it’s christmas eve (can you believe it?!) which means santa will be coming soon! if you’re looking for a cookie recipe to wow the man in the red suit, look no further. i found this recipe on creme de la crumb and i’m obsessed! i’ve already made these hot chocolate cookies 3 times this holiday season! they are delicious and addicting so bake at your own risk! you can find the recipe here. happy holidays!
sharing some bits and pieces from our christmas day, which already feels light years away…(decided to keep that despite the cheesy rhyming)
happy holidays to you and your loved ones. xx
last night my sister and i stayed up past our bedtime, drank too much hot chocolate and wrapped aaallll the presents. for us, it just isn’t christmas without some peppermint hot chocolate- it’s one of our favorite parts about the holiday season! we made sure to stock up at starbucks so we’ll have enough to last us until the new year…fingers crossed!
we’re nearly two weeks away from christmas and i’m just making a list of all the things i need to get. i wish i was more consistent with my christmas shopping. one year, i’ll have everyone’s gifts wrapped and under the tree WEEKS before christmas and the next year i’ll be out on christmas eve braving the crowds and screaming internally. from year to year it’s always different but if you’re like me (this year) and you need some gifting inspiration, you can take a look at my gifting guides below!
it’s that time of year again! where the christmas music is overplayed (guilty), turtlenecks are worn in 70-degree weather and i pretend to be on the great british bake off. the best place to pretend you know everything about baking is at williams sonoma, but it’s a dangerous place to be during the holidays. they have peppermint bark, holiday mixes and lots of festive dining decor… which is how we ended up here with this blog post! i saw this holiday bundt pan and knew it’s rightful place was at home with me. it didn’t matter that i had never made a bundt cake before, i was going to make a bundt cake now. i’ll admit baking does not come naturally for me, i need a recipe and i will follow that recipe to the very last pinch of salt. so, when i saw this gingerbread spice quick bread i was at ease having the reassurance of detailed directions all along the back of the pretty packaging. this recipe was quick and simple and i can’t wait to make more for the holiday season.
apparently, while mixing ingredients i bounce as if i’m trying to put a newborn baby to sleep…it’s a new technique.
i remember as kids, my brother and i were always the first ones awake in the house, we would sneak down stairs before everyone woke up to see what “santa” had left in our stockings. one year we got caught because cody broke one of our mom’s decorations in the excitement of seeing his stocking filled with giant reese’s peanut butter cups…rookie mistake…huge. it’s interesting to see how christmas mornings change as you get older. this year we took a pretty mellow approach to christmas, with everyone waking up in different places on christmas morning, we didn’t really have an agenda. i remember someone saying, “let everyone wake up and we’ll go from there” so we did just that; woke up, had breakfast for lunch and opened presents in the late afternoon. hope everyone had a lovely holiday season.
i’ve put together some gift guides on my polyvore for this coming (already here) holiday season. with christmas around the corner, polyvore is a great way to find inspiration and get organized, especially for last minute shopping. i’ve created a guide for your guy, your gal and yourself! you can find all my gift guides here.
if you’re braving the stores like me this weekend, good luck and god speed…i’ll see you on the battlefield. x
i’m finally getting around to posting some bits and pieces of our christmas in sedona. we had a packed house of 9 people and 5 dogs and i wouldn’t have it any other way! our first order of business-grocery shopping. every year my sister cooks christmas eve dinner, christmas day breakfast and christmas day dinner, not to mention the goodies and desserts in between! she’s far too humble to say that she is good at cooking but she is and i’ll shout it from the rooftops if i have to-her cooking is my favorite part about the holidays. 
courtney needed all hands on deck in the kitchen but because of my notoriously bad cooking skills, i sat this one out and got a head start on the wine. my aunt and uncle live near the local winery so we picked up a bottle… or four.
christmas morning we woke up to a winter wonderland which made for an extra special holiday.
homemade muffins, cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip bread thanks to chef courtney! 
THEblog 