New Year Wishes...

It's hard to believe that 2012 has come to an end, and 2013 is suddenly upon us. These years are flying by faster and faster!! December was a wonderfully busy month for us in the store. And, now that Christmas is over, Dave and I are enjoying a little bit of quiet. Here are some of the photos I've snapped with my phone over the last week...

The weekend before Christmas, we took some time away from the office and did a little shopping in downtown Philadelphia (something I almost never do)...

Rittenhouse Square, all dressed up for Christmas

our lovely skyline

Philadelphia City Hall

Then on Christmas Eve, we packed up the presents and drove to upstate New York to spend some time with my husband's family (and old friends). This is a picture of the sunset on Christmas Eve...

I took this photo from the car as we got close to my husband's hometown. How heavenly is this?!

Western New York has the most beautiful rolling landscape, mixed with natural lakes and streams. It's one of the prettiest places to be, nearly every season of the year. But, it's especially magical in the winter (think blankets of white snow and red barns everywhere).

Christmas mass at the most idyllic country church...

We stayed for a few days, visited with some old friends, watched movies (got my mother in law started on Downton Abby-- oh yes!), and ate lots of delicious food. Then, it was time to get in the car and drive home-- before the huge snow storm hit!

our treacherous drive back to Pennsylvania. :)

.....

On New Year's Eve, I generally like to torture my husband by recounting all the blessings of the previous year together. Month by painstaking month. I think he secretly likes it (right?). But honestly, we have so much to be thankful for. I think that the last day of the year is a good time for reflection. So much has happened in this whirlwind year, and it's nice to take a brief moment to remember all of the little milestones and achievements. Last year on New Year's Eve, we wrote down our "Goals for 2012" and taped the list to the fridge (I realize this is pretty cheesy, but he indulges me). There were big things on the list (like, "build a garage") and there were small things ("be more patient"). It's a nice tradition--whether you meet every goal or not-- and I hope to continue it throughout the years of our marriage. Do you have any New Year traditions? If so, please share!

So tonight, as we pop the bottles of champagne to ring in another wonderful year, I wish you happiness and peace. May you reach your biggest (and smallest) goals, recognize each and every blessing, and may this new year be even more JOYFUL than the one before.

Cheers!