Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Looks & Life Lately {12} Christmas Break

The "looks" part of looks and life hasn't been key in these posts lately and I promise to change that and do better next time and maybe even just throw a few fashion posts in on other days just because.  I also promise that after today they'll be back to the shorter usual posts - this one is definitely photo heavy.

Today, it's all about the past two weeks and Christmas Break.  This first week is dragging by and I'm already itching for the weekend to curl up under a blanket and get back to my normal routine from break… naps!


Other than heading into the office one day to finish up some year end stuff, I was off all week to rest, relax, take bubble baths, get the house tidy, walks with Stella along with skipping a few workouts (oops) and endless amounts of college football.  I also had a not too terrible cold which gave me an excuse to lounge even more.  A few date nights, lots of family time (I think I saw some of my extended family about four different occasions), time with friends and some nights in.  One Saturday I don't even think we got out of bed until 11 - it was the best to be home the entire break.

Christmas Baking:
With some extra time I enjoyed trying some new recipes (which I'll be sharing very soon) and made sure to get in a few trusty favorites that I like to make each year including holiday chocolate pretzelsthumbprint cookies (the easiest!) and peanut butter blossoms.





December 26th: 
I'm going to try to go in order because I love remembering these little parts of the holiday, but the 26th is still a holiday - in my mind.  A lazy, lounge around in your pj's, re-look & organize your gifts under the tree, do some Christmas baking and enjoy a delicious dinner kind of holiday.  We enjoyed our final day at my parents house just lounging and doing what we each wanted.


Instead of rushing it all in before the holiday, I like to get some baking done after Christmas especially since we've always got events to go to during the following week.


I think I've talked about this before but for those who are new here, our family has a football bowl pool.  About 20 or so members of the family make their picks for all the games, put their points on each team and it gets so competitive! We all spend so much time watching the games. 


Throughout the football, Mom made us up some pasta fagioli soup along with these delicious (and festive) appetizers - cucumber/tomato bites, antipasto, peppers and dip and a new pepperoni dip (loved it - recipe coming soon).  As if that wasn't enough Mom made up some manicotti in homemade sauce after - did I mention I love being home? Give me all the food.


My favorite spot at home - the little sitting room off the kitchen.  I love curling up on the couch alone to read or watch TV next to one of the few trees of the house and of course, sip some wine.


Stella ate up the attention.. from everyone…


Sunday we made a recipe that's been in my family for years - candy cane cookies.  They turned out delicious but not so pretty - it's quite hard to work with the dough when it's too warm out and given the extremely crazy Christmas temperatures, it was hard to put them together.  Then it was time to hit the road for home.


Family Christmas Night:
For the second year in a row, Derek and I hosted my extended family for one of our Christmas gatherings - throughout the week we try to have a couple events.  We did some festive type appetizers to start - peppers and dip, cucumbers and tomatoes, cheese skewers, pigs in a blanket and a family favorite - clam dip.  Baked ziti is a favorite of mine when hosting and I served it with meatballs sliders and salad.





New Year's Day:
We ended up with an impromptu football viewing day (what else - have to track our brackets!) and had some people over to our house for a very relaxed late afternoon/early evening of comfort food appetizers (and crockpot potato soup along with buffalo chicken sliders.  We tried to polish off the Christmas cookies too.





Taxslayer Bowl:
Going into the game, I was sure we'd win.  In the first quarter after Hackenberg got hurt, I knew it was over.  Although, at least the team made quite the comeback and didn't make us look too bad - I thought we might have had it there at the end but ultimately lost 24-17.  With my favorite hoagies, pasta salad, clam dip and a few chick fil a nuggets, it sure did taste like a tailgate.



The weekend brought final glass of wine in my Christmas glasses taking in the view of the glistening tree.  We left everything up until Saturday because why not and as much as I miss all the decorations it is nice having a clean and tidy house again.



Enjoying her edible dog card that Steve found for her

I think this sums up the Alamo Bowl - how crazy was that game???



Starting to take advantage of using holiday gift cards.  Or in this case a gift card from our anniversary.  Three months ago.


And just because an update isn't complete without these shots… 


Linking up with Jenn & Jessi for "What's Hap-pinning Wednesday"


30 comments:

  1. You and your mom are so cute - love the matching plaid on New Years Day!! Such a great way to look back on the last two weeks of fun! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

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  2. I like your matching shirt with your mom--super cute! Looks like it was a great holiday season, and all of those yummy treats!!

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  3. The food looks so good! I didn't work out as much during the break as I should have and ate too much too--but it was a break! Back to reality now haha!
    Sarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts

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  4. Looks like a great holiday life lately! Yum to all the food!

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  5. I LOVE your long posts- don't apologize! Looks like you had a great time with your family :)

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  6. Yum, all that food looks absolutely delicious! Love that you were able to see your family so much...that is the best, especially around the holidays!

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  7. You guys always have so much fun and such fun things planned. I need to come to some of your parties and family gatherings. Ha ha! Glad you got to do lots of relaxing. :)

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  8. So much good looking food! Love the wine glasses with the Christmas trees on them...they are so cute! Love these kinds of posts!

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  9. Looks like so much fun and so much yummy food! I felt like all we did was watch bowl games, too. And man, yes! That Alamo Bowl was crazy!

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  10. omg i love your christmas break! just the right amount of relaxing and fun! and those treats look so dang professional!! they looked perfect!

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  11. Umm I really want all of those sweets, like right now. :) And love that you and your mom matched, so cute! <3, Pamela Sequins & Sea Breezes

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  12. give me all the stella photos! haha. and those cucumber bites look so yum. and don't get me started on the peanut butter +hershey kiss cookies. all the food - i would be 500 lbs after all that haha. what a great christmas break girl!

    xoxo cheshire kat

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  13. You guys are adorable in your plaid! And Christmas baking is the best!

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  14. Love the matching shirts you and your mom are wearing! Such a cute idea! Where are the shirts from? Christina

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  15. L-o-v-e!!!! Why is it oveeerrrr???!

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  16. This looks like such a great time! I am loving the matching shirts! I've made those pretzel bites before, they are great and go quickly at parties.

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  17. Now I am so hungry! Those thumbprint cookies look amazing, and now I want a peanut butter blossom! Your holidays were so perfect.

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  18. What a wonderful Christmas with family, I'm sad the holidays are over!

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  19. Wonderful photos!! Love that one of Stella and Derek on the couch. All of that food looks delicious too. I love going over to my parents and enjoying my moms cooking. Nothing better than that!! Feel free to share some of your mom's recipes with others too because they sound delicious! :-)

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  20. What a great Christmas!! Your food all looked so yummy. I love the idea of a football bowl viewing party and brackets. What a fun tradition :)

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  21. I really need to stop reading your posts on my lunch break because you always make me want to EAT ALL THE SWEETS with your gorgeous food pictures! Haha.

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  22. It wouldn't be the holidays without a PJ day and peanut butter blossoms! Those cookies always make me think of Christmas! The Bowl Pool sounds like a great way to stay interested in all of the bowl games! We really only watched the Aggies lose in the Music City Bowl, so it would have been fun to have something riding on the other games. It definitely sounds like it could get pretty competitive pretty quick!

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  23. This looks like the perfect Christmas vacation - lots of relaxation and FOOD! I can't get over all the food in these photos, I'm telling you - your family needs to adopt me. Ha. :) And, little Miss Stella looks so cozy and cute!

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  24. The 26th December in the u.k is a holiday it is known as boxing day, it is when the sales start and its another excuse to lounge around and relax from the chaos of Christmas!
    All that food looks delish, think I in a food coma from looking at it. So glad you had a great Christmas break, heres to getting back into a routine!

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  25. So much amazing food - YUMMMMMM! And how cute is Stella enjoying her first Christmas! Such a relaxing and fun time of year, I'm so sad it's over <3

    Green Fashionista

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  26. New follower to your blog! :) Your appetizers look delicious and your sweet pup is adorable! I was at the Alamo Bowl and that game was super intense and crazy!

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  27. Love that y'all have all sorts of family traditions that extend past the 25th. Y'all had some delicious looking food that now has my stomach growling ;)

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  28. This post just really made me miss Christmas!! Take me back! Also, this made me extremely hungry - I want all of the food! Hope this week finishes up quickly for ya!

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  29. Girl, you really outdid yourself on the holiday baking this year!!!! I LOVE IT!!! That bowl game pool is a great idea too!!

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