dripping with passion

we left to head east across the united states at 5:30am on christmas eve (after we’d packed up and finished reading a christmas carol well past midnight – eek!). i was a little melancholy leaving our cozy, decorated space knowing that when we come back all the christmas-ness will be over. i think i’ll leave all <-- these cards up on the fridge/freezer for a while, though…i love having the faces of so many loved ones right there in the kitchen with me! we flew to las vegas and then to columbus, ohio, where we met the boy’s brother on the airport curb. i drove through a corner of ohio a while ago, but other than that i’ve never been here (and haven’t spent much time at all in the midwest generally). we went straight to the boy’s brother’s wife’s parents’ house (christmas with the in-law’s in-laws!) and were so excited to see our nephews and niece! we did a little nativity play, ate delicious mexican food, had a talent show,  and hurried home to get to bed before santa came. the

before we left for our grand east coast road trip, we decided to have “charian christmas” – a time for us to do all the traditions we want to make sure to have in our new little family, and to open presents so as to not haul them to the other side of the country. monday the 22 was charian christmas eve, and tuesday the 23 was charian christmas morning! we started our celebrations after our city-christmas-day with dinner at a cozy middle eastern restaurant in hayes valley. every christmas eve of my entire life {except for the one christmas i spent in england as a missionary}, i’ve had a middle-eastern themed dinner and conversations with family about mary, joseph, and the baby jesus. us eyres call this meal the jerusalem supper, and we dress up in clothes meant to resemble those worn at the time of the birth of christ, and we eat only by candlelight. as soon as the electric lights are turned off, we enter into character, acting as if this is the last meal mary and joseph are sharing

  i have been planning an epic christmassy (i just really like that word!) day in the city all december. the boy blocked monday the 22 off – declined phone calls and set aside interview prep – and i schemed up the perfect plan to see all my favourite holiday things around the city without leaving us feeling super rushed (there’s too many things to fit into the 8 or so hours we had!). it turned out to be an absolutely glorious sunny day, and my itinerary ran almost perfectly :) we started at the ferry building, which i always adore, but especially with some garlands and twinkle lights. we got some miette macaons and did some people watching. then we walked down pier 14 for amazing bright views of the city and the bridge.   our next stop was city hall. i’ve been wanting to go inside this beautiful building (isn’t it just so grand and pretty?!) since i moved to the bay area, but it is only open workweek hours! the gorgeous interior left me gawking, especially at all the super lovel

so. the absolute best cookies at christmastime are very most likely these molasses spice cookies that my sister saydi and i are obsessed with. i made a double batch two weeks ago to bring to our neighbors, and a double batch this sunday to share at a christmas gathering at my aunt & uncle’s. these aren’t the prettiest of the molasses spice cookies i’ve made, but i sure had fun arranging them on my table to take a few pictures to accompany my sharing of the divine recipe. {they are usually a bit more crinkly, and they shimmer because they’re coated in sugar before baked, but you can’t really see the sparkles in this light!!} seriously, these are so so yummy!! molasses spice cookies adapted from cooks illustrated 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons of baking soda 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

there’s so much celebrating to be done and merriment to be had! this past week has ben fullll of christmasy festivities, and now school’s out and christmas vacation is here!! the boy and i are trying to bundle up in preparation for our whirlwind east coast tour (we’re going to columbus, pittsburgh, new york city and boston – two days each!) and in the meantime i am  soaking up all the cheer and joy and mirth in the christmastime air. last wednesday, michelle, kelly and i went to the nutcracker! i haven’t missed a year seeing the san francisco ballet perform this most magical of ballets since i moved to the bay area. i absolutely adore the nutcracker, and especially sf’s version, and most especially the snow scene, which always makes me tingly all over and misty in the eyes. unfortunately it was raining hard that night, and it took michelle and i two hours to get to the city. we missed almost the entirety of the first act before intermission, but as we scurried into the opera house a