Goodbye 2012

Goodbye 2012

10 Memories from 2012:

1. Spending time with friends and family
2.First trip to Greece

 3. Seeing New York at Christmas

 4. Breaking my half marathon time record

 5. Weddings: Nick and Jeni, Jonathan and Crystal, John and Leah, Trent and Elizabeth, Floyd and Mrs. Lisa

 6. Splitting holidays between Chad and my family for the first time

 7. First NFL game

 8. Vacation to Charleston

 

 

 9. Getting ENGAGED!!

 

10. Saying ‘YES’ to the dress
(I can't share the dress just yet, so for now I will share my second pick)

 

All I can say is that 2013 has big shoes to fill, because 2012 was such an amazing year! The countdown is on to our April the 13^th Wedding!! 

Christmas 2012

 

Christmas Snowman Cookies (thanks to Pinterest)

Christmas as an engaged couple is definitely a different Christmas. It means more travel and splitting time with your families! We spent lots of time on the road, but it was great to get to see both of our families, make many memories, and start new traditions.

Chad, John, Leah, and I left Birmingham and headed for Monroe, Louisiana to spend Christmas with Chad’s family on the 21st. Chad has lots of cousins close to our age and we had a blast celebrating Christmas at Chad's grandparents' house with everyone. I can't remember the exact number of stocking that were hung, but it was close to 25!

The girls had fun working on gingerbread houses.

After getting to spend three days with Chad’s family in Louisiana, we headed back to Birmingham for one night before leaving for Troy on Christmas Eve. 

Birthday Celebration #1 for me and Leah

 

We love Papaw (Chad and John's granddad)

My mom made a caramel cake (my favorite) for my birthday cake and it was amazing! I can't believe I am 28 now!

Some of my favorite things to do on my birthday include: going to the Christmas Eve Service at church, riding around looking at Christmas lights, reading 'Twas the Night before Christmas (fill in the blank style), and eating cake. I was so thankful Chad was able to share this with my family this year!! Christmas Day we woke up and made mimosas and monkey bread before eating Christmas lunch all cooked by my mom.

Chad and my dad went hunting together for the first time

Mom and I baked some delicious Smores Cookies!

AND I got to meet John Harrison for the first time. I loved holding him and wish he lived closer than Nebraska!

 In summary, it was a great Christmas and the perfect way to spend my last Christmas as a Scarbrough!!

 

Merry Christmas
from The Scarbroughs 

Christmas in New York

One thing is for sure,
New York knows how to decorate for Christmas!

 I was lucky enough to get to go visit again in December. When I visited in November, I was able to see the Rockettes in the Christmas Spectacular which was amazing (click here for blog post)! The Christmas Tree was brought to Rockefeller Plaza during my November visit, but this trip the tree was lit!! You can't tell from the pictures, but the tree lights twinkle and you have to see it in person!! Below is a picture of the tree with the scaffolding from when I visited in November and then the tree with lights in December!

 
I was like a little kid and I could not stop smiling at all the lights and decorations displayed. Below are a few of my favorite pictures from my trip! The top two pictures of over-sized lights and ornaments are from 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas). The first two images on the second row are from Rockefeller Plaza. The last picture is of the Bloomingdale's on 5th Avenue. Almost all the shops on 5th Avenue are decorated and the window displays are very elaborate.

Serendipity was on my list of places to see. My first stop after checking in was to Serendipity! If you go during the holidays expect a really long wait! The desserts are the size of your head and worth the wait.  The menu is huge and there are lots to choose from but the sundaes have to be the most popular item.

Christmas window display at Serendipity

After years of watching the Macy's Parade on tv on Thanksgiving morning, I finally got to see the Macy's in person. The Macy's (below) in Herald Square was built in 1902. This Macy's is America's largest department store and I managed to shop on all 10 1/2 floors! I even found my wedding shoes in Macy's!! 

 We ate dinner at the Cellar in the basement of Macy's.

A couple of the window displays at Macy's

 

   What is a trip to New York without stopping in Times Square? The Hershey's store and the M&M store had ornaments out! 

 Lastly, here I am in front of the tree! New York is amazing year round, but if you get to pick anytime to visit then you have to choose December.

I can't say this enough, 

I LOVE NEW YORK (especially at Christmas)!!