Ornaments That Tell Our Story

Can you believe that in one week it will be Christmas Day??? Where has this month gone?

So today I just wanted to share a little bit about our Christmas tree. 

I know there are a lot of Pinterest worthy trees out there and I constantly consider having one that just looks pretty in the future but I couldn't have a Christmas without my ornament collection. Our ornaments tell our story. So I wanted to share a bit about the ornaments we have collected over the last year to add to our tree and why I love collecting ornaments so much.

My mom and dad gave us this Mickey and Minnie wedding ornament for Christmas last year but this is the first year we've had it on the tree. I think it's so cute and as a Disney lover I'm thrilled to have it. We have a few wedding ornaments but this is one of my favorites!

Next up, we collected an ornament from each island we visited on our honeymoon. I have been collecting ornaments on our travels for years (even before I met Tim) so we made sure to find an ornament at each port.

Our ornament from St. Martin, this was a typical ornament we found on all the islands. Although we did try to switch it up a bit and not get the same type everywhere. 

In Antigua we picked this one up. See what I mean with the similarities? Sometimes it was hard to find other ornaments though.

San Juan, Puerto Rico, this one is textured and was clearly hand painted. 

I love this beach chair ornament from St. Thomas. I think it's my favorite one out of all the honeymoon ornaments.

This turtle from St. Lucia is really cute though!

We picked up two "ornaments" in Philadelphia last month. The first isn't technically an ornament but a keychain however we will use it as an ornament to remember our time in Philly. Keep this in mind if you are interested in collecting ornaments but are having trouble finding one in a certain location.

We had no trouble finding an Eagles one for Tim to bring home though! I don't mind because our tree has plenty of Patriots ornaments on it too. Dual alliances in this house.

Rachel and Ant gave us this ornament and it's so sweet to have our First Home ornament! I love how an ornament can mark the importance of a year.

I also picked up a new Harry Potter ornament after Christmas last year. I can't help being a nerd!

Now let's take a look at some of the other significant ornaments on our tree...

Our wedding invitation ornament that I purchased from OurGlassOrnaments on Etsy.

This reindeer came from my trip to France. 

This sweet ornament was carved by Tim's grandpa.

Here is our Disney ornament from our trip back in 2017 (that sounds like a very long time ago..it must be time to go back!)

This is our ornament from our first apartment that I bought from MommyGotTalent on Etsy.

Almost every one of our ornaments tells a story, there are very few that I purchased just because they looked pretty. While I may have one of those Pinterest-worthy trees one day, I promise that somewhere else in my house will be a tree filled with all of my travel ornaments, all of my landmark moments, and of course filled with Disney characters and Harry Potter. 

Side note: How many Belle ornaments can a girl have before she has too many Belle ornaments??

I will keep collecting because although I always talk about decluttering I am truly a collector at heart.

Also, I am thinking that someday I should get either the Disney train or the monorail to go underneath the tree.....

Have a great day everyone :)

Philadelphia Days 2 and 3

Today we are talking about days 2 and 3 in Philly! To be honest on the third day we only made one quick stop and then drove straight home, so this is basically only about day 2. 

We started off the day with a stroll to go get some breakfast! We walked through a small park with a ton of dogs and it made us both miss our little Sophie terribly. 

We headed to Philly Bagels on Chestnut Street, grabbed some bagels and then ate them in the park since it was a nice morning. 

 After eating our bagels we hopped in the car and drove to....

The Rocky Steps!

Of course we had to take turns running the steps. Tim took them two at a time while I touched every step. Honestly, it wasn't as bad of a run as I thought it would be!

We of course had to take a picture at the top...

....and at the bottom!

Getting a picture with the Rocky statue was also a must!

We headed back into the center of Philly and into Iron Stone where we had eaten lunch the day before so Tim could grab a growler of the Philly Special Beer he got the day before.

We drove back out of the city to the Philadelphia sports complex. I thought it was the coolest idea that all the sports arenas are in the same complex. Since it's so different with the Patriots playing outside of Boston and all the Boston arenas being separated from each other it was really cool to see everything in one area.

Tim had read that Xfinity Live was the best place to hang out before the Eagles game so we headed inside and ate at Victory Beer Hall. There weren't many Patriots fans, but there were a few! I honestly didn't get harassed as much as I thought that I would.

The food at Victory Beer Hall wasn't the best. My mac and cheese was super oily and Tim didn't think his meal was great either. We basically sat at a long table and there were no backs to our seats which always makes my back hurt. Not to sound whiny, but it certainly wasn't the best place I've ever eaten!

I totally see how you could love the vibe though. Everyone was pumped up for the game, and while most of them were cheering for an Eagles win, it was a really great atmosphere.

Tim was 100% in his element. I was worried I might never get him out of the Eagles stadium. He was finally with "his people".

Here he is right outside the gates to Lincoln Financial Field.

I have to admit that the stadium is really nice and there's a ton of stuff to do before you go to your seats.

I took pictures of Tim with pretty much everything he could find. I was so happy that he was so happy. He has been dreaming of going to a game there forever!

Once we got to our seats (31 rows back from the Eagles bench!!!) I was able to get some pretty close pictures of the one and only GOAT Tom Brady!

A few years ago Tim and I went to a Patriots vs Bills game at Gillette it was my first game ever but we were SO far away from the field that everyone looked super small. This time we could see exactly what was happening and pick out individual players. It was so amazing and I will never forget it!

I wish it wasn't so cold because my fingers got super numb taking pictures!

Once the Eagles were out on the field I had to take some pictures of Carson Wentz for Tim.

If you hate football I apologize because pretty much the rest of this post is going to be pictures of the game! 

It was a little intense being surrounded by Eagles fans while you're cheering for the Patriots. I've never heard so many people boo their own team... it was intense. 

If you watched the game you know that the Patriots came back and won! Yay! That worked out nicely for me because no one seemed to be in the mood to mess with Patriots fans afterwards.

Tim said he always dreamed they would win when he went to the game...

...but how can he expect to win against the Pats?!

We got right down near the field at the end of the game and it was so cool!

It was such an amazing time!

We headed back to our AirBnb for our last night in Philly.

Day three started with breakfast at the Bourse which is a little indoor food court. There were so many options and if we had been there for lunch we would've had a dozen or so vendors to choose from. Since we were there at breakfast we only had a couple of choices but we ended up really enjoying it!

We ate at the GrubHouse and my breakfast sandwich and hashbrowns were delicious!

We had one more stop to make before heading home to Rhody...

The US Mint!

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside but this was such a fun stop! You learn all about the history of the US Mint as well as the history of how coins have been made throughout the years. Then you get to actually see coins in the factory being produced. It was cool and made my nerdy heart all excited.

That's all for our trip to Philadelphia! I hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride.

Now, where should we go next? We don't have any trip(s) planned and are trying to decide where we want to go next!