We Love Christmas!

                                               




We Love Christmas!  That's what the Christmas card that Tom and I chose said because we really do love Christmas!  We genuinely enjoy listening to Christmas music (some of our favorites this year included the Christmas music from Michael Buble, Colbie Colait, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, the Carpenters, and more!)  We also went to cut down our own tree at Zuhoski farm in Cutchogue and went to two tree lightings (one in Southold and one at Old Westbury Gardens).  We absolutely love our Christmas village which we started collecting in 2009.  Tom bought me my first building for Christmas the year we met and now our village will definitely be a part of our yearly traditions.  We have a  church, train station, a candy shop, a barn, a house with a family decorating their tree, a school, a bridal shop, and a veterinary office.   We also have a ton of little accessories.  Tom and I often like to shut off all the lights and just sit and look at our village.  It is really filled with Christmas magic!

Zuhoski Farm

Our Tree

Riding deep into the tree farm

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Getting it home in our truck

Tom getting ready to cut it down!

All decorated!

Christmas Eve this year we spent at my father-in-law's house.  The tree was filled with presents galore and I loved watching my nephews' faces light up with excitement when they saw the mound of presents.  Tom and I both got new jackets from my sister-in-law and her family which we were in desperate need of.  We enjoyed giving our nephews a Home Depot landscaping set, a Monster Truck set, and some books (I guess I am going to be that teacher relative to these boys, who always gives books!)  We had delicious stuffed shells for dinner and I made a bunch of Christmas cookies that morning for dessert, which we brought along with some anisette cookies.  Overall, Christmas Eve was so much fun!

Tom's new jacket

Christmas Eve

Our tree on Christmas morning

Christmas morning Tom and I exchanged our gifts for each other.  There is no one I enjoy shopping more for than Tom.  He genuinely gets so excited by whatever I give him no matter how big or small the gift is.  I gave Tom a new model of a Jeff Gordon race car, his favorite Nascar driver.  Some of his other favorites from me included a chain saw, a shirt from the guys on HGTV's "Kitchen Cousins and Cousins Undercover," and Cub Cadet tractor manuals.  Some of my favorite gifts that I got from Tom included a cook book from Ree Drummond (we are obsessed with watching "The Pioneer Woman" on the Food Network.  She lives on a ranch with her husband, four kids, and their dogs.  She has hounds which are similar to Tom's beagle Indy, so we are big fans of the show.  She also is very well known for her blog, which is part of what inspired me to start blogging again), new sweaters, yarn and the biggest surprise of all, an I-phone!  I have been dying for a smartphone forever, but we had been putting it off not wanting to add to our bill.  I have to say though, Tom is totally getting his money worth.  I am pretty obsessed with and have been enjoying all that it can do.  I love all the money saving apps, like Target's cartwheel, Shopkick, and Snip Snap.  I am also embarrassed to admit that I had to see what all the Candy Crush craziness was about.  I am sure people have since moved on to other games, but Candy Crush is pretty addicting (as evident by my legs falling completely asleep in bed this morning) as I tried to beat the level I am currently stuck on.


After our gift exchange, we went to Good Shepherd Church in Holbrook with Tom's dad for Christmas morning mass.  There is something magical about the church on Christmas.  Tom and I both grin like little kids when we see baby Jesus finally put in the manger.  We love seeing the church all decorated looking just like it did when we got married.  We sang along with all of the Christmas songs throughout the Mass.  But there was one more moment that was really my all-time favorite.  Christmas morning while I was waiting for Tom to wake up, I was thinking about my mom and how much I miss her at the holidays.  I was talking to her in my head and asking her for some type of sign that she was with me.  A few years ago, I had a similar Christmas conversation with my mom while I was wrapping presents.  I was missing her really badly and asked to see something.  As I dug through the box of gift tags, I found one filled out in my mom's handwriting.  It said "To: Jamie Love: Mommy"  I couldn't believe it because she had passed away a few years ago and I had never noticed this before.  I am assuming she filled out years prior and had never used it but it felt so good to find it when I needed it.  So anyway, this Christmas morning I was wishing badly for something.  When Tom and I walked into church, the ushers asked us if we would like to bring up the gifts to the altar.  We said yes and I knew that was my sign.  Out of all those people it was so special for Tom and I to be picked on Christmas. What really solidified it though was the very first time I brought Tom with me to Good Shepherd, we had only been dating a few weeks.  The ushers at that Mass came up to us and asked us if we would like to bring up the gifts.  As we walked down the aisle together that day, I knew after only knowing Tom for a short time, that I would someday walk down that aisle on my way to marry him.  So that was my Christmas gift from my mom this year.

A Handmade Quilt from the tree lighting in Southold

After church, we went to Tom's uncle's house for dinner.  We had a nice meal, but the best part by far was the children put on a nativity play.  It was so cute and sweet and a great reminder of what Christmas is all about.  My nephews played Joseph and a shepherd and the play was so funny and endearing all at the same time.  After, dinner, we came back to our apartment and had dessert with my dad, my brother Eric and his new fiancee Patti, Tom's dad, and his sister, brother-in-law, and our two nephews.  We just enjoyed relaxing together and watched a Christmas light show on TV.  We exchanged gifts and had some yummy dessert.  Tom has been dying to get a train for our village that is the old fashion electric type with a remote control.  We've been using a little battery operated one, but it doesn't have that classic feel that Tom was looking for.  My dad surprised Tom with a set that was just what he was looking for, so I really enjoyed seeing him get that.  Our village is going to be the best ever by next year.

Trains!

Patti & Eric

All in all, that is why "We Love Christmas."  It was a great season of memories, love, family, friendship, and faith.  I am sad that the season is over now, but I am looking forward to the new year.  I am really hoping we will be able to get in our new house soon!  We are eagerly awaiting a closing date, but things seem to have slowed down because of the holiday season.  Say a little prayer that we hear soon!

 Some extra pictures from the Southold & Old Westbury Tree Lightings!  We love old fashion villages!

 

 

Love Lane

Part of my blog will be centered on my experiences out on the North Fork.  Honestly, before I met Tom I didn't know how amazing the North Fork was.  All I  knew about where he came from was that it was "really far out East" near the Tanger Outlets and the Calverton National Cemetery.  Now I know how beautiful and amazing the beaches are and how peaceful and open the farmland is on the North Fork.  I am going to share with you some of our favorite spots that I am hoping will be new to some of you.  

Love Lane

This past Monday, December 23rd was our 2nd year wedding anniversary.  We went to dinner at Love Lane Kitchen on Love Lane in Mattituck.  How appropriately named to be on Love Lane for an anniversary, right?  Love lane is the cutest little town, with the cutest little shops.  You can snack on any chocolate your heart can dream of at the "Love Lane Sweet Shoppe" or sample cheese and wine at the "Village Cheese Shop."  "Book Hampton" is a great local book store and one of my favorites is "Altman's Needle & Fiber Arts" which is filled with specialty yarns and other needlework crafts.  Right around the corner is a great frozen yogurt place called "Yogurt Expressions" which we frequented over the summer.  Overall, if you like that small town feel, you will love "Love Lane."

Cute little trees (Tom & Jamie sized)

So back to the anniversary at "Love Lane Kitchen."  They have a breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu so it is also a fun place to visit for lunch or just coffee too.  The dinner menu changes weekly based on what foods are in season.  A great perk of this place is that they get a lot of their food from local North Fork vendors, including "Long Island Mushroom," "Sang Lee", "Mar-Gene Farms", "Crescent Duck Farm", "Satur Farms", "Brauns Seafood," "McCall Organic Grass Fed Beef," "County Fair Meats," and the previously mentioned "Village Cheese Shop."  Tom and I both ordered the grilled marinated skirt steak, with crispy garlic fries, sauteed kale, and herb compound butter.  The steak truly melted in your mouth and I really liked the pesto-tasting butter that it came with.  All of Love Lane was decorated beautifully for Christmas with lots of little trees at every single store in Mattituck.

Yummy Steak

Love Lane Kitchen

After dinner, Tom and I went to a church in Cutchogue called "Our Lady of Ostrabrama."  This church was absolutely gorgeous and they had a free Christmas caroling program called "A Candlelit Christmas."  Organist William Roslak and his choral ensemble, "The Corchaug Singers" entertained us with Christmas carols where everyone was encouraged to join in and sing.  The choir was made up with young musicians, mostly college students, who blew us away with their talent.  We really enjoyed singing along and in between the carols, there were Bible and poetry readings, related to the first Christmas.  This was such a magical way to spend our anniversary.

Tom's favorite Saint, St. Francis of Assisi

 

Such a beautiful church!

 When the show was over, we went to Friendlys for ice-cream sundaes.  After dessert, we came back to our apartment.  I gave Tom a traditional second anniversary cotton gift, a pillow with our names on it.  Tom gave me a beautiful angel that is suppose to watch over us in our new home.  After gifts, we watched our wedding video together which we hadn't seen since our first year anniversary.  We felt nervous jitters seeing ourselves say our vows, teared up re-living all of the sentimental moments, and laughed a lot watching ourselves, our family, and friends dancing all night at the reception.  I am so happy we have such a detailed video because it is truly like being at the wedding all over again.

My new home angel

Tom's Cotton Pillow

Annual "hold your wedding picture" photo

Overall,  I couldn't be happier with our second anniversary celebration.  I am such a proponent of marriage because I love my husband so much.  I hope you will check out "Love Lane" and if you've been there before or go there because of my post, please let me know!  

Here is the website for "Love Lane Kitchen" http://lovelanekitchen.com/

Christmas Memories: Old & New

Today is mine and Tom's 2nd wedding anniversary.  I truly can not believe we have been married for two years.  I decided to start a new blog because I've really missed writing and getting my thoughts out.  I had thoughts about continuing where my old blog left off, but it has been so long since I wrote on that one.  I also feel that I am in a new place in my life than where my old blog left off.   My original blog started out as a way to deal with my grief from losing my mom to cancer when I was only 19.  My last few posts are about finishing my first year of teaching (now I am in my 6th year) and wanting to get engaged to Tom (after we had been dating for a few months and now we've been married for 2 years).  So a lot has changed.  Some of this blog will still be centered on my grief and my faith, but I am hoping that it will have a different perspective since so many new blessings have come my way.  I also want to share the next chapter of my life with Tom as we proceed to purchase our first home out in Baiting Hollow, on the North Fork of Long Island (we love the farm country out there!).  Lastly, I hope to share my crafting, cooking, and baking that I enjoy so much and I want to rejuvenate my Etsy account.  Overall, thanks for reading, and here I go...

This Christmas I felt inspired to try to deal with some of the pain that still lingers from missing my mom.  I still miss her daily but the holidays tend to be the most difficult at this point.  I have pushed aside a lot of our traditions because sometimes it is easier to just skip them, than to face the reality that my mom isn't here to share them with me.  I felt ready this year though to tackle two traditions that have been weighing on my heart and mind.  

The first goal was to visit the cemetery.  It sounds horrible, but I honestly haven't visited my mom's grave in years.  The reason why is it genuinely makes me feel so sad and depressed, not only the day I go but for quite some time afterwards.    Growing up we used to go to the cemetery all the time.  It was so normal for me as a child because we went about once a month and on holidays.  My mom would always pick out some artificial flowers.  We would drive to Pinelawn to see my mom's mother, Grandma Ernie, and then we would proceed to the Veteran's cemetery to see my mom's grandparents, Grandma Vita & Grandpa Rocco (can you get more Italian sounding than that?)  Often, we would meet up with Aunt Jean and Uncle Tony who would have goodies for us from Uncle Giuseppe's like jelly rings or rainbow cookies.  I never knew any of these relatives who had passed away, so I was unfazed by these visits.  I knew it made my mom feel sad, but she ultimately, seemed happy to have visited, to have kissed their graves, and the day always ended with treats.  However, now that I have lost someone so close, I don't know how she made these frequent visits.  Maybe it was easier because she did go so much.  In any event, I knew she valued these visits and I have often wondered what she thinks of me never going.  I've always hoped she would understand that it is just out of pain that I haven't gone.

So this year, I decided I wanted Tom and I to make the visits.  Typically, my dad buys some type of wreath or spray to put on the graves.  Tom and I chopped down our own Christmas tree this year, and when I saw all the extra branches left from his trimming, an idea started to form.  We decided to make our own wreaths and sprays.  Tom made a wreath for my mom and sprays for Grandma Vita & Grandpa Rocco, Grandma Ernie, and Uncle Tony (who also has sadly since passed away).  I decorated them with bows and Christmas balls and wrote their names on their decorations.  Armed with our handmade items, we visited four grave sites.  This was a big project to do all in one day.  I did cry, a lot actually.  And I still feel these visits hanging over me a bit.  But there is a part of me, deep down inside that is very happy and proud we did this.  I felt like the items we made were so heartfelt and handmade and I loved that they included my Christmas tree with Tom.  I am so thankful to have a husband who would take the time to make these with me, drive me to each cemetery (3 in all), and help me deal with the sadness it caused me.  I hope to make this an annual tradition from now on and I hope my mom knew that we were there and that we visited not only her, but the people she loved so much too.

Another Christmas tradition which I decided I was finally ready for was to make our traditional Anisette cookies.  I have been wanting to do this every year since I met Tom, but this was the first year I felt ready.  My parents, Eric, and I used to make batches and batches of these cookies every year when I was kid.  My mom would prepare the dough and then it would have to sit in the refrigerator overnight.  The next night we would sit at the kitchen table, roll out the dough, and make all types of shapes.  My favorites were the ones we made for our initials!  We would often make double or triple the amount the recipe called for, because we would share these cookies with everyone at Christmas time.  After they were all baked, they would sit to cool.  The next day we would ice and sprinkle them.  We would dye the all different colors and we would lay all the cookies out on saran wrap across the entire table.  Then, my parents would dip and Eric and I would sprinkle the cookies.  The best was getting to eat that first cookies, so fresh and delicious!

 This was such a part of my childhood Christmases that I know came from my mom and my great-Grandma, Grandma Vita.  I am so glad to have re-started this tradition with Tom and someday we will pass it along to our children too.  For our first time making these solo, we did pretty good!  It took me some time to judge how much flour to add to the dough, which my mom seemed to just naturally be able to know, but as we proceeded, I was soon able to feel and remember just what the dough should feel like.  Tom made me laugh with some of his "creative" designs that he made.  Overall, we are very excited to share these cookies with both of our families!

Here is the recipe in case you would like to give them a try:

Anisette Christmas Cookies

5 eggs
5 tsp baking powder
3 whiskey glasses of Anisette
3/4 cup of oil
2-3 cups of flour (you will feel how much is needed once the dough no longer feels sticky when you knead it)
1 1/2 cups of sugar
Confectioner's sugar
Milk
Little ball colored sprinkles

Mix eggs, anisette and oil until well beaten.  Then, add sugar, baking powder, and flour as needed.  Knead the dough until it is sturdy and not too wet (I used my kitchen aid mixer this year and it was SO much easier from my mom used to knead the dough by hand).  Put it in the refrigerator for the next day.  Then, knead the dough and shape it into cookies (knots, spirals, pretzels, candy canes, letters, etc).   Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Once they are cooled, mix confectioner's sugar with a little milk to create the icing.  Add food coloring to create any colors you want.  Dip the cookies in and then sprinkle the top!