Basic New Year Post

The current consensus seems to be "Fuck 2016." In fact, that is the name of the New Year's Eve Party we are attending. Although I like to think of myself as a glass half full kinda gal, I have to admit... I see where everyone is coming from. It certainly was a rough year... Too many deaths, both personal friends and iconic celebrities. The election didn't go as I had hoped, and life has just seemed a little extra tricky this year.

That being said, 2016 has also been kinda awesome. Sweet baby Marc was born & he steals my heart a little more each time I see him, I moved in with two of the best roommates and friends I could ever imagine, and I returned to the company that has always had my heart. There was lots of travel & exciting adventures in Seattle. I attended tons of weddings and baby showers & watched so many friends make exciting life strides. This year my resolution was to try new things, and I certainly have. I tried new bars, new restaurants, new foods... I traveled completely alone for the first time and made new friends and took on new activities. So even though 2016 seems to have a big black cloud over it, it still feels pretty sunny to me!

This year, I would like to make a new resolution. Once again, I don't want to be overly specific, so instead I will focus on one word: balance. It is a concept I seem to struggle with in all aspects of my life. It is time to balance work & play, trying decadent foods & eating healthy, plenty of sleep & plenty of time with friends, and everything in between. It will certainly be a challenge, but it is one I look forward to tackling!

Happy New Year's Eve, All!

Cheers to the new year! 

Christmas 2016

Merry Christmas, Lovelies!

Usually I am a total Scrooge this time of year. The second December 26 rolls around, I want all the Christmas goodness to disappear because it makes me way too sad to look at. In fact, before I head home for the holidays I typically strip my apartment of every last festive treasure... But you know what, not this year. This year, I decided to change it up a bit. I decided to savor the spirit and keep the holidays alive. If you need me this week, I will be curled up by the Christmas tree, going to Zoo Lights, and all kinds of other Christmas shit!

Speaking of Christmas shit, this year was full of it! Before traveling south for Christmas, I wanted to spend one last festive evening in Seattle. I remember the first year I lived up here, I spent my last night finishing up my Christmas shopping downtown. It was totally magical running from shop to shop with my hands tucked into a pair of gloves, gifts filling my arms, and the giant Christmas tree lighting my way. I loved it so much that I wanted to recreate it this year... But since I already had my gifts purchased I decided it was a great opportunity for a night out with friends. We started at the Sheraton where we sipped wine as we admired their Gingerbread house display! 5 years in Seattle and I had NO idea it even existed. It was totally worth the hour wait, plus it was Harry Potter themed which was an added bonus. Afterwards we shuffled to Kushibar where we shared lots of new foods and tried sake bombs for the first time. It definitely made for an epic meal. We visited a few bars afterwards, most of which were decked out for the holidays. Although I felt like straight garbage the next morning, I wouldn't have traded it for the world!

Zach and I headed south the following afternoon, and only made ONE McDonalds stop on the way. Talk about roughing it! Somehow, we made it home in one piece, and I immediately went into full blown holiday mode. I met up with Tayla and we quickly swooped up a few white elephant gifts and were off to her family Christmas party. Although I got my gifts stolen THREE times, I ended up with a pretty cool game that I am stoked to test out. We decided the responsible thing to do would be to stay in for the evening... So clearly we went out and partied until 2:00 AM only to remember we still had Jell-O Shots to make. Leave it to us...



Somehow, we made 100 Jell-O shots and still managed to make it to Parksmas on time... We drank, laughed, and heckled our way through the kickball game. Another successful celebration for the books.









Immediately after, Chloe and I stopped at Target to swoop up some last minute gifts before heading to Gram's to visit with some family. I scarfed down just about everything in my Grandma's fridge, then made our way to my mom's to help prep for Christmas dinner. Usually, we would have a home cooked meal for Christmas Eve, but we switched it up a bit and went out this year. Honestly, I was totally bummed to spend the evening away from home, but it was actually a huge hit! Food was great, no clean up required, and the restaurant was decked out for the occasion. We may have just created a new tradition!





After dinner, we headed to a friend's place for a rousing round of Pass the Pigs, then to the bars we went! We ended up playing The Voting Game that had us in stitches all night. I swear I will never get tired of game nights with old friends.

After a surprisingly restful night's sleep, it was Christmas Morning! Somehow, the magic of the holiday still has me jumping out of bed like it's... well... Christmas Morning. Off to my mom's we went for breakfast and gifts. We had a blast ripping open our presents and spending some quality time together.

Next stop was Gram's house where I took a FAT nap while Lifetime Christmas movies played in the background. Soon after waking up, I was surrounded by friends and family. It didn't take long for the wine to start flowing as we gorged on our Italian feast. We ended the holiday with a game night in my Grandma's basement. We don't often spend time down there anymore, so I truly felt like I was a kid again. By far one of my favorite years to date!





The day after Christmas is always a little bit of a bummer, but I combated the Post-Christmas blues with some retail therapy and greasy Chinese food with Tay. It was the perfect end to the most wonderful holiday!

Here is to a Christmas well spent & a bright and booze-filled New Year to come!



Cheers! 

Holiday Bliss

So here is the deal… All year I fantasized about holiday blogging. I couldn’t wait to partake in festive activities and share immaculate photos of all my Christmas spirit. I planned to cozy up by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate while blogging about my favorite recipes and creating holiday gift guides. The problem is, I will drop my cocoa like a bad happen the second someone mentions Festive Bar or Holiday Movie Showing. As much as I loved the idea of turning on a Christmas movie in my flannel PJs and wrapping gifts that made Martha Stewart look shabby… I just can’t seem to get my shit together. So here is a messy and poorly photographed recap of my holiday season thus far! 

Last Saturday morning, my dear friend Bri hosted her annual Favorite Things party. I look forward to this all year because one, I live for brunch, two, you all know I am festive AF, and three, I love sharing my favorite things and getting to know everyone else through theirs! For anyone not sure how it works, it is an gift swapping event where you bring one of your favorite things for each person attending the party, then you go home with a treat from each of the attendees. The brunch was delicious, the house looked adorable, and we all made out like bandits! Included in this year's haul was booze, candies, hair brushes, beauty products, and planners from yours truly!

I must say, the Fav Things Party kind of took it all out of me... But I pulled myself together and headed for my next event: Zach's Company Christmas Party. Oh my goodness, you guys... Such a blast. It was hosted at a winery in Woodenville where we were served a beautiful dinner with delicious appetizers and all the wine we could drink.... Great ambiance, great refreshments, and great people to boot. My only regret is not worrying about the hangover that was sure to follow.



I pulled myself together the following day (via a nugget meal from McDonalds) just in time to make it to a cookie exchange. I loved spending the afternoon with friends, but the real come-up was all the treats I went home with!

The following week involved lots of decorating, baking, holiday dinners, and gift wrapping. Also, buying all the cold weather accessories because over the weekend we went to ice cold Walla Walla! Thank goodness our wine tasting kept us warm because it reached six degrees outside! Despite the cold, we had the best weekend ever! We decked ourselves out in holiday garb and visited countless wineries. Each place we visited was full of charm and Christmas spirit, and the snow made it totally magical. Although we had moments remenicent of the Griswald Family Vacation such as a bed wetting chat over a five star meal, sleeping bag trips down borrowed stairs, and sprained ankles... It was the perfect trip.

The countdown is officially on to Christmas, and I have a few more festive activities planned before the big day! Can't wait to sloppily share all the deets!

Happy Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve!

Festive AF

December is in full swing and my cup of cheer is as full as my Mickey D's coffee.

This weekend was such a great kick-off to the season. I headed out of town for a few days full of family baking and tons of festive fun. I got to Longview Friday afternoon and was greeted  by my mini-me cousin Lyndsey. We did a little grocery shopping for the following day, then got a warm & cozy cocktail from our favorite bar. There was no space inside, so instead we drank our Apple Toddy's next to the fire where the waitress brought us blankets and seared tuna. It was actually kind of perfect and we were super glad there was no room in the bar. Shortly after, I headed to my cousin Kayla's house for some pizza and a sleepover with her and her hubby. It was a great night followed by an even better day!

Saturday was filled with all the family time I could dream of! Kay and I got to Gram's bright and early in our Christmas PJs, but we were late to the party. Grams, Lynz, Chloe, and Auntie were already baking away. We threw on our aprons and got started. I absolutely love that we have kept this tradition alive for so long!

Several hours, laughs, and Christmas jams later, our masterpiece was finished.

We made Snickerdoodles, Peanut Butter Blossoms, Christmas Crack, Spritz Cookies, Shortbread, Sugar Cookies, Peanut Butter Fudge, Oreo Balls, and Salted Carmel Fudge #treatstreatstreats

I was thoroughly exhausted afterwards, but managed to stay up to watch one last Christmas movie before calling it a night.

Sunday morning I headed back to Seattle and spent the day by the fire catching up with my roommate. We hosted an impromtu wine night to watch the Hawks game and spread a little holiday cheer.



Since I refuse to live for the weekends, I had to keep the festivities going. This week has included dinner and tree decorating at Zach's, Christmas Shopping, more baking and prepping for the Favorite Things party, and lots and lots of gift wrapping.

Just when I thought the week couldn't get any better, WE GOT SNOW! Thursday night we were at a brewery showing of Home Alone (so fucking funny, btw! I totally forgot) and as Zach and I waited outside for a Euro it lightly started coming down. We could hardly stand our excitement. Also notable, someone slipped and fell in it which was almost as good as the snow itself.

Such a wonderful season it has been so far! This really is the most wonderful time of the year. Cheers to Christmas!

Christmas Cheer

I am pretty sure December first should be a national holiday. The second November is over, my Christmas spirit goes through the roof! Although I began my holiday festivities as soon as Thanksgiving ended, there is something about the start of this month that makes me jollier than the big man himself! I figured I would share a little of my spirit. 

The celebrating began Black Friday. My sister and I headed to the mall to swoop up our matching Christmas jammies... Holy shit, so cute! 

The following day we met up with Zach for a trip to the Christmas Tree Farm where we found the perfect tree. 

I know... We're pretty precious. 

That evening we threw on the Hanson Christmas album and did a little decorating.

Look at that holiday spirit! 

Anyways, hope you all are loving on this magical month... You know I am.