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Holidays at Home

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This definitely was one of the best trips back to Florida! I don’t love traveling (the actual traveling part) with Teddy so when we go to my parents’ house I really try to make it a good, long trip. The both of us had so much fun. I loved that we didn’t really have any plans and Teddy got super comfortable with everyone, especially my dad. He used to just follow me around, but a few days in, he was snuggling with my dad on the couch and following him around!
I think the biggest part of the trip is that it really made me realize how my time in the city is probably running out. I’m ready to have a bit more space (both indoors and outdoors). 
Teddy basically had the best trip ever. He rules the roost down here. I know he’s going to need to sleep for three days straight when we get back to NYC because he’ll be so tired from the trip. He normally naps throughout the day, but not when we’re in Florida. There’s always something to do!
Wearing: Dress, Scarf (c/o), Boots
I did not pack well for this trip. At all. I was rushed on Sunday morning when I left so I was just throwing in my favorite things. I forgot my tartan pants that I wanted to wear on Christmas and definitely didn’t bring enough warm weather clothes. The temps were okay the first few days, then started to really heat up! Sheesh!
It’s always one of my favorite things to see my little ones! I don’t see them that often (only photos my mom texts me!), so it’s crazy to come home and see how much everyone has grown. Emerson is two years old and too cute. I could eat him up. 
Izzy and Abby are our neighbors. I’ve babysat both of them (and their older brother Jacob) since they were born!!! They are head over heels in love with Teddy. Every day they peek through the mail slot and come to the backyard to play with him. Pretty sure Teddy thinks he’s one of them… you should see how crazy everyone gets running around.
Wearing: Old J. Crew shirt (similar), Vest (similar), Jeans, Shoes (c/o)
I went a little overboard with the Christmas presents this year. Luckily I had everything shipped straight from Florida. (I bought my sister this for her birthday, this for fun, and this for Christmas. I bought my mom this and this for Christmas. And I bought my dad this with a few extra gadgets and accessories that I know he’ll use/love.) It took a lot of time, patience, and wrapping paper to get all the gifts wrapped. Seriously, there were some weird shaped boxes! 
My mom and I did what we do best: bake. And we baked a LOT. Caramel corn, sugar cookies, and gingerbread. (More on the gingerbread below…)
Does Teddy look excited for Santa or what?! I got him a bone from the pet store and my mom tied a bow around it and slid it under the tree with the rest of the presents. While we were eating breakfast on Christmas, we hear Teddy digging around under the tree and trotting off with something in his mouth. He found his bone. Too funny!

So the gingerbread. The initial plan was to make the little gingerbread houses that sit on the mug. My mom and I found them on Pinterest and have been planning for weeks to try it at home. (I wanted to buy them but they sold out… Next year!) We found the instructions online, but something went terribly wrong. The template was okay, but when we printed it I guess it zoomed bigger to fill the page so the dimensions ended up being WAY too big. And then we used the recipe she recommended for the gingerbread, but it is NOT the right recipe. My mom kind of thought something was off about using baking powder and baking soda and she was right.

Between the wrong sized template and the wrong gingerbread recipe, we were not feeling very hopeful about the houses. They ended up turning out SO cute though. We made a little village! I used royal icing and crushed candy canes to decorate.

During the day on Christmas, my dad and I took Teddy to the golf course. It’s so nice being able to enjoy nice weather late December. 
The HIGHLIGHT of this trip was teaching Teddy how to swim. We tried to teach Teddy in the pool, but I don’t think he liked it. I was hoping he would be a water dog, so that was disappointing. There’s a dog park on the beach of Davis Island, so the whole family piled into the car and drove over…
The beach was perfect to learn how to swim. He. Had. So. Much. Fun. Actually, we all did. It was so cute watching him hopping around the water. Here’s a video of him swimming. The water isn’t really that deep, you can tell from the other dogs who can still walk. It couldn’t have been a better place to learn. 
Did everyone have a great holiday?! I can’t believe it’s already almost New Year’s Eve!


xoxo
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15 Comments

Audrey Lin

I came back home to see that my youngest brother had grown to my height, maybe even a little taller! Now I'm officially the shortest one in the family haha. I'm flying to Japan in two days, and then I'll be on Florida in a week! Can't wait to feel some of that sun 🙂 -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey's

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Nicole Walker

Such a cute post and Teddy is adorable! I have a little dog too and my Dad visited for Christmas and was snuggled up with my guy the whole weekend, it much be a grandparent/dog relationship haha. Hope you have a good New Years!

xoxo Nicole

http:www.brazenbrunette.com

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