Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! I sure did, albeit it was a busy one. In fact, it was so busy I got sick! That's what usually happens when I try to do too much. This year we really packed it in with family celebrations pretty much every single day/evening for Christmas and I have to say, as much as it was fun, it was physically (and mentally) exhausting to the point where I got an ear infection! Steve, Cora, and I all had a cold a few weeks before Christmas and that's how the it came about. So, the lesson I've learned here is that I really should wrap gifts as I buy them and not leave it to the last minute, and take naps when Cora does.

Enough about that stuff, let's get on with the fun stuff that happened during Christmas week! I thought that sharing my Instagram feed from the past week and a half would be a good way to show you a glimpse into what I did.

Starting at the top left in chronological order
Cora at her easel: As a Christmas gift, my parents got Cora an art easel and she could not get enough of it on Christmas. She was quite the artist drawing on her easel as well as her polka dotted dress. Thank goodness for washable markers, right?
Jewels Galore: I must've been really good this year because I made out like a bandit with the jewels this Christmas. Here's a shot of my bounty.
Biggest Christmas Tree Ever: We spent a few days at Steve's dad's house after Christmas, along with my brother-in-law's family, and it was really nice to spend time with family that you don't get to see a lot of. Plus, it was adorable to see Cora with her little cousin Lillian for an extended period of time. Those two are going to be trouble for us...
Amaryllis Study: I almost took these amaryllis from Granddaddy's (that's what Cora calls Steve's dad) dining room home with us because they were beyond gorgeous.
Jackie O: One of my best friends, Alicia, came to visit me and my other bff, Lauren, so we planned a trip to the Newseum to check out the exhibits happening right now. We all fell in love with The Camelot exhibit, which was absolutely mesmerizing. The photos are so insightful, but beyond that they were works of art.
Le Diplomate: Dinner at Le Diplomate might be our new thing. It was such a treat to 'escape to France' for a few hours and enjoy some escargot, champagne, and the best ("orgasmic" in LWT's words) Chocolate Napoleon we've ever had. The only thing that could've made the evening even better would've been to have our other bff, Lindsey there. We missed you darling!!!
NYE Selfie: So the hubby and I really wanted to do something for NYE, but with a baby it's a little difficult to have an overnighter easily and we were exhausted from the Christmas festivities and overnighters. We really wanted to do something so thankfully our friends planned an incredible evening of food and cocktails at their house before heading out to the city. We were able to celebrate with them until they left for the club and even though it was too short (it always is!) it was exactly what we wanted to do.
New Year's Day OOTD: It's tradition in my family to spend New Year's Day at my parents' house to partake in Seh Beh, a Korean celebration of the New Year in which you pay your respects to your elders and wish them many blessings in the New Year. And then in turn you receive envelopes of money. Not such a bad tradition, eh? I would've gotten a photo of Cora in her han-bok but it turns out she's outgrown it considerably so I had to scratch that idea. Instead, you get my ootd. I just got these J.Crew suede heels for a steal and now want to wear them all the time. Which is exactly why I wore them to start the new year. "Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world." So true Marilyn, so true.
FaceTime with Grandma: My grandmother, my only living grandparent, lives in Hawaii and because we rarely get to see her, my parents got her an iPad mini for the purposes of FaceTime'ing us. I really think that she just wants to see Cora (Mi Kyung) more than the rest of us, but hey, I'll take what I can get. It was such a special time for us to be able to "see" my grandma on New Year's Day and to wish her the very best in this new year. She was of course happy to see us, but over-the-moon to see Cora. We'll be visiting her along with our other family members in Hawaii later this year (sooo beyond excited I cannot even tell you!) so we're starting the planning for that now. More on that later.

Okay, I think I covered everything from the past week and a half. I hope your holiday was just as fun and jam-packed as mine! What did you all do during the holidays?