Downton Abbey: Season 3 Premiere Tea Party

Too Old For Dress Up?

I think not. Last night's 3rd season premiere of Downton Abbey really put me in a festive mood. As this highly-anticipated event drew near, I began to brainstorm ideas for a memorable celebration worth of a Crawley-esque caliber. Somehow I roped my insanely fun family to join in my gleeful silliness by dressing up and having a tea party. Yes, you read that sentence right. We are adults and we play dress up. I bet you wish you had this much fun watching public television.

On the Menu

In the short span of an hour(ish), we whipped together some delicious tea party treats (oddly enough, we didn't actually have any tea.) We made cucumber sandwiches, baked brie and chocolate scones. We cheated a bit with Publix-bought petit fours, but these are literally one of my all-time favorite desserts, so the indulgence seemed reasonable. I also splashed around in the kitchen and came up with a rum-cranberry-tonic endeavor, which ended up being a crowd-pleaser (though perhaps not entirely era-appropriate.)

Guest List + Style Hounds

My sister, cousin, mom, dad and faithful husband joined me for pre-show appetizers and cocktails. The men weren't too keen on dressing up until they decided to don current-era Raybans and drink scotch. Suddenly the tea party really came alive for them. I found an old prom dress and raided my sister's ridiculously fashionable closet for headgear and jewels. Her closet never disappoints, and our little game of dress up made the celebration all the more fun. 20's-era tunes crooned in the background. Mom's crystal trinkets displayed the delectable treats. And we did our best to keep straight faces and adopt Downton's dramatic flair (my mom and dad tied; both were ridiculously true-to-form.)

Are you sensing the resemblance. PBS should call us in as understudies.

 Call me silly, but I think there is always a reason to celebrate. Why not engage in a healthy dose of silliness when you have the opportunity? I've come to find that life is far to short to take anything too seriously. This season's opener pleasantly surprised me with a marvelous 2-hour special. I won't give away secrets (to the 4 of you who missed it), but did you tune in? What did you think of Downton's 3rd season premiere? Cheers to a spring season of drama-filled Sunday evenings!

Adventure: Blue Ridge Mountains

Map.

Happy New Year! I hope you are excited for the gift of 2013! My New Years' celebration was spent up in the North Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains. This has become a yearly tradition that my parents graciously treat my family to, and I really look forward to it. This trip to a cabin in the woods is usually the most relaxing time of my entire year, and boy, do I crave relaxation! Now that my family lives in three different states, it is really special when we can all coordinate time to reunite, relax and dream together. The town of Blue Ridge is quaint and makes for a great afternoon of walking and shopping, but for the most part we lounged around the cabin and did what we do best: NOTHING.

Mmm.

We cooked. We played scrabble. We read. And then we hit the hot tub. It's a really rigorous schedule, but someone's got to do it, right? I was spoiled rotten because I got to play with my 3-year-old nephew (and godson!), Oliver, everyday. His imagination is brilliant. He is already a master artist with Play-dough and he sings and plays the harmonica fearlessly. His golden smile lights up the room. I can't believe how amazing it is to see my sister and brother-in-law's traits in him.

Moment.

It might sound really cheesy, but sitting in the hot tub and staring at the mountain range was really inspiring. There was something therapeutic about being outdoors in the crisp air with the hot water enveloping my crazed mind. I could close my eyes and feel my thoughts quiet down. All the chaos and commotion and holiday stress slowly began to melt away... oh there is nothing like peace. As much as I strive for it in my daily walk, it is usually achieved by deleting the strife and letting God be God. What a concept, right?

Ahead.

I am still in the process of gathering my year-end thoughts and creating some resolutions for the new year. I want to be very honest with myself about what I can commit to doing. Measureable, actionable goals are what I'm going for, but that takes some planning. I think I need to buy myself a cup of coffee and have a bit more "me" time.

What about you? Did you have a holiday getaway that helped you relax? Any tips for creating resolutions?

Cousins and Christmas

We Like to Party.

A few days ago was the annual Harper Family Cousins' Night. My husband's side of the family celebrates this special bond of cousin-hood in a once-per-year celebration of silliness and wonder. Brian and Kelley, the fearful party ringleaders, truly outdid themselves this year by throwing a shin-dig that no one could ever forget. I believe the word EPIC was thrown around quite a bit on this glorious night.

Why is this event so wonderful? Well for starters, in past years, there has been a costume contest. I have dressed up as Cindy Lou-hou (I made Stevie go as The Grinch. Two words: Green beard!) and we once dressed as "Two Turtle Doves" where I decked out as a sparkly white dove and Stevie dressed as a Ninja Turtle. There are always prizes, ranging from inappropriate gag gifts to gift cards to gallons of candy. And it wouldn't be cousins night without family-themed games, which strikes a special chord in the Harper cousins, since everyone is insanely type-A and competitive. It's one of my favorite events of the entire year, because I truly love these cousins as my own and it's a ridiculously fun time together, sans babies and parents. How often does that ever happen? In our case, one a year.

CN 2012.

This year's party details were kept under lock and key in order to maintain an element of surprise. We were instructed to arrive ON TIME and in pajamas, so we assumed we would be doing breakfast for dinner this year. Oh, that was only the beginning. This year's party contained the following:

A scavenger hunt through Atlanta in two teams of limousines, where we hunted for Christmas-themed items (example: Find a glass of eggnog! An African American Santa! A menorah!) and then we had to photograph these items on one official team iPhone (mine was chosen, iPhone 5 duh.) We had 2 hours to arrive back to the house on time or else a point was deducted for each minute we were late. We had coolers for each limo containing various appetizers and drinks and we had limo drivers that were up for this spastic holiday task. IT WAS BOSS.

5 Golden Rings//

We found a pack of gold bracelets.

4 Calling Birds//

We found four different bird ornaments. Call me maybe.

Mistletoe//

DON'T FREAK OUT! We are not those kinds of cousins! Everyone making out in this photo is NOT related! Those snogging one another are either married or dating. And Garrett has his bear.

Open Fire//

We busted in on a private party at Park Tavern because, well, it was the only open fire we knew of in the area. And then we were immediately ushered out.

Your Dinner, My Liege.

When we got back to the house, there were two private chefs preparing us a fanciful breakfast for dinner. I am not kidding. We cousins compared our scavenged findings and MY team was declared the winner. Woop woop! I think the Harper competitiveness might be rubbing off on me. Beware.

An Affair to Remember.

I had a complete blast and wish the night could go on and on. It was wonderful to catch up with family that we rarely see and just have a dang good time. I laughed A LOT. After all, isn't that what the holidays should be all about? Major shout out to Brian and Kelley and all the Harper cousins. Thank you!

Cheer, Carols and Ugly Sweaters

Christmas Eve at home in Georgia means Christmas caroling, dorky sweaters and delicious spiked beverages. Oh, and fantastic food that takes an unnecessary amount of time to prepare with my hilariously warm family. Yes, I bake all day with my mom and sisters (in our pjs), invite tons of friends and family over to dinner and then bundle up and walk door-to-door singing carols for people. We seriously do this. My dad prints sheet music and we have guitars. It's not even funny to joke about being a family band, because that is essentially what we are. The von Trapp family has nothing on us. Stevie's favorite Christmas quote is from Buddy the Elf, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is to sing loud for all to hear." Well, this year our caroling troupe was equipped with 4 toddlers and a newborn along with the normal crowd of goofballs so our cheer was off the charts. Off the charts. We crooned for the neighborhood and didn't get any tomatoes thrown our way. Success.

I hope your Christmas was fantastic and brimming with surprise. This is truly the most magnificent time of the year. I have plenty of more ridiculous and endearing photos to share from my short amount of time home, so stay posted. And stay warm!

I'll Be Home

I'll Be Home for Christmas.

Being home for Christmas is strange and amazing all at the same time. Driving through your old stomping grounds, listening to age-old crooner tunes while seeing the familiar-but-bare trees standing upright and frozen can bring you back to a nostalgic place in your heart. Seeing your parent's house completely decked out for the holiday can remind you that life is still going on here, lights are brighter than ever and Christmas magic never really goes away, even though it's boxed up 11 months out of the year. I am home in Georgia for Christmas, and this morning, over my steaming cup of green tea, I am staring at the twinkling tree and soaking in the wonderfulness of where I am.

You Can Count On Me.

Stevie and I share the coming home experience with a lot of glee, because we are from the same town. The same landmarks live in our memories, and so many dear friends and family have enriched those good ol' times with their life and laughter. We wouldn't miss a Christmas in Georgia. It wouldn't be Christmas without my mom begging us to go out caroling like we always used to on the evening of the 24th or my dad reading the story of Jesus on the morning of the 25th. Or my sisters and me making animal sounds to add to the effect of baby Jesus lying in the manger. We rock those theatrics. And every year my Dad is offended, but I think God likes our additions to His story.

Please Have Snow and Mistletoe.

The snow never happens here. Ever. Other than the blizzard of '93, which was a wonderful southern fluke. Snow only exists in my other life, in Boston, where it is possibly snowing this very instant. But in Georgia? All we can count on is the mistletoe. But even then, it's a little weird to kiss under the mistletoe when your dad is watching. Some awkwardness never gets old.

Presents Under the Tree.

The pinnacle of the Christmas morning experience: the presents. Have I mentioned HOW MUCH I love presents? I used to be ashamed of my love for gifts. I used to mask it with a phony Christmas spirit, "Oh, the reason for the season is the spirit of blissful wonderment and the children's dreams and a cheerful heart of sugar plums..." But the truth? I love presents and I don't care who knows it. Opening up a surprise is just SO. MUCH. FUN. I don't know why I love it so much, but I don't hold back my childish ways any longer. My friends and family know about this Achilles Heel and they actually indulge me (I know very, very nice people.)

There are still so many Christmas activities to engage in, now that I am home and solely focused on this holiday. There is still baking to be done, Christmas cards to be sent out, presents to be wrapped and sweet nieces and nephews to be played with. Parties to attend, friends to laugh with and stories to be told. Not only is is Friday, but the fun has just begun!