We have been staying in Glasgow throughout the holiday season. What started as a holidays of snow and ice has now turned into mild weather. Brent and I had a small Christmas Tree in our apartment which we decorated with some special decorations I brought from home. I even brought our stockings too!
We have a lovely fireplace in our place also that made everything feel really cozy. Christmas is not 'everywhere' in Glasgow. As in, our little section of Glasgow does not really decorate and the decorations go up early-mid December rather than after Halloween. St. George's Square downtown has outdoor shopping, ice skating and lights that are very festive. We also had planned a trip to Edinburgh to see their famous Christmas Market however, the day we chose to go was a major snowstorm (as was much of December) so our plans needed to be canceled. On that note, I have spent a lot of time indoors because the walks have been very icy.
We woke Christmas day to see Santa had arrived for Brent and myself (how did he know we moved?) - Santa brought Brent a new jacket (waterproof of course) and Santa brought me a nice new purse (cute, over the shoulder and small - as I need to now learn not to take my life with me every time I walk out the door - for purposes of simplifying my life). Santa, friends and family have been bringing the baby presents all December. We have a crib, changing table, walker, high chair, pack and play, feeding pillow, tons of baby grows and loads of clothes. We spent the holidays making a closet for the baby's things and putting our furniture together. Feeling physically if not mentally prepared at this point.
We headed to a local church service Christmas morning that was modern and..... interesting.
From there we strolled across the park for a toasty drink at a local pub and a game of Christmas pool before heading to lunch.
We had a lovely, fancy lunch. I tried Scottish broth (which is like a vegetable soup). Brent had a nice piece of steak and I turkey with all the trimmings (the stuffing was amazing!). We opened Christmas crackers (learn about a Christmas cracker here) and wore the traditional paper crown hats (learn about that here).
From here, we went home with our bellies full, watched movies, watched the Queen's Christmas speech (view here if you missed it - she did this strange focus on sport) skyped with family and relaxed.
 |
| Christmas Day in our crowns |
 |
| Turkey with the trimmings and a Christmas Cracker |
Otherwise, the week has been slow. People take their holidays seriously. Especially Christmas and New Year holiday. Since Christmas and Boxing Day fell on a weekend everyone had off the following Monday and Tuesday. On the holidays, EVERYTHING is closed except for a few pubs.
New Year's Eve and Day brought mild weather - thank goodness!
We went to a New Year's Eve party at a friend of Brent's from the Art School. We could walk to her place and had a fun night of singing, chatting and dancing. New Year's Eve is also our engagement anniversary (only 2 years ago at the top of the Empire State Building) so we had even more to celebrate.
 |
| Happy New Year! |
 |
| I get my boogie on with some revelers at the NYE bash. |
 |
| Friends taking a 'break' from dancing |
 |
| You know you're in Glasgow when... there is an actual MTV Video Music Award for Franz Ferdinand 'Take Me Out' leisurely sitting on a shelf of a flat you are visiting. Yes, it's real! |
Happy New Year Everyone! ... change is in the air for us in Glasgow. We would have NEVER EVER expected to be where we are today a year ago and can't even imagine where our lives will be in another year but, in the end we're so lucky, happy and thankful for everything.
