Cookies Behind, Gifts Ahead

Whew! The second and final cookie exchange was a lot of fun. I always enjoy visiting with my friends and neighbors but I'm glad the baking is done. THANKS to Diane for hosting! With all of the great treats I picked up at the two cookies parties this past week; the cookies are literally "behind" me. And on my thighs and belly too, not just my behind I'm sure...

The gift giving season (not the true meaning of the holidays, I do realize) is upon us. Ours is a family of mixed religious beliefs so we get to celebrate Hanukkah AND Christmas. Last night we brought in Chinese food from a very good local restaurant called Pen's. We had a huge dinner with Rob's sister, her husband, their adult son who was visiting from NYC, their daughter and her husband and 1 year old son. If was a fun night and when they left after dinner it was nice to know that we'll see almost all of them again on Christmas Day in Gettysburg, PA. My parents took part as well since they were here visiting from Maryland this weekend. We said goodbye to them this morning after a big brunch at home complete with potato latkes. The kids got some Hanukkah presents and have begun speculating about what might be under the tree on Thursday morning. Tonight we'll start lighting candles on a menorah. Between the flames of the candles and the lights on our tree, we'll have a bright holiday season for sure!

The CREST group has already started celebrating by taking part in a gift exchange set up by Mary Ellen. I sent a purse made of Joel Dewberry's red and black manzanita fabrics to Mandie of Dear Sophie. Sophie is her cat/assistant, they make nice jewelry together.
The gift I received came from Judy Kaplan of Silver Dot Jewelry. She made me a wonderful pair of everyday earrings that are just my style. They are made with vintage Swarovski crystals and they'll go with everything. A BIG THANK YOU goes to Judy for this generous gift! In addition to visiting her shop, you can see her talking about her jewelry on Good Morning America Now. Just click here for the link. Oh, she and I also noted the fact that my maiden name is Kaplan.
With a Hanukkah/Christmas card in the background I took a photo of them: