Holiday Gathering - UNH Style

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Between the hustle and bustle of the season, family time and just life in general, I have found that during the holidays it is difficult to get together with great friends. New children, new houses, house hunting, busy work schedules, distance and short trips to MA really don’t lend themselves to quality friend time. Well, not this time!! Thanks to the recommendation of Aimee and the perfect timing of Lisa and Bruce’s visit from AZ and Oz, we UNH gals got to celebrate while Chris and I got to entertain once again at 19 BHL. It was a very fun evening full of excellent potluck fare, lots of laughs, wine (no accident victims this time around!!), and Paul and Jeff even took a chance on the Diabolique. It also just happened to fall on the one month anniversary of our big move to the ‘burbs; Happy One Month Anniversary to us!!

We missed Kate, Delia and Wally but I have no doubt they will be dropping by soon…I hope anyway :-)

Thanks all for coming and we can’t wait to do more entertaining in 2009!!

Buon Natale

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This year, similar to the past 6 or so, Chris and I kicked of the Christmas festivities at his aunt’s/uncle’s in Medford for the traditional Italian Feast of the 7 Fishes. At last count, we think there were only 6 but really does it matter? When it comes down to it, I just enjoy knowing that Chris and his family have been celebrating the tradition for as long as he can remember. Although Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, it helps to bring families together and set forth the traditions that have been established throughout the centuries. You can’t beat listening to Uncle Tony’s stories and watching others munch on traditional fish dishes such as fried smelts and bacala as well as the original recipe for Ciano calamari pizza that was one of Chris’s dad’s specialties. I stay away from all and stick to clam chowder, Auntie Ro’s spinach balls and Ann Marie’s stuffed mushrooms. A part of me thinks that they weren’t part of the original Feast of the 7 Fishes but that’s okay by me. The last I checked, I was French and Greek so I can get away with it.

The pilgrimage continued to Concord, NH with our gifts and yummy chocolate and pear Panettone in tow. The Fisher/Henderson tradition began with a delectable breakfast before opening our gifts and watching the dogs fight over who gets the bigger candy cane raw hide knowing very well that Lilly will conquer all. The day was topped off with a fantastic Christmas dinner of prime rib and it wouldn’t have been the same if my dad wasn’t in attendance. Lots of laughs and wine later we headed to Manchvegas (responsibly) to visit aunts and uncles and drop dad off to play in the holiday poker game. They ask Chris to play every year and thankfully he says no or else I think we would go broke.

After a day of fun, family, great food and wine we retire into a slumber and still had visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads.

Breakfast Bar

A few weeks ago we ordered counter stools for the breakfast bar area in our kitchen and we picked them up over the weekend just in time to entertain friends. Thank goodness we bought the Outback because I don't think that the beamer would have been too helpful in this case.

We really like the stools and think they look great in the kitchen. They are rather comfortable and now that we have them I fear the dining room table won't get as much use, which from the sounds of it, is pretty normal in most households. I've already envisioned making dinner and setting up table settings on the breakfast bar for weeknight meals. It will be fun!! Now, what to make?

Merry Christmas

Christmas Survey copied from my good friend Debi….my answers of course :-)

1) Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper but I need a training session to be a better wrapper

2) Real tree or Artificial? We have had an artificial tree for years since someone in the household doesn’t like picking up needles. Hopefully next year we can get a real one.

3) When do you put up the tree? Week after Thanksgiving.

4) When do you take the tree down? We like the ambiance of the Christmas lights so keep it up for a couple weeks after the New Year.

5) Do you like eggnog? Yes!! With nutmeg sprinkled on top.

6) Favorite gift received as a child? Cabbage Patch dolls, record player.

7) Hardest person to buy for? Mom or Jim

8) Easiest person to buy for? Chris

9) Do you have a nativity scene? No.

10) Do you send cards or email cards? Send cards via USPS.

11) Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Don’t remember…I am sure there were many or it came from a Yankee Swap.

12) Favorite Holiday Movie? Charlie Brown Christmas

13) When do you start shopping for Holidays? Typically around Thanksgiving, via the internet!

14) Ever recycled a Holiday present? Yup…but it wasn’t given to me by anyone in my immediate family.

15) Favorite thing to eat at Holiday? My sister’s Christmas cookies, mom’s twice baked potatoes and Aunt Connie’s fudge.

16) Lights on the tree? Yes, always white.

17) Favorite Holiday Song? Nat King Cole’s version of The Christmas Song.

18) Travel at Holidays or stay home? Christmas eve in Medford, MA; Christmas day in NH.

19) Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? I can but only when I sing the intro to Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

20) Angel on the tree top or a star? A gold angel.

21) Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning.

22) Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Crazy malls and traffic.

23) Favorite ornament? We have so many beautiful ornaments but I really love our first married Christmas ornament from last year and all of the fun ornaments we have gotten from the Tall Timber Lodge in Pittsburg, NH.

24) Favorite for Holiday dinner? Prime rib…yummy!!

25) What do you want for Christmas this year? Our house was our gift so all I want this year is to spend time with family and friends….and have a couple of days off from work!!

May you all have a happy and safe holiday season. Merry Christmas!!

Neighbors, Kids and Animal Tracks

Yesterday, The Gordon's, our neighbors to the right when looking out our front door, graciously opened up their home and hosted a holiday get-to-know-the-neighbors get together. It was the perfect Sunday for such an event since the weather gods were dropping more snow on us. If we had to drive over we may have reconsidered but the quick walk down the driveway with our contribution, Champagne, in tow was uneventful...meaning, I didn't fall on my butt!!

There are only 8 houses on our street which is good for me since it limits the number of names I have to remember (I am sooo bad at remembering peoples names). I think I have the adults down but the kids are another story. Luckily all of their names start with A except 2 so that helps. Anyway, it was nice to put faces to email addresses and get to know everyone a little bit. The kids were having a field day in the Gordon's well stocked play room or watching Cars while the adults hung out in the kitchen chatting and chowing on breads, quiches, bagels, ham, etc. Everyone seemed very nice and they were/are all willing to educate us on the develpment, neighborhood, Ashland, and anything else we need to know about. We had a nice toast in honor of the completion of the street and everyone, new neighbors excluded, is very happy that there will be no more blasting, jack hammering, or rock grinding disrupting their day to day any longer. Uggh....it must have been miserable!!

While we were all chatting, a few of the neighbors mentioned that they had deer or fox in their backyards occasionly. Even though I would like to avoid being exposed to any ticks, I would love to see some deer. The deer or fox must have known we were chatting about them because when Chris and I were walking up our driveway on the way home, we saw animal tracks all up the driveway leading to the backyard and up into the woods. Pretty neat. I am leaving the camera in the kitchen for any potential wildlife photo ops.

PS: I didn't take any pictures at The Gordon's in fear I may scare the neighbors off. Maybe the camera will appear once the Summer arrives and we have block parties.

Welcome Meaghan!!

I have to send out a congratulations to Jaime and Shawn for the birth of their beautiful and adorable (the cutest i've seen!!) daugther Meaghan. Meaghan was born on December 19th, 2008 checking in at 8lbs 4ozs 19in.

She is such a jem and one lucky little girl to have such great parents!! Congrats, good luck and enjoy Jaime and Shawn!!

White Ashland

The first snowstorm of the season hit yesterday....and today (still snowing!!) and it is beautiful fluffy snow that blankets the landscape and tree branches. We found someone to plow our driveway this year in hopes of saving some money to be able to afford a snow blower at the end of the season on clearance. Technically we could use the conventional shovel but we are not really eager to spend hours outside in the cold and wind doing manual labor when we could be wrapped up in blankets on the couch in front of the fireplace.

So far, one of my favorite parts of living in the suburbs has to be having our own driveway and garage. Not having to drive around Charlestown during a snow emergency trying to find a spot and shoveling the car out of a hard snow bank only to have someone snatch it the second we leave really helps alleviate anxiety and frustration. The city is always so beautiful after a fresh snow but we like looking out into our back yard at the "ski slope" and watching the snow fall.

Stone's Public House - Take 1 and 2

Before Chris and I moved to Ashland we had done some research on local restaurants and one of the first that came up was Stone’s Public House in the center of town. Now rumor has it that this house, built in 1834, is haunted by one or more spirits which is kind of eerie. As a kid, I couldn’t even watch shows about ghosts on Halloween (or any time of year) because I always thought our old farm house was haunted and that someone was watching me…especially when I was in the barn.

Even though I am older and wiser, the thought of ghosts still freaks me out but it wasn’t going to stop us from checking out Stone’s. What ghost would come out during the dinner hour? We went for dinner on Friday night and thought we would sit in the bar area but it was packed!! Who would have thought this would be an Ashland hotspot? The big fireplace was roaring, big and small parties dining on scrumptious fare and people were even standing. It was the place to be. We had a nice dinner in the quiet dining room while keeping our eye out for spirits of any kind.

On Sunday, Debi and Paul dropped by for a surprise visit so we decided to check out the bar again and chat/catch some football on TV. Still no sign off ghosts but there was a Ouija board in the corner which we all decided we would never play in this place!!

I guess this post would have been more interesting if we actually saw a ghost or evidence of one, but alas, we didn’t. We just saw some eerie looking pictures of John Stone himself and others. Stone’s Public House offered great meals and company and we will surely go back in the near future for grub, live music and maybe even Trivia Thursdays…that is only if Paul is on our team :-)

Debi and Paul chillin' on the new couch

Annual "Guys" Gathering

Every year during the Christmas season we have a get together with Chris's group of guy friends and their lovely wives. We usually go to one of their homes or we meet at a restaurant but this year we decided to take advantage of our new home and invite everyone over as long as they upheld the laws of the Ciano's sanitary environment (aka, no shoes in the house!!). It resulted in quite a stressful week putting up the tree, unpacking more boxes, hanging pictures, shopping for the house, food, etc. in an effort to prepare for more than 4 visitors but it went off without a hitch and we had a great time. Only one accident victim didn't survive the party but it wasn't due to black ice on Badger road, it was more because of Chris's brut strength.

I had to take a picture of Chris in the kitchen...it may never happen again :-) Just kidding, his antipasto platter turned out great!! Of course, for most of the night, everyone congregated in the kitchen per usual. But what about the new couch?? Pic of me with Maria and Christine; Steve and Larry; sanitary environment police on patrol, no tickets were issued; accident victim

Couch Delivery!!

At long last....well, not really that long since we have only been in the house for 2 weeks....we now have more comfy seating in the living room. Now guests don't need to sit on kitchen chairs when they visit and Chris and I can lounge and potentially nap on our new couch. It fits perfectly in the living room (I think anyway) and now that it has arrived, I can start finding pillows, blankets and other accessories to begin the decorating process. Yippee!! The best part is, the couch arrived a day before our first holiday party so luckily our guests didn't need to fight between the leapard chair and the recliner.

I love Chaises. We had one when I was a kid and it was my spot!!

One of my favorite things about the couch is the placement. When we are in the kitchen we can see guest lounging so we are never far from the action.

Our fireplace; I thought it was pretty and festive with the Pointsettas.

O Tanenbaum, O Tanenbaum

When we first realized we would be moving in around the holidays, my first thought was that we would not put up a tree this year because it would be too much work along with unpacking, getting situated, etc. but Chris convinced me that we HAD to put up a tree it being our first Christmas in our new home and alll. I am happy we spent the time to put the tree up while listening to Christmas tunes via Comcast music channels. The lighting of the tree sets the perfect ambiance in our living room and makes it feel cozier. Now next year I am going to have to convince Chris that we should get a real tree!! And it will have to be 1-2 feet taller then our current pre-lit nice-looking artificial variety.

Weekend of Fun

Chris was away on business this weekend so I got to spend time with some of my other favorite people and Lilly :-) Debi visited (I forgot to take pics!!) and we tried out a decent local pizza place and watched a movie while experimenting with the new home theater system. I don't think Forgetting Sarah Marshall qualifies as an optimal surround sound producing movie but it was still hysterical. Thanks for coming over Debi and I can't wait for future girl's nights!!

Kerry then arrived from Pittsburgh and we spent the rest of the weekend cooking and shopping. If you haven't been to the Container Store, you should go. It is so incredibly fabulous and I am already planning another trip back this week. For an organizer like myself, it is perfection.

Mom and Jim arrived with Ms. Lil and we had a fantastic dinner. I have determined that we have used the dining room more in the last week then we did in our entire 4+ years in Charlestown. It is great!! Oh...and kudos to Lilly for being a very good dog and only doing her business in the backyard :-)

Kerry and me cooking....well, really Kerry cookingJim and Lilly watching football.

Cheers; we miss you Chris.

Getting Settled

I have found it difficult to get into a routine being in the new house. With so much unpacking to do, shopping for things we need (gotta keep the economy going!!), cleaning/feeding/playing with my pet on Facebook or just wanting to relax with friends and family in front of the fireplace and new LCD, it has been tough to get motivated to update the blog.

Over a week has passed since the big move and we are living comfortably. For the most part, the kitchen, office/den, master and guest bedrooms and bathrooms are all appointed with everything we need but they are screaming for decorations which will come with time. We can't wait for our new bed frame and sectional to be delivered in the next month...hopefully they will both make the house have less echo.

Here are some pictures of our biggest unpacking project in the house...the kitchen. It took about 2 days to pack it up but only 1 to unpack thanks to my mom and sister-in-law Joyce's help. It was like my bridal shower all over again since we finally unpacked all of our fabulous presents and actually put them away in cabinets. I am making a pledge to myself to use every single platter, pan, knife, gadget, etc.

First Family Dinner

After a long day of unpacking, installing mirrors and bathroom fixtures, and running errands, our first day in the new house ended with the first family dinner at 19 BHL. Mom, Paul, Jordan and Joyce were sooo incredibly helpful that the least we could do was share Jim's famous baked ziti with them in our new dining room. Now we just have to get a dining room table that can seat 8 and has 8 matching chairs...but for now, our existing table will do. Our family has been so great to us through this process and we thank them tremendously for all of their love and support. They are the best!!

Mom and Joyce chillin' in the living room.

Adiós Charlestown

It has been almost a week since the big move and we finally have internet and cable again :-) The move went incredibly well and was rather un-stressful, thanks to the fabulous Roadrunner Moving and Storage. Due to Chris and my organizational skills and the strength and professionalism of the movers, everything happened seamlessly with the exception of some minor rain showers on moving day. Luckily by the time the movers pulled into the driveway at 19 BHL, the sun was shining. Our belongings where shuttled into the moving truck so quickly that we forgot that we would miss good ole Chucktown and were just excited to be new residents of Ashland, MA. A special thanks also goes out to Paul, Ralphie and Dom for their moving day help!!

Loading the truck Couch hoisting from the dining room window

Paul hard at work...hahahaha....