December Holidays: part 2

Part 2: Christmas in North Carolina. 

1). On Christmas Eve, Levent and I headed down south to Asheville. We got there in time for dinner. And to draw a pretty sweet Christmas dragon with Malakai (and to listen in on Malakai's bedtime reading, which was Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban). As per usual, my family goes to bed way earlier than the Miller family does. So Levent and I found ourselves sipping hot chocolate by the tree, which was not a bad way to end the day.

Please note the Christmas sweater Malakai decided it should wear

2). I got to hang out with my Grandma! My mom's mom has been staying with them this winter after some health set backs this fall. It was so fun having her there. Despite all she's been through, she still the optimistic, tough lady she's always been.

This is a weird photo but I love it. 

3). Lots of great food, of course! When I go to my parents house, I want to eat "party potatoes" these creamy potato dish my mom has been making my whole life. Other highlights included brunch at one of our favorite haunts, Early Girl Eatery. (This time, we went to the one in West Asheville and it was way less crowded then the one downtown).

4) Seeing Jason and Sarah! Levent's best friend forever, Jason, and his wife Sarah live in Goshen. Sarah's parents live in Hendersonville, which is close to Asheville. It's always been the dream to be in North Carolina at the same time and this year it finally happened! We met up with them in Hendersonville for tapas and a December bonfire. 

We also got to meet their new puppy Cooper

And Sarah's parents dog Archie

5). Other highlights included walks in the mild weather, visit to Summit Coffee and walking around the River Arts District a bit, visiting some of my favorite shops downtown (including The Chemist, which is a distillery that we've been wanting to go into for awhile now), and general Christmas merry hoopla.

I know it's probably not a sustainable thing, but being able to go to both Ohio and North Carolina for Christmas is one of my favorite things. Happy Christmas everyone!. 

(Honorable mention): On our way out of town, Levent and I stopped at a coffeeshop in West Asheville called Battlecat. The coffee was not that good but we also got bagels there and oh. my. goodness. they were amazing!)