Friday, December 29, 2017

Friday Musings

On boxing day we cooked up a small ham, and then ate that in many of our meals for the rest of the week, along with a few big salads.


This morning I had a yogurt bowl before heading out to brave the cold:


For lunch we made salad and a potato/mushroom mixture:


Christopher and I were both off all week, so we sort of lost track of what day it was.  We did quite a bit of relaxing - Christopher already read one of the books he got for Christmas, and is into the second one, and I got a few relaxation massages, a pedicure, and a new hairdo.  We're all refreshed, and ready for a getaway.  Also, the weather this week has been absolutely frigid, and we are so pumped for warmer temperatures.

Last night we met up with friends Bonnie and Warren for dinner at The Lobby.  Christopher had the tacos, and I had pad Thai.


Bonnie and Warren moved to BC, so this was the first time we saw them in about 1.5 years.  It was really nice to catch up, and hear all about their coffee shop adventures.  If you are ever in Parksville, BC, stop by their shop Mocha Grande Brew.


My 2017 recap and New Years post will be a little late, so I want to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

What do you have planned for New Years Eve?

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Our Christmas Day

Christmas morning at our house was quiet, dark, and cozy.


After opening presents, we sat around in the living room for hours with cinnamon buns, bacon, and coffee ... and then another round of all three.


Lunch a few hours later was just as relaxed.


In the evening we headed over to Christopher's parents' house.  To keep it simple and easy for everyone, they decided to forgo the big traditional meal and just have snacks.  They had made a turkey the day before, so we used the meat to make sandwiches, and had some dips, etc.


Christmas to us is more about getting together; the big traditional feast isn't important to us.  We loved this snacky idea, and they said they plan to do the same next year.

For adult gifts we just played the stealing game with $20-25 dollar gifts that anyone would like.  It was neat to see what everyone brought, and we all had fun.  The best part of the evening was just sitting in front of the fire, and watching our nieces play.

How was your Christmas day?  Did you do the big meal, or was it more low-key?  Were you at home?  With extended family?

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Christmas Eve

This morning we made gingerbread granola with the gingerbread spice that I had made a while back.


We used the granola in festive yogurt parfaits.


The rest of the day was spent watching Christmas shows and eating snacks ...


I also made my mom's cinnamon bun recipe.


We're ready for you Santa!


Sleep tight everyone!

How did you spend Christmas eve?

Family Christmas #1

On Friday Christopher and I had our last day of work for a while.  We had cleaned the house on Thursday and picked up groceries then too, so all we had to do on Friday was come home and hang around.  We made salmon, beet rice, and salad for dinner:


I also got to work on a chocolate cake that we would be taking to my brother's place the next day for Christmas dinner.  We made this cake.

Saturday was spent with family, including our little breakfast guest:


Dinner was at my brother and Jessie's house:

 

Jessie made a great spread.  She is a fabulous cook!


The best part was watching the kids open all their presents.


Our baby/toddler niece Remi was totally into it, and was even trying to steal other peoples' presents - haha!  At least she wasn't stealing food like she was last year (little stinker).

We had chocolate cake and peppermint ice cream for dessert, and then were on our way home for the evening.

Other eats over the week included perogies and cabbage rolls:


And a snacky evening:


I'm comin' at ya twice today!  Check back this evening for another post.

What are you up to this weekend?  
How many Christmas get-togethers do you have going on?

Monday, December 18, 2017

The Weekend

On Friday evening we picked up groceries, and then had salmon, whole wheat couscous, and salad for dinner.  We were in bed early, as we were heading to Saskatoon the next morning.


We grabbed breakfast subs on Saturday before hitting the road:


We spent the day with my mom, and then had a quick Thai dinner before retiring to our hotel room for the evening.


Bright and early the next morning we grabbed breakfast for ourselves, and some for my mom too. 


Once we were back home on Sunday evening Christopher made dak galbi for dinner - enough for today's lunch too.


We have been spoiled with nice weather lately; almost all the snow is gone!  Driving to and from Saskatoon, the highways were great, and it didn't seem like it was almost Christmas.  Everything just looked dusty.

Inside it's looking a lot like Christmas though ...


I love Christmas decor; the house never looks prettier than at this time of year.  We have a jam-packed week ahead, but then are looking forward to doing some major relaxing on the long weekend ahead.

How was your weekend?  All you ready for Christmas?