decking the halls.

I love the month of December. People are happier with the anticipation of Christmas as well as time off from work around the holidays. Claire and I have been preparing for our own holly jolly Christmas: cards have been sent out [which you'll get to see right here on the blog as it gets closer], we've been working on our Christmas list, and we've been planning our roadtrip back to Massachusetts so that we can be with the family for the holidays. Joy is abounding!

To help kick off the holiday season, my very thoughtful and talented friend Beth made Claire her very own Christmas ornament, complete with glitz and glam! I can't wait to bring it home and hang it on the tree!

We've also been busy with holiday photo shoots - I say "we" because Claire has been able to accompany me on some of them. I put pictures from selected shoots on the website to try and keep the photography business and the blog separate from each other, but our mini session this weekend was with a dog who is quite familiar to this blog - it's only appropriate that I share a sneak peek here as well. That's right, it's KINGSLEY!!!! Here's a sneak peek of him wearing a very festive scarf and looking like an adorably large version of Snoopy...

So yes, Claire and I have been quite busy, but I'm trying really hard to maintain a good balance of work, fun, and rest for both of us during the Christmas season! What are your favorite ways to prepare for the holidays and how do you minimize stress around this time of the year?