Christmas 2016

I know, I know, Christmas 2016 is so last year. Ha! But in the spirit of playing catchup in this space of mine, and since I love having these recaps to look back on, here's a little look at how we spent our Christmas.

There's not a lot to report on. Being in my last month of pregnancy for December, I was tired, sore and not in a condition to do a whole lot. It was also cold and a lot of my energy was spent on preparing for baby. We didn't get out to do really anything Christmas related, other than to visit Santa (which was probably the highlight of the month if I'm being honest - the visit went better than I could have ever hoped for!). Activities like tobogganing were out of the question for me (plus we didn't get snow until Christmas rolled around), skating was out and even anything including much walking was challenging for me. We did drive through Spruce Meadows Christmas Lights, but it was far too cold to get out to walk around. Anyway, our time was spent at home, as a family, and I know we have many Christmases ahead of us to do all the things!

Jim's parents arrived just before Christmas and spent the holidays at our place. My dad wasn't able to make it up this year because he ended up getting sick and the roads were pretty bad. Ange joined us again for Christmas Day dinner, as did my sister-in-law and our 3 nephews. It was a packed house and I love it that way!

Of course, I have very little photos to show for it. I tried to be really present over the holidays which meant I wasn't pulling my phone out to take very many photos. Another year and no family photo! Ack, must improve upon that next year.

Thanks to everyone who sent us a Christmas card! I loved them all. I promise that next year I will be more organized and send one in return ;)

Pumpkin Pie Spice Chex Mix

The holidays are upon us, and chances are good that you will attend at least one dinner or party in which you are asked to bring a snack. Or maybe not, but if you're like me, you hate to show up empty handed. While a bottle of wine is always a nice gesture to bring your host, sometimes it's more pleasing to think outside the box and bring something homemade. Or maybe you you just need a really tasty snack in your home that you don't plan on sharing at all. Hey, I'm not judging!

Whatever the case, I've got you covered! I've made this Chex mix recipe several times now, and it's been a big hit with both my own family and the guests receiving it. I'm warning you now, it's hard to stop at just a handful. 

The ingredients are simple, and this is the perfect way to infuse some pumpkin spice into your snacks without baking. Whipping up a batch takes no time at all, and I promise you this is a recipe you'll keep coming back to. Throw it in a mason jar, add a ribbon, and you have yourself the perfect hostess gift!

Pumpkin Pie Spice Chex Mix

(adapted from Peanut Butter Fingers)

Makes approximately 8 cups of Chex Mix

6 cups Rice Chex cereal

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup chopped dried apple slices

1/2 cup dried cranberries

6 small-medium sized chopped oatmeal cookies

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.

2. In a large microwaveable bowl, combine Chex cereal and chopped pecans.

3. In a microwaveable dish, microwave the butter until melted (approx 30-40 seconds). Then add vanilla extract.

4. Pour butter mixture over the Chex cereal and pecans, then add the brown sugar and spice mixture from step 1. Stir until well coated. 

5. Place Chex mix in microwave and microwave on high for one minute increments, stirring after each minute. Repeat approximately 3 - 4 times, until mixture begins to brown. 

6. Stir in chopped dried apples, cranberries, and chopped oatmeal cookies. Allow mixture to cool before storing in an airtight container. 

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Weekend 2016

It was a cold and snowy Thanksgiving this year, but honestly, I feel like it added an element of warmth and coziness that I enjoy when hanging out with family all weekend.

It started snowing on Friday and we debated waiting until Saturday morning to make the drive up to Red Deer, but at the last minute we loaded up the car and headed out late in the evening. I was already packed and ready to go, and there's something I like about waking up in the morning and already being where I'm supposed to be, rather than rushing to get somewhere the next day.

We spent the weekend at my sister-in-law's place and while we had originally planned to come home on Sunday, we ended up staying until late Monday afternoon. The holiday weekends we spend at Patty's are some of my favourites. We all just hang out in our PJ's, eat lots of delicious food, watch movies, play games and drink wine (ginger ale for me this weekend!). Sully adores being around his big cousins and the two dogs, and it was just really nice to have a weekend with no agenda, no driving, no running errands and no where else to be.

I didn't take very many pictures, and there's no need for a play by play of what we did(n't) do, but here's a few snapshots to capture the memories. I'm so very thankful for my family (those near and far), our health, good food, warm beds, nature walks, and our country.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my Canadian friends & family! I hope you were able to enjoy some time surrounded by the people you love.

Christmas 2015

Hello friends! A very belated Merry Christmas to you! I ended up taking a bit of an  unplanned break from the internet these past two weeks, and I have to say, it was nice to be a bit disconnected over the holidays. I did actually have plans to post some Christmas related things the week leading up to Christmas day, but obviously that never happened! This year was the most prepared I have ever felt for Christmas, despite having spent the first week of December in Florida, but my days were still full and there always seemed like there was just one more errand to be run.

Of course, as it often is when I disconnect from the internet, a lack of photos also occurs. But sometimes I'm ok with that, because it just tells me that I was too busy enjoying the moments than to be behind the lens of my camera all the time. I regret not getting a family photo of the three of us, but I'm trying not to dwell on that too much since there's nothing I can do about it now.

And perhaps my lack of photos is due to the almost impossible task of getting your toddler to sit still for one! I know this one above is totally out of focus, but it was literally the best photo I got after 400 tries. Also, I'd like to point out that my tree is looking a tad bare because somehow, in our move from Edmonton to Calgary earlier in the year, my box of ornaments got mixed up with my mom's (which was being stored in our basement) and she took mine and I took hers. Which meant the box I ended up with was full of falling apart, homemade Christmas ornaments from mine and my siblings grade-school days, haha! And no, I wasn't about to put those up on my tree!

For the first time ever, I even baked cookies this year! I promised Jim I would, and I'm proud of myself for carrying through. I baked some gingerbread men and trees, some sour cream cookies that my mom always made when we were growing up, pretzel hugs, and a hot cocoa chex mix. And then since I was feeling exceptionally crafty, I even whipped up some homemade sugar scrubs and modpodged some initial ornaments for my nephews. I'm usually just crafty in my head, lacking the time and motivation to execute said ideas, so I'm pretty pleased with myself this year!

Our Christmas celebrations started on Christmas Eve this year, and we had a lovely evening spent with my Aunt, her husband, and my niece at their place. Sully opened his first present that evening and was over the moon when he discovered it was a train.

Christmas Day, after a leisurely morning spent lounging in bed (my toddler is the best!), we slowly opened our gifts, stopping to eat breakfast and Skype with Jim's parents, before getting ready for the first set of out of town guests to arrive. My dad, brother and my uncle drove down from Edmonton to spend the afternoon and night with us. My friend Ange also joined us and my heart was so full that day with my house full of people.

On Boxing Day, my family and Ange left just after lunch, and shortly after, my sister-in-law and three nephews arrived! The best thing about having family visit you during the holidays is it extends Christmas. Patty and the boys stayed for two nights and we had so much fun just hanging out, playing games, eating and drinking, watching Paddington Bear, and getting in a little family skate at the rink in our neighbourhood. Sully was in heaven having his cousins here to chase after and play with, and it's so nice that he's at an age where he can really interact with them now.

Unfortunately, everything fun must come to an end, and our house was empty and quiet again come yesterday evening. It was hard to accept that Christmas was truly over, I wish it could go on for over a week, but I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas! Of course, I missed my mom, my sister, and Jim's parents dearly, that goes without saying, and is the biggest downfall of not living in the same city (or province) as your family.

We didn't get to too many holiday events in the city before Christmas, but thankfully Jim has the rest of the week off so maybe we can sneak in a few things (like the Spruce Meadows Lights!) before he has to head back to work on Monday. I also completely failed at taking Sully to see Santa this year - I left it until Christmas Eve day, thinking it wouldn't be that busy - but when we got to the mall, the wait was 2.5 hours and Santa wasn't even taking reservations anymore! Total mom fail. Next year I will do better!

As sad as I was for Christmas being over, I'm actually really excited for 2016 and what's to come! I'll be reflecting back on the past year here right away and talking about my goals and dreams for next year, so stay tuned!

I hope you all had an equally wonderful Christmas, surrounded by the ones you love, and filled with yummy food and drink! For my blogging friends, I've been keeping up with reading your holiday celebration posts, even if I haven't been commenting - I love hearing how everyone celebrated Christmas!

Merry Christmas! xoxo

Weekending: Happy Thanksgiving!

This is post is coming to you a bit late because this past weekend, we packed up the old car and headed North to spend the long weekend in Edmonton. I didn't have my computer with me and we didn't get back home until late last night (well, not too late to watch two episodes of The Walking Dead, because, priorities), so I'm getting this written up until Wednesday morning.

It was a last minute decision to head North; we really didn't want to do another road trip in my old car, but we worried that if we didn't get up to Edmonton this weekend, we wouldn't have another chance to until after Christmas. We also hadn't seen my dad since June, before he left for his annual trip to Europe, so a we were due for a visit!

Saturday, was spent hanging out at my dad's, grocery shopping for turkey dinner for Sunday, eating pizza and playing tile Rummy. Such a fun game!

Sunday, Jim was on turkey and stuffing duty. We started cooking our own turkey a few years ago, following the direction of his dad's. It's actually much easier to cook a turkey than one would think, and our method never fails to leave us with a deliciously moist bird! The stuffing is also a "family recipe" and my favourite part of the whole meal.

While Jim was busy in the kitchen, I snuck off to get in a quick visit with my good friend Lauren and her new baby girl. It was so great to catch up and get in some baby snuggles.

I got back to my dad's just in time to help with the final preparations for dinner before we all dug in. My dad's girlfriend, my uncle, and my brother also joined us for dinner! (FYI, my dad's house has got to be the hardest house to take photographs in - it's dark and the cherry hardwood floors give off crazy colours, hence the lack of photos this weekend).

Monday, the three of us visited my Grandpa and GG. They hadn't seen Sully in several months, so it's always fun to see how much he's changed. We ended up visiting for almost four hours…eating up all of GG's yummy homemade snacks and her amazing pumpkin pie, before taking Maggie out for a walk (Sully was in doggie heaven!).

After that, we popped over to my mom's place for a quick visit (she had been out at my Grandma's farm for the weekend), before heading back to my dad's place.

Tuesday, we took our time packing up, before heading back to Calgary, but not before I made sure to get some photos outside since it was another beautiful fall day out! We stopped for gas and a quick leg stretch in Red Deer at The Donut Mill. Every single time we drive through Red Deer, we always say that next time we will stop at The Donut Mill, yet we never do. They have some AMAZING donut flavours, like pumpkin pie, oreo cream, rolo, and the best Boston cream I've ever had, plus the classics. I was severely disappointed in the sprinkle donut though, which is my all time favourite donut. They also serve soups and sandwiches and some other warm food options. The coffee was good, and I'd definitely stop in for donuts again!

We rolled into our driveway around 8:30 p.m., got Sully into bed, then watched two episodes of The Walking Dead before calling it a night!

I'm having serious turkey dinner withdrawals right now and feel like I ate my weight in food this weekend! I guess the one benefit of not cooking Thanksgiving dinner in your own home is the lack of leftovers (although I would love me a turkey and stuffing sandwich right about now!).

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian family and friends! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend however you may have spent it.

A Very Fraser Christmas 2014

I know, it's technically 2014, and I should be posting something about my goals and resolutions for this new year, but the baby is sleeping* (it's a Christmas miracle!) and Jim is doing manly chores (not to be confused with womanly chores) around the house (his words, not mine), and I want to catch up on our life here for a short moment. The month of December flew by and while we didn't get out to do as many Christmas related activities I had hoped we would,  we did make it to the Leduc Country Christmas lights and of course, we visited Santa at the mall. I'm sure no one needs to read another post about Christmas, but how can I not speak briefly about our first Christmas as a family of three?!

{Leduc Country Christmas Lights 2014}

#nailedit

Together, Jim and I have spent our Christmases all over the place, from his folks place in Nova Scotia, to our home in BC, to my sister-in-law's home in Red Deer, to warm Christmases in Florida, and now, to our home in Edmonton. Some years we put up a tree, some years we didn't. Some years I've had to work on Christmas day, this year I didn't. We generally just go with the flow for Christmas holidays and we even discussed heading south this year, but in the end, we decided we really wanted to wake up Christmas morning, just the three of us, in our own home. And that is exactly what we did.

{Our little Christmas tree; our stockings; and curious, little fingers}

We know Sully won't remember his first Christmas, but we will. It was so nice to be on our own time line Christmas morning. We lounged in bed until our tummies told us it was time to eat. We opened our stockings slowly and our Christmas presents even slower. In fact, Jim and I waited until the eve of Christmas Day to open our gifts, not on purpose mind you, but in hindsight, it was the perfect end to the day.

With our families dispersed across North America this year, we had only my Dad and my brother over for turkey dinner. As I'm sure anyone with a young baby can attest to, it's always a bit of a relief when you don't have to pack up a million things to head somewhere else for dinner. Sully had a really rough day (the worst yet!) of teething that afternoon and I was thankful to be in the comfort of our own home.  As a result, we took almost no photos, and while I was disappointed after the fact, it is what it is! I have to remind myself that the memories can still exist even when the photos don't.

So all in all, we had a lovely, quiet Christmas at home. And being at home with my little family is my favourite place to be. I hope everyone else out there had their own perfect Christmas, wherever that may have been!

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!


*the baby WAS sleeping, but never for quite long enough...