Sarah B's NYE Wedding

Sarah B and I became friends in the 6th grade when her and her family moved to Bellevue from Kansas. Well, that's not true...at first I thought she was prissy, preppy, and too much of a smarty pants to be friends...so it wasn't until 7th grade that I realized we were exactly alike and we became inseparable. Her family became my second family as I made myself at home at their place most days after school and weekend slumber parties. I considered myself as the 5th sister (yes, Sarah is the oldest of four girls!), and I have many great memories spending time with the Bankstons.

We remained best friends all the way through senior year of high school and beyond. Sarah left for WSU (boo) when I was heading to UW, but we still saw each other on school breaks and when Sarah was home from Pullman. Life took us different directions after college, but we've still managed to stay in touch. I would make weekend trips to her home in Portland, and she'd come visit me in Seattle. Even though we don't see each other as much as we'd like, when we do it's as if no time has passed.

It had been a little over a year since I had seen Sarah or heard from her, so I was happy to see I had a voicemail from her when I got home from our Cabo trip. She had some big news to share...she was engaged! Shocked? Yes. Excited? Even more so! I guess a lot can change in a year. When I called her back, she had even more shocking news...the wedding would be in just over a month on New Year's Eve at the Inn at Suncadia.

Sarah B on her wedding day

On New Year's Eve Day, Clint and I packed our bags and headed over the pass towards Cle Elum. We were excited, what would be more fun than ringing in the new year at a wedding? No planning, stressing about lines to get into a club or paying cover...just a guaranteed fun party with an open bar!

heading over the snowy pass

We arrived at Suncadia, and got checked in to our room at the Inn, which was amazing! If we had known how nice it was and that check-in was at 11am, we would have planned differently. Maybe brought our snowshoes and enjoyed the day walking around the snow covered golf course. Oh well, we were still there early enough to look around and enjoy the amenities.

cozy room at the Inn

view from our freezing cold balcony

We got there just in time to watch the photographer get some photos of Sarah and the bridal party. It was nice to get a chance to visit with her before she was rushed off to prepare for the ceremony.

watching the girls freeze for a photo

The Inn at Suncadia was the perfect venue. Just the right size for an intimate ceremony and a reception with a dance floor. All the guest rooms (18 I think) are up on the second floor, so there's no need to step foot out into the cold or worry about driving.

Before we got ready for the evening, Clint and I looked around and enjoyed the snack and drink buffet they had out for the guests. They even ordered pizza! We grabbed a few slices and went back to the room. After gettin all fancy, we headed downstairs to grab a seat. I'm kicking myself now for not getting a good picture of us, cause we were looking sharp (Clint's favorite word)!

leaving our thumbprints as a guestbook

cute :)

Sarah and her dad Del

her sisters Kelsey, Jamie, and Stacey as bridesmaids

The ceremony was very sweet, and Sarah was beaming. Afterwards, we went through the receiving line and into the next room to get the party started. Jamie, Kelsey, and Sarah's dad all gave beautiful toasts, as well as the groom's sister. 

We danced the night away, ate sloppy joe's and taquitos (nom!), and donned our NYE hats and toasted at midnight. The night was perfect, and we had such a blast. So glad we could be there to celebrate with Sarah and her new hubby, Tyson.

father daughter dance

playing a cute newlywed game

crappy photo, but only one of us from the night

Me and Christie, Sarah's BFF from college

Congratulations Miss Sarah B (or I guess now Mrs. Sarah R)! Can't wait to see more of you in 2013.

December photo-a-day

Instagram had a Photo-a-Day challenge for December where they give you a list of something to take a photo of every day for the entire month. I thought it might be fun to participate, so I tried to get photos taken each day. Some days I missed, some photos were taken on the wrong day, but I still wanted to post here what I came up with.

1. Your view today - back from Cabo catching up
on my tv shows on the couch

2. Favorite holiday movie - couldn't pick just one!
These are the essentials to watch each year

3. Red - glassy baby candle holder from Dad

4. Joyous - Clint with his new 6 screen
monitor set up, pure joy

5. Today's Temperature - rain showers of course

6. Shopping - at my favorite store, I'm obsessed!

8. Ornament(s) - on the tree at the Alexis Hotel

9. Something you're reading - great book!

10. Wrapping paper - my new wall hanging
wrapping station

11. Green - my new super cozy green rug that
makes you wanna lay down on it

12. A beautiful sight - enough said

13. Family - Thanksgiving dinner redo

14. Christmas Tree - Mom's beautiful tree

15. Favorite holiday song - All I Want for
Christmas...duh

16. Outside Christmas lights - mini tree lit up at night
by my front door

18. Stocking - the stocking Mom made for me as a
baby, look at all that hard work!

19. Candy cane - peppermint candy cane swizzle stick

20. Tree topper - Christmas star on top of my tree

22. Tradition - Chi O cookie exchange

23. Scarf - leopard print scarf from Stella & Dot of course!

24. Favorite part of Christmas Eve - Grandma's
chocolate pie

26. Grateful - for all my friends and family

27. Night time - tv marathon cozied up on the couch

29. Sky view - typical gray Seattle sky in December

30. Your Winter Wonderland - snow covered Suncadia

31. Fun - with my new BFF on NYE at Sarah's wedding

I ended up being a fun way to capture the month. Maybe I'll try again for January!

Christmas

The Christmas holiday started bright and early for me this year as I took Clint to the airport for his 7am flight to San Diego the morning of Christmas Eve (I promptly returned home and got back in bed). Even though Clint hadn't been home for the holidays in years, and his family was looking forward to seeing him, I still missed him being here in Seattle to celebrate with my family as he has the past few years. I sent along with him a couple mini kahlua cakes I had baked for his brother and parents, as well as a couple gifts for his nieces...sparkly purses, nail polish, and ring pops.

I woke up for the second time on Christmas Eve (this time at a better hour), and got some things ready before heading to Bub and Sara's. I had presents to wrap and an hors d'oeuvre to make. A coworker of mine had brought a dip she made to one of our group parties before, so I decided this would be a good time to try it out myself. It's called Santa Fe Chicken Dip, and it's lick-the-dish-clean delicious. The recipe is really easy and chockfull of calories...chicken, cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, green chills, olives, red peppers, green onion, lemon juice, cumin, all topped with cheddar and jack cheese and baked, served with tortilla chips (I used Scoops). I think it turned out to be a hit.

My mom and grandpa showed up at my place a little early so we could visit before we headed to Mercer Island. Once at my uncle's place, mom and I dropped off Papa and headed to Marianne's house. Marianne is the mother of my mom's friend from high school, Taffy. Every Christmas Eve we go to Marianne's to visit for a bit and exchange gifts. We sit in her homey kitchen, eat the holiday treats she's made for the year (nuts, Chex mix, cookies), drink Coke out of a bottle, and have a great time visiting.

Back with the family, we devoured the dip while waiting for dinner to be ready. My aunt always finds the best recipes. This year she made a delicious butternut squash lasagna (don't worry if you forget the chicken stock, it tastes great even without it!), grilled salmon (that Bub was in charge of BBQing with mom's supervision), ginger carrots, a salad, and garlic bread.

Rex looking festive

After dinner we opened presents! With my cousins both in college now, there was quite a bit of collegiate gear to go around. I got Max Wazzuopoly and a WSU knit hat with an "I <3 UW" pin on it...he better keep it there. For Joe, I got some gloves to use with a touch screen phone and Apples to Apples. From the boys, I got a potted house plant, and the pot matches my kitchen perfectly!

Rex not wanting any part in watching gifts being opened

go Rams!

We then played a game of Apples to Apples, and had our chocolate pie as we took a moment to remember Grandma. It sure wasn't the same without her this year. I still think about and miss her everyday.

love this game

Then it was back home to get in bed and wait for Santa! Since Santa didn't make it to my house, I drove over to Mom's and found a stocking to open there. It was full of all sorts of goodies...a fleece blanket, dish rags, nail polish remover, candy, a pizza cutter...Santa knows me so well. 

Mom, Papa, and I spent the day together, and started off with brunch at Shari's...the only place open on Christmas Day. We lucked out and didn't have to wait long for a table. 

a mimosa and a half

After brunch, we headed to the movies and saw Parental Guidance with Billy Crystal and Bette Midler.  It was a cute movie about grandparents that take care of their grandkids for the week.

Back at home, Mom cooked us a delicious prime rib dinner, a Christmas Day tradition. I lucked out and got to take leftovers home and had it again Thursday night! It might just be my favorite meal.

Mom carving the roast

stockings hung with care

Mom's beautiful tree

It was a great Christmas holiday, and I'm happy that Papa made the trip up here from Palm Desert to be with us...maybe next year we can celebrate down there in the sun!

Sugar rush

This year my group at work held a dessert potluck for the holidays. Everyone was to bring in their favorite homemade holiday treat, and we'd gorge ourselves the Thursday afternoon before we all left for the break.

I knew right away what I would be baking, my mom's recipe, Kahlua Chocolate Fudge Cake. She makes it every Christmas, a tradition I started up as well for the past few years. It is by far my favorite cake, and the recipe is pretty easy. My mom even gave me some kahlua she had made from scratch to use.

I usually make mini cakes so that I can give them as gifts, but for the potluck I baked it as a bunt cake. My coworkers loved it, and was definitely a favorite. We enjoyed taking a break from work and chatted about plans for the holidays while enjoying all sorts of yummy baked goods.

yummy treats, mine's the bunt cake
at the end of the table

Family Dinner

I was pretty bummed to be missing out on Thanksgiving this year (okay...being in Cabo wasn't half bad) since turkey dinner is my favorite! Being in my new house with a nice big open kitchen, I really wanted to cook a turkey with all the trimmings. I decided to do a Thanksgiving redo when my grandpa was in town and had the whole family over.

I woke up that morning and got right to work. I prepared the turkey to go in the oven with a recipe my mom told me about from Martha Stewart (of course!). You soak a cheese cloth in butter and wine and cover the turkey with it as you roast and baste, then remove it about halfway through. It worked out pretty well, and fairly easy to do. Next year maybe I'll take a stab at brining the turkey first.

ginormous 16 pound turkey all ready to go

With the turkey roasting away, I started preparing everything else. I made stuffing out of the box (Trader Joe's brand), got the potatoes peeled for cooking and mashing, boiled the yams for another recipe I found online (I added walnuts, yum), and boiled some cranberries in orange juice with sugar for cranberry sauce.

By that point, Clint showed up to help watch the Vegas Bowl on the couch. My mom and grandpa showed up shortly after as well. Mom made a green bean casserole and brought a pumpkin pie for dessert. I had also taken a shot at the delicious pesto meatballs Jingle had made at the cookie exchange party, but they just weren't the same. I think the problem was I cooked them in the crock pot, so they came out a little mushy. Next time I'll do them on the stove top (and use smaller balls).

Papa using the panorama feature on his phone,
Clint digging into the meatballs

basting

Uncle Bub, Sara, and the boys arrived, and things were getting closer to being done. The turkey came out of the oven, and Mom showed me how to use the drippings to make gravy. We first made a stock with the turkey giblets and neck, then added some of that to the roasting pan to scrape up the drippings. We then added that back to the stock, added flour mixed with water, salt & pepper, and some Kitchen Bouquet. I put the rolls in the oven along with the side dishes to warm them, and Clint started to carve the turkey. Then we were ready to eat!

dishing up

turkey for days

Everyone enjoyed the meal, and I had a great time preparing it. This will definitely need to become an annual tradition!

family :)

The next day, I noticed that my ungrateful cousin and uncle had defaced my car and home with Cougar crap. After cooking them a nice meal, this is the thanks I get? Okay, maybe I started it by calling them losers before the Apple Cup game even started (hindsight is 20/20)...but still, am I really wrong that Cougars are still losers in general? Those little punks...

this was not easy to scrape off

December Birchbox?

Turns out posting on my blog that I'm going to cancel my Birchbox subscription is not the same as actually going online and doing it, whoops. Much like when Michael Scott "declares" bankruptcy, nothing actually happened with my subscription, so I received another box in the mail. I have since logged on and cancelled, but it was nice and even more surprising to get some goodies this month.

I received some shampoo, tea, lash enhancing mascara, under eye gel stickers for dark circles and wrinkles (supposed to take the place of using cucumber slices), a perfume sample, and a coupon for Rent the Runway. I've actually rented a dress from them before, and it turned out great...only problem was the price. Still a little too spendy for me when you don't even get to keep it. Plus, with my arsenal of dresses, I could probably start my own dress rental shop.

Overall, it was a nice surprise to get one last box, but still happy with my decision to discontinue for the new year.