A Sunset and A Christmas Tree in D.C.

The past week and a half has been busy. Mom and I have been unpacking box after box since all of our stuff got to the new house last Tuesday. Dad and Emma got here on Saturday, and then it was the full sprint to Christmas. Now it is Christmas Eve and we are baking cookies, wrapping last minute gifts, and assembling gingerbread houses. 

But before the movers arrived and before I even got to Boston, my friends and I decided go to downtown D.C., and see the different Christmas decorations. First we went to the Madison building to get library cards for the Library of Congress. It was a super easy and I can’t wait to explore the library.

A statue of James Madison in the Madison Building

Even though the Library was closed, we went outside of the building and took some great photos of the sun setting.

As we walked towards the Christmas tree in front of the Capitol Building, the sun got closer to the horizon and the colors got more vivid and bright. 

The views from the front of the Capitol Building were magnificent with the entire National Mall before us. 

Then the sky got dark enough for the Christmas tree to turn on!

It got a bit chilly after that, so we hurried off to dinner at the Shake Shack in Penn Quarter. I had the special salted caramel hot chocolate, which warmed me up on the cold night. It was a great last night in downtown D.C. before we all headed back home for the holidays. 

Now I am home and surrounded by my family, the perfect recipe for Christmas. Our tree is up, lit, and decorated. There are lights and a wreath in front of the house. And most importantly, a great majority of the boxes are unpacked!

Until next time,

Kara

Christmas at Walt Disney World

Welcome to the second post of my Christmas vacation! This next set of photos are from Walt Disney World right before Christmas Eve. I live near Orlando, so I am lucky enough to go there pretty often.  We went to the Osborne Family Lights at Hollywood Studios. If you have the chance, go to it. It is amazing!

Indiana Jones at Hollywood Studios. One of my favorite attractions because I love the Indiana Jones films and the whole behind the scenes thing. 

The Christmas tree at the hotel we were staying at, Port Orleans Riverside. 

Pretty scenery at the hotel. This part of the hotel is styled after Southern plantations, the other part is styled after the bayou. 

Blurry picture (sorry) of the Christmas tree at Hollywood Studios.

Here is the start of the pictures of the Osborne Family Lights. Hope you enjoy! 

Snow in Florida? Only at Disney!

Christmas Eve morning we went to the Grand Floridian for breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. It is a character restaurant and buffet. We were visited by the Mad Hatter, Alice, Mary Poppins, Pooh Bear and Tigger. But the most fantastic thing at the the hotel were the Christmas decorations. There is a life size gingerbread house and a beautiful tree. Here are some pictures:

Made entirely out of edible products! 

Cast members sell gingerbread from inside the house!! 

Santa Claus! 

Huge Christmas tree in the middle of the lobby

Another view of the tree

Pretty picture from the second floor at the Grand Floridian! I like the symmetry. 

I didn't take any pictures at breakfast, but it was really yummy with lots of choices. I love breakfast and I love buffets, so it was perfect. After we finished, we drove home. The last post will be pictures from EPCOT on New Years Eve. See you then!

Christmas Cookies!

Happy New Year! Sorry that I haven't been on lately, it has been a busy few weeks with finals and then the holidays. But here are some pictures of Christmas cookies that I baked and trips to Walt Disney World. I hope that you all had a great holiday season and new year. I cannot wait for 2014!

I'm splitting my Christmas vacation into three posts because I took so many pictures. This post will be about the Christmas cookies. The next post will be about our Disney trip at Christmas and the last post will be about our trip on New Years Eve. Without further ado, Christmas cookies!

My family and I baked these cookies for school, work and family. I love baking, so this was a lot of fun. The recipes are in the captions if you want them. They all tasted delicious, my favorite being Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.

My favorite cookies! Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. 

M&M Cookies. We used the recipe from the back of the packet, but here is link to one like it.

Cranberry Bars. This one was very popular! 

These are the Ginger Cookies. It calls for sanding sugar, but we used pearl sugar instead and it worked really well. It also looks really pretty! 

All three of the cookies together!