Cookie Day Success!

December 8, 2013February 7, 2017Leave a comment

On Thursday night, I made one more batch of cookie dough, this time, oatmeal m&m cookies. Oatmeal and chocolate is a delicious combination, and the Christmas m&ms make them look so festive.

On Friday night, I decided to make some chocolate bark to take for the cookie exchange, and I’m definitely making more. IT’S.SO.EASY. I found the recipe on Pinterest here. I think my favorite part of the chocolate bark is being able to customize it. I used dried pomegranates and walnuts, peanut butter chips, and coconut with caramel sauce. Yum! Sorry, I totally dropped on the ball on the chocolate bark photos, so you’ll just have to believe me when I say that it is easy, it looks great, and it tastes delicious.

Okay, on to cookie day! It was a fabulous day. Saturday morning was cold and frosty but the sun was shining, and our friend’s home was being adorned with Christmas lights as we baked. Does it get any better? We laughed, baked, ate, drank, and walked away with a TON of cookies. We had the best variety, and I can’t wait to put my cookie platters together to share with everyone.

This was an Instagram pic taken by cookie day alum, Jamie.

Bubbly for baking // Pic courtesy of Jamie

Oatmeal m&m & Lemon Pecan Shortbread // Pic courtesy of Jamie

Gorgeous sugar cookies // Pic courtesy of Jamie

Lights & sparkle // Pic courtesy of Jamie

I whole heartedly recommend that you and your girls plan a cookie day. There’s still time! These would make a fabulous addition to any Christmas spread, they would make great, affordable gifts, or maybe…just let this marinate for a moment…they could be perfect to enjoy with a giant mug of hot cocoa in front of the fireplace for you and your loved ones.

This is an inexpensive way to spend quality time with the bakers in your life. A little planning goes a long way, so prepare your dough ahead of time, make sure you have cooling racks set up, and be sure to have plenty of cookie sheets and a roll of parchment paper on hand. Most importantly, take the time to bake at least 1 batch of sugar cookies ahead of time, and then put out some fun Christmas themed sprinkles, frosting, etc so you can decorate the sugar cookies and chat over some champagne. That’s the best.

Have a great night!
xo

Cookie Day Preparations

December 3, 2013February 7, 20174 Comments

Every year, a couple girlfriends and myself get together for a cookie day. It’s a glorious day filled with champagne, cookie making/baking/decorating and apron wearing. When all the cookies are completed, we do a little exchange and leave with a great variety of cookies to take home and share with family and other friends. These make great gifts, alongside a mug and yummy coffee or hot cocoa mix. In order to get the most out of this year’s cookie day, we have all decided that making our dough ahead of time would be most efficient. Now, we will have ample time to decorate our sugar cookies and sip champagne. Tonight, I’m whipping up some Lemon Pecan Shortbread, and I’m using this recipe.

I’ll be sure to post some pics of the finished cookies. But until then, please share…in the spirit of the holiday, what are you baking??

Thanksgiving Sure Was a Great Day

December 3, 2013February 7, 2017Leave a comment

We cooked, ate, drank, watched football, movies and basically had a really amazing day. Here are some snapshots from the day.

The humble beginning of crockpot cranberry apple butter. It smells and tastes like Christmas. Try it…found the recipe here.

I made this in the morning, and it was so easy and so yummy. I found the recipe here.

Cheeeeeeeese, and other yummy things.

Brussel sprouts. So gorgeous, right?

Just making homemade dinner rolls, NBD.

The dinner rolls came out beautifully.

Lobstah!

Crab!

Dodger dog, enjoying the holiday.

Pumpkin cheesecake, homemade whipped cream (thanks, Mel!) and a little drizzle of caramel sauce. SO.GOOD. I found the recipe here.

Not only was dinner a total success, but we were able to FaceTime with my mom and whole family back home in the Bay Area, and I had a nice chat with my dad that evening. Thanksgiving was such a great day.

And just like that, we switch gears from Thanksgiving to full on Christmas mode.

Have a great evening!
xo

Thanksgiving Feast: A Little Different, Just Like Us

November 27, 2013February 7, 20171 Comment

This is the 5th thanksgiving in our home. Year number 1 was pretty traditional, and we were so happy to host my in-laws and our dear friend, Mel. Year number 2 was just us and Mel (aka, one of our most favorite people in the world), and we deep fried a turkey. Year number 3 was just the three of us again, and we deep fried Cornish game hens, along with anything/everything that seemed like a good idea. The year number 4 guest list remained unchanged, but we decided to mix things up a bit and have a seafood thanksgiving feast. This made total sense to us since I’m a pescetarian and my husband prefers seafood over meat. We went all out–lobster, crab, king crab legs, Mel’s homemade clam chowder, lobster brie dip, and the list goes on, and on, and on. We went a little crazy and could barely dig into the main entree because we overdid it with appetizers and clam chowder (in bread bowls, I know, so stupid). This year, year number 5, we have decided to take a step back. Last year we made so many rookie mistakes, so we are all committed to do this seafood thanksgiving feast right. Here’s what our menu looks like.

one. Cheese Plate // two. Kale, Wild Rice, Pomegranate Salad with Walnuts & Feta // three. Potatoes Au Gratin with Gruyere // four. Brussel Sprouts with Panko Bread Crumbs (we are leaving out pomegranates) // five. Dinner Rolls ~ all images are from my board on Pinterest.com

six. Crab // seven. Lobster // eight. Pumpkin Cheesecake ~ Photos from my board on Pinterest.com, except the crab photo, courtesy of Mel

Please know that a big part of our thanksgiving celebration is being ridiculously casual, so that means that we will all don pajama pants, and combined with the seafood, I realize that our thanksgiving may not look like yours. It may be a little different, but the sentiment is the same.

I hope that you, your family and friends have a wonderful thanksgiving, and that you make some great memories.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!
xo

Thanksgiving Surprise for the Fam

November 25, 2013February 7, 2017Leave a comment

As a little treat, I’ve mailed off a Thanksgiving care package to my family. I included pumpkin spice chai tea, caramel wafers, and a Mexican Pumpkin candle to set the holiday mood. This time of year it’s extra hard to live far away from my family, but little things like this warm my heart and put a smile on their faces. I just wanted to remind them that we are thankful for them, so that’s exactly what the enclosed note said, that’s it — “We are thankful for you.”

Everything here is from Cost Plus World Market

I was totally inspired by this pin and am so glad I did it. Now…I die from anticipation. Giving gifts is the best, but they probably won’t get it until tomorrow.

Have you sent any care packages recently?

Happy Tuesday!
xo

Thankful for Skype

November 25, 2013February 7, 20171 Comment

Tis the season to be thankful, and today, I’m thankful for Skype because it allowed my husband and I to have a wonderful visit with family half way around the world. My brother-in-law and his wife have embarked upon the adventure of a lifetime, a trip around the world. They have been traveling for 379 days and are currently in South Africa, where they have encountered beautiful locals and landscape. We had a fantastic time catching up and listening to stories of their travels, learning about the history of places they have visited and getting a crash course in some interesting language tidbits–street lights are called robots in South Africa. Who knew?! Silliness aside, they are truly making the most of this life. My husband and I talk about how incredibly brave we think they are, for leaving the life they know behind to travel to places that many would hesitate to visit, and to be okay with starting over again when this is all done. They have seen gorgeous places, but most importantly, they have not stayed at 4 star hotels but rather participated in WWOOF (learn more here) and have really immersed themselves in the culture of the places they are visiting. They are seeing the world from a different point of view and really understanding what it means to be grateful. Their stories inspire me and although we miss them, we are thankful for Skype to reunite us. Please read up on their travels at Our First World Trip. Understandably, this sort of travel may not be for everyone (myself included) but a friend once told me that there is a job for everyone, so today, my job is to spread the word about the amazing things that Sal & Maria are doing.

Maria & Sal on their wedding day

Maria & Sal after 379 days of travel

What are you thankful for today?

Life in Photos: Silver Lining

November 18, 2013February 7, 20172 Comments

Sadly, I was in bed sick all weekend long, so I have no adventures to report and no fun photos to share. My weekend, and Monday for that matter, consisted of watching TV, sleeping, taking ibuprofen, and drinking tea. However, because of 4 Simple Goals (more on that here), I have been taking more photos in general, so I flipped through my camera roll and lo and behold, I do have things to share!

4 Simple Goals: Finish projects // Tray table progress

4 Simple Goals: Take more photos // Denim on Denim

Found this on Pinterest and loved the positive vibe.

4 Simple Goals: Take more photos // Admiring this gorgeous little bowl that a friend brought me back from Spain.

I received these new boots in the mail from Shoedazzle. I have worn them twice already and am totally in love.

4 Simple Goals: Wear more color // Navy may be a neutral, but green is definitely color.

This was my weekend in a nutshell, lemon ginger tea and more lemon ginger tea.

To put a positive spin on my boring weekend, I am feeling much better, and I was able to get some on-line Christmas shopping done yesterday. I don’t know about you, but I am such a big procrastinator. I always have great ideas and multiple lists, but I take forever to pull the trigger. Once the holiday season begins, I get swept up in festivities, and then I’m rushing around like a mad woman. Sometimes stuff happens and it all shakes out just fine.

Also, I’m loving 4 Simple Goals. Like, I am enjoying it so much that I have thought about doing this quarterly. Are you participating in 4 Simple Goals? How are you doing with it?

Comfy Cute

November 14, 2013February 7, 2017Leave a comment

I can’t get enough of these cozy sweatshirts with a hit of sparkle. I love when comfort and style can come together and be such good friends. I’ve got to tell you…I am feeling a DIY project brewing. This idea of comfy cute sent me into an on-line frenzy in search of new favorites that are both, easy and stylish.

one // asos.com – two // shoedazzle.com – three // target.com – four // urbanoutfitters.com – five // hm.com

I hope that your Friday has made you feel both comfy and cute.
xo

Snow Lake Hike

November 12, 2013February 7, 20171 Comment

On Saturday morning, we braved the cold and set out on a hike to Snow Lake at the Snoqualmie Pass. When I say that we braved the cold, I mean that we were prepared to encounter some snow and perhaps endure a soggy hike; however, we were not prepared to go the whole hike in the snow. AT. ALL. Well, as the story goes, it was a very cold and very snowy hike. It was absolutely beautiful and 100% worth it, but next time we intend to wear an extra layer and our waterproof gear. The trail itself was actually pretty easy at 6.4 miles roundtrip, and with only a 1000 foot climb. The toughest thing we had to deal with was the snow. It was a bit icy and slippery at points, which slowed us down a bit, and the trail was very narrow, so if you came across fellow hikers, it was a tight squeeze, even if you were pulled off to the side in knee deep snow. We were actually surprised at how many hikers were out, but the biggest shocker was the trail runner making his way up when we were coming down. I was so impressed. Also impressive, the very relevant gear that other people wore on the trail. We saw people in their North Face jackets with their hiking poles. I bet they didn’t fall on their bums. Oh, did I not mention that? Yep, I slipped on my bum twice. Fear not, it was graceful and in slow motion both times, so there are no injuries to report. I was also very quick to get up because my pants were not waterproof. For the record, I was donning my awesome hiking boots with wool socks, lightweight cargo pants, a tee with a flannel layered over, and my water resistant hooded jacket, topped with a headband to keep my ears and head warm and some lightweight gloves. This was not my proudest fashion moment, but sometimes being warm trumps trend. Okay, enough babbling, time for photos!