Ornament Swap

There are a lot of themed parties this time of year that involve gift giving and merriment. Activities like Secret Santa, white elephant and scarf exchanges all bring friends together to celebrate the holidays. My friends and I did an ornament exchange on Tuesday for the first time. The reason it was the first time is because it's the first time we've all lived in the same town since freshman year of high school. I hosted lunch on Tuesday, and to make it easy, everyone brought their own food. Though I didn't cook, I did buy some christmas cookies from United (my favorite) and made our dining room table table as fun and festive as I could in about 10 minutes.

Since two of us had to go back to work, we began the ornament exchange pretty quickly after eating. My friend Katie had done this before, so she was the one who drew names for everyone a few weeks ago. It was actually perfect. Everyone's gifts were so personalized, and we all had incredible luck finding unique ornaments that fit the personalities of our respective person. Mine is so wonderful and cute and I wish I had a tree this year to hang it on. After we all opened our presents, we spent a few more minutes chatting about Christmas plans and when we were going to get together after the holidays. In a very "life comes full circle" sort of way, it's weird to think that the four of us have been friends since elementary school. And here we are, almost two decades later, living in Abilene and exchanging ornaments as good friends. I'm so grateful to have them here, and for the Christmas season that seems to bring out the magic in every little thing.

Am I right? So cute!

{Five Things}

The Dallas Skyline from Love Field. 

This week felt like a crazy one. Though it was short since I got back from DC Monday night, I felt like every moment I was either Christmas shopping, working, or running errands. Don't get me wrong, I love a good afternoon of errands and checking things off lists. But I'm ready to have a few relaxing days to hang out with friends and watch some of my favorite holiday movies. I may even bake a batch of Christmas cookies or two.

The Rachel sandwich from Mr. Henry's. Like the Rachel hairstyle, but better. 

A bookstore owner with a sense of humor...and maybe some OCD.

I got to meet this little guy named Walter. His humans are Olivia and Josh.

My first crack at mussels. 

PS. Here are some of my favorite Christmas movies.

{Five Things}

The swift tilt toward Christmas. Decorations are up at the store!

This weekend, I am in DC to celebrate the birthday and baby shower of two good friends. I always love to visit my Washington friends, and this time is no different. Especially since I'm making up for having to miss one of my favorite weekends of the year because I'll be in Nicaragua. :(
But I'm not thinking about that right now. Instead, I'm enjoying time with friends and being grateful for all the joys this city has brought me over the past few years. Have a good weekend!

Getting back to my journal after a hiatus of a few weeks. It's amazing how a few words on a piece of paper can clear my head.

A buttermilk pie, which will always remind me of my two amazing grandmothers.

The Thanksgiving centerpiece still brightening up our dining room.

Adding new and old tunes to my phone.

{Five Things}

Quiet mornings with all the clothes.

This week was marred by an injury. My dad fell playing tennis and broke his wrist, putting him out of commission and into light retirement for a few weeks. Every day essentially feels like a weekend with him home for coffee every morning. I'm also working a few days at a women's clothing store, and am getting some great ideas for Christmas presents.
Have a great weekend!

A great event last Saturday at the Paramount with an Abilene native,
who is editorial director at People and Entertainment Weekly.

My shopping cart at the grocery store. #sorrynotsorry

Currently coveting this perfume.

And finally, the doc with the bad wing. Poor guy.

A Thrill of Hope

My favorite view. And Santa came!

I always love Christmas. If you couldn't tell that from my recent (first!) published article, I'm happy to reiterate. The music, the movies, the fire, the tree, the food, the family...all come together to make my favorite holiday. This year, we traveled to South Lake to be with my mom's family last weekend, and were back in time for a Taliaferro Christmas on Wednesday morning.

My favorite gift was definitely my Anthropologie house shoes, which I pretty much haven't taken off since yesterday morning. My other favorite gift was being able to sit around the fireplace with my parents and my brothers and talk and laugh and drink white cranberry mimosas (white cranberry juice, Prosecco and frozen cranberries!)

Christmas Eve shenans.

While presents and christmas carols flow throughout the season, I try my best to remember the reason for the season, and give thanks for Jesus' birth and his coming to Earth. My faith has been tested this year in many ways, but I continuously hold on to it, gathering strength from it when I'm at my weakest. For that I'm grateful.

Now I'm off to run three miles with my brother as I pick up my training for Kilimanjaro. Stay tuned the next couple of weeks for my updates on buying gear, training, planning my 2-day layover in London, training, and more training.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and have a Happy New Year!!