2015, we welcome you!

** sheesh. sorry about the grainy pics. and that house has great light too! hey iPhone, i will be upgrading you soon. your camera just isn't cutting it anymore and i am far too lazy to lug my legit camera around. **

happy 2015! when it comes to food, fun, and family...the year started out pretty great. but football, that's another story. tears and sadness for my Baylor Bears. brutal.

we had a pretty low-key NYE celebration. ben had to close the month and year so he worked late while elinor and i watched veggie tales and rang in the new year before her 7:30 bedtime. big party. and then, when ben came home around 8pm (hurray for his much-earlier-than-expected arrival!) we sipped festive beverages and snacked on some mozz and olives and peppers before diving into some popcorn. simple and perfect. we chatted and watched some comedy tv on netflix and just took it easy. it has been such a busy season so it felt good to just relax and usher in the new year in our living room. maybe we will get a little wild next year... who knows.

after we said, "hello 2015!" in NYC time, we hit the sack and got some rest for a january 1st filled with football and food and fun with fam.

ben and i got in some morning exercise to make room for queso and then took off for ben's folks' place. the crew gathered to watch Baylor play (but, i won't be talking about that today) and yell and laugh and munch.

a big veggie platter and mark's queso dip and chips. and then, homemade tamales with all kinds of tasty sauces. it was grand. and those tamales should be added to the official new year's day roster. the queso is the perfect appetizer, after all.

then, with some of rach's homemade gingerbread and my mom's homemade pecan pie and some coffee, we wrapped things up. so good. and once again, so full.

the rest of our day was about naps and goofing around with elinor and eating vegetables in a pathetic attempt to balance out all the cheese. a girl can try. and that, my friends, was our 2015 kickoff. things are looking great so far. we are excited to see what this new year has in store!

xo, us.