Weekend Basics

Whew, it was truly a weekend filled with holiday festivities for us! As you know, we started the weekend off with a visit to the Richmond Christmas Parade...

We'd missed out on the Christmas Parade last year (OK, we totally wimped out on the cold weather and watched it from our TV even though it was going on a block away from our house), so we vowed to make up for it this year!

It was awesome to get out and see just how many people came downtown to watch the parade. We were also standing right at the Science Museum where each of the floats were getting prepped, so we had a first look at everything as it came by before heading back to the warmth of our house.

Later Saturday, we again braved the chilly weather and long lines to check out each of the 11 homes on this year's Fan Holiday House Tour. It's been something we've both wanted to do and makes for a fun way to get a peek inside some of the historic houses in our neighborhood.

We weren't supposed to snap any photos inside the homes, but we did snag a few memorable moments from outside a few. Mary's favorite moment of the day was seeing these two front porch dog statues (we, of course assume they are weim statues) dressed up in Christmas costumes:

About 1/3 of the homes required tour-goers to put on surgical booties to try and cut down on the floor wear and tear. We felt a little funny wearing our booties at the first house, but by the 3rd and 4th ones that requested the protective footwear, we were pros:

At one of the homes on West Avenue, we had to do a double-take at the street signs:

Notice anything out of the ordinary? If not, try re-reading the message to dog owners, and dogs, at the bottom of the pole. How's that for something a little different?

Also while on West Avenue, we enjoyed looking at all the different weathervanes topping the homes, in particular the reindeer this time of year:

I'm a big fan of weathervanes and would love to find one to have inside or outside our own home at some point.

Many of the homes had beautiful outdoor spaces and private backyard gardens. For those that know us, you'll know we loved seeing all the raised garden beds, creeping vines and even a beehive in the backyards of our neighbors:

Even though the tour can be broken up over 2 days, we'd made a goal to hit all 11 homes on Saturday since we had icy weather warnings for Sunday, plus we had plans to hit the road early to head up north for our last trip to NYC for the year.

Seeing all the homes in one extended run was a lot of fun (even though our feet hurt at the end of the day) and we headed back home feeling inspired for home projects in our own space — and also feeling a little like there's no place like home. As exciting as it was to get a peek into the way others' homes are set up and even dream a little while in the lofted spaces of Broad Street and giant dwellings on Monument Avenue, it really solidified the feeling of us appreciating our own space and specific decorating tastes.

After all the local festivities of Saturday, we hit the road up to NYC in the wee hours of the dark Sunday morning to try and beat the ice and snow headed for the East and North East Coasts.

Mary will work in the Brooklyn Etsy offices this week and we're just generally feeling glad to be in the city during this magical time of year. What have you been up to? Did you go out and attend any festive holiday events? Maybe you got a tree or stayed at home and relaxed from all the business going on around us? Whatever the case may be, we hope this time of year is just as festive and memorable for you.