Double Christmas Fun

Well, we have been horrible bloggers.. but with the new year.. I thought is was time to update things here at the Jones Cottage. The holidays were tons of fun flying from one coast to the next and having double Christmas fun!

We started here in Cali with the Jones Crew, hosting Christmas Eve in our tiny cottage which resulted in swapping rooms - making the dining room a living room and the living room a dining room. The best part is that after the meal.. we swap it all back so that we can sit around and play games.. someday we hope for a home that eliminates the Christmas Eve swap. A great time was had by all.

The Jones, Swan and Davis women

Brian sporting his new look (styled by me), isn't he HOT?

Then it was off to South Carolina to celebrate with the Turner Crew! What fun.. we re-create Christmas.. pretending it is Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! Lots of lazing around, eating at scrumptious restaurants, and my favorite - Shopping! We can't wait for next year when our new little Turner will be joining us.

The crazy kids on Christmas morning.. I love how David and I look super wacko!

Mom and Dad with the kids and kids-in-law!

My mom goes all out and makes a Magic Christmas Wonderland

Now ready for the New Year - 2010!

Go Angles

These days the Jones household is a bit crazy.. jumping up and down screaming, crying and shouting. NO, we aren't fighting we are rooting for our ANGELS!

If only they could defeat the Goliath Yankees! GO ANGELS!

I'm Back!

For those who have been asking about the whereabouts of The Vintage Society, you will be happy to know... I'm back! Things are looking up and you can check out the latest here!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Its the most wonderful time of the year! This year was no exception. For the first time since I moved to California, we actually had cold Christmas-y weather! We loved it. The heater kept us warm and wearing coats wasn't just for looks - they actually served a purpose.

The month was busy as usual - with parties, Christmas shopping and Christmas glee! It was truly as special Christmas that we will remember for years to come.

Our "family" Christmas party was especially great with three little munchkins added loads of fun. We exchanged gifts and ate delicious desserts. I am sure the photo next year will hold even more little ones. We are a growing family.

A neighborhood Christmas party was hosted at our home and it was a great time to catch up and eat more good grub! I had fun making Paula Deen delights and adding Christmas touches to our home.

Christmas Eve morning Brian and I started a new family tradition - a morning breakfast at The Filling Station in Old Town Orange. It is becoming our favorite little town, especially since they added a great new vintage boutique that I can't stay away from. The morning was perfectly cold and the breakfast was fabulous, a great start to our day.

Christmas Eve night was at our home and we had the whole Jones and Company crew. I love making this a special evening, choosing a theme for the dinner and sprucing up our little table to make it inviting. This year was Italian themed filled with lots of love and a candy cane cake I created. We all gave a verbal gift to the person sitting on the left of us. Some gifts given were, "the opportunity to be a figure skater", "a pass into the New York Marathon", "the clean gene", "celibacy from women for the next three years".. as you can imagine these were hilarious and filled the evening with laughter.

Christmas morning was spent at Mom and Pops Jones home. We loved breakfast together and opening presents. Brian and I both suprised each other with glee-filled gifts. A rock for my finger and lakers tickets for Brian.

Then it was off to Hilton Head, SC for a Christmas with the Turner clan. Mom Turner went out of the way, even with this crappy economy, and worked her little tail off to spoil us kids. Our Christmas morning together was filled with gifts and fun times together, the day ended with an amazing dinner and a visit to see the movie "Marley and Me". We all loved it and it made Brian and I miss Dudley even more.

After the Turner Christmas we headed up the mountains of North Carolina to celebrate the New Year. It wad ridiculously cold and perfect. The cabin was cozy, a fire roard, and coffee kept us warm.

Walks through the beautiful surroundings were highlights of the trip.

The whole family!

Stuffed with Thanksgiving Goodness

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! It kicks off the holiday season, it means amazing food, it means time with family, and it means a time of reflection on everything we have to be thankful for.

This year was extra special because we had fun fall-ish weather (which isn't always the case in sunny California). Brian and I woke up to rain hitting the windows, we made a scrumptious breakfast together and talked about what we were thankful for. We then started the southern cooking process - I always bring the sweet potatoe casserole and apple pie. Brian worked diligently cutting and peeling the apples and I got to do all the fun stuff.

Then off to the family feast at Vic and Nancy Jones. Tradition is key - Brian and Tommy's wiffle ball game (Brian reclaimed the victory this year), picture taking, stuffing our faces with food, and then sitting around in a food coma.

It was a great Thanksgiving!

The whole clan!

Wiffle Ball Competition

The Grub

Stuffed with Thanksgiving goodness

A Neighborly Brinner

In this crazy life that keeps us all so busy.. I try to pretend we live in a small town with neighbors down the road. These neighbors can pop by any time they want and spontaneous dinners are served...

Ok, so this isn't exactly the case - but we do have our neighbors - Rian, Meghan and Wallace! We live just down the road from each other and Meghan and I decided it was time to be more neighborly.. so we have a monthly dinners.

I hosted the most recent neighbor dinner and the theme was breakfast or "brinner" as Rian calls it. Everyone had to wear their pj's.. even Wallace. We loaded up on Paula Deen's ridiculously dessert-y french toast.

Neighbors are the best!

A neighborly "brinner"

In our pj's!

Listening to Christmas music and sipping peppermint mocha coffee!

The Clemmons Say I Do

The day has come.. Jacob and Teri are now officially the Clemmons! November 15th was a day to remember.. yes, there were terrible fires roaring through Southern California.. but nothing could have damaged the beautiful wedding.

Teri was a gorgeous bride and Jacob was a giddy groom - it was a match made in heaven. It was a blast for Brian and I to be a part of their big day = celebrating the life ahead of them. They headed off to Hawaii and we headed back home. We can't wait to see them post-honeymoon!

With the happy couple!

Great to spend time with the girls.

The beautiful bride.

Bridesmaid to the Bride.