Have a Holly, Johnson Christmas 2010

One of the perks of being a photographer is having the ability to take photos of whoever, whenever. While it may not be Bluejay's favorite, some of the photos I enjoy taking of us the most are our Christmas photos! Remember last year? I love the fresh snow, and the festive colors! Bluejay isn't a fan of the cold frigid temperatures we had during this shoot, but I'm pretty happy about how they turned out! Again I had to battle with the self-timer and my camera on a tripod. What made it even more difficult this year, was trying to beat the 10 second timer while trudging through snow past my knees! This year we incorporated some of our favorite things: our matching buffalo plaid mittens made from recycled vintage sweaters, and COFFEE! I also painted a old vinyl record with a holiday greeting.

When we got back home and warmed up a bit, we took a few pictures with the tree too.

Bluejay's friend hand-makes pipes and made this one custom for Bluejay. It's so cool!

Tsnownami 2010

Last weekend we had the most single snowfall in my history of being a Minnesotan. In fact, it was in the top FIVE snowfalls of Minnesota's recorded history! That means we got a lot of snow! About 17 inches worth. When I was little and lived in California and Arizona, I used to dream of a White Christmas and playing in snow up to my knees. So when my parents talked about moving to Minnesota when I was in 5th grade, I was ecstatic! Now, nearly 18 years later, I still feel like a kid on Christmas Eve when I hear of an impending snow storm! During this particular blizzard of all blizzards, Bluejay and I snuggled on the couch, watched a million movies, edited photos, drank pretty much every hot beverage known to man, and did some crafting. At least that's what I did. I'm pretty sure Bluejay played video/iPhone games until his eyeballs fell out. Pretty much a lazy day heaven! I knew it was going to be a "biggin'", so I asked sweetly demanded that Bluejay and I take some photos during the momentous storm because I KNOW our kids will ask us someday, "Mom? Dad? What did you do during the Blizzard of 2010?" Now I have picture proof! Now Mn looks so funny with snow drifts way up over my head! But I love it... even if it was suddenly 100 degrees everyday until Christmas (it is about 105 degrees LESS than that now) I'm pretty sure we'd still have a white Christmas. Yes!

Christmas Date

Last weekend, Bluejay and I went on one of my favorite dates of the year... a Christmas date! I just love the Christmas season. I love the colors and the lights and I even love the snow! Since it's blizzarding outside (like literally as I type... we're going to get 14-16 inches of snow!) and I'm all cozied up with blankets and gingerbread tea by the Christmas tree, I figured I'd write a personal post about my favorite date ever! It started off like any other year. We planned on going to the Grand Meander in St. Paul. Grand Avenue is one of my favorite streets in the cities because it has so much character and fun stores and great coffee shops so it's even better when it's all decorated for Christmas! The Grand Meander is an annual holiday event featuring a Breakfast with Santa, live reindeer, carolers, trolley rides, a soup tasting, community tree lighting and fabulous holiday shopping! Basically, a dream come true after the fresh few inches of snow that fell the night before! After our pancake breakfast with Santa, we walked down the street and drank hot cider and ate cookies at the various shops. We ran into a a man roasting chestnuts which we so tasty! We made some earrings at one of the shops for gifts.

All of the sudden, Bluejay got a phone call from his college roommate. He said that he had two extra tickets to see A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie Theatre and asked if we want to go! I mean, how was that even a question? Within an hour, we drove home, got all prettied up, and arrived at the theatre. I can only say that the show was AMAZING! It was made even better because we knew two people in the play. The set was fantastic! There is something so magical about seeing live theater. It stirs your soul like even the greatest of movies can not. Like I said, best Christmas date ever!

All photos were taken with my iPhone. I'm glad I have some memento of our Christmas date that just FLEW by!