#1,470 Groundhog Christmas Eve Eve + Wanderlust.

Just like Christmas Eve Eve last year, we spent tonight hanging out with the Hickners (though we missed the Blackledges and the casino Dorito pie) beside a fire.

Joey’s grown a winter beard, which merited a beard buddies photo:

I’m sorry for you good people who bother reading the redundancy of my life, as I’m realizing more and more that my life consists of a lot of a repeats. But anything good is worth repeating, right? Things like pancakes, fires, long walks, Christmas movies, fat dogs, cool cities, etc.

Another redundant topic is our daydreaming about going to Europe together. I’ve only been to the UK once, when I was in college, and I’ve been dying to take the long trip with Ben since he’s never been over. I remember this blog from 2010 when we said we’d go for our 5th anniversary, but this year we went back to NYC instead. And now we’re actually thinking next fall is maybe it. For real. The year we’ll finally cross the pond. We’ve ultimately decided Italy will be the most fun for us, lovers of good food and history. On my list are Rome, Venice, Florence, and Cinque Terre. I’ve started planning our budget and it’s totally doable for not a ton of money, especially if we use airbnb again. Have you been to Italy? Tell me about it!