christmas recap

{photo credit: me}

what a wonderful holiday it was (and still is)! i have been having such a lovely time home with my family. i don't go back to work until january 2nd, so i have been having a long, extended holiday vacation. no complaints here.

{photo credit: me and motha}

on christmas eve, as part of a fairly new tradition put into place a few years back, my stepdad donned his santa costume, and off we went on a holiday drive. santa delivered chocolates to the hard workers at chick-fil-a (where my little brother was working. haaaaa), visited one of our shopping plazas in town to wave at every passerby and shout merry christmas, and even made a personal stop at the home of one of our family friends. i think i should be embarrassed by this whole shenanigan, but i think it's the greatest thing ever. the looks on peoples' faces as they see santa driving a trailblazer makes my heart crazy happy. my stepdad is such a good sport about it, and really gives it his all when he yells ho ho ho out the window.

{photo credit: me}

that evening, my family and i went to candlelight service at church and then home to eat traditional irish stew for dinner. i don't know why we eat irish stew. we've been doing it for as long as i can remember, and i just go with it because it's delicious. after dinner, my brother and i went on a late night hot cocoa run. the only place we could find that was still open late on christmas eve was our local mcdonald's. i kind of hated myself for going there, but it turns out they know how to do hot cocoa riiight.

{photo credit: me and motha}

on christmas morning, our living room always looks like santa's gift bag exploded upon arrival. our tree is buried under a mountain of things. it's quite a sight. we always open stockings first where we are usually guaranteed to find a toothbrush and an orange. this year i found a toothbrush, an orange, and a potato. a red skinned potato. nice.

{photo credit: me}

we took breaks in between presents to eat coffee cake, hashbrown casserole, and refill our coffee mugs, but then we were right back in the game. santa likes to get creative with his presents. for every good gift we receive (like a gift we actually asked for), he likes to throw in three or four wild cards. for example, i got a gift card to anthropologie (!!) and then proceeded to open a jar of pickles, a ceramic rubber ducky planter, and a bottle of lotion that smelled like a grandma.

{photo credit: me}

we went over to my dad's house later in the afternoon to open gifts and eat more junk food. it was glorious! my dad makes the best fruitcake and fudge of anyone i know. he showered us with gifts and then gave us eggnog and lots of food. in turn, he received a replica of the christmas story leg lamp.

christmas 2012 was a yet another wonderful holiday with loved ones. i'm trying not to be depressed that it's over. how many more days until we get to do it again?

how was your christmas?? tell me, tell me. 

christmas day

{photo credit}

happy christmas! having a great day with my family. both of my brothers are in town, and i am loving the fun and laughter they always bring. 

i pray that the love of Christ surrounds you and yours on this wonderful day.

christmas eve

{photo credit: me}

merry christmas eve! hold your loved ones close. 

red like taylor swift

{photo credit: me}

why in the world have i not been wearing red lipstick until now? i just bought my first tube at the wal*mart, and i'm digging the way it makes me look like a grown up. at least until i blow bubbles in my milk and completely blow my cover. 

{photo credit: me}

thank you, tay swift, for inspiring me to branch out from unscented chapstick.

*linking up here!*

quiet

{photo credit}

it seems like this holiday season has been filled with a lot of incredibly painful moments for as happy as it usually is around this time of the year. i feel such sadness for the families of the children and teachers in newtown. one of my close friends recently experienced her own loss of a loved one and even more friends have coworkers who have lost a child or a parent in the past couple weeks. 

each passing is tremendously sad on its own but seems to be compounded by the fact that Christmas is literally right around the corner. christmas. such a wonderful holiday but also a deeply heartbreaking holiday for those missing loved ones. 

to those who are filled with grief, i am deeply sorry. i know words of sympathy don't even scratch the surface of how you are feeling. i pray that peace and comfort find you this holiday season. you are cared for, being thought about, being prayed for. 

***

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."

2 corinthians 1:4

oh, deer (head)

{photo credit: me}

this is the story of how cast iron deer head and i met, went home together, became best friends. 

we met a goodwill. he was sitting on the bottom shelf of the knick knack section. i came up and introduced myself. he didn't say much, or anything really. just stared at me with his big, white deer eyes.

i took him home where he sat propped up against my wall. i tried to include him in some fun reindeer games, but he was having none of it. kind of wallflower, turns out.

after a year of passive aggressive notes back and forth, i finally realized he wasn't happy sitting on the floor in my room. he needed a place to call his own.

i called my stepdad and explained the situation. he gave me a list of supplies i'd need and told me he'd be over to help as soon as he could.

{photo credit: me}

pretty soon the plan was in motion. all it took was a little spray paint, a wooden plaque, and a long talk with deer head. we both apologized.

{photo credit: me}

he now hangs triumphantly in my room as my guard deer, keeping watch over me as i sleep. he has found his place in this world.

{photo credit: me}

he's getting a little frisky, too. looking for a good doe to kiss. if you know of any...

pumpkin pie bars

{photo credit: me}

it's december 12th, and i feel weird posting a recipe for pumpkin bars. i feel like once thanksgiving is over, only recipes involving crushed candy canes and cupcakes in the shape of santa's face are allowed in blog land. not that i have anything against eating a miniature cake shaped like jolly old saint nick. i'd eat that cupcake like it was my job. i have a feeling i'd be really good at it, too. probably would get promoted by the end of my first day. 

it's still technically fall until the 21st or something, so i'm going to push aside my weird, irrational thoughts about pumpkin recipes and just go for it. i'm making it into a big deal, and it is not. what would be a big deal is if i talked about santa cupcakes for another paragraph. 

pumpkin pie bars

ingredients

cake dough crust:

1 box yellow cake mix

1/2 cup butter or margarine (melted)

1 egg

pumpkin filling ingredients:

1 16 oz. can of libby's pumpkin pie mix (i accidentally bought the honking 32 oz. can for my recipe, and it still turned out delicious). 

2 eggs

2/3 cup of milk

cookie topping

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup soft margarine

preparation

mix cake mix, melted butter, and egg together. reserve 1 cup for topping.

spread remainder on the bottom of 9 x13 dish.

blend the pumpkin filling ingredients together and pour on top of the cake dough crust.

mix sugar, cinnamon, and soft butter. add this mixture to the 1 cup of reserved topping.

spoon or sprinkle this mixture over the pumpkin filling. bake 350° for 50-60 minutes until filling is cooked through but crust is not burned. 

ok. enough words. time to eat. 

{photo credit: me}