Hello, friends.
So, let's talk about Christmas and mountains, shall we?
My week in the mountains was still, calming, and Christmas filled.
It started off with me doing a morning shift at my work where I got up before the sun, sipped coffee and got to wish kids a merry Christmas. Then we drove on into NC reaching our cabin at 2 am.
The cabin was cozy with a fireplace, Christmas tree, Christmas coffee mugs, and an outdoor deck with a hammock and a stunning view of the mountains. Now, the only downside to this trip was that where we were located was pretty far from cities and towns and things to do during our stay. Everything we went to was anywhere from an hour to 2 hour drive away. However, we got to catch up on Christmas movie watching usually partnered with tea, hot cocoa or coffee and we did a lot of Christmas light looking.
The first day we drove into this place called Forest City where we checked out small shops, ate an early dinner at a cute café, and drank lattes (mine was gingerbread) as we walked and checked out the lights in the foggy and wet air.
The second day we went to downtown Spartanburg where we took picture with many art creations and statues, found a cute ice cream shop where I had the best green tea ice cream ever, spot and explored a cute hiking store and then from there drove into Hollywild which was a Christmas light drive through exhibit where cows, deer, goats, zebras, donkeys and zedonks came up to your car door to eat crackers. Not every animal came up but you could at least see them all. Then there was a zoo part of it in which I got to pet a zebra and a camel for my first time. It was definitely an adventure.
The third day was thai food ( a family favorite), visiting and strolling down Mcadenville (also nicknamed Christmas town due to it's amazing and elaborate Christmas decorations), brisk weather with friendly people, buckeye brownies and warm caramel apple cider.
The fourth was probably my favorite day which consisted of a drive to downtown Charlotte, the eating at King's Kitchen which was a cute restaurant that made the best fried chicken that I ate with sweet tea and cornbread and got to live that southern life, a small german village in which we got some jam from, a huge ornament statue, then a drive to the Billy Graham library which was a huge museum about Billy Graham but also had caroling, a live nativity scene, and carriage rides. It was the coldest night and the line was about an hour for the carriage ride but we waited and it was worth the wait because the ride was beautiful going through a street decorated with luminaries and the driver was a friendly old soul.
To send us off, we strolled through Forest City once again, watched my favorite Christmas movie; "It's a Wonderful Life" as well as "Elf", found a cute coffee shop where I got a Winter Maple Latte and an espresso muffin, and made it to the cabin in time to see a gorgeous sun set upon the mountains turning the sky yellow to orange to pink to black where the city lights came out and pretended to my stars fallen to the bottom of the mountains.
Then we came home and it was soon to be Christmas! Christmas Eve my family and I went to and called up about 8 different stores to find an ingredient we needed for our Christmas roast which we did finally find (thank goodness). Each story was busy, yes, but surprisingly friendly! Plus, it was an adventure and most stores also had samples. :D Then we opened our one Christmas present (which is always a book) before going out to eat at a lovely, quaint place called Cristinos. After eating, we went to a close by neighborhood that also gets pretty decked out for Christmas and enjoyed different decorations and some of our old favorites. Following that was Christmas Eve service which never disappoints. Always a beautiful and still candlelit service and a sermon that makes you reflect upon the true meaning of Christmas and what a big deal it was for Christ to come down to earth as a baby. Following that was the getting of pie and coffee at Village Inn where laughter was shared and hyperness and joy started running through our veins. We returned to our neighborhood also lit up with luminaries and we wrote our pretend Santa letter and read a couple of Christmas stories before sleeping the night away.
Night faded into day which turned into Christmas, Christmas present opening, dunkin donut munchkins for breakfast, church service, a starbucks run (with a grande latte given to me for the price of a tall), opening of stockings, the watching of "The Santa Claus", a roast beef feast, a large group of friends coming over and people who now are our friends ( but we previously hadn't met before), game playing, coffee, desserts, and a champagne toast to send Christmas a farewell.
It may have been one of the most unique Christmas's we've ever had, but it was one of the bests.
That's how December has been for me and I'm sad that it will be soon gone but ready for a new year with new memories to be made.
But anyways, hi!
Enough about me.
How was your Christmas?
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