Goodbye, 2011.

Today is New Year's Eve Eve. Tomorrow we leave for four work-free days in Jekyll Island, GA - a much needed respite from the daily grind.

2011 was a very "full" year. Full of extremes - both good and bad. It's been a year of change for Jesse and I to say the least, some of which I've shared here, a lot of which is too personal to share outside of my closest friends and family. I must admit, I get a little choked up when I think back on a lot of what has occurred.

I'm so thankful that we get to spend the end of the year with two of our dearest friends in a serene environment. It's a calming way to end a very tumultuous year.

Here's to 2012 bringing lots of good things - love, luck and happiness. I have an immense amount of hope that it will.

I leave you with a Gaelic New Year's toast and a playlist of my favorite songs from 2011:

Athbhliain faoi mhaise duit, go mbeire muid beo ar an am seo arís!
(A prosperous New Year and may we be alive at this time next year.)

Driftwood Beach in Jekyll Island, GA (Image courtesy of http://theycallmesausage.blogspot.com.)

Holidays in Full Effect

Is it just me, or is the holiday season flying by?

Between the rush of crazy busy days and planning for my parents to be with us during Christmas, the last month and a half blew by and I feel like I totally missed Christmas. I suppose the fact that I had a nasty cold from the Wednesday before Christmas until now that is still hanging out, didn't help since I was in a Thera-flu induced stupor most of the time.

Unfortunately, we took ONE photo. That's right - a single photo. Kind of a bummer.

Regardless, I was under the impression that all went well - my parents seemed to have a great time and we had TONS of food around - Sweet hubs and I cooking our first full Christmas dinner was a success.

Now, it's time for me to go back to resting in hopes that my cold will magically disappear and I will get a ton of stuff accomplished in the next three days before we leave for our New Year's trip to Jekyll Island, Georgia.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and will continue on to have a wonderful New Year's celebration.

Merry Christmas, from The Browns (photo courtesy of sweet hubs on Instagram).

Ready for the Holidays

Well, our home is officially decorated and ready for the holidays.

This year, Jesse and I will be hosting our first Christmas. Both my parents and his, as well as his sister and potentially some of our friends will be coming to our home for Christmas dinner. We've started planning our menu and are really excited about the festivities and finally being able to host a holiday celebration in our own home now that our families are closer by.

Here's a sneak peek of what Casa de Brown looks like, holiday-ified. (Photos courtesy of sweet hubs.)

Happy holidays, everyone!