Merry Christmas, Baby

Last Thursday, my office had their annual holiday party. Since this is my first year out in the work force, it was my first official office party. We had been building up to the party all week by having secret holiday buddies and had the reveal the day of the party. It was so much fun getting to take a break, relax, and fellowship with friends and coworkers in the middle of the workday. Plus, there was a cookie bake off--what could be better than that?

On Friday, John and I went for a little stroll through Dupont, stopped by Starbucks (using my holiday buddy gift)for some warm drinks and ended our journey by the National Christmas Tree. The tradition of having a tree on the White House lawn dates back to 1923 when the country was under the leadership of President Calvin Coolidge. It was pretty neat to see a piece of American Christmas tradition before our very eyes.

John worked on Saturday during the day. So, I spent my afternoon wrapping up my Christmas shopping, having a delicious light lunch at Teaism, and watching The Imitation Game  (which is fabulous) at E Street Cinema downtown. That evening, we celebrated our anniversary a little early by having a fancy dinner at Floriana in Dupont. The Italian bistro is family owned and prides itself on serving home cooked dishes served with locally sourced ingredients. They also make their pasta in house which makes it all the better.

Mind and Body Tea: Lemongrass, apple, rooibos, ginger, ginseng, cinnamon, bean peels, mistletoe, cardamom, clove & black pepper. Perfection.

Sunday morning, I kicked off the day by going to mass at Saint Joseph's on Capitol Hill with my friend Cristi. Then, we continued our Sunday by venturing to the Decatur House for the White House Historical Society's Holiday Open House. A lot of the offerings were geared towards little ones, but it didn't stop us from joining in on the fun. We made pop up Christmas cards, a 3-D train, and holiday ornaments. We also got a free tour of the Decatur House, listened to some live holiday music-all while sipping on warm hot cocoa.

That evening, the Browns came over for sips and sweets. I had a terrible fail with some homemade snickerdoodles that came out tasting like scones- but luckily, the Browns are sweet and ate them anyway. We spent the evening just catching up and winding down from the weekend which was much needed and appreciated.

The next day was a big milestone in the Lyles' household, mine and John's two year anniversary. It's hard to believe just how fast the time goes by. It literally feels like maybe 6 months ago, tops, that I walked down the isle towards my handsome catch of a husband. While we celebrated our anniversary last month with a trip to the Big Apple, John still biked home with an orchid and bottle of wine in hand. Y'all, I don't know what I did to snag him- but I am thankful each and every day that I get the honor of being his wife.

I have always loved this time of year, but there's something kind of exciting about spending it in a new city. While I miss my friends and family back home and am sad about not getting to see them this holiday season-I am excited about getting it to spend it with the one that I love most. Cheers to another fabulous week in the District!