Tag Archives: Christmas

Life Lately

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Hello friends,

Life has been extremely busy lately, thus the radio silence on the blog here. So many holiday events, get togethers with friends, observations at work, prepping for Christmas and time in Tahoe.

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Our neighbors got a wood-fired mini pizza oven, and we made our first batch a few weeks ago. They were amazing!!

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I went to a pearl tea place with a friend and these were their signs outside. I loved it!

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This was a cute birthday card given to a co-worker at ND, and i thought it was supercute. #ilovealpacas

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My brother and I baked apple donuts for the first time and they were deliiiish. I liked the donut holes the best!img_7553

To go with the apple donuts we made chili and I made the cornbread. Yum.

Also, we bought a Christmas tree….and then I got one for my house, and then one for my brother’s house. That’s how we ended up with 3 trees!

My tree all decorated. It only leans a little as it was hard to tell if it was straight in the tree holder as I live by myself.

I made biscotti as a holiday gift for friends, family and co-workers. I make both snickerdoodle and gingersnap! So tasty, I ate so many during the first batch there weren’t many to share.

Kim’s family had me over for their thanksgiving holiday party this past Sunday at their new house in San Carlos. I had so much fun, we did a while elephant exchange.

That’s it, life has been good and busy, but I promise I get back to posting more often!!

Love,

-S

New Years Eve in Tahoe

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My family has a tradition. Typically a day or two after Christmas, we head for Tahoe. A tradition that started many years ago, is now set in stone. We tidy up the house after the Christmas chaos, pack up the car with all of our stuff and a dog, and drive up to our cabin for a gloriously lazy week.

Occasionally, we are lucky enough to get a fresh dump of snow right before we head up, but the last few years the snow has been in scarce supply. We watch tons of movies, jump in the hot tub, cook great meals, and usually have friends that a day or two before moving on to another holiday event.

Some years, its a bigger group for Christmas Eve, like last year we were 21 total (kids and adults!). This year, was a smaller group. With both my brother and I working full-time jobs, we have come to value our weekends and family time. This year, our group in Tahoe was much, much smaller.

We started NYE off at a neighbor’s party, where I promptly put on this great hat. After a while, we wandered back to my house, where we played board games until the wee hours of the night.

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A crackling fire at our backs, fizzy drinks in our hands, good friends by our sides, we rung in the new year.

I’m going up to Tahoe again with friends in a week or so, and I’m looking forward to relaxing, watching movies, and playing in the snow again. Tahoe is one of the few places where we unplug, sleep in, breathe in the mountain air, and relax. I love it there.

Love,

-S

On my Radar in December

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I think this should happen, like now.

College Textbooks- Image from Stumble

 [ Image from Stumble ]

Wouldn’t that be so cool? Think of how many people could be tons more successful if college textbooks were free.

All I want for Christmas is You

I’ve had this song basically on repeat for the whole week leading up to Christmas. Oxford University’s all male a cappella group called Out of the Blue is hands down amazing, and adorable.

Walter the Labrador

At a small italian villa, a Go-Pro was placed on a Labrador named Walter, and we watch as he races down the mountain towards the water.

A Curious Marmot 

Greenpeace set up a camera for a time-lapse video at Glacier National Park, that was disturbed by a tiny, cute, and very curious marmot

Sea of Shoes: Le Bal Des Debutantes

I stumbled across this amazing blog called Sea of Shoes, which is a fashion blog, and the author went to one of the premiere debutante balls in Paris in 2013. The photos, the dresses, the decorations, the girls, everything is divine! There’s tons more photos on her website if you follow the above link.

Lady Amelia Windsor

[ Above Photos from Sea of Shoes ]

I always find the best things on Stumble!

Love,

-S

Chili Cook-off, Gingerbread Houses and Christmas Trees

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On Saturday, we invited a few friends over to bake cookies and have a chili cook-off. We made two chili’s, a coworker of mine brought a white bean chili, and two family friends brought two other chili’s. We had two different types of cornbread, and enjoyed one tasty meal! We tasted all of them, and then voted. My dad’s house chili won hands down! I was so proud.

Our Chili Cook-off Group

Our Chili Cook-off Group

On Sunday we baked our family breakfast pastry, called Nuthorns. They are amazing. My brother and Roomie tackled making a gingerbread house to beat all houses. Being an engineer and math teacher, they created a structurally sound but still beautiful house.

 

We had a tasty dinner last night of raclette, and enjoyed dinner just as a family last night. Today we had aunts, friends and neighbors stop by to exchange presents. I lucked out this year! More on that later.

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Now we are preparing dinner for the group of us; honey mustard salad, grilled kebobs, potatoes au gratin, an onion grape  tarte, lemon sorbet and apple pie! I am looking forward to a yummy family dinner.

I hope everyone is enjoying time with their family, I know I am. We played lots of wii today, and hung out with four pups!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Love,

-S

 

Cranberry Cocktails, Friends, and Holiday Parties,

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This past Saturday I hosted a holiday party at my parent’s house. We went to the Crucible Faire in the afternoon so I invited Robert, Annie and Alli over to help tidy the house up for the party. They were a magnificent help and in no time at all we had the place ready for a party!

We had a tasty cranberry lemon cocktail, apple and fig jam crustini’s, a cold pesto pasta salad, bread and cheese tray, cranberry walnut salad, and a shrimp fritatta. People came in their winter best, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Robert took the photos, and as always, did an amazing job.

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2013_12_14_holiday_party-36Earrings: Stella and Dot       Necklace: Apricot Lane

Dress: Macy’s (Sold out)      Shoes: Steve Madden

Have you been going to any holiday parties lately? I love seeing how people dress up for the holidays! Finals finished on Friday (i had all my grades in Thursday!), and I can breathe again!

I am done with all my holiday shopping, and I am now looking forward to playing lots with the pups, playing on the wii and eating yummy things!

Happy Sunday!

Love,

-S

J. Crew Bow Heels

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I was browsing the J.Crew website, as I often do, and ran across these little beauties. It took all my willpower not to buy them immediately, but I may end up treating myself closer to Christmas.

I love everything about them: the ankle strap, the bow placement, and the closed toe cap! Surprisingly enough, I like them in both colors, black and pink, which is very dangerous.

I would wear the pink heels to work and brunches, and the black heels to parties and evenings out.

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What do you think? Would you get them? Have you seen anything on the J.Crew website that has been calling your name?

Happy Monday!

Love.

-S

Black Friday Shopping and Two Christmas Trees

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The Roomie and I went shopping on Black Friday.

Most people avoid going out on Black Friday like they would catch the plague if they did (aka my father, brother, heck my whole family) but my Roomie and her brother John were both bold enough to tackle the crowds with me. It was a first, since for the past few years I had worked at Sur La Table for the whole week basically.

Let me say this, it is much nicer to be a shopper than a cashier. I found a few great gifts, but mostly found things for me. Normally, my mannishly large feet limit the shoe options, but the gods were smiling, and I really lucked out! I was able to cross a few good things off my wishlist.

I couldn’t resist picking up a new KJP bow bracelet.

It matches my new Sperry’s.

Nordstrom’s Dalton Boots

Plaid Sperry’s.

Sperry Loafers-Hayden.

Umberto Raffini Boots from the Walking Company

J. Crew Quilted Tack Jacket

J. Crew Quilted Tack Jacket

Banana Republic Pea Coat

Banana Republic Pea Coat

I am very excited to wear this all to work in the next few weeks. It is just three more weeks until Christmas Break, and wearing some fun things is keeping me going strong.

On Saturday the family, Roomie and I went Christmas Tree Shopping. For the past few years we have gone with family friends on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. They go to a specific tree farm, and have been going for 30+ years. This year, the Roomie and I got a petite tree for our apartment in addition to the large family tree. I am looking forward to decorating this beauty!

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It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! When do you usually get your tree? It is usually a family affair?

Love,

-S

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Shopping

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I wanted to thank everyone for all the lovely notes on being nervous about my dentist appointment. It went well. :]

This week I took a hiatus from the blog, because I wanted to focus on family time, relaxing with the pups, and taking a breather from school/work. I also have realised that my computer sucks me in, and then it’s four hours later and I’m still on pinterest/bloglovin’/keep. I have been trying to stay more grounded lately, and less time on my computer. I love to snuggle up with the pups and a book, and that happened a lot this week.

Anyhoo, Thanksgiving was awesome. It was a small group this year, but that did not mean our menu was any smaller. In fact, I believe this year we topped out with the most recipes in a long time. The final number was 12 by the way. We made so many tasty things, but I managed to try a bite of everything!

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Thanksgiving and Christmas are the two occasions where the family goes all out, and I really enjoy hearing the family stories about the carving tools, glassware and old family traditions.

Prosciutto and Pears Appetizer

Our yummy cranberry cocktail

Maryah sitting at the head of the dining room table

My favorite part of our thanksgiving meal.

On Friday, the Roomie, her brother and I got up before the crack of dawn (2am, to be precise) and went to the mall. I had never gone shopping on Black Friday, and I wanted to try it, at least once.

 Most of the shops had opened at 5-8pm on Thanksgiving, and the rest at midnight. We arrived at 3 and it was busy, but certainly not insane. We shopped, and the John was a complete dear. He even met up with us, and carried our bags to the car! Maryah treated him to a Jersey as a thank-you for being so kind about the whole day.

I made out like a bandit, but some were Christmas and birthday gifts for other people. More details on what I got tomorrow!

My Black Friday shopping haul.

My Black Friday shopping haul.

This year I was very thankful that everyone was here for Thanksgiving. I know some families aren’t able to all be together on Thursday, but we were, and it really meant a lot to me. In the past, with both of us away at college, it was tricky to get all four of us together. Thanksgiving and Christmas Day are the two that I have the fondest family memories of, and I really do treasure the time we have together.

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksiving, and enjoyed some relaxed family time.

Love,

-S

Stockings Holders, Ornaments, and Trees

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When I was younger, we often decorated our house for Christmas on the same day that we got our Christmas Tree. Getting our Christmas tree though, was always an adventure!

We would pile into our big, comfy, green Ford Explorer, and head into the mountains. After getting lost for a few minutes we would discount the first few tree farms, because predictably they would be picked over. We would settle on a farm, grab our jackets, put a leash on our pup, and head into the wet wintery forest. Finding the perfect tree has become somewhat of a routine. We can’t go with the first tree we find, because there might be a better one out there. We usually haggle over the final tree, because I want a Charlie Brown tree, while the family wants a wide, large tree with evenly spaced out boughs. I wanted the homeliest tree out there, to take home because no one else would. Often, I lose the vote and we get a tree that is tall, wide, and barely fits on our car, let alone in the family room.

When my brother and I went away to college, sometimes we got our tree closer to Christmas, sometimes we would even pick one Thanksgiving weekend. Last year, we joined with another family for the Christmas tree selection, and it was a blast. This year, we plan on going with the Issa Family again, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. When we picked a tree during Thanksgiving break, we also decorated the house.

Now that I have my own place, I have been itching to get cute Christmas decorations. I have been resisting these cute things for a few days now, but I might give in!

My mom and I were the two that usually were anxious to pull out the Christmas Boxes and decorate the whole house. I usually was in charge of the Christmas Tree decorations, while either my dad or my brother did the lights on the tree. To this day, decorating the tree is one my of favorite holiday rituals. I love that the holidays are finally here.

Happy Wednesday!

Love,

-S