The last group of Mummers walking down Broad Street

Leftover Christmas decorations

Mummers enjoying the post-parade party

I think this would make a nice print.

While most people threw their empty cans on the ground, some people had more creative ideas for their disposal.

Child Mummers kind of freak me out even more than the older ones.

Their uniforms coordinate well with the colors of the Mummers museum.

I saw this guy out the window of the bar we went to after leaving 2nd Street. We’ve seen him a few times before. I think he’s homeless and makes money by doing these crazy tricks.

I have some photos from New Year’s Day as well, but for now I’ll just post ones from New Year’s Eve. I spent last night watching Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris instead of processing all of my photos like I should have, but it was worth it! What a great movie!

Anyway, New Year’s Eve began with a beautiful fireworks display at Penn Treaty Park.

After the fireworks, we headed back to our house with our friends and had a glass of wine before going to the Mexican restaurant at which we had reservations. Although the staff seemed a little frazzled at the amount of guests they had, the food was excellent.

And, of course, we enjoyed some more wine. Why not?

After dinner, we headed over to World Café Live.

We had tickets to see the wonderful Philly Bloco, a Brazilian-style drum-heavy local band who is always a ton of fun to see.

Of course, we needed some drinks there, too.

Their dancers are always very entertaining to watch!

And then the clock struck midnight and everyone went crazy!

Overall, it was a great night. We ended up going to a friend’s house after the show and not going to sleep until 6 a.m. Of course, that meant that we slept until 2:45 p.m. the next day and missed the Mummers Parade! At least we made it out for the party on 2nd Street afterwards, but that will have to wait until next post. I hope you all have a great 2012!

I really appreciate it! I was looking through blogs for Christmas posts the other day and came upon Cindy’s beautiful photos of her Christmas tree. They immediately made me that much more excited for Christmas and the coziness and excitement that it brings. So thanks for that, Cindy!

The rules for the Kreativ Blogger Award are as follows:

1. The Kreativ Blogger image must be displayed on the blog.
2. The nominator must be acknowledged.
3. The recipient must state ten things about himself or herself that his or her readers probably don’t know.
4. The recipient must pass the award along by nominating at least six blogs to receive the award.

So I guess I have to post 10 things about myself, huh? All right, here goes…

1. I began shooting photos seriously in 2007.
2. I’m getting married to my fiancé, Hunter, on July 6th. He and I have been together for 10 years.
3. I volunteer at the Philadelphia Animal Control shelter, which is heartbreaking, yet the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.
4. I’ve never had the chicken pox, but was vaccinated against it so that I don’t get it as an adult!
5. I played first base on the softball team in high school. During one afternoon game, it was so sunny out that I couldn’t see the pop-up fly that I was attempting to catch. At the last second, I put my arm down and caught the ball in my armpit.
6. I hiked to the top of Mombacho, a volcano and cloud forest, in Nicaragua.
7. I’ve never seen the original Star Wars movies.
8. Seinfeld will always be my favorite show of all time.
9. I’ve seen the band Phish more than 25 times, which is nothing for some fans.
10. If I could do anything for the rest of my life, I would be a professional travel photographer.

This award is a really cool way to spread the word about other blogs that one follows, so I will do just that. Following are six photobloggers whose work I follow and think you should, too.

1. Jennifer Doohan
2. Klara Yoon
3. Kotryna Ula
4. Lewis Bush
5. Ashley Turner
6. GMB Akash

Okay, now that I’ve conquered that, onto the Christmas photos!

My lover of a dog, Pepper, assaulting my dad with kisses. Aren’t pit bulls just the most vicious creatures?

The beautiful mantel in my parents’ house

I’m very jealous of my mother’s Christmas village.

The Raspberry Linzer Tarts that I bake every year

A vase full of beautiful flowers that my dad got for my mom

Evidently, my mom found something very funny!

One of my mom’s three miniature Christmas trees

Pepper snuggling up with her blanket (well, my brother’s blanket that she temporarily claimed as her own )

She was very upset that we were leaving her to go to my aunt’s for Christmas breakfast.

My cousin, Samantha, also found something very amusing

My aunt and uncle’s beautiful tree, which seems to get bigger every year!

Auntie Val playing Japanese Rummy, a family Christmas tradition

Self-portrait in my aunt and uncle’s mirror

Finally, a nice photo of mom and dad. I don’t have enough of those.

I hope that everyone has a great New Year’s Eve, and be safe!

On a side note, Hunter bought me a Polaroid 300 series camera (one of the new ones) for Christmas, and it’s incredibly awesome, so I’m sure the next post will include some of those little guys. I’m already making a “wall of fame” in my living room with Polas of all of my friends, and I’ve shot three out of the four packs of film that I bought for it in three days! Considering they’re $10 a pack, I think I need to slow down a bit. But I’m having a ton of fun with it, and hopefully it will broaden my photography horizons and make me think differently in terms of composition.

And now, without further ado…

Mathieu getting ready to enjoy his lunch

I’m not usually into sour beers, but this one was exceptional.

The incredibly gorgeous Miroir d’Eau

This dog cracked me up!

Me and Hunter in front of the Place de la Bourse

The guy in the blue shirt must have been posing for me.

I could have shot photos here all day long.

The mist felt so good!

Hunter checking out the contraptions

An hilarious piece of graffiti

I’m sure Carine’s canelés were better

Finalement!

Hi, everyone! Just a little note to say that I am having a holiday sale in my Etsy shop, from now until December 26th. 15% off of every print. Also, if you see a photo of mine from this blog that you’d like a print of, but it is not available in my shop, just send me an email and I’ll make it happen! Thanks, and I hope everyone is having a great December!

This reminded me of the fountain right by my office in Philadelphia’s Logan Square, except about a hundred times more magnificent.

And this guy reminded me of my extremely creepy next-door neighbor. I guess you have to take the bad with the good sometimes.

This farmer’s market was probably the most amazing I’d ever been to. I wanted to buy everything, but since we were leaving the next day, that wouldn’t have been too wise.

Scary.

I was going to leave this image out in favor of the previous one, but that eye made me change my mind.

So much beautiful produce.

The incredible aromas enveloped us throughout our entire walk through the market.

I’ve never been too big of a fan of oysters, but eating them fresh in Bordeaux paired with white wine and delicious French bread converted me.

Yum.

Oyster-shucking looks like a very tedious and difficult job.

More delicious smells.

Of course, there were things besides edibles at the market.

Carine and Anthony introduced us to bourru, which is wine that is drawn from the vat or barrel just shortly after fermentation is completed. Vin bourru wine has a fresh, slightly effervescent character and is a favorite in many European countries. (Thanks, answer.com!) We found it absolutely delicious, and it was very inexpensive!

So we sat down and enjoyed it.

Carine showing off a bunch of wine grapes she picked from the vineyard in which we picnicked

Mathieu having a romp in the vineyard

We were surrounded by vineyards — a wine-lover’s dreamland!

This shop made delicious macaroons.

Bird’s-eye view

View from one of the castle windows

Maybe he had too much wine?

A sign from a wonderful soap shop

What would a trip to the wine country be without sampling some of the offerings?

Mathieu at the café

I have just a few more installments of our trip left. It seems as if I’ve been posting these photos forever! I hope all of you Americans have a great Thanksgiving!

Taking a little nap on the way to work

Huntingdon El station

Mysterious steam, 18th and Cherry

Our friend, Carine, on the way from one town to another (although I’m not sure which town, at this point!)

The epitome of relaxation

A fisherman at work (although in this case, I think it’s more “at leisure”)

Hunter, Mathieu, Anthony, and our shoes

Hunter, me, and our shadows

A girl waiting for the sunset

Stay tuned for the next entry, which will feature photos from our day trip to Saint Emilion, a beautiful town with even more beautiful wine!

Many of these little shacks are where the oystermen do their thing with the oysters that they catch (not really sure what that entails… I’m assuming cleaning them and preparing them to be sold).

My friends’ son, Mathieu, having a great time at the beach.

Les huitres

The weather wasn’t that great that day, so there weren’t too many people around.

Father and son

Random man enjoying the ocean

That’s all for now. I’ll post the rest of this installment soon!