I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

OK, so I didn't exactly want a hippopotamus for Christmas, but I did want a Michele watch... and my husband delivered. Christmas morning, I opened this beautiful Michele Deco Day Diamond watch that I plan to wear practically everyday from now on. Here is a cheesy picture of me wearing the watch this week! Can you tell how hard I am trying not to laugh?

Although I was sad missing Izzie and my Grandma, I had a wonderful Christmas with my family in Alpharetta. Here are some highlights:

We spent Christmas Eve Eve - Chapin woke up that morning and wished me a Merry Christmas Eve, and I had to remind him it was not until the next day - in Alpharetta hanging out with my family. We finished trimming the tree (my mom hates to do it without us, and Gail had not been home in a while), helped out in the kitchen, and played lots of Christmas music. Later on, my sisters and our spouses went to play trivia at a local bar... and came in second place! We were all so excited. One question we did miss: What is the name of this character from the classic claymation film, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer? We had no idea!

Christmas Eve I baked cupcakes and cookies for some of the workers in our building, as well as to bring over to my parents' house, so I basically was in the kitchen for most of the morning and afternoon. We loaded up the car with goodies and presents, and headed out to Alpharetta around 4 p.m. I went to church with my parents and sister, Gail, and was excited to wear this Milly Colette Sheath Dress, which I think is just fabulous:

After church, we headed home for our special Italian Christmas Eve dinner. Italians celebrate Christmas Eve ("vigilia") with the traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes. At some point in the past, my great-grandfather decided seven was too many - perhaps during the Great Depression - and pared it down to three fishes, so that's what we celebrate in my house today. Hopefully the fish will bring us good luck in the new year.

In addition to lasagna, my mother prepared:

• Salmon Log
• Lobster Tails
• Seared Scallops

It was a wonderful meal, and I definitely ate too much!

Christmas Day was also special. For breakfast, we had mimosas, chocolate croissants and a wonderful egg-spinach-turkey sausage dish that Chapin prepared for everyone. My mom made a feast - turkey and all the trimmings - for our special Christmas Day dinner. It was just great to be with family. And one last thing: Atlanta had a white Christmas! It's still hard to believe we saw snow on Christmas Day down here in the South. Happy Holidays to everyone!

Mom dancing with her grand-pug, George