Christmas – Page 4

Christmas Gift in a Jar and Holiday Card 2016

December 7, 2016 by Alicia 2 Comments

Now that my Holiday cards are mailed out to almost everyone, I decided to share them here along with the gift I made my co workers this year.

You may remember last year I made cookie and pancake mixes in a jar. I really like the jar mixes as it is an affordable gift and you can make them look cute. You simply add the dry ingredients to a jar and then attach instructions for what to add. This year, I decided to do my favorite chocolate cupcakes for Two recipe from Jenn and put all the dry ingredients in a small jar and type up her instructions.

I revised her instructions a bit so that it listed just the wet ingredients and what to do and attached them to the jar with a ribbon. You can view the full recipe on her site so that you know the dry ingredient details.

Chocolate Cupcakes for Two

Recipe by Jenn @Peas and Crayons

Ingredients Needed: 1 jar of dry ingredients, ¼ cup plus 2 TBSP milk [room temp], 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp vanilla extract, Frosting [homemade or store bought]

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 4 parchment paper liners, or spritz regular paper cupcake liners with oil to prevent sticking. Set aside.

Pour ingredients from jar into a bowl. In a separate bowl, bring milk to room temperature, then combine with oil and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture into the center of your flour mixture and stir clockwise with a fork until just incorporated. Over-mixing can sabotage the batter. Next pour mixture evenly into your paper liners Bake on the center rack at 350 F for approx. 20 minutes depending on oven. Cupcakes are done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean from the center. Remove from muffin tin and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Now for my Holiday cards. I was sooo excited to make some this year because we had our engagement pictures. I knew that Brian’s family and my family members (some that don’t go online and haven’t seen the photos) would love them. I also just love the act of sending out a little card to friends and family.

I’m hoping that we can get some sort of picture each year, even if not a professional photoshoot, just to have a nice photo for a card. I made these on Shutterfly during one of their discounts and was very pleased with the cards keeping them simple. The back also has a small photo of us and snowflakes.

I also framed some photos for my aunt, grandma and in laws to be. They all loved them. I thought it would be good to provide a photo in a frame as just sending loose pictures, what do you do with those? I know I just toss the pictures somewhere and they don’t get displayed unless I have a frame. All the frames I got were 50% off during Thanksgiving weekend so it was perfect.

I kept gifts simple this year since I am moving and traveling a lot and got them done early. I do need to find a gift or two more for some relatives, but I am happy with this simple and affordable gifts. These pictures mean so much to me and I know my relatives enjoy having an updated photo of me.

What are some DIY gifts you love?

Have you made mixes in a jar for gifts?

Chicago Holiday: MIMM #51

December 28, 2015 by Alicia 2 Comments

Here we are wrapping up the last week of 2015. I flew back to Philadelphia yesterday. The surprise (as I mentioned here) was a success. It was very nice to have 5 days off from work and get to see a couple friends in Chicago and enjoy a bit of time with my family and kitties.

kitties and sis — my sis and I accidentally matched on Christmas day

Wednesday was a rough flight and by the time my friend and I got to Evanston to eat, it was nearly 3pm, a very late lunch but very delicious at Flat Top.

My friend and I then walked around for a bit and drove around until 5:30 when both of my parents were home and I walked in to surprise them. I had my friend take a video too.

I then enjoyed dinner with my family and my sister’s boyfriend came over as well. The family acted pretty normal and I think dinner was a success. My sister did well with making lasagna and a salad. Then they decorated the tree. I was back and forth mostly watching.

Christmas Eve

I headed to a 9:30 barre class. I didn’t sign up in advance though and almost didn’t get in the class. Luckily someone didn’t show up and I got in a kick butt workout. My challenge with barre is sometimes I have no idea if I am doing the tuck right to really feel the workout, but I do always end up just a bit sore. My shoulder was not having the weight part, so sometimes I just have to modify and do the best I can. I had to drop the light weights towards the end of the shoulder burn part and just move my arms.

I did some shopping at Whole Foods to get a couple ingredients to make a quinoa salad for Christmas dinner and then I took the bus home.

I was starving by the time I got home and luckily I got some Noodles and Company to go on Wednesday for my lunch and enjoyed a movie.

Once my sister returned from work, we headed out to do some shopping and then went to go see the movie Sisters. OMG that movie was so good. I might go see it again it was that good! Laughing so hard!!

We came home and scavenged the fridge and I made a burrito bowl for dinner while we watched Elf.

Christmas Day

I was up around 8am. I started to make some pancakes and put the cinnamon rolls in the oven while waiting for my sister to get up. Once she was awake, she was ready to open her presents as my dad and I were still cooking.

Breakfast was served and we put on Let it Snow movie from Hallmark Channel. My dad printed a picture of my gift so that I would have something to open and know what was sitting at my door when I arrived home.

It was a pretty chill morning. I whipped up my quinoa salad quickly and put that in the fridge until it was time to go to our cousin’s in Wisconsin.

We left around 3pm and drove to Wisconsin. It is only an hour and 15 minute trip. We were only a few minutes late, but when are we ever on time as a family?! We joined them in watching Mythbusters and then ate shortly after 5. We generally have everything that we have for Thanksgiving. We have added Brussel sprouts to the mix as my cousin loves them and I love them now too. They also enjoyed my quinoa salad. I used red quinoa and some green onions and peppers so it seemed to be nice and festive too. We decided not to do gifts this year as we basically would just be exchanging gift cards and it’s just like exchanging money so took away that stress.

My cousins were crazy and heading on the road at 3am to drive to Park City, Utah, so they were ready to go around 7pm and we left around 7:30, getting home at 9pm. A nice short visit.

The Day after Christmas

Saturday morning I took the train to downtown Chicago and met up with Susie for some brunch. We enjoyed catching up and eating at Yolk, which I had never been to.

I was planning to have my friend meet me in Chicago in the afternoon, but with the rain, it wasn’t the nicest day and I was limited on time because my family planned a last minute photo shoot. The rain lightened up enough that I walked around enjoying Chicago for a bit. I walked down to Water Tower and then back over to the Macy’s at State Street to see the windows which were just OK. I enjoyed some hot tea to keep my hands warm, but overall the weather wasn’t that cold, it was just gloomy and wet. It was nice to get some walking in and then take the train back.

I had an hour with my friend and then got dressed for the family photo shoot. My sister requested some family photos since we aren’t together much and honestly other than a few Target photo sessions in the past, we have never hired a professional photographer and done family photos. Though it can be pricey, I think once in 25 years is not bad. Our 30 minute session turned into almost 90 to get all the different shots, but I think it was well worth it and the photos just from the glimpse on the camera look like they will turn out nice.

After the photoshoot, it was time for some dinner, throwing together things in the fridge and we watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on ABC Family for Harry Potter weekend.

Sunday

My dad drove me to the airport around 7am. Luckily the flight was much smoother coming home and the landing was quick. Waiting a while for the train was annoying, but was better to save the money from parking. I immediately dropped off my bags and then headed to Wegmans for groceries. I picked up some avocado sushi for dinner from Wegmans and made Lee’s chicken Parmesan recipe she posted yesterday for my dinners until Wednesday this week.

That brings us to today. Back to the office. Counting down to my 3 day New Years weekend already.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and has a great Monday!!

Thinking Out Loud #30: Christmas Eve

December 24, 2015 by Alicia Leave a Comment

Hello hello!! Happy Christmas Eve!! By the time you read this, I will hopefully be in Chicago. [Edit: I made it!! It was a rough landing but made it] Well I left yesterday, so I sure hope so, but writing this post up from the airport as I wait for 2.5 hours. Yes 2.5 hours. See, I decided to take the train to the airport since my flight was supposed to leave at 10am and I figured that if I drove I would still be caught in the rush hour traffic and with the rainy weather, we all know that traffic is even slower then. Plus by taking the train they didn’t even make me pay extra for the next zone with my train pass so that was very nice. Basically I save nearly $70 that I would have spent on parking.

I gave myself a 30 min cushion with the trains taking an early one and then still made the earlier airport train as it was perfectly a few minutes late. The only thing was that once I had arrived at my train station, I received an email that my flight was about an hour delayed. So make that an hour and a half cushion. At least I didn’t have to worry about rushing right?

So I get to the airport and there isn’t even a line for Southwest! There were huge lines for other airlines but not Southwest. Check my bag, go to security and fly through there in 5 minutes, hardly a line there either. So now I’m through security with 2.5 hours before my flight leaves. From my apartment doorstep, taking 2 trains (since I changed in the city) and checking my bag and getting through security this only took 1 hr 15 min. Crazy fast!! I can only hope that as I write this and watch the cloudy rainy weather outside that we have a good flight. Chicago is of course calling for thunderstorms and wind this afternoon which had my flight left on time, we would have pretty much arrived right when the storms were going to begin, but now could be arriving mid storm, which I don’t like the sounds of.

Anyway my parents don’t know I’m coming home. I told my sister on Sunday (of course I booked the flight a few weeks ago, right after Thanksgiving, before my car windshield decided to crack…). So my sister’s plan is that I show up at dinner. She is bringing her boyfriend over and making dinner. My family rarely eats together for a family meal but my sister wants us to act semi normal for her boyfriend lol. Little do they know that I am going to show up. I am hoping to have my friend take a video of me ringing the doorbell and showing up, even though I still have keys to the house. I checked with my sister to see if they changed the locks because I know they are planning to replace the front door of the house because it is old and our current lock apparently doesn’t fit in new doors. That would be the only reason. I don’t really think they are trying to keep me out, but who knows how much longer they will have the house anyway. They have been talking about selling for the last year, just hasn’t happened yet.

Anyway, the other day, Heather wrote about her Christmas traditions. The only tradition my family really has is getting together with my cousins who live in Wisconsin and having a Christmas dinner, which is basically Thanksgiving round 2 because we cook a turkey and all the Thanksgiving related foods. My sister doesn’t really like turkey so one year my aunt got a small ham, so we could have the Christmas ham tradition. Then we open presents and chat for a while.

Besides that, when I was little, my own tradition, was to sneak downstairs in the middle of the night to check if Santa arrived. I would always pretty much go to bed at 9pm Christmas eve, because the sooner I fell asleep the sooner Santa would be here. But I usually woke up in the middle of the night, had my flashlight in the drawer by my bed and knew where every little creak in the floor was to avoid in my house. I would tip toe downstairs and see if my stocking was filled and if it was I would go back upstairs and wake up my sister and have her come down. We’d spend a few minutes looking around at our presents, sometimes moving a few so that my presents were on one side and my sister’s on the other. I really don’t know how my parents did it, because sometimes I would come downstairs at midnight, my parents asleep in bed and Santa didn’t come yet. That’s what made me believe so long. Plus my parents got presents from Santa too. So sometimes I woke up twice to check. My parents claim they never knew we did this. We told them a couple years ago.

1488020_3342759244793_167301737_n — me and my sister, Christmas 2013, last time I was at home for Christmas

Christmas morning I would wake up super early. I am a morning person after all. It would probably be like 7am. I would wake up my parents and my mom would try to fit in a shower before opening gifts. Oh the torture of waiting that long!! Seriously she would spend nearly an hour showering and getting dressed. I would usually start the morning with a piece of chocolate from my stocking and open presents for a while before grabbing a snack of a bowl of cereal. Then my dad would make pancakes. For many years, my dad also taped Christmas morning on his video camera. Though I can’t say we have watched many of them. Sometime I need to get someone to combine highlights from our home videos.

Today is Christmas Eve and my family doesn’t really do anything for Christmas Eve, but I plan to get to a barre class in Evanston in the morning and then I don’t know what. Maybe search for a salad recipe to add variety to Christmas dinner with my cousins (who will also be surprised I am here). I haven’t been home for a holiday since before I moved in 2013 so I guess it’s nice to get home for one. All my presents were shipped to me which is better since then I don’t have to fit them in my suitcase.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, I rarely use this laptop and don’t have any on here.

Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday!!

I will recap my trip next week. I can’t believe there is just a week and a day left in the year!!

Workouts, Gifts and Food: MIMM#50

December 21, 2015 by Alicia 2 Comments

Ah the last weekend before Christmas, how did that come up so quickly? There were not enough hours in the days this weekend. It went by quickly. Despite not having any real plans other than my workouts, I came up with a project Saturday afternoon and the day flew by. Sunday was more relaxing, as always, but still seemed to go by way to fast. I am excited for a long weekend for Christmas. Now getting back to this past marvelous weekend.

Friday afternoon, my work had a holiday reception from 2-4. Last year we had a sit down lunch and we got gifts of chips and salsa and a beautiful chip tray. This year was a bit on the cheaper side with basically a mid day happy hour (no complaints when you get to leave work early though). I don’t drink and we had probably 30-40 people crowded in this little bar. I was mentioning to some other people how we should have done that plus bowling or even if we had a bigger place with a pool table. Instead the place was packed with our group. I did have some regular iced tea and happily dug into the chips and guacamole on the table. That was pretty delicious. I made my way around talking to different co workers about holidays and such and then started to talk to one of our newer employees who didn’t know many people. We actually had a great time getting to know each other. We didn’t talk about work once, just our families and decisions we made in life and such. It was really great and before we knew it, it was 4:30. What?!? Time flew and I wanted to catch my usual train home.

I think the best thing was that I didn’t look at my phone for like 3 hours on Friday and really enjoyed the present moment the best I could. Because honestly, I am uncomfortable in bar settings and it is really hard to have conversations when it is so loud. Talking in a back corner away from the crowd was great and talking about topics other than work with your co workers to get to know them, even better.

I arrived home at my usual time and decided to catch up with my dad and sister as they were just about arriving back in Chicago after my dad went to pick my sister up from school in Iowa. Only my dad leaves at a crazy early hour in the morning for a 5 hour drive and then drives back the same day. He said he got a nap though while my sister drove for about half the trip.

I ate a light lunch thinking I would eat more at our holiday reception, so I was kinda hungry and decided to make some chicken nuggets I had in the freezer for dinner and then ate a bowl of cereal, while winding down the night with a movie. Though it was hard for me to wind down Friday night. I seem to get a social high and come home a ball of energy after events. I mean it could have been the 3 cookies I ate earlier…or the fact that I usually have more energy at home, but it was hard to relax Friday night and took me a while to get to sleep.

Saturday I was in and out of my car too many times, but that is what happens when you do all your shopping on one day. I got in a swim around noon and made it 2 miles. I didn’t push for 2.5 this time as I had planned to work on a yoga sequence and wanted to still have some energy afterwards. I say “planned” but that didn’t actually happen. Instead I came home after swimming, ate a snack and then had the idea of making jar mixes for my co workers. I wanted to give a gift to my boss since he kindly gave me one last year. I also thought it would be nice to give a little something to the co workers I sit by and always make me laugh. Conveniently, Davida and Lee came up with DIY jars for holiday gifts. I loved that I could easily look back at their combined post of all the jars. I decided to use Lee’s Snickerdoodle pancake recipe and then my own cookie recipe for a jar. Since I had most of those ingredients, it was easy. I just needed to get the right size jar and then a few extra baking things I was running low on.

I bought a jar half the size that Lee mentioned in her post so that it would easily be 1 batch of pancakes instead of a double. I was totally experimenting when it came to putting my cookie recipe in a jar. I didn’t know if it would fit as the flour took up so much of it, but in the end I got it to fit with 1 cup of chocolate chips instead of 2 and wrote up the directions of what to add.

I bought ribbon to wrap around the jars and tie the recipe to the jar and a Happy Holidays message from me.

Of course while shopping at a craft store I wanted like everything and picked up some $1 tins for some peppermint bark I wanted to make as well.

Seriously so cute for some co workers! Oh and I am sure that Brian’s intention for buying me a hammer was to crush candy canes right?! So that was my fun little project Saturday and by the time I was done, I warmed up some dinner and checked out the new Lifetime Christmas movie, but wasn’t really into that one and ended up Skyping with Brian instead.

Sunday morning I slept in and then had some breakfast before heading to the gym. I love Sunday morning gym sessions! Even when I get to the gym around 9am, the roads are still pretty empty and the gym seems to be becoming more empty as the holidays approach. I got in some weight lifting and abs. Then I came home and did some laundry and cooking. It may sound boring, but I enjoyed it. I made Jenn’s quinoa recipe for my lunches and dinners on this short week.

I had to taste it for lunch on Sunday of course and it was so good!! I love red quinoa more than the original tan one. Anyone else have a favorite quinoa?

Finally on Sunday afternoon I got to work on my yoga sequence. I actually have a yoga teacher interview in a week, so I need a 15 min demo. Not sure how to do a warm up, class and cool down in 15 min but I guess 5 min for each will be good. Wish me luck!

Are you ready for Christmas?

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