Twas the Night Before Christmas

And all through the house, many creatures were stirring…because there are presents left to wrap. I would really rather be reading in bed. We have been going nonstop the for the last few days – so much to do to prep for holiday travel. We finally got on the road around 10 a.m. today and arrived at my grandmother’s house in Georgia around 2 p.m. I am so happy to be here! I have not seen my grandmother since we visited in July and have not seen my parents since August. We never go that long and I have missed them all so much!

It’s been a busy couple of days leading up to our arrival so let’s start with the 23rd and work our way up to this Christmas Eve.

I had tons on the agenda for Thursday but first I wanted to get a yoga practice in. After a sweaty, challenging 90 minute hot vinyasa class at Y2, I was ready to tackle my to-do list. I took a break to stop at home to grab a quick lunch.

Mashed avocado, egg over medium and pepper jack cheese on Great Harvest Whole Grain Goodness.

After lunch I got a much needed hair cut (See pictures below – thanks for the advice! I went for 2 inches off the length and long layers. It feels much better now!), treated myself to Starbucks and braved the mall.

I am loving Joy Tea Mistos this holiday season…and they’re only $2.50! The mall was not a super fun experience but I finally finished up my shopping. I told Brandon that I felt like I was in an airport. Everyone had glazed over looks on their faces and people were sleeping in chairs.

Meghan’s mom threw a small engagement party for Meghan and Josh on Thursday night.

It was so nice to take a break from packing and shopping and spend time with our friends. It was the last time we would see them before they headed back to California. 🙁

Meghan and Josh requested a Southern barbecue dinner.

I loaded my plate with veggie sides. And then we proceeded to torture the family dog.

Is this not the funniest (in a good way!!!) looking dog!? Love the ponytail. 😉

We were up super late packing last night but I still set my alarm early this morning so I could get one last yoga class in before leaving town. I’m so glad I did – it was just what I needed to kick off Christmas eve!

Brandon and I had banana eggnog oatmeal for breakfast.

And then got on the road for a four-hour trip to my grandmother’s. I arrived with a giant “Santa bag” of gifts.

Which my niece was more than ready to dig into to check out her present.

So cute!

After present opening and playing, it was time to get to work. I ended up making two trips to the grocery store and doing tons of prep work for tomorrow.

My dad handled most of tonight’s feast. We started off with a wedge salad.

With homemade blue cheese and applewood smoked bacon. Yum!

My dad did a rib roast with dry-aged beef on the Big Green Egg.

It looked awesome. My dad is a master-griller!

Dinner was prime rib, stuffed potatoes (with an amazing savory cabbage filling – trust me, something about the earthy taste just works so well with the potatoes) and individual yorkshire puddings. We also bought asparagus but forgot to cook it! I rarely eat beef anymore so I was only about to finish about half of my serving but it was awesome! I was also saving room for this…

Chocolate cheesecake! Brandon requested that my mom make this for dessert. With over one pound of chocolate in the recipe, this cheesecake was rich, indulgent and perfect for a special Christmas Eve dinner. There were many audible “mmmmmms” at the table tonight.

And I’m off to bed. Hoping to get a solid 9-ish hours in tonight. I need to catch up on sleep! I’m planning on a Christmas run tomorrow morning before kicking off a day of family festivities.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!!!