2011 Year Recap

WOW! Really? 2011 has gone and went... well, at least with a day to spare. So at this time, I would like to take a quick peak at the past and reminisce on what 2011 has bLESsed us with =)

Mr. Wonderful and I bought our first house!!

YAY!!!

We bought a house that needed A LOT of TLC... for instance, the swimming pool. So after putting in a little bit of elbow grease mix...

We now have a swimming pool for our family and friends to enjoy.

I was so excited to decorate our house for the holidays. The very first holiday we celebrated in our home was Halloween =)

I got to experience for the first time... the city of lights... Sin City. Ramon and I joined some family members to help celebrate my cousins 21st birthday.

We stayed at the very best... The Venetian. After experiencing this type of luxury, I'm not sure if I'd ever be able to stay anywhere else on the strip... it was magnificent.

We lived the life of a classy high roller

all the way down to a Rock n Roll Rock Star!

Ramon and I were surprised with a pair of Jay Z and Kanye West concert ticket, The Thrown, from my cousin Johna and my auntie Toni. We had such a blast! Ramon's all time hero is JayZ! It was awesome seeing Mr. Everything re-sight every word to every song. He was in Heaven.

And you know me... of course I had to dress the part. It just wouldn't have been right!

I was decked out in a black Yankee's hat, black blazer, white v-neck, distressed jeans, black knee boots and big ghetto gold jewelry. I FELT SO "BEYONCE" LIKE. lol

We celebrated Mr. Handsome's 29th birthday quietly. Although we didn't have any crazy plans, he was my King and his wish was my command.

For his birthday dinner, I made Lobster, T-Bone steak, garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus... a meal fit for a king =)

My 28th birthday was celebrated a day later. (Yup, we are a year and a day apart)

And I have to admit, my day went a little bit differently... We celebrated my birthday as rock stars!!

We dressed the part

Grabbed our guitars

And hit the public transportation to the City... San Francisco!!

{{all on a Wednesday night!}}

And ended up here... at lovely Castro, where I had the time of my life at!

2011 is a very memorable and powerful year for my family. My mom gave us a scare for a bit but now she is better. Like 100 times better. She is back and BETTER than ever before! Congratulations mommy on all you've accomplished thus far. You never cease to amaze me. You are my shinning star!!

I reunited with old friends from way back in middle school... 15 years ago, we use to run the school =)

One that I would like to spotlight the most would be decorating our home for Christmas. This is where my dream for so many years has come true.

Rocking out still continued this year. I attended a beautiful cocktail party that was hosted by my lovely cousin and best friend, Jennifer M.

{{I love you so much!}}

Mr. Honey and I hosted our first holiday party this year. We got a lot of family tips and holiday traditions passed down to us from my Grandmother, to include this lovely apron that was sent from her hometown, Berlin, Germany. It is an honor to have something so precious and priceless to be passed down to me. I will cherish this forever.

Christmas morning was celebrated at our house to =) We invited our immediate family to spend the night Christmas Eve to open gifts together on Christmas morning and break bread together as a family. Unfortunately, Melody and JayJay were not able to attend, but everyone else was able to celebrate with us.

We were so excited to finally use our dinning room table at it's fullest capacity.

A seating for twelve =)

Well, there ya have it. 2011 in a nut shell =) But before I let you go, I decided it was only right to leave off 2011 with 2012 New Years Resolutions

Goodbye 2011!! It's been Real! Hello 2012! Can't wait to meet ya tonight at the stroke of midnight. I'm sure you have plenty in store for us. We're ready! HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT! =)

Christmas Eve 2011 with the family

Hey Ya'll... To all the wives, spouses, significant others who worked so very hard in preparation for this Christmas holiday... WE DID IT! WE SURVIVED! And boy was it all worth it.

This year was my very first time hosting our annual Christmas Eve party. It funny, because earlier this year when Mr. Lovely and I were house hunting... let the truth be told... I was hunting for a house that fit perfectly for Christmas. We found it. We decorated it. And we partied it in... it was everything I imagined and so much more... to say the very least.

Any who, during the preparation of the party, my grandmother, Oma taught me many family traditions in the way our family celebrates Christmas Eve. And one of those traditions is where the lady of the home wears an apron sent from Germany that was past down year to year. I was honored to wear it this year. At the end of the night, I fell deeply in love with this apron. My grandmother saw how happy I was in this apron... she walked up to me, hugged me and whispered in my ear "It's yours. Merry Christmas". I jumped for joy. I love these kinds of things. Past down from generations. That have meaning and so much love attached. Thank you Oma. I love you forever.

As the clock was ticking closer and closer when the party began, the food was slowly pouring through the doors. I have never carved a turnkey nor a ham... but this night, I learned. Pretty interesting when it comes to carving. It's like an art. An art is well appreciate =)

However, I did discover the art of the spiral ham and I must admit... this is my kind of carving. All ya gotta do it pick and pull. Time saver and life saver. LOVE YOU SPIRAL HAM CREATOR! You are my new best friend! =)

Everyone came styling in their best Christmas attire. Especially this little cutie. She is my Godmothers baby girl, Kiki. She is almost as cute as my...

Sweet niece/Goddaughter Tianna. Isn't she a beaut?

In order to receive your gift, it is tradition to sing as a family in front of Santa and my grandparents a Christmas tune. In my early years, I remember just having 6 performance being sung. My mother and her 5 siblings would sing with each of their families. But as the years went by the families multiplied as the next generation began to make their own families. So what was 6 performances is now 13 performances.

Below is my mom and dad. Do you see Santa? {hehe, that's my baby brother, Jacob}

My cousin Franchesca, her boyfriend Josh and her son Christian.

My cousin Aubrey, her husband Victor and their 3 handsome boys.

My cousin Valerie, her boyfriend JT and their son TJ.

My cousin Chris, his wife Liona and their 3 beautiful boys.

Auntie Jeanie and Uncle Jerry

My uncle Frankie, Auntie Gina, Auntie Ginny, cousins- Taylorm Miki, Bugsy, Ryan and on the laptop/skype is my cousins Dane and Carrera which couldn't make it to the gathering but appeared for singing =)

My nina Tina & Nino Tony. My cousin Briana and her boyfriend Eric.

Myself and Mr. Wonderful singing Silent Night.

Uncle Pat, Auntie Jen and their two boys Brandon and Cole.

My sister Karina, her husband Trevor and their beautiful babies Isaiah and Tianna.

Awww, look at the proud soon-to-be grandparents.

My younger brother Jaryd and his daughter Aleah

{His wife and son JayJay were in Arizona and was unable to join us this day due to a family member passing. Please send your prayers out to the Bezada Family}

Another tradition is that we sing happy birthday to all the December babies.

I was so happy that my husbands parents came to celebrate with us.

My daddy and his favorite 3 ladies!

I love this picture.

My mom and all her siblings {with the exception of her brother Eibe}

And that's all folks. I hope your Christmas holiday was filled with Family, Love, Joy and Laughter.

Hugs and Kisses

OUR FRONT PORCH =)

Our front porch totally makes me smile. I wanted it to be full of greens but a little pop of cheer to brighten things up.

For a little more eye candy, I tucked away a few hidden treasures underneath the poinsettia

And there he is... The Love of my Life... on his way to work!

Our house is now dripping icicles!

{Thank you baby for all your hard work. It sure paid off!}

All glowy and ready for Christmas.

Tonight, Mr. Lovely and I will be hosting our very first family Christmas holiday party. A guest list of 70 will be gracing our home tonight. Please send us your positive and cheerful vibes as we are anxious and nervous to throw our first big party at our house! Eeeek!

What about ya'll? What will you be doing tonight? Any special plans?