The Most Wonderful Time of the Most Wonderful Year.

We're on a little White Hot vacation, my friends.

A vacation that involves staying home, knocking out nursery projects like it's our job, checking off pre-baby to do list items, staying in bed until 10am every morning drinking coffee, and staying up late making delicious dinners and talking and planning and imagining this turn our life is going to take in a few short months. 

This is our last official time off together, other than a weekend here and there, before baby girl comes. And while we are focused on the one million things to do and on all that we have to celebrate, I'm focused on soaking it up, too.

As we are past the halfway point now - 22 weeks and counting - I know our days as just Cassie and Hugh are drawing to a close. And while I'm over the moon for the new adventure we are embarking on, I want to make sure I savor the days that are left where it is only us. After all, it has been only us for the last seven years, and they have been the most wonderful times of my life.

So, from our little family to yours, happiest of holidays. I hope you are spending your days with your very favorite person, reveling in everything you have to celebrate.

Our 2012 Christmas card photo. I can't get the actual card to upload, and after the disaster that has been using Tiny Prints this year, I'm just going to let it go. But I will leave you with the fact that it was 45 degrees and windy outside when we took this photo using the tripod and the self-timer. Mad skills, my friends, if I do say so myself.

 

See you in 2012!

The White Hot Life in Photos (and Words).

Happy Monday, my frinternets. Normally this post is a little weekend update, but seeing as I haven't updated you on our weekends in approximately 3 months, you're getting an update of the latest and greatest from our White Hot life as of late.

Here's what it's looked like:

My favorite husband had a birthday (two months ago). We're now co-members of the twenty-eight club. At that point I was two months into growing this baby and, subsequently, two months into not cooking a damn thing. So, I felt it was only fair to indulge my favorite birthday boy with his favorite meal:

Why yes, yes, I did cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner for Hugh on October 6th. I've told you I love that guy.

Boston Cream Pie birthday cake!

One of my very dearest friends is having a baby (like, any day now). Her husband is a year ahead of Hugh in med school, and we met at the first Wives' Club event three years ago. And I have said about one thousand times since then that I don't know what I would do without her. Suffice to say we have a lot in common. Anyway, I had the honor of co-hosting a little baby shower for her. All of the photos of the people are blurry, but this is a little peak at the details:

 

The spread.

 Vanilla Buttermilk Cake with Strawberries, Lemon Curd, and Cream Cheese Icing. And, she's having a baby girl!

Hugh carved a pumpkin that looked like Fletcher. Because he's awesome:

Cooked and ate some really, really good food. Because even though the food-blogging has been nonexistent, the food-eating has been pretty nonstop:

 Meatball Pizza.

 Pizza with Figs, Roasted Garlic, Pancetta, Caramelized Onions, and Blue Cheese. Nirvana.

Chili bowl. Crazy delicious. Crazy heartburn. Oh, pregnancy.

Waffles and Blueberry Compote.

Started decking our halls:

A snazzed-up mantle.

Our pets are still a mess.

We've stayed really busy with work and school, but decided to make it better by working and studying curled up in bed with our very spoiled babies:

 

I mean, really.

 

Henry is determined to be the first of the boys to feel baby girl move. He fell asleep waiting.

Henry stuck his face in a bowl of sour cream:

 This is his I'm-in-trouble expression. 

And Fletcher just continued to humor us, patient boy that he is:

Oh, and last but certainly not least, we've made it to the halfway point:

20 weeks. And she's kicking up a storm. Safe to say being pregnant with this baby girl of ours is more than exceeding my expectations. We are just loving life right now. But more on that later this week.

And, with that, you are basically caught up on life at the White Hot house. We missed you around here.

Hope your week feels like the end of the countdown to a two-week Christmas vacation!