St. Augustine Christmas
Right before the holidays I lucked out and had a few days off back to back, so it was off to St. Augustine I went to celebrate Christmas with Ryan. Before I arrived, he went and picked up a mini tree for us (we got the last mini tree on the lot!) and I arrived with so many boxes of Christmas lights, Ryan's apartment ceilings are now practically all covered.
^^Our little tree all decorated and awaiting Christmas morning. The next morning we woke up really early and opened up gifts and stockings followed by a decadent Christmas cinnamon roll breakfast. I had gifted Ryan with several new pour over coffee accessories, so he whipped us up a couple of pour overs to start the day.
Back when I visited my friend Katherine in Germany, she gave me a couple Kinder Happy Hippos to try out. I had intended to save them until I got home from Europe, however, I ended up eating one on the plane ride home. I was so upset when I did because they were so delicious and I could not find them anywhere stateside. A few months ago, while visiting my favorite Polish restaurant in town, I noticed that they sold them in packs of 5 in their food market. I was so excited that I snatched up their last two boxes, yet I refused to eat any of them because I knew I would be craving them as soon as I ate the last bite. I had mentioned it to Ryan once about how I had been hoarding Happy Hippos and low and behold, for Christmas he ordered me a box of 50 so I could finally enjoy them and not have to worry about running out immediately. Next time you see anything Kinder related at a European market, buy it! Just don't wait to eat them like I do!
We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with a few of Ryan's friends, eating pizza, and riding the carousel on San Marco. We used to ride it sometimes when I would visit my friends Britni and Bobby at Flagler, but it's been a few years since I've been back on it. Ryan and I walked down to the carousel and paid our well worth it $1 for the 3 minute ride. The park wasn't very busy, so Ryan and I had the carousel to ourselves. We took advantage and paid a few extra dollars to keep it going.
Later that evening we just spent a bit of time walking around downtown for Nights of Lights. It's my favorite time of the year in St. Augustine and I wish that they would leave the lights up year round. I suppose then it wouldn't be as special, so I'll soak it all up while I can until it's time for them to take the lights down.
Each year, for the last five years, Ryan has made a "staching through the snow" letterpress Christmas card. This year, in celebration of his new press and the five year mark, Ryan designed a five color letterpress card. Each year, he sends them out to friends and family, and in return, they must post a photo of themselves holding up the card as if the mustache were their own. It has seemingly become a fun tradition for Ryan's friends and it's one I know I enjoying doing as well. Below are two of the photos we took.