Photo Friday: 2023 Leftovers

As the title suggests, this post will feature photos from last year that I never got around to posting: 

We gave away so much Christmas decor that was in my mother's basement but did keep a few things that might be useful. My husband decided to hang these ornaments from the lighting fixture that hangs above our kitchen island for a festive look. I'm hoping we can get rid of that monstrosity in the near future and replace it with recessed lighting, while updating all the other recessed lighting on the first floor.

Speaking of home projects, we had our third bathroom remodeled in July. It was also the third contractor we worked with and by far my favorite. So easy to work with and reasonable pricing. This is a before shot. Note the horrible yellow pedestal sink and the yellow tile floor, along with the dolphin textured wallpaper.

More of the ugly floor and wallpaper and the clanky shower door that was becoming impossible to move.

I went with a navy blue vanity and large tile. As always, the lighting and mirror were something my husband and I perseverated on for weeks until we found what we liked.

New shower door and toilet. I love that the new potty is completely flush with the floor, so nothing to clean around it.

In lieu of Christmas gifts this year, my husband and I went to see the comedian, Brian Regan. He has very funny facial expressions, so we got tickets close to the stage. No photos were permitted during the show, so I took this when we arrived. We were only 20 minutes early, but hardly anyone arrived until about 5 minutes before the start time. Weird. It was a good (not great) show, but we had a fun night out, with dinner beforehand. My husband got a good laugh out of Regan’s bit about people who back into parking spaces for a quick exit. That is totally me, which is why my spouse was dying.

My son and daughter-in-law are foodies who also love to bake and cook. They made this Buche de Noel (yule log) for Christmas. Aren't the meringue mushrooms so cute? It tasted amazing!

The first gift I bought for the season was Guess Who for my grandson. I have very fond memories of playing it with my children, and it turned out to be a big hit. A few years ago, my husband made one for his office, with photos of his colleagues. It was a hit at the office Christmas party.

Every year, we host the 'Cousin Christmas Party.' It's my kids' cousins, but only half of them, since my husband doesn't have anything to do with two out of his four siblings. We plan all of the games and food and it's quite a lot of work. My husband always goes the extra mile and made this gift bag as the prize for one of the games. This is his sense of humor, in a nutshell.

Also his sense of humor . . . he always finds sarcastically sentimental gifts for the one sister he is close with. She gets a big laugh out of it.

The pinnacle of the party is the White Elephant Gift Exchange. It involves a lot of stealing, based on your number. I first unwrapped a box that contained a rubber spider on a spring, which my 4 year old granddaughter wanted. Then I unwrapped a Hannukah singing llama, which was stolen by a desperate person? I finally ended up with this weird sign that my husband is going to hang in our garage. Every time I see it, I think 'Boom! Bazooka Joe!' If anyone knows that reference, you are my kind of person!

My daughter took her kids to the Goodyear Air Dock for a Toys For Tots campaign. You remained in your car and Santa came up to the car to talk to your kids after your donation of toys. Then you got to drive by the blimp. A pretty cool experience, if you ask me.

I love a Kermit meme, and this one is so relatable for me. I crack up every time I look at it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thank you for your well wishes after my last post. I am operating at 95% now and hope to be completely recovered by the weekend. It has turned out to be an accidental dry holiday/January for me, but maybe I'll be off the wagon soon ;)