World")

We drove the length of the Homer Spit and walked along the shore...

And then we drove through a winter wonderland on the way home....

Such a great weekend!

So Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving. I was reminded today of all the things that I am so thankful for. 

-Family. A family who supports me in everything I do. A family who is there for me whether I'm a short drive away or 5,000 miles away.
-Technology, which keeps me connected to everyone I love and care about and helps me feel a little less far away.
- Jason, my partner in this adventure who provides endless love and support.

Today I cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner! Thanks to daily pep-talks from my Mom and a skype pie baking date, everything turned out pretty delicious!! I am beyond stuffed as I write this :)

 A wonderful Thanksgiving surprise yesterday from my grandmother

 The beginning.... and the end!

 Official turkey carver

Homemade blueberry pie!

We leave tomorrow for a 2 night getaway to Homer, Alaska. Pictures to come when we get home!!

Meet our new visitor...

So, I had my first close encounter with a moose today. As I was leaving for the store and putting the key into the car door I happen to look to my left...and there she was. Staring right at me about 15 feet away. Needless to say my heart stopped for a second. Then I took a few slow steps backwards and ran into the house and out onto the top deck to take pictures :) Although moose are generally slow moving animals, they can actually run fast when they get going and from what I've been told they can get pretty aggressive especially when they're startled. I felt much safer looking down!

  

Later I went to pick Jason up and as we were driving home we got a call from our apartment manager. She was warning us about the moose and wanted to let us know that the moose was currently standing in our parking spot munching on a tree. Sure enough, as soon as we got back there she was...

I took this picture from inside the car. She stopped nibbling on the tree to take a look at us and then went back to it. I have a feeling we might be seeing more of her throughout the winter!

Thursday night we went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. Downtown Anchorage is all decorated with lights- so pretty!

Happy weekend!!