I took a pause from all things Christmas this past weekend to surprise my husband for his birthday! We spent a fun, relaxing weekend in downtown Nashville surrounded by some of our closest friends and family; he was very surprised, and we felt so blessed (and completely spoiled!) for three days. It was wonderful. I’m thinking an annual staycation is a must!
Dinner at the Tavern 
Rooftop Igloo Magic 
Noelle 
We threw axes. Highly recommend BATL Nashville!
Now that we’re back home and settled, I’m focusing my energy on family Christmas dinner! Since we have renovated the majority of our downstairs / actually have a dining room table, I volunteered to host! Christmas feels like the time to pull out all the stops, and I’m having a good time brainstorming so I wanted to share some of my inspirations with you as I narrow down the menu and the decor today!
Pictures below taken from Pinterest; I do not own these.
PLACE SETTING INSPIRATION
DINNER MENU INSPIRATION
Miss Mary Bobo’s Brisket (here for recipe)
The Chunky Chef’s Creamy Mac and Cheese (here for recipe)
Basil Vinaigrette Potato and Green Bean Salad (here for recipe)
DESSERT MENU INSPIRATION: NAKED CAKE & FUDGE PIE
https://www.fraustillerbackt.de/berry-naked-cake/; 100layercake.com; ashleemarie.com
My friend Lindsay from Seven Layer Charlotte made these beautiful cakes for a Christmas party last year. And to be very clear – mine will most definitely be doctored-up box layer cakes. I leave the scratch baking to the professionals these days 😉 although I will probably use Lindsay’s vanilla cream cheese buttercream recipe!
Last but not least, I will make some fudge pie. It’s tried and true, plus Andrew loves it. Recipe here.
Are you hosting, or cooking, or attending this year? I’d love to see what you’re up to! Tag me, #refiningcotten, with all of your decor and recipe inspirations! Also, if you haven’t subscribed yet… click that little button over there to stay on top of what’s going on ’round here!
We have only a few more days of Blogmas before I’m signing off to focus on my family and this beautiful Emmanuel season. If you’re just now tuning in, head over to my homepage to get caught up! Thank you for following along!
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