christmas in alabama

I can't believe I have to go back to work this week. Being on vacation for almost two weeks has been glorious. I was able to go home for a little over a week and it was wonderfully relaxing and fun. 

One day while doing last minute Christmas shopping, my mom and I visited the Lowe Mill Art and Entertainment Center in Huntsville. Sadly, many of the artists weren't in their studios, but it was fun to walk around and see their work. Who knew there were creative things going on in Huntsville?!

We had lunch at Firehouse Subs one day. Apparently I am easily amused, but they had an awesome soda fountain. The computer let's you mix hundreds of different drink varieties. Unnecessary but fun!

One day I was hanging out at home with my dad. There was a gross smell coming from under the house, so my parents suspected something was dead in the crawlspace. My dad went under the house and discovered this big cat, so he called the "critter catchers" to remove it. Loads of excitement at the Graveline homestead!

While lots of people were in town for the holidays, Jessica and Laura put together a mini-reunion for our architecture class in Birmingham. See Laura's recap here!

We had drinks and snacks at Jessica's awesome new apartment and enjoyed some fun girly time before heading out to a local bar.

We went to the Avondale Brewing Company for a holiday party and got to sample their famous Saison.

I must have had one (or three) too many and was hating life the next day. After catching up with a few other friends (and even some unexpected ones) for brunch at Another Broken Egg Cafe in Birmingham, I drove back to North Alabama to endure a hungover Christmas Eve Mass with my parents. It was rough!

Thankfully I was back on my A-game for Christmas Day though! I was so excited to receive many of the items on my wish list, including new running shoes, a Swiss Army knife, and the new love of my life, my fabulous camera. Here, Pumpkin poses in one of my early test shots. Doesn't he look just like Aubie?!

I got to flex S95's low light muscles when my parents and I went to our annual Christmas evening movie. This year, at my mother's request demand, we saw War Horse. While a lot of the movie required you to stretch your imagination, it was touching. I cried.

One evening, I brought this Nashville, TN beer over when my sister made dinner at her house and we watched a bunch of Modern Family. I've seen an episode here and there but have officially become hooked on this show. It almost makes me want to buy a TV!

My mom and I did some craft shopping at Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's. She thinks I am crazy for buying all these outrageous patterns. I probably am crazy, but I have big plans for pillows and recovering chairs. I just couldn't pass up such fun designs!

Of course there was a trip to Chick-fil-a. YUM!

I celebrated my birthday early with my parents at a fun, new Mexican restaurant near Huntsville.

The food was delicious (I do love some Mexican food) and the pomegranate margaritas were addictive. Mom and Dad, thanks for dinner and thanks for not singing Happy Birthday at the restaurant :) 

My dad is making some great progress on his "Man Cave" out of the former garage. He built some bookshelves and has installed a lot of the trim work. Of course a few days after I left, a contractor finally put in the hot water heater closet and installed the new wood floor. I'm trying to convince my parents to send some photos of the progress soon. I can't wait to see some paint on the walls!

Time is Alabama is always fun and relaxing but I am happy to be back in Brooklyn ready to take on 2012! I hope you all had a wonderful vacation as well!