The first things to do were order our Christmas cards and decorate for Christmas. We got home late on December 6th so I already felt way behind.
The only Christmas decoration we brought to California with us was a small mini fake tree, since we didn't have anywhere to store Christmas stuff for the rest of the year. We didn't bring any ornaments, our stockings, or anything else. I ordered a bunch of indoor and outdoor lights from Amazon (I may have a slight obsession with string lights, any and everywhere. They make everything so festive year round!). So our backyard, front yard, and also inside the family room are colorfully lit now, which is plenty of Christmas spirit for me.
We got our first (and probably last) real Christmas tree from the Sea Scouts Christmas tree lot; we thought we would get something very small that might fit in the front window, but they didn't have anything very small, so we went ahead and got a full-sized, bushy 6+ foot tree for the family room.
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| bringing the tree home on top of the car |
We were disappointed that it didn't seem to bring the piney smell home from the lot, and it also required daily watering and crapped pine needles all over the floor. Not a big deal, but just annoying enough to make me not want to do it again. Maybe it would be worth it for a nice piney smell, but I never discerned a pine scent in our house at all, even the first day. I'll be glad to go back to our nice, low-maintenance, pre-lit fake tree next year.
I decided to do the tree in full Valerie style this year since we didn't have any of our usual ornaments. I got pink and purple string lights and hung various princess and ballerina accessories on it, along with Carter's picture and a Santa hat for the top. It looks a bit sparse but it will have to do this year.
I was a domestic machine that week, catching up on laundry, changing sheets on the beds, vacuuming, cleaning the floors, dusting, hanging lights, making and ordering our cards, and stocking up on all kinds of snacks, drinks and breakfast foods. I got a break on Tuesday night for the second book club meeting at Elise and Véronique's place, where we had wine and cheese and chocolate fondues. It was a great time catching up with the girls, talking about the book (At the Water's Edge), and gorging on way too much cheese and chocolate and cheesecake and wine.
On Thursday, Gerry and Susan arrived and we toasted with champagne before we picked up Valerie from school and attempted to eat at Terun for dinner. They had a long wait so that was a no-go and we found ourselves at Cafe Brioche instead. Rich and Gerry ordered the lobster ravioli special and Susan and I shared the trout special, and for dessert we had macarons, chocolate mousse and chocolate ice cream for Valerie. Everything was delicious. This was clearly a place that did not see a lot of 3-year-olds, but they were very accommodating and kind enough to make chicken nuggets and fries for her.
Friday was a great day. Susan brought me to Costco (for the first time ever!) and we stocked up on wine, champagne and treats for the big fiesta at our house on Saturday night. They had a ton of tasty samples out and so many great deals! I can see why people pay to belong there. I'm sure a Costco membership is in our future.
Then I took her to Oren's Hummus in Mountain View for lunch. Still the best. And we picked up ice cream from Rick's to go with the birthday cake. Rich took Gerry to lunch with his team, and then we all met back at the house to meet the rest of the family arriving from the airport. Adam, Justina, Aubrey and Joe arrived from St. Louis and we all headed over to the Magical Bridge playground to sneak in an hour of playtime for the kids before dinner. David, Jenessa and their kids met us there. We got a great family photo on the slide hill at the park before dinner.
We had reserved a big table at our favorite Mexican place in Los Altos, Fiesta Vallarta, and it was the perfect choice for our group. We had a table next to their aquarium full of huge tropical fish, and a mariachi band came to play Feliz Navidad, La Bamba, and Happy Birthday to Gerry. The service was quick, the margarita pitchers kept coming, the food was excellent as always, and the live mariachi band was the cherry on top of a perfect meal. The kids were entranced by the fish and after they scarfed their meals and danced to the music they glued their faces to the aquarium. It was absolutely perfect.
On Saturday, most of the group headed down to Big Basin to see the redwoods, which we had just done a month before, and I went to the gym instead and enjoyed a lovely, quiet morning before the party.
The caterers were due to arrive at 4 and the dinner was to start at 5:30. We set up videos to play in the play room to entertain the kids and the adults successfully enjoyed a lovely and peaceful meal together, starting with a champagne toast and some group pictures. The catering - Cheat-a-Little catering - was great! The appetizers hooked us and nothing disappointed, although they brought enough food to feed a party many times larger. We reflected on how much things had changed since Gerry's 70th birthday celebration 5 years ago - from zero kids to 6. A slightly different family dynamic these days! And much to celebrate.
Susan had ordered a spice cake for the birthday cake and we all sang happy birthday and ate cake and ice cream while the boys argued about slinky physics and conducted experiments around the table.
We all agreed the night was a great success.
Sunday afternoon Rich and I stopped by the biodesign holiday party for an hour or so, which was probably the most spectacular party I've ever seen in someone's home. Wow. I wish I had taken pictures of the kitchen. The whole house, but especially the kitchen, was the stuff fantasies are made of. I did get a picture of the dessert spread, which included the most amazing sticky toffee pudding.
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| skip everything else and just devour as much sticky toffee pudding as your stomach can hold. |
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| how pretty are these cookies and cake balls! |
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