My dad is a fruit nut, and EVERY evening ended with him shoving a bunch of fruit in my mouth while we watched some late night TV. It’s good for you! he would say, as he handed me a slice of orange. I never ate a lot of it, but I would begrudgingly swallow a few pieces just to satisfy him. I remember walking through the markets with him as he searched for the best of whatever was in season. Watermelons, apples, honeydews, canteloupes, strawberries, whatever he could find. But mangos were always my favorite. And unfortunately, he really ruined it for Aaron because whenever I feel sick, all I want is for him to feed me some oranges. Just like my dad used to do.

I grew up in Hong Kong. Which is close to the Philippines. Which is where THE best mangos grow. When I moved to Texas, I missed my lovely yellow mangos, all ripe and juicy and sweet. Nope, the only mangos I could find here were ones from Mexico: hard and not sweet. And some weird red/green color, what the heck?!?!?!?!

I am so very happy to say that I have found a deliciously healthy alternative to my mango madness. Meet the Organic Mango Green Tea by Sweet Leaf. I had some with my salad today from Central Market, and I was immediately taken to my happy place. And I love that fact that it’s not too sweet like sweet tea can be. I could drink this all day every day.

Happy Monday!

Christmas Day begins with – what else? PRESENTS!!!!! I have to say that normally, I don’t get excited about gifts because I didn’t really grow up celebrating Christmas. But the Brown family does! And they go all out – so this time around, I was giddy like a little schoolgirl. Confession: I even snooped around the Christmas tree a little to see which gifts were mine.

This is probably my favorite picture from the day. I love seeing Grandpa Gene’s hand receiving a present from one of us.

My BEAUTIFUL earrings from Aaron. And Anthropologie.

A must-have for every male photographer: the Mammoth Shootsac cover!

Grandpa Gene got “New In Town.” His first words were, Oooooo Renee Zellweger!

Ruthie picked out adorable dresses for us gals

My GORGEOUS scarf from Hannah

Papa Brown got Mama Brown this amazing Coach purse. Heard he picked it out himself too!

Because EVERYONE needs a fishing hat with 3 LED lights in it!

And hidden desires come to light: apparently Ruthie wants to teach water aerobics.

Beautiful turquoise jewelry from Santa Fe

Ruthie got both Aarons survival kits.

And my Aaron got some binoculars.

Emily’s AMAZING angel food cake-chocolate ice cream-peppermint cake thingy.

Some fun in the freezing cold. My ears hurt after I went back inside the house.

We hope your Christmas was spent with friends, family & loved ones. Pets included.