The Last Weekend of 2012

I've always wanted big plans for new year's eve. I dreamed of sequined dresses, snazzy shoes, a dress-up party with friends, something glamorous. The problem is that I am not especially glam myself, and that large parties aren't my thing (come to think of it, they aren't my friends' thing either, so I'd have to go alone). Anyway, needless to say, my new year's eves have always been a little lackluster. 

Fortunately, I have a friend who feels exactly the same way about December thirty-firsts, and they've been our unofficial holiday for six years now (wow). Since our new home is about six hours from hers in Virginia, and since that's a lot closer than however many hours Washington was, we've been meaning to get together. A quick call a few months ago confirmed that our schedules were both wide open for the new year, so we decided to make plans to spend it together. 

Brooke and Levi made their way to Cleveland on Friday after work and arrived a little after midnight, so we basically said hello, introduced Carson and Levi, and went to bed. 

After brunch and a very late start, we headed toward Chagrin Falls. We went there a few weeks after we moved to Ohio in the summer, and it looked completely different. It was a very cold and snowy day, but the little town was picturesque in the snow. 

We browsed a few shops, and then decided that we'd spent enough time in the cold for one day, so we went to the movie theater there. Brooke and I saw Les Miserables, which greatly exceeded my expectations (and I cannot get the songs out of my head!), while Levi and Carson watched Jack Reacher, a more manly option. The lighting was pretty bad there, but here are our pictures with the cast:

The next day, we went to church, had lunch, took naps, and then Brooke and I took our annual year picture (more on that in a later post) before heading to the mall.

The next day, Carson and I abandoned them to work, and then I came home and made cookies for my co-workers. They were chocolate mint and I used this recipe.

Later that day, Brooke and I went to the store, then came back and got ready to ring in 2013.

I set my timer as there were ten seconds left until the ball dropped in Times Square, so this was taken at midnight.

This was shortly after

And still later, we toasted (for the camera). Cheers!

Took the 2013 yearly picture

Kissed under the mistletoe

 

And wore ridiculous headbands that we made (from existing $ Store headbands)

You may have noticed that we donned sparkly attire for the new year, just because we could. 

We got the party we wanted: a weekend-long one, while wearing sequins and ridiculous headgear. We saw one another in person for the first time in almost 2.5 years (not quite that long, as Levi pointed out), and we resolved to see one another soon. 

Welcome, 2013!