A 1773 Christmas Getaway Weekend

Music first -- well first Friday evening we had our weekly "family date" with snacks for dinner and a Christmas movie



And the girls were so happy it was Friday!





With homemade on the stove - hot chocolate





And Saturday morning after Anna's viola group class and Opus orchestra, around 3:30 we headed out.... for our twenty-fourth Christmas Getaway Weekend {minus the wonderful Christmas when Anna was a baby and minus the wonderful Christmas when Abigail was a baby}

Back to this year...

It was dark by the time we got there {and I do so love how it gets dark really early} so I didn't get a picture of us arriving. But we spent our Christmas Getaway weekend in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires.  Stockbridge was the home of Norman Rockwell. Have you heard of him? Or perhaps you've heard of the phrase a "Norman Rockwell Christmas"

Norman Rockwell was quoted as saying "Stockbridge is the most wonderful place to live. It is the best of New England." Rockwell was famous for painting small town life, as he saw it, from his studio that overlooked Main Street {where we stayed}

Well, we actually stayed at the Red Lion Inn built in 1773.

And it was magical.

When we walked into the lobby there was a quartet singing Christmas songs.

I captured just a bit for you...



We stood there in awe and I thought -- for as many years as we've done "Christmas Getaway" it's never been this magical. Abigail said to me "I think you just stepped into one of your Hallmark movies". I thought, oh better than that.

Finding our room in this 1773 hotel was next. It's like a step back in time. With one of the oldest working elevators in any hotel. It was amazing. This hotel is for romantics {like myself}, those who adore stories of the past, love cozy and charming, and can't get enough of antiques. So perfect for our family.

We dropped off our things in our room





and then headed back downstairs to explore. Oh how we loved the gift shop. I thought you'd like to see how very charming it was.



Just look at these displays!



Take a moment... look at that molding around the door. And look at how it's decorated so NOT pinterest-like and so NOT instagramish. Just love the details. Oh and wallpaper -- how I love wallpaper!







I wanted something every 2 inches. Scott, right there, is standing next to some tea towels that came home with me. Swoon.





And then we changed for dinner in their famous dining room {and lingered over what felt like a Christmas dinner for hours}



Wallpaper, gingerbread house, little girl of mine... heartthrobs!



Let's get one more look so you can see how her bow matched the piping on her candy cane dress.



It was perfectly darkly lit in the 1773 dining room mostly by candle light, a few lamps, and a chandelier.





Long white candles in brass candlestick holders -- watched it burn down as the time went on.

A little side note:

We have always taught our daughters how to 'do dinner'. They, and we are not perfect. Believe me, they were once toddlers. But now that they are 16 and 12 we love that all we've taught them since they were babies we can see in full glory now. We always taught them that dinnertime was a conversation time. A talking time. A time when ideas were to listened to, God was honored, thoughts were shared, and teaching, love and laughter happened. And here we are, all of those years later, and they love to sit as a family for hours over a fancy dinner, in a 1773 dining room. Oh, and thank you to the chief for cooking for my girl who hardly ever gets the experience of eating out. 





After dinner we cuddled in bed with a movie we brought and hot cocoa too!





I brought the mugs from home, the hot cocoa mix, and the candy canes. Those cute little marshmallows we found at the gift store. They were the perfect touch.



Oh her pinky finger.



After cozy beds and all sleeping in one room {Abigail's favorite part} I found her cross stitching. {one of her hobbies - she's working on a Christmas present for Anna in that picture.





A special breakfast in the dining room again.





This in Norman the cat who lives in the lobby (named for Norman Rockwell)



We took a few pictures outside while it was starting to snow.





And then we walked up Main Street to do some shopping.

This was our favorite.













Such a festive, Christmas hotel. It has to live up to it's reputation of course. It is pictured in the famous painting Norman Rockwell did of Stockbridge Main Street. Did you know that each first weekend of December they reenact the painting? They do, old card are brought in and everything so that it looks just as it did when he painted it.  All these years later it still feels like you're walking through the perfect Christmas painting when you're walking down Main Street in Stockbridge.



See that snow fluttering? It was like I ordered it or something -- magic!

See that tree in the window up there on Main Street? That was the painting studio of Norman Rockwell. Dreamy!







So then we headed to the museum to learn more about this painter of small town life, activist, teacher.



And we got to see in person, his famous painting! Thrills for this girl who loves all things Christmas, small town, romantic, all rolled into one.





Before we knew it, it was time to head home with our treasures



... to make magic happen in our own little home.

I started in on homemade tomato bisque as soon as I walked in the door. Domestic Bliss....



And I took pictures of the little things we took home with us.

Like this tea towel (the best kind of fabric)






And this one too that looks adorable in my baking center.





Anna picked out this ornament for the kitchen "sweet things" tree.



And Abigail this little bird for the 'stuffies' tree in her own little bedroom.



Another year, wrapped up for our family with a big red bow... Christmas Getaway... until next year.



"I love the nostalgic myself. I hope we never loose some of the things of the past." Walt Disney