oh christmas tree! oh christmas tree!

The day after Thanksgiving, we headed out in search of the perfect tree.  This year was a little different from our last few Christmas tree hunts since now we are living in a different city.  The first year we were married, we bought our tree at Food Lion.  Yes, the grocery store.  We were newlyweds and super excited for our first tree and there was a Food Lion right by our townhouse.  So, winner winner!  The next year, we were in our new home in Durham and found a delightful little place near our house that we bought our trees for the next 3 years from.  Now we are in Raleigh and realized we needed a new and closer tree place!  So we wandered around town and stumbled on Boyce Tree Farm.  Perfect!

We headed over there with Brandon's parents who were still in town after Thanksgiving.  Armed with warm coats, toboggan hats, and a camera, we were off!  I was sure this was going to be a magical experience with our little explorer, weaving in and out of the beautiful lush green trees in search of the perfect one.  Ha.  Nope.

Lucas was a maniac.  Running away from us, chasing the dogs, trying to climb on tractors, etc.  So our trip basically involved Brandon's parents chasing Lucas around making sure he didn't die and Brandon and I trying to agree on a tree.  [We are both pretty opinionated when it comes to our Christmas tree.  It has to be perfect, you know?]

 The only time Lucas stayed remotely still was to flirt with these little girls.  Apparently these are the Boyce grandaughters and they set up a hot chocolate stand at the farm.  Lucas spotted them and stopped in his tracks to flirt at their cute little booth.

We again made another attempt at a little family photo, but due to really bad sun light and a crazy toddler, this is about as good as it got:

Maybe next year, Lucas will be a little more sentimental about picking out our tree.  Maybe not.  Merry Christmas!

happy thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving this year was spent at our home in Raleigh with MiMi and PaPa. We were so happy they were able to come in town for a few days and spend the holiday with us and kick off the Christmas season.  We chose to forego the traditional cooking of the meal and headed to the Angus Barn!  Have you ever been there?  If not, it's magical...especially at Christmastime.  Settled in the busy heart of Brier Creek, the Angus Barn's beautiful rustic decor and unbelievable food makes you feel removed from the world and like you're in your own little beef eater's haven.  [In fact, that's exactly where their sign says you are.  mooooo.]

We had dinner down in the pavilion, which is a charming little [big] place down by the lake.  We got there early to enjoy the outdoor space.  They had a bonfire roaring in a giant fire pit and kids running around throwing footballs. We walked around by the water and attempted to get some pictures for our Christmas card.  Here's the winner:

And I'm not even going to try to put the food into words.  It was absolutely delicious. Let's just leave it at that.

And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I saw the mini Chocolate Chess Pies.  Then I died.

 Lucas was a champ for most of dinner, but towards the end he just needed some MiMi loving.

So, would we do it again?  Buck traditional cooking and eat out for Thanksgiving?  If it's at the Angus Barn, heck to the yes.  

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!!

fall fun

Some of my favorite things about fall are the leaves (duh), the fair, and football.  We first headed to the North Carolina State Fair again this year with Brandon's parents.  Lucas was much harder to wrangle this year, wanting to walk and see and do everything!

Bless his heart. He wanted to ride the big boy rides.  But you had to be 42" tall and he wasn't even close.  Try explaining that to him!

With fall comes cuteness in the forms of jeans, pumpkins, and vests.

a boy and his dog.

Aunt K is the best.  She watched Lucas for us one day and they had craft time!

We spent the morning at the Museum of Life and Science.

And the trees.  WOW.

Lucas loves crunching in the leaves!

 And what is fall without football?!  I love everything about this picture except Lucas's outfit.  His daddy dressed him.  Go heels.

Now the leaves are falling like snow and soon they will all be on the ground. It's so nice to be reminded of the beauty of the changing seasons and count our blessings during this time of thankfulness.