I’m watching L.A. Story which is one of my all-time favorite movies.

It’s hilarious and the ending is so sweet. It’s a feel-good movie that’s not too sappy. It means even more to me know because The Boyfriend gave me a copy for Christmas. I used to have a VHS copy but then my old VCR ate it (oh yeah, I still use my VCR!) and I was crushed. So The Boyf tracked down a copy for me! He’s so thoughtful!

Jack is looking bored. It’s so sunny out but the wind is a-roaring, which makes for very cold Albany weather. I want to take the monster to the dog park but that wind is making it difficult.

Pleeeease?

He’s so social and loves hanging out with his buddies. I’ll layer up in a bit and make the trek out into the arctic temperatures.

If my morning looked stressful, check out my afternoon: dog park, grocery store and meal planning for the week, and baking (?!). Phew.

After presents Christmas morning, my mother got to work on Christmas dinner.  The main course was Cornish game hens:

Jack gave her some cooking pointers.

As soon as the family arrived, appetizers went out.

Pita crisps, gorgonzola toasts with pine nuts, and smoked trout with dill dip on cucumbers.  Yum!

We opened presents while we ate:

Look at this pillow my sister made for my cousin’s family.

It’s so cute! She needs to open up a store ASAP.

Once every present was tore into, we moved into the dining room for dinner.

We started with arugula, pear, and parmesan salads topped with my mother’s vinaigrette.

This was incredible.  Next we had the hens with roasted potatoes.  There were Brussels sprouts, too, but apparently I snapped the photo before they made it onto the plate.

Dinner was superb, but everyone knows the highlight of Christmas dinner is the dessert.  There were several plates of Christmas cookies…

But the main event was this chocolate tart with macadamia nut crust and caramel drizzle that my mother concocted.  Hello dessert coma!

After chowing down on all this sweet and savory food, we were ready to take a cue from Jack and take a nap on the floor.

Santa was especially nice this year.  See that KitchenAid mixer? That baby is mine!

I immediately dug into it and offered to start mixing away. But apparently my mother has already made dinner…

Speaking of cooking, my mother made a pork strata for breakfast. Holy Christmas deliciousness!

You can also see my Christmas orange on my plate. We always get oranges in the bottom of our stockings, but we’re the only family I know of who does this.

My creative little sister made me Notes On A Page recipe cards! She is so awesome.

I gave my mother some framed photos as one of her presents.  From top to bottom: all of the Page girls pose during her wedding a few years ago, my sister and I years ago, and my sister’s high school graduation.

Jack had a busy Christmas running around like a hyper toddler.  Linnea and Jack Christmas shot!

Jack has that “I will not sit still!” look in his eyes.  I finally let him out in the backyard for some much-needed zooming.

No time to stop for a photo, Mom!

He has been out in the backyard approximately nine times today. Something about that fenced, no-leash-necessary yard just makes him even more bonkers than usual!

I’m blogging at the kitchen counter while my mother preps dinner.  Everyone else is preoccupied, leaving me with the arduous task of consuming all of the Christmas cookies.  But if anyone is up for the job, it’s me! My extended family is coming over soon to eat, exchange presents, and help me out with this cookie situation.  Merry Christmas, everyone!

I had so much fun doing this! For the sugar cookie recipe, I added a little almond extract to a standard recipe, and these turned out to be delicious!

We got all of our wrapping done, too.  Phew!

Jack admired the presents and tried to figure out which one belonged to him.

The Boyfriend and I are spending Christmas with our families, so we had a mini Christmas on Tuesday night.  And we took a family holiday photo, of course!

It took a few tries since Jack doesn’t believe in sitting still.