Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas goodies!

Merry Christmas all!  I hope you're enjoying this special holiday with family and friends!  I should be nestled all snug in my bed, but of course I've just finished most of the last minute touches for our Christmas day celebrations. 
Anywho, I wanted to share my favorite Christmas goodies from this year.  Like many of you, we decided to make goodies to give away to family and friends, but we wanted to do something savory that had a special place in our hearts.  So we made big batches "parm dip" from a recipe concocted from the fabulous Bottega restaurant (this happens to be where we celebrated our first anniversary this summer) and canned them up all pretty. 



I discovered the wonderfully delicious peppermint bark treats this year when I received my December issue of Food Network magazine.  I've made a few batches (which are so easy) and the chocolatey/minty goody has seemed to be a hit with family and myself too! 



I hope you get to enjoy all of your favorite goodies on Christmas with the ones you love! 

Monday, December 17, 2012

Mele Kalikimaka!

I probably sang this song everyday last week since we were in Hawaii on a family vacation! 
This was a special trip for our family since Clint's parents were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary and brought us kids along!
It was weird to being wearing shorts all week and swimming in the ocean in the middle of December, but I definitely wasn't complaining! 
Now it's back to reality, with cold weather and going back to work, but I have to say it was a very merry time in the land of Aloha! 
My favorite part was going to the Polynesian Cultural Center.  It was such a blast learning about all of the different Pacific islands, interacting with the gracious hosts, and watching amazing performances.  Of course I took plenty of photos to capture the memories of the week, but I'll just share a few for now ;)

Me with one of the performers at the PCC. She was so cute and a beautiful hula dancer


Me and Natalie (other Willis sister-in-law) at Pearl Harbor
 
 
Clint and I in front of the Laie, Hawaii temple
Clint and I on the beach (the house we stayed at was just yards away from the beach!)
 
The whole family in one of the many photos we had taken by the talented Ryan Best

 
Well now that our Hawaiian Christmas is over, I'm getting ready for our Christmas here at home!  More on our at home Christmas festivities later :) 
 

Friday, December 7, 2012

Christmas at home

Before I know it Christmas will be here and thankfully our house is ready for the festivities.  I'm so excited to have our first Christmas in our home! My only complaint is that the fireplace isn't in the living room to enjoy, but we have our Christmas tree in the living room to enjoy as soon as we're home from work.  And while the fireplace isn't in the living room, I get to enjoy it when I'm in the kitchen. 


Ready to roast chestnuts by the open fire ;)  I made the stockings last year and still love how they go with all of the Christmas decor

 
 
I've added a little more to our tree this year, including the glittered reindeer oranaments that were a surprise find at Dollar Store
 
 
 
A few reminders are around the house to reflect on the reason for the season!