Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all the people (probably just my family and friends, which is fine by me) that read this blog. I am leaving for Seattle tonight and will not be blogging while at home. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones. photo credit: Pinterest Cheers!
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In one week we will be headed home and I cannot wait! It has been an entire year since we have been home! It will be a packed full two weeks of family and friends and festivities! I even created a Google calendar to keep us all straight! You may think that is lame, but it really does help us make sure we are seeing everyone we want to see while balancing time with your family! In honor of our upcoming travels and it being 'throwback Thursday', I thought I would share some of my favorite memories via the below photos. See you soon, Seattle! What are your holiday plans?
I literally took no pictures from the weekend, except a picture of RJ and I in our ninja gear from our friend's birthday party on Friday so I skipped a weekend post all together. I know, I am not sad either. I ended up watching a lot of Christmas movies (The Holiday, 12 Dates of Christmas, Family Stone) on Saturday and went Christmas shopping with a friend on Sunday. Christmas shopping is what inspired me for today's post: Holiday Gift Guides! Some of my favorite blogs put together fantastic gift guides to help ease the holiday shopping experience. Instead of putting together my own gift guide, I thought I would provide you with links to some of my favorites this season. If you have any shopping to finish, and if you are anything like me in your last minute type of style, maybe some of these gift guides will inspire you!
Happy Shopping! TGIF! What are your plans this weekend? I am going to a Ninja-themed 30th birthday party tonight (stay tuned for photos) and I am also planning on doing some Christmas gift DIY and shopping. I also plan on sleeping in, exercising, and reading - my 3 most favorite weekend activities. Enjoy your weekend, friends!
I love cheesecake! When I discovered my gluten intolerance, I started thinking of all the things I wouldn't get to enjoy as much, which included all desserts (especially cheesecake)! Low and behold, pinterest (per usual) gives you millions of desserts that don't have gluten! I found this recipe on pinterest and made it for Thanksgiving. It was a huge hit! The macadamia nut crust is incredible and would be great for gluten- and non-gluten eaters alike! Enjoy! The original recipe called for sweetener instead of sugar - but I didn't follow those directions, obviously. INGREDIENTS:
RECIPE:
Crust
Filling
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend in Traverse City with our friends and their families. It was so nice to have a lot of company, snow, food, and relaxation the past couple of days. Being with our friends' families made us long for home and luckily there are just 18 more days until we are Seattle bound! Happy December! Traverse City Highlights:
Since moving to Michigan we have had the chance to spend time with friends during the Thanksgiving holiday. From Boston [with Beth and Mo] to North Carolina [with the Kevin and Jaime from the Mako House], it has been such a treat to explore, change our scenery, and not be "alone" for the holidays. This year our friends Ashley and Spencer invited us to Traverse City, MI, which is about 4 hours north of us. We visited Traverse City during our Northern Michigan Tour and we are so looking forward to seeing it covered in snow! Also, this Thanksgiving we get to have Andrea with us! It will be so nice to have a family member with us to celebrate one of my favorite holidays. For thanksgiving we made this roll recipe last night and tonight once we get there I am attempting this Gluten Free Coconut Cheesecake (except subbing in sugar instead of the fake sweeteners listed in the recipe). Fingers crossed it turns out and look for a post next week with the details! I will be on a blogging break for the rest of the week, but will return next week! I am so grateful for this blogging space to be creative and find joy in the little things! Have a wonderful weekend!
Oh how I love the weekend! Per usual, we lounged on the couch and caught up on all our shows (Is anyone else really into How to Get Away with Murder? Is anyone else starting to feel the pain of saying goodbye to Parenthood after this season??). We also spent time with the dog, planned our trip home next month, and ordered our Holiday Cards! The weekend was also filled with the below activities!
Such a great weekend! Have a good week, loves! Winter in Michigan is long, but in general, when it gets darker and colder out people struggle to stay mindful and happy. I know I personally struggle when the season of winter starts. Wearing heavy coats, walking the dog in the dark, and not being able to take full breaths outside all get to my head. I thought it would be helpful for me to reflect on some quick tricks to help prepare my mind for winter, and I wanted to share the ideas to whomever may come across my blog.
Happy Winter, ya'll! It is a good season to be grateful for what we have and to practice focusing on relationships, goals, and positive aspects of our life!
I made a version of this recipe last week and couldn't wait to share my rendition with you all! My girlfriends and I literally almost ate the entire casserole dish! It doesn't taste exactly like enchiladas, but it was mouth-watering! Even RJ enjoyed it and he isn't always into veggies! See below for my version and make this asap!
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