Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Looking Back on 2013

2013 has been a pretty amazing year.  We ate extremely well this year ... these are some of our favourite dishes that we made:

shrimp bee bim bop
basic quiche recipe
shrimp and/or oyster po boys 
seafood and sausage gumbo
the best fish burrito
lobster pot pies
shanghai noodles with pork
pad Thai
curried shrimp stuffed eggplant
kale sausage soup


My blog grew this year, and these are some of the milestones:
  • Some of my food pictures were chosen to be on Tastespotting, including my fried chicken shot from this post, and my chicken biryani shot from this post, and my salad shot from this post.
  • I celebrated four years of blogging.
  • We were invited to the pre-opening tasting at Wild Sage Kitchen & Bar, and were blown away.
  • I posted my 1000th post.
  • I signed a contract with Canadian Living magazine!

We celebratedOoooh boy, did we celebrate.  And then we celebrated a bit more.  Dance the dance of life!


We did a lot of traveling in 2013.  In March we saw our friends get married in Mexico, then shortly after we were off to New Orleans, where we saw an NBA game, heard a lot of live music, and ate some ridiculously good food.  Next up was Las Vegas, where we dined in style, and had the time of our lives.  Then in October, we flew to Vancouver, where we had a great little getaway.

The first babies in my group of friends were born this year, and it's been very exciting.  Finally, I defended my masters thesis this year! 

I have a sneaking suspicion that with the way things are going, 2014 is going to be an even better year.

Have a safe and wonderful New Years Eve everyone!
Tell me something exciting that you did in 2013.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Christmas Day

When we woke up on Christmas morning, we began by turning on the Christmas tree lights, and the coffee pot.  Next up, we got to work on breakfast and mimosas.


Eventually we carried our coffees into the living room where we opened presents, and then spent some time cozy on the couch. 
 
Later in the afternoon we went to Christopher's parent's house where we enjoyed snacks, visited, laughed, opened stockings and other gifts, all in front of the beautiful crackling, wood fireplace.  When it was time for dinner we made our way upstairs.


The 'rents served up turkey, stuffing, roasted potatoes, perogies and many veggies ...


Christopher's dad wore one of the gifts we brought him bearing his nickname:


After dinner and dessert we retired to the basement again, where we played Wii sports for hours on end.  I think I may have gotten a little bit addicted to the Wii bowling, and I may have improved my swing with Wii golf.  We had so much fun!

What did you do on Christmas day?  What are your plans for NYE?

Friday, December 27, 2013

Christmas Eve Dinner

On Christmas eve we went to my sister and her husband's house.  


We snacked a bit before sitting down for a lovely dinner:


Meet my brother David and his gorgeous lady, Jessie:


I ate a lot, and left no room for dessert.


Giovanni was pretty excited for present time ...


And he got spoiled!


Actually, we all did:


The cat, Sailor, kept everyone entertained, and had fun playing with the paper and bows.


It was a beautiful Christmas eve, and Leah and Sal were great hosts.

What did you do on Christmas eve?

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Christmas Eve

All the best to you and yours.  Enjoy time with those you love the most this holiday season.  Eat lots.  Love lots.  Be happy.


Merry Christmas everyone!

Monday, December 23, 2013

Images from my Day off

Today was my first day of holidays, and I slept until about 8:00 a.m..


I took a shower washing every body part with actual soap; including all my major crevices; including in between my toes and in my belly button, which I never did before but sort of enjoyed.  I washed my hair with adult formula shampoo and used cream rinse for that just-washed shine ...


Bahahaha, okay, that's from Home Alone, but you get the idea ...

I had a quick breakfast and threw some laundry in the wash before heading out of the house around 9:30.


After a Starbucks and a look around Chapters (I could seriously spend all day in that store), I stopped at the mall to do some last minute shopping.


It looks like the Swiss Chalet will be opening soon!!!  This makes me very, very happy.  We haven't had a Swiss Chalet in Regina in years, and I LOVE this restaurant.  The fries.  The sauce.  The chicken.  Mmmm!


After a few stops I met Shauna at Flavours of India for lunch.


I hit a few more stores, including the grocery store, before heading home.

A few things I needed to make cabbage rolls tonight, and to start my cinnamon buns!
Next up - present wrapping!


Before Christopher got home from work I started working on dinner ...

Looks tastier post-blend ... beginnings of a vegan alfredo sauce.
Pasta with vegan Alfredo sauce - it's good!


Finally, snacks and snuggles!  We've been diggin' the Full House marathon that's been on TV for the past couple of days.


Today was a very productive day off.
I'm looking forward to a beautiful Christmas eve and day.

How was your Monday?  
What will you be doing for Christmas eve/Christmas?

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Christmas Breakfast

This morning Christopher's parents came over for a late breakfast.


We started with a cheese platter & grapes, and coffee to drink.


Breakfast included quiche, potatoes, bacon, mini cinnamon rolls, and mimosas.


It was a lovely way to start the day, and we'll end it with Christopher's work Christmas party.

What are you up to this weekend?