Aaand We’re Back!

Hello, friends!

For the last two weeks, while I’ve been on vacay from work, I opted to just relax. 2013 was a wonderful year that seemed to just fly by. When you’re constantly running around, you can forget how nice it is to just lounge around and catch up on movies you’ve wanted to see and eat banana bread.

I’m glad to have entered 2014 feeling refreshed and energized!

Joe and I had a wonderful Christmas Eve at his parents’ house and wonderful Christmas day at my parents’ house. Both were filled with a whole lot of family and an overabundance of delicious food… though neither of these photos really illustrate that. Probably because I was so busy stuffing my face and spending time with family we don’t get to see all the time.

For New Year’s Eve, Joe and I have continued our tradition of having a nice dinner at home and relaxing while we wait for the ball to drop. This year, we feasted on stuffed mushrooms, stuffed shells (with tofu and basil instead of cheese), and chocolate covered popcorn. We may have gone overboard on the chocolate… but it was totally worth it :)

By the time the snow storm hit on Friday, we were a little stir-crazy. After all, I had painted seven plaster buildings for our village and we had watched what felt like every movie on Netflix.

Rather than stay cooped up for our final days, we opted to go for a nice long walk and spend some time at the Staten Island Zoo. It’s something we’ve always talked about doing so it was nice to finally check that off our list. It isn’t a large zoo by any means, but there are plenty of animals to check out. Plus, most of the exhibits are indoors so it’s was a welcomed break from the cold.

A perk of going after a snow storm is that it was basically empty. That meant we had the whole place to ourselves and could really linger where we wanted (like with the bald eagles, an overly friendly puffer fish, and the Galapagos tortoises).

All in all, it was a wonderful vacation and a perfect way to start the new year!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, too! Were you able to relax like us or did you use the holidays to travel?