Sunday, December 27, 2009
It's A Wonderful Life


Chris and I had a pleasant, low-key holiday season this year. No shopping malls, parking nightmares, or travel hassles. Instead we opted for good cooking, friends & family, and a holiday movie here and there.


A few days before Christmas, I hosted a little dinner for my family (Mom, Ken & Brian). We all crammed into our tiny apartment and had a yummy prime rib roast with lots of seasonal trimmings. It happened to be Ken's birthday, too, so along with all our holiday food I made a cake. The nosh was delicious and the company divine. I wish we could do more family dinners, but everyone is always so busy and a two-hour drive seems to be a big enough gap to keep these affairs rare. Still, it was nice to use the holidays as an excuse to get together.




Chris and I then spent Christmas Eve at a showing of It's A Wonderful Life at a beautiful, old theater about a block from our apartment. The atmosphere of the place is absolutely spectacular. Before the film, they have a musician playing Xmas music on a Wurlitzer organ, and the space itself gives off a grand feeling. It was also nice to see a movie that the two of us have watched nearly all our lives on TV, on the big screen. It made me realize what a great movie it is and why it remains a classic. I think if we're around here for Xmas next year, we will make it a new tradition.





Christmas Day was spent lounging in PJs, watching BBC specials, and heading downstairs for an afternoon showing of It's Complicated. We both enjoyed the movie and I spent the two hours drooling over Meryl's fictional Santa Barbara home and garden. Add to that a small ham dinner, a few new toys (wine opener, Lost DVDs, cookbooks) and a few games of Bananagrams and you have a picture of our relaxed Christmas.





We'll spend New Year's Eve as usual with some of my best friends at a small party. In years past we've always opted to celebrate somewhere that we can all stay over and avoid the dangerous drunks on the road (Lauren's Santa Cruz beach house or Adam's Tahoe cabin). This year's spot is Michael's apartment in San Francisco. Should be good people and good fun! Pics to follow...

Posted by Kelley at 6:27 PM | 0 comments