Last year I enjoyed sharing some of my favorite ornaments from our Christmas tree.
Our tree is full of ornaments from our travels. I try and get an ornament from everywhere we go.
I love reminiscing about our trips as we decorate the tree.
I got a ton of new ornaments with all of my travels this year, and I want to show them all to you!
I am also going to share the recipe for our new favorite hot chocolate – Rumchata Hot Chocolate.
We enjoyed a mug or two while trimming the tree!
We started our year with an unexpected trip to the BCS National Championship in Pasadena, CA.
We spent an extra day in Anaheim and went to Disneyland.
So much fun!
I went skiing for the first time ever! My favorite was snowmobiling, though.
I went to Deer Valley, UT with Amanda.
We had a great time.
I loved seeing all the snow!
We don’t get snow like that in Alabama.
Although, we did have a snow storm in Birmingham while I was in Utah. I missed the whole thing!
Atlanta is one of our favorite weekend getaways.
We took a trip in February to see Book of Mormon at the Fox.
If you have never been to the Fox, you must go. It is amazing!
I made my first trip to Pensacola this year.
Chicken Legs use to travel there on business all the time. He knew all the best spots to eat.
We went to the National Naval Aviation Museum on our way out of town.
It was great. We want to go back again this coming year.
Every year we make a trip to St. Augustine for The Players Championship.
Chicken Legs picked up a bag tag for our ornament.
If you follow me on Instagram, you know that we love to visit Nashville.
I finally made it to The Loveless Cafe.
O-M-G! The biscuits, the fried chicken, the BBQ. Awesome!
While we were in Nashville this summer, we took a day trip up to Maker’s Mark.
It was so much fun to tour the distillery and dip our own bottle of Maker’s!
On the way back to Nashville from Maker’s Mark we stopped at the National Corvette Museum.
We got so see the sink hole and all the smashed cars. It was amazing.
I spend 34 days in Europe with my friend, Amanda, this summer.
Our first stop was Sweden. I got this Dala Horse for my ornament.
After our stay in Sweden, Amanda and I spend a few nights in Amsterdam.
It was incredible. Â I would love to go back again one day.
We toured the Van Gough Museum and I picked up a couple of bookmarks to use as ornaments.
I loved this Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette painting by Van Gogh.
I had never seen this before. It was so different from what we usually see from him.
I got this bookmark too!
Amanda and I went back to Europe for a Danube River Cruise.
We took a 9-day cruise down the Danube. It was incredible.
A great way to see a lot of places in a short amount to time.
I got this ornament in Salzburg. It is hand blown glass and hand painted. LOVE!
After our cruise, Amanda and I spend a few extra nights in Munich before heading home.
We took a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle.
It was so beautiful.
I can see why Walt Disney used it as his inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.
We were in Munich for Oktoberfest.
I had three things that I wanted to do at Oktoberfest – eat a pretzel, drink a beer and eat a brat.
I am proud to say I checked every one off my list at the Hofbrauhaus tent.
I got a tiny Hofbrauhaus mug for my Munich ornament.
We started the year at Disneyland and ended the year at Disney World. My dream!
I got a WDW ornament to match our Disneyland ornament.
I found these adorable cat ornaments in Munich.
I thought they would be perfect for Fluffy and Squeaky’s stocking holders.
I carried them on the plane from Munich to Atlanta (actually sat them in my lap).
It was totally worth the hassle.
They are perfect!
I mentioned earlier that we drank THE BEST hot chocolate while we decorated the tree.
We were introduced to Rumchata on a trip to Nashville this year.
I know we are late to the party, but it is good stuff!
I made a Rumchata Hot Chocolate at the suggestion of an Instagram reader.
Chicken Legs took one sip and said this is the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had.
Here is the recipe. Make it! You won’t regret it!
Rumchata Hot Chocolate
Â
2 cups heavy cream
2 packages Andes mint chips
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
4 cups milk
1 (750ml) bottle Rumchata
Put all ingredients in the slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.
We got a new tree this year.
We love it!
We got our tree from Home Depot. It is a Martha Stewart brand tree.
It is a “Quick Set” tree.
That means all the light connectors are in the tree trunk. No more searching for light plugs to attach.
Just stack up the layers and plug in the only plug. Viola! Done.
It took Chicken Legs about 5 minutes to set it up! No more fights!!
In addition to being a “quick set” tree, it also switches between white and colored lights.
It even has a dancing light option!
I got the see Gone with the Wind on the big screen at the Fox years ago. It was amazing! Love your tree!
Your ornament collection from your travels are lovely…I like the Disneyland one the best! Very nice.
Pretty tree and the ornaments are a neat way to remember your travels. All the tree needs now is a visit from Santa.