2021 Thanksgiving and Christmas Recap

With everything going on recently (never-ending pandemic, busy season at work, wedding planning galore) the holidays snuck up on me and now the start of 2022 is tomorrow! I honestly can’t believe how quickly this year has gone by. Despite the hiccups along the way, 2021 has been another year of personal growth and great blessings. I look forward to 2022 and believe it will be one of the best years yet!

Thanksgiving

This year, we spent Thanksgiving with Tristan’s family on Bald Head Island in North Carolina. We have enjoyed coming here together in the years past and always look forward to the next trip. After a 7.5 hour drive south, we hopped on a ferry and arrived on the island. We took Deacon to the beach and let him off leash, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

We spent the week visiting with extended family and friends old and new. On Thanksgiving, we had an amazing spread of food, including turkey made four ways (air-fried, fried, baked and smoked)! We played games, watched Emmie start to walk, and crafted hearts for the Ronald McDonald House. We even made bracelets (peep “Aunt Becca” and “Uncle Tris”).

Bald Head held their first Christmas Parade featuring decorated golf carts. We had so much fun designing our carts, which had three themes: Shark, Sea Creatures (I was on this one!), and a classic Ginger Bread House cart. Even Deacon dressed up!

We love BHI and can’t wait for our next trip over!

Christmas (DC)

Tristan and I made a trip over to DC at the beginning of December. I bought tickets to the Andrea Bocelli concert (aka the man with the voice of an angel) and we decided to make a weekend out of the trip. We stayed at the Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel (999 9th St NW, Washington, DC 20001), which was walking distance to The Capital One Arena (where the concert was). I love staying in this area, since you are close to bougie stores and fantastic restaurants at City Center. You’re also an easy 20-min walk away from the National Mall.

On Friday night, we ate at Farmers & Distillers (600 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001), which is a farm to table restaurant that I highly recommend trying if you’re in the area! I’ve eaten here a few times and always have an amazing time! On Saturday, we spent the day exploring and Tristan worked a little. At night, we went to a Wizards game. I’ve never been to an NBA game so it was a new experience for me!

Sunday morning, we had brunch at Old Ebbitt Grill (675 15th St NW, Washington, DC 20005), which was amazing as usual! We love stopping here when we’re in town, but especially at Christmas! Look how festive the restaurant looks with their giant Nutcrackers?? Before the concert, we stopped by the Downtown Holiday Market in Penn Quarter (F St NW &, 8th St NW, Washington, DC 20004) to pick up delicious churros while we listened to live Christmas music.

Then it was time for the Andrea Bocelli Concert! Tristan and I saw him perform when he toured in Charlotte, NC a few years ago. I have always been a fan of his music and he’s even better live! During this concert, there were guest appearances by Jenny Lind (who sings “Never Enough” in “The Greatest Showman”), Virginia Bocelli (Andrea Bocelli’s 9 year old daughter), and Matteo Bocelli (one of Andrea Bocelli’s sons). We had a fabulous time and I look forward to our next concert!

Christmas (Baltimore)

Tristan and I were in Baltimore for Christmas this year. We both worked the week leading up to it, so it made it easier to just stay put. We are traveling to North Carolina in January to have second Christmas with my family.

I meant to get out and capture more of Baltimore during Christmas time, but like I said earlier, Christmas kinda snuck up on me this year. Luckily, Tristan and I were able to hit a few festive spots on our walks around the city. We stopped in on the German Christmas Village at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor (501 Light St, Baltimore, MD 21230) and had fun walking around the area. We saw cute stalls, bought hot chocolate, and watched people ice skate.

Later, we picked up a tree from Whole Foods and started decorating the apartment. Deacon obviously helped decorate and did a great job. Look how proud he is.