Boone for the Holidays

So after our marvelous Christmas at home, our next stop was the North Carolina mountains to spend some much needed time with John’s family. Over the years, we’ve often met in Gatlinburg because it’s about halfway between Charleston and Lexington, KY. Sometimes we like to switch it up, though, so for this holiday season, we opted for Boone, NC. Every time I’m there I’m reminded of just what a cool little town it is, how much personality is packed into it and just how pretty the entire region really is.

In true Thomas fashion, we found a great big house to rent for our time and it ended up being such a fun house. My guess is that it was once a sorority house just based on how it was set up with lots of private bathrooms, lots of separate sitting areas, individual thermostats…Well, whatever it was, it’s now call the YaYa House and is owned by four self-proclaimed hippie ladies who have gone out their ways to add all the little touches that make a house a unique home.

I think I’ve told y’all this before, but one of my favorite things about visiting with John’s side of the family is the large size and the ‘togetherness’ of it. Playing boardgames into the night, doing puzzles, cooking…Not having to ‘do’ much of anything, yet still making some of the best memories. I love that about the Thomases, always have. And I absolutely love the way our families have melded together since Day 1 ❤

Checking out the week’s digs ❤

Yep, the owners even left up all the Christmas decorations for our belated celebration…

Brisk early morning walks around the (oh-so-hilly) neighborhood ❤

Can’t go wrong when these two bake and decorate your birthday cake!

Lost Province Brewing Co.

Playing word games by the twinkly lights…

An afternoon exploring downtown Boone ❤

These two. #RelationshipGoals #whenboardgamesrequirehandsonparticipation

Mining for gems- we ended up with two rubies and a sapphire 🙂

And this Rose Quartz, Neve’s favorite ❤

And as if our time together wasn’t fabulous enough, Mother Nature even gave us a gift on our last morning- SNOW! Oh, it was so pretty. And our time in the mountains was so lovely. We really are blessed to call such great people our family…And who would’ve thought that we’d come to the Carolinas and see snow, not once but TWICE! That’s right! Stay tuned for Part 3 of our time at home for the holidays, when it snows in Charleston during Neve’s birthday celebration! Talk about a cool unexpected gift!

Home for the Holidays

Well whatd’yaknow, it’s been over a month since our last chat- and I’m not the least bit sorry! Ha! 😉 That just goes to show you what a wonderful and busy time we were having at HOME for the holidays. Our family Christmas and New Years were everything we hoped they’d be- togetherness and happiness and thankfulness and warmth and energy and love. It was glorious.

And this trip proved to be quite different than our summer visit. Not sure exactly why, but it just had a whole different feel to it. Maybe it was the holiday magic in the air or the hustle and bustle that inevitably comes along with the season or just that we had a new appreciation for being ‘home for the holidays,’ but for whatever reason, these few weeks had more of that true family vibe going on- less running the roads, less cramming things (and people) in- more cooking together, shopping together, sprinkling in some lazy jammie days here and there… ❤ That’s not so say we didn’t fit in as much awesomeness as we could, though- we spent some time in the mountains with John’s family, we rang in the new year with what I coined ‘Thanksgiving 2.0’ (a meal with all the favorites we didn’t get to have during our holiday in Garmisch!), we celebrated Neve’s birthday with Party #1 and her first Chuck E. Cheese experience…So yeah, we stayed pretty busy one way or another!

And since I’ve now accumulated over 300 pictures- I was there nearly a month, you know! Ha!- I’m going to break things down into a few different posts just to keep the sanity. 😉 For today, I want to share with you some pictures from our first full week at home, including Christmas. For the first time in many, many years, we kept things super small and super simple- just us, and embracing what the season is all about- our blessings. It’s one of the best Christmases we’ve ever had and one that I will remember for always for so many reasons.

First morning home, staying in my childhood bedroom, and look out the window to see these two- bundled up in their pjs- swinging in the backyard and talking about life ❤

When your best friend finishes her 5k and comes directly to see you on your first morning in town. ❤

Lazy mornings are always the best ❤

When your tribe loves your girl almost as much as you do ❤

Reunited at last ❤

The bond that these two share ❤

When brothers become Daddies, Christmases get even better ❤

Oh how she loves her Uncle Andy ❤

Christmas Eve

Caught in the act!

Christmas Morning

When you love so many of your gifts equally…

Christmas Day ❤

So you can see that we sure did have an amazing Christmas. It really was beautiful and full of all the feels. Just what our family needed ❤

Stay tuned for Part 2- we’re headed to Boone, NC, to do it all again with John’s family!

It’s beginning to feel alot like…

…Christmas! Amiright?! I have been waiting for this day for weeks now- when I can finally say that ‘this time NEXT week…’ we’ll be on a plane over the Atlantic headed for HOME! Oh Lord, I just don’t have any words. I was telling my mom last night on the phone how my whole perspective has changed this year. Well, that’s true on so many levels, but in this instance, I was talking about the whole coming home, being home for the holidays, surrounding yourself with those who make your world complete…Being away from home- so far away and immersed in a completely different culture- really brings alot of focus to what matters most. Especially this time of year. It sure is going to feel like one big, weeks-long bear hug. All three of us are counting on it ❤

So in honor of this one week countdown, I just wanted to share some of our holiday pics so far. We’ve really been having alot of fun with the season this year- Neve is the absolute PERFECT age right now for all things Christmas and we LOVE it. And this year, she’s getting to celebrate the season in a whole new way, too- with German traditions at kindergarten, so we’re learning things right along with her!

Christmas carols and hot tea and twinkly lights to end the day…

John knows me so well. When he ‘brings me flowers,’ he almost always goes for the most creative, funkiest arrangement he can find. And they’re always our perfect centerpiece.

The Advent Calendar is always one of her favorite parts of December!

Even with bare trees and temps in the 30s, we have still managed to have some amazing sunsets. Neve and I have actually started to really love our rides home from gymnastics because we get to see some of the most beautiful natural paintings. This week, we made a game out of counting as many colors as we could in this sunset ❤

If any of you have ever been to Germany this time of year, then you know how awesome they do Christmas. Seriously. I’ve never been a place that goes as all out for the season as here. It’s amazing. The stores, the streets, the famous markets…Everywhere you turn is Christmas. And on a grand scale, with all different styles. Trees, lights, music, warm drinks, fresh baked goods…Definitely our kind of place 😉

Our shopping mall below our house…

Modern take on visiting Santa…

At my favorite shopping mall, Breunigerland.

And speaking of Christmas markets, we finally made it out to one of the most well-known all around, the Medieval Esslingen Market. Can’t believe it took us this long to get to it as it’s only about 30 minutes away at most. The town itself is so cute, but the market was downright awesome. And huge. What sets this market apart from the rest is that, in addition to the regular stuff, a huge part of it is a time warp back to the middle ages. The huts are primitive, the vendors and many of the people walking the streets are dressed in animal hides or rags, the wares they’re selling are handmade in medieval style and they’re preparing delicious, simple foods over open flames and clay ovens. It was TERRIFIC.

You can see the mean physically turning the medieval Ferris wheel! So neat.

Looks can be deceiving. This was plain sweet bread wrapped around a stick. And it was the most delicious thing ever. Yeasty, doughy, warm, chewy…Jeez.

This past week, we crossed off two super important items from our list- family flu shots and pictures with Santa! Woohoo!

Thumbs up for keeping flu bugs away! 😉

In addition to finding our new favorite Christmas market ever (I’m really not kidding), the other highlight was probably our baking day. My mom and I bake homemade goodies for friends and family every single year- we have since I was in at least highschool, maybe earlier than that. It’s one of my absolute favorite Christmas traditions. Getting our list together, spending entirely too much time deciding on what we’re going to bake this year, buying all the groceries, destroying the kitchen for an entire day while listening to Christmas music and sampling as we go, packaging the fruits of our labor and hand tagging each and every one…I adore all of it. Well, this was our first year not doing it together (yep, we even got to do it last year here in Germany because they were here with us!) and I knew it would be a tough time. Long story short- once again, my husband needs a gold star. He really, really, really stepped up and made the whole day so beyond special. Like, I could get teary just typing about it! Not even just the day itself, but weeks before when we sat down to make our list and to go through recipes to decide what we’d bake. He- and Neve- both went all out and it made for the most perfect family day. Y’all, we baked for 7 hours straight- neither of us sat down the entire time, not even once. When something was in the oven, we were prepping something else…or cooling or packaging or sampling ;). For me, there’s just something about sharing homemade goodies with your nearest and dearest that really captures the spirit of the season. Oh, and for anyone curious- we did my famous Cookie Butter Iced Brownies, Shortbread Funfetti Bites and Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark ❤

And of course, Mr. Clark Pricklepants has been having way too much fun while we’re asleep. Neve just loves hunting for him- and laughing at his antics- each and every morning ❤

And now I’ll leave you with one of my newest favorite pictures. It was taken last night after a wonderful early Christmas celebration with our tribe. We went to one of our favorite restaurants, took up their entire back room, ate, drank and were the merriest of merry. It was perfect and effortless. And this picture just captures it so perfectly. ❤

I am Thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving Week, y’all! Hard to believe that it’s already that time again. So before everyone settles into their kitchens to start preparing the most glorious feasts, I just wanted to take a few minutes and reflect, as much for myself as for all of you. This season has been particularly challenging for me this year as it’s my first one- in all my 35 trips around the sun- that I’m not with my family…That I’m not at home…That I’m not surrounded by the sights and sounds (and smells) that I realize now I appreciate so much. And I’m missing all of those things something fierce. So while it can sometimes be easy for me to get stuck in this rut, I’m making the conscious effort not to. I’m deciding, each and every day recently, to be grateful for what I do have and to be all the more excited to go HOME in just a few weeks!

So without further adieu, here are some of the things, and people, that I’m most thankful for this year.

I’m so thankful for Neve. To be her mom, to see who she’s becoming, to do what I can to help her grow in every sense of the word.  She is an AMAZING person.

When your hair doubles as a weather forecast.

 

I can’t tell you how often I think to myself, ‘I wish I could be half as stylish as my kid.’ She dressed herself completely ❤

One thing about my girl that I’m especially thankful for? Her fearlessness. Remember last month when she got her first haircut and I told her that if she still wanted it shorter, we would go back? Well, she’s talked about it ever since and never once wavered. No hesitation, no fear of regret, nothing but excitement. She made the decision and just a few hours ago in fact, she went full steam ahead. *Life Lessons*

My big girl ❤

 

To say that I’m thankful for John is an understatement. I’ve sung his praises plenty of times on here, so I won’t go into them again too much right now. Just to say that he gets me like no one else on the planet. GETS me, gets me. He is a calm in the storm, a rock, an anchor…He is a best friend, a partner in crime, a cheerleader. And during challenging times like this holiday season, he is exactly my counterpoint. Oh, and I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again- seeing the man you love as a dad…There’s NOTHING like it.

She asked him to marry her, complete with her long gown blanket. I was the minister. ❤

I am thankful for the wonderful friends in my life, both near and far. Yes, life gets in the way and we don’t get to see each other- or even talk to each other- as often as any of us would like, but it doesn’t matter. Knowing that you’re part of such an awesome tribe- that you have people who love you not because they have to, but because they CHOOSE to- is the most comforting, grounding feeling. Waking up to text messages, getting unexpected care packages, chatting online unexpectedly in the mornings with one of your insomnia-prone friends ;), being invited next door for impromptu tea parties…THIS is what makes the world brighter.

I am thankful for my fitness. I’ve always been into an active lifestyle, but this year has really taken it to the next level. Why the change? I rediscovered my love of cycling- specifically, Peloton. It’s a cycling community that has been truly instrumental in changing things up for me. More than ever, I appreciate my body, its capabilities, its beauty…I can’t even imagine missing my morning rides now! I mean, look at that sunrise that greets me and the fall colors that surround me?!

I’m thankful for new (to us) traditions. A few weeks ago, Neve’s school celebrated Laternefest. In a nutshell, it’s the secular celebration of St. Martins Day and it’s celebrated throughout all of Europe. St. Martin was a kind and gentle man who was a friend to children and the poor. Legend has it that he ripped his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snow storm. That night, he dreamt of Jesus and was baptized the next day. In celebration each year on Nov. 10 and 11, children walk through their cities carrying lanterns that they’ve made at school to symbolize light overpowering the darkness. They sing all the songs they’ve learned to spread joy. And they finish in a big public square- usually with a park nearby- to mark the culmination of their celebrations, complete with food and warm drinks. Spending the evening with 20 something of Neve’s classmates, their families and her teachers, regardless of the freezing rain and bitter cold, proved to be the absolute perfect and happy end to a fiery election week.

With one of her best friends, Emna.

Stopping for some caroling.

Homemade snacks and warm tea at the park.

I’m thankful for my family. No, they may not be here with us right now, but they’re always with me…Always. I realize just how fortunate we are to have each other, to be doing this life together, to count on each other through thick and thin. So many people don’t have the kind of family that we do. And I’m so thankful in every sense of the word.

This picture is framed on our shelf.  It was taken at my parents’ retirement party when Neve was 5 months old. She’s been talking about it alot this week- about how happy everyone is. And that makes me so happy 🙂

And finally, I’m thankful for this season of change and for this most unique Thanksgiving. We are leaving tomorrow, headed for the Alps to celebrate the day with other families in our same situation, at a resort managed by Americans at the border of Germany and Switzerland. We’re staying in a hotel with an indoor pool area for kids, a fancy spa for grown ups, an outdoor area for pups…And serving a big traditional Thanksgiving Feast on Thursday! How’s that for making lemonade out of potential lemons?! Here’s hoping everyone has the loveliest holiday and a wonderful official kick-off to this holiday season. THANK YOU for coming along on this journey with us. ❤

Our Elf, Mr. Clark Pricklepants, should be arriving back here this weekend, according to the Big Guy! 😉

Christmas in March

Hey, y’all, and Happy Friday! For some reason, I woke up this morning thinking about Christmas (I know, right?!) and realized that I never shared with you guys all the fun that we had this past season with our visitor, Mr. Clark Pricklepants! So let’s get to it and kick off the weekend with some lightheartedness 😉

Let me start by giving you the Elf Story in a nutshell for those of you without kids- or who’ve been living under a rock! Ha! I’m just kidding, I didn’t really know the nitty gritty until this past year when Neve was finally old enough to get into the shenanigans. So the Elf arrives sometime on or after Thanksgiving, along with a handwritten letter explaining who he is. The Elf is magical- he flies to your home every day and hides, usually getting into mischief, until the child finds him. Every day he’s in a new spot and has found new fun to be had. At night, he flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa how the day went. And this can only happen if he’s never touched because then he’d lose his magic!

Arriving in style on Day 1!

So what’s with his name? Well, the first night he arrives with his letter, each child gets to pick a name for him. The first thing out of Neve’s mouth was ‘Mr. Pricklepants!’ I have NO clue what that even means or where it came from- the most she ever enlightened us was that it sounds kinda like ‘tickle’- so we went with it. Love that my kid is unique, by the way. No ‘Elfie’ or ‘Buddy’ over here! Ha! About two weeks later, she fell in love with National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (thanks to her Daddy, of course, although again, I’m not surprised in the least!) and immediately wanted to change his name to ‘Clark Griswold.’ After explaining that Mr. Pricklepants would surely have an identity crisis with such a late game-changer, his current full name was created: Mr. Clark Pricklepants.

Mr. Clark Pricklepants was a hit from the very beginning. Neve could hardly sleep until the sun came up a single morning for not being able to wait to find him. It was awesome. And for the most part, I had a blast planning his shenanigans! You’ll think I’m nerdy, but long before Thanksgiving, I’d printed out a blank calendar and already mapped out what he’d be getting into. That way, I could make my grocery/store lists and have all my ‘supplies’ to never be caught in a lurch. Don’t judge. But seriously, I’d wait for her to go to bed every night just so I could set up his next scene.

The biggest challenge was when traveled- having to pack the Elf and all his stuff. Yeah, I wouldn’t have thought of that either! Ha! But Mr. Clark Pricklepants goes where we go- afterall, he’s our special family Elf!

I really wanted the focus of the whole Elf thing to be on the fun, not the ‘you better be good or he’s going to tell Santa and you won’t get any presents!’ That was my biggest hesitation from the moment I heard about this new craze years ago and the main reason we waited until she was 4 before we even introduced it. Sure, there were moments of ‘Mr. Clark Pricklepants is watching this meltdown over having to put on socks,’ but the majority was the anticipation, the search for him each day, the talking about how he flies and what the North Pole might look like, and reading the books he left us, and baking the cookies he brought us, and the telling our friends about all the fun we were having with him. ❤

Pretty fun, huh? The real challenge will start next year when I have to come up with 25+ NEW shenanigans for Mr. Clark Pricklepants to get into! Ha! Suggestions appreciated! So where is he now? Well, on Christmas Eve, he flies back to the North Pole to spend the year helping Santa get ready for next year’s holidays- and resting because he sure did alot of flying in the month of December! Neve was so bummed that he was going away, though, that he talked to Santa about making a special exception and having his magic lifted for just a few minutes  to give her a quick hug before he left. She was SO happy. ❤ And is already counting down for his return!

Have I said how TOTALLY AWESOME it is doing holidays with kids?! *LOVE* Less than 9 months to go! Hee hee.

Let Us Be Thankful

Several years ago, I ended up on some antibiotic that made falling asleep next to impossible. So at about 3a one night, when I was researching ‘tips for falling asleep quicker’ for the umpteenth time, I came across a Christian blog that suggested closing your eyes, relaxing every single muscle in your body, and then going one by one through all the good things that happened that day. Then, if you’re still awake, you expand the practice to the things you’re most thankful for in your life. To this day, I go to sleep doing this every single night. Sometimes I only get to one thing before I drift off…Others, I get much further down my list. Regardless, I really do find it to be a wonderful way to fall asleep each night…and a wonderful reminder to focus on what’s most important and let go of what’s not. So in honor of this wonderful Christmas weekend, I want to share with you just a glimpse into my list. And tonight when you go to sleep, I invite each of you to give it a try. Don’t worry about the order, the organization or trying to sound eloquent…Just start with, ‘Thank you for…’ and let it flow. ❤

Thank you for another day. One that I was able to wake up, to see this beautiful Earth, to hear all of its musics, to smell everything from the rain getting ready to fall to the aromas drifting down the street from the bakeries. Thank you for helping me to remember that each day is a privilege, not a given.

Thank you for belly laughs. The good, deep down, stomach-hurting, tears-rolling, almost-pee-myself laughs.

Thank you for John. I have no idea what I did to deserve him, but there really are no words to express just how thankful I am to have him as my husband. We are such opposites in so many ways, but when you strip away all the little things, we’re so much alike on the big things. It is because of him that so many parts of my life are full, complete…alive. He is the yin to my yang, the macaroni to my cheese, the heart to my soul.

That moment when you’re lunching with a girlfriend and realize that the hot guy you just noticed on the other side of the restaurant is actually your husband. #fancyseeingyourhere

Thank you for the most awesome kid on the face of the planet- for letting me be her mom. She is a handful and she keeps me on my toes (just about) every minute of every day, but she is amazing. She is sensitive and sweet and has the biggest heart. She has the enthusiasm and charisma you usually only see in movies. She is as stubborn and determined as a mule and as curious as they come- that’s how I know that there’s nothing she can’t do. She’s genuinely funny and she’s silly- her laugh…oh, her sweet laugh. Yes, thank you for making her my daughter.

Thank you for a good cry every now and then- the kind that cleanses my soul and leaves me feeling relaxed and renewed.

Thank you for one terrific family. And for making it possible for them to be here with us this holiday season. This Christmas proved to be more challenging than I’d anticipated in that everything was just…different. Holiday routines, shopping, delicious haunts…even the mundane chores felt off. But what was reinforced was something I already knew…As long as we’re together, we have it all.  My family may be small, but we’re all we’ve got and it’s more than enough. Love like ours- bonds like ours- are to be cherished.

Thank you for this. ❤

Thank for cheese. And for making even the most gourmet bricks of it cheaper than a Happy Meal here in Europe.

Thank you for Game of Thrones. My latest obsession. I ❤ Tyrion Lanister.

Thank you not only for making this chapter of our lives possible, for giving me the strength and courage to do it. I wrestled for so long over whether or not this was the right path for us, so to have that sense of peace knowing that we made the best decision is just awesome. Thank you for reminding me of what a gift we’ve been given with this opportunity and to live this life to the fullest for as long as we can.

Thank you for Girly Day Trips to the Black Forest…

Thank  you for dispelling the myth that the French know how to do bread. Truth is, Germans know bread. 300+ delicious varieties and I intend to try every single one.

Thank you for my two seriously awesome dogs. Wallflowers just couldn’t have cut it in this house. Despite all their snoring and tooting and sometimes-questionable habits, we hit the pup jackpot. Snuggly, playful, and full of so much personality.

 

Thank you for all of my friends back home. Being away from friends and family has been the single hardest part of this new chapter, but the simple fact that they go out of their ways to keep in touch and that they continue watering the garden that is our friendship, makes my heart so full. THANK YOU. I truly believe what they say is true: distance makes no difference in true friendship.

Thank you for bringing such good people into our lives since we got to Germany. It has made all the difference in the world, not just meeting people so we don’t feel alone, but making friendships we truly see lasting a lifetime.

Thank you for giving us three years off from doing our own yard work.

Thank you for my grandmother. The older I get, the more I realize how blessed I am- to have my grandmother with me on this Earth, to consider her such a dear friend, to watch my daughter make memories with her great-grandmother, to have her travel all this way just to be with us…

Thank you for our awesome gift to ourselves, our new indoor cycle.

Thank you for letting this Commissary sell grits. And Krispy Kreme.

Thank you for Christmas Markets all over the place. They are awesome.

Thank you for all the advancements in technology…FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp, social media, Apple TV, Hulu…I have absolutely no clue how people did it before these were available.

Thank you for letting our house truly become a home this holiday season. For filling its walls with our people…With love and laughter and the smell of coffee brewing before I even come down the stairs…With bed time hugs to go around and dinners prepared in groups.

Thank you for Elli B., best life coach on the planet.

Thank you for healing my Dad and my Grandmother and for keeping them healthy and cancer-free. Hard to believe that just two Christmases ago we were in a terrible nightmare.

Thank you for making this Christmas a very special one. Yes, it was different (first one I’ve ever spent not in my parents’ living room on Pine Grove!), but it was still us. And it was still the most perfect mess in the middle of our floor and the most delicious food on our table. Thank you for making these things possible.

Thank you for bringing Kathrin into our lives to help make our transition as smooth and seamless as humanly possible.

Thank you for allowing us to cross off ‘Holidays in Switzerland’ from our Bucket Lists. Bright and early tomorrow morning, we will hop on a southbound train in search of snowy peaks, warm fondue and candle-lit alleys…

Thank you for all the many blessings that we have, including all the ones we take for granted day in and day out. For the roof over our heads, the clothes on our backs, and the sun on our faces. Thank you for keeping us safe, healthy and moving in the right direction, whichever way that is for each of us.

And finally, thank YOU to each and every one of you who has joined us on this journey. Thank you for stopping by our blog, for keeping in touch, for keeping us in your prayers and sending us well wishes. It means so much.

Wishing you the merriest of Christmases and a wonderful 2016.

 

Photo Dump

Greetings! Hope you guys are having a great weekend! I’m sitting here getting pictures off my phone, organizing them into their folders and realized that there are so many I haven’t shared yet, so I thought to myself, ‘Oh, how about a quick photo dump?’ 😉

And with that, here are some random shots from the season so far here in Stuttgart, including yesterday’s ice skating adventure with friends down the street at the Winter Market.

Amalie was nice enough to share her stroller when Neve’s legs got tired ❤

With her buddy, Emma ❤

Happy Sunday!

Rothenburg, Round 2

Happy Weekend! Fridays are always my favorite day of the week, even moreso than the actual weekend- I guess because you get to anticipate having the next few days to do your own thing. Catching up on sleep, staying in your jammies a little longer in the mornings, actually cooking breakfast, spending time together, traveling a bit…So yeah, I’m pretty pumped that it’s the weekend!

Last weekend, Mom and Grandma decided they wanted to head to medieval Rothenburg, about an hour and a half away. (Dad has gone back to the States for a few weeks to take care of a few things on the home front, but will be back before Christmas.) You may remember that we visited this awesome little village spring- in fact, it was our first trip after we arrived in Wiesbaden. I won’t go into all the details and the history again, but be sure to read my post all about it here because it really does have a great story! It’s literally everything good you picture when you think of Germany- cobblestones, old timbered building, church bells ringing, meandering alleyways, the best and brightest window boxes you’ve ever seen (how is that even possible in this frigid weather?!)…And getting to see it all dressed up for Christmas was just beautiful. Definitely a perfect way to spend a Sunday!

Is this not the best entrance to a city? And no cars allowed other than the few residents.

The alter of the Franciscan Cathedral

The Christmas Markets

Inside the Christmas Museum…

Looking out from the city wall

Love getting to have lunch and explore cities with these two!

And this one, too! 🙂 I think this picture makes her look so grown up. No!!!!!

We had such a fun day in Rothenburg, not to mention that being in Stuttgart this go around puts us so much closer, making for an easy peasy day trip! Only thing on the agenda for this weekend is meeting up with friends for some ice skating and gluweining at our own winter markets tomorrow and maybe some holiday baking. Have I mentioned that Thomas, Party of 5 LOVES us some holidays?! Yeah, maybe just a bit. ❤

Looking back at the city over the medieval bridge…

Kicking off the season in Strasbourg!

Regardless of how much you know about Europe, one thing you’ve probably heard of is their Christmas Markets. All over the continent, but especially in Germany, Austria, eastern France, Switzerland and northern Italy, cities large and small pull out all the stops when it comes to ushering in the season with their town squares and pedestrian streets turned into the most elaborate, twinkly, sparkly, fragrant Christmas awesomeness. Open air wooden stalls with intricately decorated rooftops line the way selling food, drinks and seasonal wares. You can find manger scenes, live music, carnival rides and dancing, depending on which market you’re visiting. In my opinion, it’s simply one of the BEST holiday traditions around!

Well, the list of Christmas markets is endless. There are no less than 10 within a 20 mile radius of our house, including the main one downtown that you saw pictures of earlier in the week. Since Stuttgart is known for its markets, we knew it may be tough to beat when we decided to venture to another. Luckily, we made a good choice with Strasbourg (France), the original Christmas Market in Europe. AWESOME SAUCE.

John and I visited Strasbourg for the first time in the spring of 2006 when our best friends, Sam and Chuck, lived there. Those were the days- none of us had kids, we only had pups, not a care in the world… 🙂 We loved everything about it- the cobblestone streets, the half timbered houses, the rivers and the bridges…It’s just a gorgeous little city. We knew we wanted to go back one day and when we found that it was not only the oldest, but considered one of the most beautiful and festive Christmas markets, we knew we’d found the perfect time- and the perfect market to share with my family.

Strasbourg is the capital of the Alsace region of France. It sits close to the German border and therefore, is a marriage of both French and German cultures. It’s evident everywhere you look- architecture, cuisine, language…It’s just lovely. In fact, many historians consider the city to be a shining example of different cultures living together peacefully, in harmony, prospering from one another. It’s no surprise that the European Union Parliament is seated there.

It’s probably the prettiest city I’ve ever seen decorated for Christmas and I’ve been to NYC and Paris! Seriously, you’ve never seen so many lights, so many elaborate window displays and roof tops, so many Christmas trees and ornaments…Oh my goodness, there just aren’t pictures to do it justice. And I hate to even think about the work- and expense!- that had to go into it!

The historic city center, the Grand Ile (yes, it’s an island), was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, the first entire city center to get such a distinction.

St. John’s Church

Look closely at the corner of that building. It looks like a bullet lodged in the concrete. Yep, that’s an unexploded bomb from WWII that still resides where it landed.

We took this boat tour around the city…Learned a ton!

Aside from the markets, the city’s other claim to fame is its famous Strasbourg Notre Dame Cathedral, built in 1040 and still fully operational today as a Roman Catholic cathedral. Until 1864, it was the tallest building in the world- today, it’s the sixth tallest church in the world and the tallest structure built entirely in the middle ages. WOW. It’s also considered to be one of the best examples of Gothic architecture in the world. I believe it. I’ve been to many a gorgeous cathedral in my day- including some doozies in Rome itself- but I still count this one among the most breathtaking. The stained glass alone is just exquisite.

What a beautiful backdrop for a Christmas market, right?!

We sure did have a lovely time in Strasbourg. Really can’t say enough good things about the city or its markets! Definitely the perfect way to usher in the season! Oh, and here’s how we gauge a day’s success:

 

Back to the room to take a bath, followed by some playtime, of course.

But in less than 10 minutes…

❤

Life sure is good and my heart sure is full these days. Happy Weekend!

Gobble, Gobble!

I don’t know about y’all, but we had such a fun Thanksgiving Day filled with many of things we love the most- family, friends, fellowship…and food! heehee. Definitely a different holiday than any we’ve had in the past- afterall, we’re far away from home, overseas, living in a country that doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving…So we hosted (split the cooking!) and shared the day with our visiting family and several of our new friends, fellow Americans going through the same things as we are. And once it was all said and done, it really did come together beautifully and we realized, yet again, just how many blessings we have.

But before we get into the beautiful part, let’s back up and get to the ‘all said and done…’ Up until about 30 minutes before guests started arriving, I would’ve said that when it rains it pours! Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, went smoothly or according to plan. Heck, it was a comedy of errors starting even days before. For starters, you can see our fridge at the far end of the counter, next to the window, in the picture above- yes, it looks like cabinets. And yes, those are indeed the smallest fridge and freezer known to man. That’s the freezer on the bottom, with three small drawers inside that are barely deep enough for a tub of ice cream. Needless to say, we had to wait to the last possible minute to even pick the turkey- after every other American (on base residents have normal US fridges) had already picked theirs. Then it lived in a cooler on our patio (near freezing temps outside, afterall!) until Wednesday, when we moved it inside to prep- yes, still in the cooler.

Now, also in the picture above, you can see our oven- again, the tiniest oven known to man. With lots of careful planning, over a couple days we should be able to get everything baked. Or so we thought. We should’ve known on Wednesday that something was up with the oven when it took our pies more than double their normal cooking times, but we chalked it up to user error. Ah, hindsight. Well, the turkey went in bright and early Thursday morning (my first time roasting a turkey- we are fried turkey people up in here!) and we waited until about 11a to start peaking under the foil and basting. About that…STILL FROZEN. Say what? Yep, even the onions and celery and garlic we’d stuffed in that beautiful bird were still cold and hard as rocks! So here we are, our well-thought-out baking schedule having the turkey come out in just a few hours so the rest of the items can start going in, and the damn bird still has albino bumpy skin! So we did the only thing we could do- cranked the oven to 500*F and let ‘er rip! In the meantime, we preheated the grill outside to the same temp and when we couldn’t wait any longer to bake the other stuff, we transferred the turkey- roasting pan and all!- to the grates! I’ve never been so thankful to be splitting the cooking with friends in that the rest of our time was spent with someone glued to the oven monitoring the relationships between extreme high temperatures and doneness! It would’ve taken us three days to cook everything ourselves! Ha!

I’m happy to report that the turkey came through like a champ- and on schedule!- in spite of it all! Look at that beautifully browned skin and juicy white meat! Have you ever had grilled turkey? It’s delicious 😉

I wish I could say that our comedy of errors stopped there…*Sigh* So earlier that morning, we got the cranberry sauce- real berries and a can of the good stuff- ready to go on a crystal platter. It was too early to just leave it out, so my mom put it on the top shelf in the fridge- the only place there might even be a spare 2 inches. Well, about 45 minutes before guests were to arrive, I went to get something out of the fridge. You see where this is going, don’t you? GOOD LAWD. On top of my head came the platter- it must have gotten caught on the shelf of the door (?!)- and ALL of that red sugar cranberry sauce. All over my freshly washed and rolled hair, all over my orange tunic I’d been saving for the day, all over the inside of the fridge, all over the kitchen floor, all over the (white) kitchen cabinets as it bounced and splattered. GOOD LAWD. Have you ever dealt with cranberry sauce? Like really dealt with it- like not as just a forkful with your turkey? I assure you than even Karo syrup isn’t as sticky. Or as staining. I won’t bore you with the rest, but we were able to get everything squared away before anyone even knew the mess we’d made. Dad ventured down to the grocery store (yay for Germany being open on our Thanksgiving!) and came back with three different kinds of cranberry ‘sauce’- all delicious! And I’m still so mad that I couldn’t stop my ranting long enough in those first few moments to document the event for posterity. You’ll just have to trust me- you never want cranberries anywhere but on a plate or in your mouth!

Needless to say, the rest of the day was terrific. For starters, my parents and my grandmother were here, which really helped it feel like home. We are loving their presence here at home. Second, we shared the day with families who have truly become good friends- Matt, Emma and their two daughters, Emmie and Ellie. Our neighbors, Collins, Abigail and their daughter, Amalie. Ashley and her daughter, Aubrey. Laughter and thankfulness filled these walls for the afternoon and into the evening.

I’m pretty sure Neve and her 5 girlfriends had the best time of all. Not sure how much actually got in their bellies, but I sure know their time upstairs unsupervised with toys was epic. And that I’m not ready for sleepovers anytime soon. HAHAHA!

Three of the five, stopping in for some pie. And yes, they’re in jammies that they found in Neve’s drawers!

Clean-up Crew! Neve even let her borrow a headband from her dress up closet ❤

And I almost forgot! Look who arrived that night just before bed? Meet our new Elf, Mr. Pricklepants Clark! (Don’t ask about the name- ha!) He arrives every morning somewhere in the house doing some sort of shenanigans, then flies back to Santa each night to report on how the day went. Neve thinks he’s the coolest thing since sliced bread. Maybe I’ll do a whole Elf post once heads back to the North Pole for the season…

Did you know that Germans don’t put up Christmas trees before the first day of Advent? Yep, who knew. We Thomases like to put up our tree the day after Thanksgiving. Mom and I were just joking about this last night, actually. They don’t put up their tree until two weeks before Christmas- been that way since I was a kid. And it drove me crazy! Why go to all the work for just two measly weeks?! So ever since I’ve been on my own, I decorate the day after Thanksgiving, which is the absolute earliest (that I deem) it’s not too early so as to overshadow Turkey Day. A funny side note: John’s and my first married holidays, I will never forget him walking in the kitchen as I was making the grocery list for Thanksgiving later in the week and asking sheepishly, ‘Do you mind terribly if we do the tree on Friday? I just hate to wait.’ *Be still my heart <3*

Needless to say, not a Weihnachsbaum (Christmas tree) was to be found in this city last week. Not. A. One. So we decided to spend Black Friday (yep, they actually have it here, though on a much less crazy person scale) exploring the Stuttgart Christmas Markets, just two blocks from our front door. Have I mentioned that we love living downtown?!

Europe is known for its Christmas markets and Stuttgart’s is consistently ranked in the top ten. It’s one of the oldest and the largest, as well as one of the prettiest given its location nestled against the Old Palace. With more than 280 ‘booths,’ its festive illuminations, the wonderful scents of cinnamon and vanilla- and Gluwein (mulled wine)!, the wooden chalets, richly adorned with angels, conifer branches and Christmas ornaments, not to mention the “Wintertraum” winter wonderland on Palace Square, create a nostalgic Christmas ambience which enthralls millions of visitors each year. The vendors sell everything from handcrafted ornaments, candles and toys to light displays and handbags. And any food your heart desires- candies, sausages, crepes, chocolates, roasted chestnuts…And did I mention the gluwein? 😉

Warming up with some gluwein…

Well, since we couldn’t put up our tree, I guess this was a close second! Ha! I think this is going to be a terrific Christmas season- nobody loves the holidays more than this girl! And maybe my sweet Neve 😉 We just got home yesterday from a quick overnight to Strasbourg, France, so be sure to stop back by later this week to check out all of the festivities going on there. I’ll give you a hint- it’s CRAZY!