Since I was just back home to Michigan for Thanksgiving, and I had a week and a half off work, I decided to visit my cousin in D.C. for a little while. My cousin and I have been reconnecting now that I’ve been closer to D.C. My cousin lives a little under an hour outside of downtown D.C. and only a little under four hour drive away from Raleigh.

Fitz and I were geared up and ready for the trip! Especially Fitz who is always down for a sweater and some festive garb.

After arriving we headed into town to grab dinner and drinks and the trees were very festive, which always makes winter slightly tolerable for me. Dinner was good, but the drinks later on were more exciting. We ended up in a bar that was hidden inside a donut shop and you had to pull-on a rope to gain access. I love a good speakeasy vibe.

National Harbor

We spent a lot of the days just working out in his home gym, hanging out, and running Christmas errands. One of the other nights, we ventured into to the city to grab some dinner and we found a lot of holiday fun!

Gingerbread house contest! These were amazing and took some real talent! The hours it must have taken!

National Harbor’s Ferris wheel and Christmas tree were on point and I happened to catch them at a time when they both were matching. Very cohesive and chic! Christmas always has the best opportunists for great photo content, I love it!

Hope you had yourself a very Merry Alyssa In the City City Christmas! As you can see the Ferris Wheel and Christmas tree changed color! This is my cousin David, by the way, who is named after my dad funny enough!

Eating my way through the D.C. area! This lunch was scrumptious. I miss this lunch to be honest, I have dreams about it!

I never was very good at wrapping presents, but my cousin is and I forced him to teach me his ways. I was so proud of my handy work, that I needed a photo of all of my favorite things. Also if you don’t watch the trashiest Christmas movies over the holiday season… are you even living? This photo is featuring Santa Jaws, which is one the trashiest Christmas movies I’ve ever seen, which is exactly why you should watch it. You’re welcome.

This little snuggle bug was really into this bed and being on vacation! He loves a good sweater, especially a festive one.

A very Christmas pooch and very well wrapped and chic looking presents!

This post consists of so much eating and I’m not hating it! I made my cousin my famous bacon and he couldn’t stop talking about it! It’s a sweet and spicy bacon situation!

Recipe:

1. Coat bacon with - cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, brown sugar, and a little maple syrup if you want. I didn’t this time and it’s still delicious!

2. Bake or pan fry to your desired level of crispiness

Thank me later. Let me know if you try out the recipe!

I talked my cousin’s daughter into making gingerbread cookies with me and decorating them. Here I am explaining the intricacies of cookie decorating, which I am clearly very good at and passionate about! Unfortunately, she’s more of a chocolate chip cookie kind of girl… man, kids these days.

Another trip into the city for one of my last days of the trip and we made it into the city one more time to grab lunch and take his daughter ice skating. We ended up grabbing lunch on the pier and it was absolutely gorgeous out!

Look at that perfect duck dive right there!

I ended up getting a burger that was so big that my cousin bet me that I couldn’t finish it… and he was not wrong! But I sure enjoyed myself regardless!

By the way, I live for a good turtleneck. They are my winter obsession this year. If you don’t have one, you need to RUN out and get one right now. Seriously, you’ll thank me when you’re looking chic yet warm, a constant battle we women face in the winter!

On the last day, we went to the mall and then grabbed dinner at the local restaurant. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any food pics because I was starved. However, we went here twice over the trip, so I think it’s safe to say that if you’re ever in the area, it’s worth a try!

Last Day

Had to get my workout in before packing Fitz and I up to make the drive back home. My baby boy thinks he is just a big baby, so momma treats him like one. If you have a dood, you have a picture like this. It’s a fact of the dood life, there is no getting around it. Keep in mind, this dog is 70 lbs, so this was part of my workout for the day!

I hope you all had a lovely holiday season! What did y’all do for the holidays? Let’s get chatty!