Merry Christmas from The Two Champs

Little Italy Squad Reunion before hitting the road.

Kaleigh (and her new husband) visiting from Australia.

Pitstop on the Central Coast to throw one of my best friends, Naoko,

a Sprinkle for the bun in her oven - little baby Evelyn #mistertristergetsasister

While I still had Mama Rose to myself, we had a day of adventure and laughter. We "snuck" into the Post Apocalyptic Skate Park of Vasquez and stopped at The Daily Harvest for a phenomenal lunch. We laughed so hard; she really is my best friend.

Once I recovered Champ from his Baldface adventure, we had the opportunity to treat my parents to one of our favorite culinary experiences: Pok Pok. The wings are second to none and the soms (drinking vinegars) are something to write home about as well.

We spent the day exploring Venice, but of course had to pitstop in Downtown LA for a quick shopping trip in the Fashion District. We had a great lunch at Kreation, where we ordered off an iPad, devoured an acai bowl and were offered chlorophyll for our water. Then we strolled the canals, did a little shopping, watched the sunset and met up with Kelsey for dinner at Feed and drinks at Venice Whaler and James Beach.

The next night, Christmas Eve, is arguably my favorite day of the year. We gathered all of the travelers (Lizzy, Tina and Mama Champ) and headed to dinner at Scratch Bar & Restaurant. We indulged in an 11-course Chef's Choice Tasting Menu that did anything but disappoint. Came home, made a few cocktails and opened our gifts. Lots of laughs, a few tears (as any good Wagenaar gift session should have) and a fresh new pair of Nike IDs!

On Christmas we woke up, went to church and had our obligatory post-church photoshoot.

Family over everything.

On our last night in town, we headed to Champ's favorite Christmas tradition: the annual Troubie show at the Falcon Theater. This year's production was: Santa Claus is Comin to Motown and it did not disappoint. We were able to fit in a dinner date with my cousin Andrea and her family at Umami Burger before the show - love when the stars align and we can squeeze in some extra time with family. All in all, a great night.

Our trip home took way more hours than it should've (thanks, Interstate 5) but luckily we had Serial, "The Movie Game" and plenty of good tunes to get us through. Now we're home, unwinding and waiting to turn the calendar to 2016 and make some more memories.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday as well. xoxo The Two Champs