Good morning, Baltimore

The last picture above makes me laugh because if I had to define a married date via a photograph, that would be it. We made a trip over to Baltimore while we were on the East Coast with some of our dearest friends. The Leongs and we got married a month and a half apart earlier this year, so it is a bona fide blast to share in this season of life with them. None of us had ventured over to Baltimore before, and the port city did not disappoint. Baltimore was enchanting in that it looked as if much of the city had been untouched by time since the 18th century, with its plentiful red brick edifices, stately trees, worn cobblestone streets, and serene harbor. We were smitten most with the food we sampled. We had some of the freshest seafood I've ever tasted, not only in the town marketplace, where the crab chowder and calamari impressed us, both in reasonable pricing and amazing flavor, but specifically at this epicurean establishment, whose seafood entrees all blew us away. We had to order the giant crab cake, because apparently Maryland is reputable for them (though I am not normally a big fan), amongst other dishes, and they were all amazing, and I found myself confessing that it was one of the best dinners I've had in a long while. We were a handful of happy visitors, for Baltimore took care of us well.

A date in the city

The husband had never beheld some of the city's most heralded landmarks, so of course that comprised our date in the city about a week ago. Though I don't think I could live in New York City, I never tire of visiting it. It was a bona-fide blast to drag the husband to touristy spots, which he loves in any destination, so much so that we dub them "fake wonderlands." How advantageous that the city is brimming with these fake wonderlands! He loved them all, and gaped with a childlike grin at each stop. We witnessed the contagious diversity of New York City at each stop through its architecture, people, subway stations, ethnic enclaves, eateries, shops, theater, and all-encompassing non-stop pace of life. The highlight of our date day in the city was scoring student rush tickets to a new musical, Nice Work if You Can Get It. The 1920s farce starring Matthew Broderick proved lighthearted, hilarious, and made us merry - similar to the effect Anything Goes leaves on us. Though lacking a poignant storyline, it made up for in its infectious, time-honored George & Ira Gershwin songs. We succumbed to a late night Italian dinner afterward with dear friends in Hell's Kitchen, which featured highly memorable conversations, authentic antipasti, creamy swiss chard ravioli, and wine-enhanced linguine with clams. A notable date day with the sweetest, most handsome husband, indeed.

Finally saying thank you

Is it okay to send a simultaneous wedding thank you and Christmas card? It's been over nine months, but we finally said thank you to all our loved ones who celebrated our Joyous Day with us, just in time for Christmas. I had debated designing telegram cards for our wedding invitations, but ended up not doing so, which made them perfect as thank you cards. The color scheme derived from our wedding invitations, which also conveniently evoked Christmas cheer. I designed the card (inspired from here), mail merged personalized content for all our dear guests, inserted a photo of the Mister and me before tying the suite up with baker's twine and a stamped "thank you" tag, and stuffing it into a kraft envelope with a baker's twine reminiscent address label. These little cards are not enough to thank our loved ones for their ongoing support and love, but please know, if any of you are reading, that we love and are so thankful for you. You mean so much to us, and God is too kind to us through you all.

Merry Christmas, darling

A very merry Christmas to you and yours! We celebrated Jesus' birthday with dear family yesterday evening until the wee hours of Christmas morn, which the husband and I got to host in our little home for the very first time. We had a jolly grand time, and in the midst of the manifold gifts that were so apparent yesternight through our family, the feasting, the games, It's a Wonderful Life watching, and the kids' gift-opening, I am thankful for the greatest gift of all - for the reason we celebrate Christmas: God's gift of His son Jesus Christ, who was born to die for the sins of the world. No greater gift exists, as the Mister proclaimed via his message this past Sunday. 'Tis a joyous season, indeed.

Our gingerbread house decorating contest

In a whim to gather some dear friends together we see not oft enough, we threw a Yuletide brunch in our little home over the weekend. I thoroughly love time well spent with sweet chums, and we celebrated with fresh omelettes, garlic potatoes with parmesan, chicken apple sausage, and macadamia nut pancakes with all the fixins', particularly speculoos (cookie butter), of which I cannot get enough these days, and coconut syrup. An assortment of Christmas cookies made their appearance as well (in part thanks to Trader Joe's, and in part thanks to dear friend Dorothy from Cupcake and Cookie), but the starring sweet treat was a gingerbread house decorating contest. I hadn't made a gingerbread house in ages, and thought it might be fun to do so with a group of friends, specifically via a little contest for teams to craft their best embellished gingerbread edifice. I baked gingerbread the evening before, and acquired peppermints, gumdrops, licorice, sour straws, sprinkles, and frosting for the task. Three teams represented, and we meant to proclaim the winner due to each gingerbread house's number of likes on Instagram, but the husband requested that any readers of this little blog would chime in with your vote for the best gingerbread house. We'd love for you to help us make our decision, and we thank you kindly in advance!