Love this face!
Happy Sunday everyone and I hope all who celebrated this past week had a fabulous time.
Sunday Sevens was created by Natalie at Threads and Bobbins as a fun way for us to share a bit of our week with one another. It’s fun to peek into our blogging friends lives and to share some of our own. Check it out and join in.
This collection of photos is from part of my family’s Christmas celebration.
1- My parents and I met up with number 2 daughter and my number 2 grand daughter in Richmond to share a lovely meal at the Cheesecake Factory and to exchange gifts. I have never eaten at the Cheesecake Factory. They have adapted their menu to accommodate gluten sensitivities so I finally had the chance to try it. My mom, number 4 daughter and I split this wonderful chocolate desert.
2 – My sister-in-law in New Jersey sent us this Amaryllis and it took off growing as soon as I transplanted it. I will post a picture of it when it finally blooms. I predict it will be massive if all three of those stems end up blooming.
3 – We had a Christmas Eve celebration with family at my brother’s house. The theme was the Feast of the Seven Fishes based on his wife’s Italian heritage. We indulged in oysters on the half shell, catfish nuggets, oyster stew, shrimp, and something else that I am forgetting. Not every dish was a fish. We don’t always play by the rules. We also had a White Elephant Gift Exchange which is lots of fun. I did not take pictures of all the ‘dishes of fishes’. I was too busy chatting it up with everyone.
Festive drink table setting
4 – Sardines. Part of “the feast”. I didn’t try these as it was the 6th dish and I am not always keen on fish with lots of bones. But, everyone who did eat them raved about how good they were.
5 – Linguini with clam sauce. Yes, the pasta was gluten free. There are 6 of us with celiac disease in my family. This was a fresh gluten free pasta from Whole Foods. Yum!!!
6 – I brought along a FujiFilm Instax Mini camera to leave out for random picture taking. Have any of you have seen this thing or have tried one? It’s really fun. It’s a mini version of the old Polaroid cameras only these instant pictures are the size of a business card. My number 4 daughter who works for a catering company said these sometimes show up at wedding receptions. It’s a great way to record any gathering or party.
7 – Sebastian loved his new ball that Santa brought for him. This dog was like having a 3 year old in the house when we opened presents. He wanted in on all that paper ripping. I gave him his presents just to distract him so we could finish opening our own.
Happy Dog!
The feature photo is my grand daughter enjoying the cheesecake that she and her mommy and great papa shared at our lunch.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday and that the New Year is full of health and joy! Happy Holidays to you all!
robynsewsthisandthat 
Oh no! I’m just recovering from a huge blond moment!! I forgot you were in the USA and I’m thinking the Cheesecake Factory was in Richmond North Yorkshire!! Oops!! The feature pic is my kind of dessert…big and creamy!! I’m not good at sharing though!
Looks like a lovely time of family festivities this week…..happy times 😀
I am not fond of sharing either…I had to set a good example. (The grand daughter, you know) 😜
Ditto Thimberlina, I’ve eaten at The Cheesecake Factory in the US, but thought they’d come over here! Loads of lovely food photos here, so glad gluten free options are fast lay improving. We have a couple of family members who have the condition too.
I was diagnosed 19 years ago. Life is so much better now than it was then. Almost like eating real food again.
Lovely post, Robyn, and what an adorable first picture – thank you! I’ve an Aussie friend with the same allergy, and was surprised at all the options. Am so glad the food industries everywhere are getting wiser! As I’m not particularly fond of cheesecake, I’ve not been, so can’t vouch for my sharability! That camera does look interesting. Will have to check it out!
The camera is fun. Now I need to pull out my scrapbook stuff and get busy. I do have to admit that I have missed pasting my pics. I have thousands of image files on my phone. There is just something satisfying about paper and pics. And yes, it has been nice that the food industry is able to help out those of us with gluten intolerances. I still have to be careful with cross contamination in restaurants.
And more & more of them are getting on the band wagon, too!
Looks like a lovely celebration. Happy holidays to you too. As for Sebastian, I think you’ve a good few more years of over-excitable paper ripping to come from him 🙂
I know. Sebastian acts like a pup but, he is already 11 years old. It’s because of his behavior that we still call him “Puppy”.
Good for Sebastian!