Three weeks and seven pictures

So I've been MIA the past three weeks, on a vay-k (vacation) back in Wisconsin for the holidays...what have I been doing?

Michael and I arrived in Mukwonago (my home town) the day before Christmas (celebrated with fervor at our house, as you can tell by this picture of my parents' living room):

We stuffed ourselves silly with lots and lots (and lots) of food, especially on Christmas Day. It's a Caldart (my mom's side of the family) tradition to honor our Italian heritage (my Grandpa was born in Italy) by gathering at my parents' house for a GIGANTORE Italian meal. And mmmmm was it good. My mom cooks for days beforehand and the house smells like lasagna, garlic bread, Italian sausage, gnocchi, ravioli.... We've been doing this since I was a little girl and it's a tradition I look forward to every year. Check out the spread below and you'll understand why:

So on to New Years Eve, spent at my parents' cottage in Northern Wisconsin. In the last couple of years, my parents' have regularly spent New Years Eve here and we decided to join them. Unbenownsted to us, we would get roped into participating in their tradition of creating weird homemade hats and wearing them for the night. Clearly, I got into it. What can I say? I'm never one to back down from making a fool of myself....

I also got spend my birthday up at the cottage; I even got a cake! I'm getting older, as you can see by the difficulty I'm having in blowing out all those candles:

Michael flew back to Wisconsin on the 5th to go back to work and I stayed on an extra week to hang out with the 'rents and visit with friends in Madison.

On my last day in Wisconsin, my parents proposed going for a walk in the field below our house before the sun set for the evening. So we bundled up in thick wool socks and jackets and trudged through the snow. Chloe had a blast stuffing her face into the snow and coming up with powder all over her nose and ears. I didn't realize how beautiful a sunset could be when it sets over the snow....ahhhh....so pretty:


Just as we were heading up the hill back to the house, a mist settled over the river and I snagged one of my favorite pics of the vacation. It was a nice send-off.So I arrived back in San Diego early this week, to be greeted by my birthday present--a brand spankin' new COMPUTER!!!! Clearly, I'm very excited:

So that's my past two weeks in a nutshell.

I've got big plans for the new year (get excited!!!!), including giving the blog a facelift and incorportating it into our home site, www.WeddingsByVantage.com. Yeah, I know, it's probably the most exciting thing that will happen to any of us ALL year...so keep your eyes peeled for that news. I'll also be writing some new informative articles about photojournalism, sending out a fun little "info" packet for brides- and grooms-to-be and who knows what else. Yay!