Company Work Party

On Friday, December 23rd, I had my annual Christmas Party at work. On the last day before our Christmas vacation, we have Rattlers, get our bonus check, a box of chocolate and we get to pick  a gift. Names are randomly drawn out of a hat and once your name is called you get to pick from about 30 different gifts. I picked a $50 target gift card. We only have a half day that day, so once the party was over, I went home to get ready for Christmas Eve Eve.

Ugly Sweater Party

On Saturday, December 17th, Nic and I went to an ugly sweater party at Amy and Angel's house. I couldn't find an ugly sweater, so I bought an ugly top instead, but I think Nic's sweater made up for my lack of one. ;) We played Michael Jackson on kinect and I got to see Shauna (a friend from Acton who I haven't seen in years) and meet her family. Amy and Angel were great hosts and it was a really fun night.

Pizza Night

On Friday, December 16th, Nic and I made homemade pizzas for dinner. Nic used to always make them as a kid, so when thye had that as a dream dinners option, I knew it would be a lot of fun. We both had a great time making the pizzas and they turned out delicious.

Jay-Z/Kanye Concert

On Monday, December 12th, Nic and I, met Rachelle and Brandon at Granville in Burbank for a few drinks and dinner before the Jay-Z/Kanye concert. We hadn't seen them in a while, so we had fun catching up, while eating a delicious dinner. Then, it was off to the concert. It was so good! Jay-Z did all his best songs, Kanye did all his (I must admit, I am kind of a bigger fan of Kanye's music than Jay-Z's) and all the songs off their new cd were awesome too. The best part though was the encore. They performed the same song 9 times! Any song that a crowd is excited to hear 9 times in a row, must be a good song! What a great concert!

Betty's Holiday Party

On Sunday, December 11th, my mom and I went down to Dana Point for a holiday party. It was hosted by my grandmother-in-law and was a really enjoyable event. We got to spend some time with Papa, which is always nice, we got to catch up with Aunt Susannah, and the food, view and music were all wodnerful. We felt really happy to have been included.

Chicken Altogether

My dad's birthday was December 4th. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday he asked me to make him Chicken Altogether, so I did. It is one of our family's favorites. It has wild rice, some vegetable, chicken, creamy sauce, cheese and breadcrumbs all baked together in one delicious casserole (hence the name). He took it up to Mammoth on Friday night and he and Justin had it for dinner.

On Friday night, my mom, Tomi, Nic and I went to Origami for dinner. They came over to the house after and enjoyed all the desserts I made all week.

On Saturday, my mom and I went to a crop at Remember When. That night my mom, Nic and I enjoyed some of the Chicken Altogether leftovers.

Chocolate Peppermint Oreo Crunch Cookies

As you can see, I was sort of on a peppermint baking kick a few weeks ago. On Wednesday, Dec. 7th, I created delicious peppermint cookies. I bought Andes peppermint baking bits and used some crushed up peppermint oreos in a delicious chocolaty cookie. They were sort of a twist on my Triple Chocolate Mint Oreo Chunk Cookies and they were delicious!

Peppermint Bark Ice Cream

On Tuesday night, December 6th, I made peppermint bark icecream. It was my first time using an ice cream started from Williams-Sonoma and it made the whole process so easy. You just add heavy cream and half and half, then dump it into your ice cream maker and add the peppermint bark bits at the end. The chocolately, pepperminty ice cream looks and tastes store bought. Yum!

Peppermint Bark Rice Krispy Treats

I saw this recipe on Our Best Bites and just knew I had to make it. I love rice krispy treats and I love peppermint. I raced over to Walmart (the only place the peppermint marshmallows are sold) and made them on Monday, Dec. 5th. They were so easy and absolutely delicious. I also made some of our favorite Williams-Sonoma peppermint hot chocolate for a festive holiday dessert. I highly recommend making these. They would make a perfect addition to any holiday dessert bar or as a gift to give to neighbors and friends. Of course, Nic and I scarffed all of ours within a few days so if I want to share any I am going to have to make more.

Peppermint Bark Rice Krispie Treats
Recipe by Our Best Bites

Ingredients
1 10.5 ounce bag peppermint mini marshmallows*
4 tablespoons real butter, plus extra to butter pan
5-6 cups rice krispie style cereal (I like mine a little more marshmallowy)
3 tablespoons semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
3 tablespoons white chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil, divided
a few drops (about 1/8 teaspoon) peppermint extract
2-3 medium sized candycanes, crushed

*In place of the peppermint marshmallows, use regular marshmallows and add about 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract to melted marshmallow mixture. Or more to taste, I’m guessing on the amount.

Instructions:
Line a 9×13 pan with foil and lightly butter bottom and about 1 inch up sides.

Melt butter in a very large bowl in the microwave. Add marshmallows and stir to coat. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. (You can do that whole process on the stovetop as well.) Add rice krispie cereal and stir to evenly combine. With buttered hands, press mixture into prepared pan.

Place white chocolate chips and 1/4 teaspoon oil in a small bowl. Heat in microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Repeat same process with semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips and add a few drops of peppermint extract. Drizzle both chocolates on top of rice krispie treats and sprinkle candy canes on top. Let sit until chocolate is set, place pan in fridge to speed process along. Cut into squares and eat up.

Decorating the House

Over the weekend Nic had a horribly run basketball tournament, which took up most of his time and caused both of us a lot of stress. He did find time though, to put up the Christmas lights! Isn't he the best?! I spent most of the weekend decorating the inside of the house and working on our Christmas cards. On Sunday night, my mom brought us Gourmet 88 for dinner and we watched Four Christmases. It was a nice little weekend and we are starting to slowly get into the holiday spirit.

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate and Fluer de sel Cupcakes

I can't believe how quickly December is flying by! It feels like we were just in Hawaii, yet somehow Christmas is only 12 days away! We got back from Hawaii on November 28th and went staight to work. Nic and I spent most of the rest of the week catching up on sleep, laundry, bills, mail, all the things we enjoyed forgetting about while on vacation that unfortunatly had to be faced once we got home. On Friday, December 2nd, my mom, Nic and I all went to Wokano for dinner. Then my mom and I did some holiday shopping (mainly to buy one of my seasonal favorites from Williams-Sonoma: Peppermint Hot Chocolate!). Williams-Sonoma had a new flavor this year: Salted Caramel! We knew we just had to try it, so we grabbed some of our favorite fluer de sel caramel cupcakes and headed back to my house. The cupcakes and hot chocolate were delicious!!

Scrapbooking Kits

I have to take a moment to rave about scrapbooking kits. They are these packs that come with everything you need to make a two-page 12x12 layout. The best part is they only cost $6-$8 bucks/pack. If I tried to copy the page idea on my own, it would cost way more than that, plus tons of the work like coming up with the idea, picking complimenting papers, sizing and cutting the die cuts are all already done. Before we left for Hawaii, I spent about an hour one night, using my blade cutter, to cut all the strips and photo mounts (usually step 1 on the kit instructions) for about 20 kits. All I had to bring along on the trip were a few chalks, adhesive, and the kits. I was able to complete 18 kits while I was on vacation! I completed a few on the plane (it made the flight go way quicker), I did them at night when I wasn't ready for bed, and I did them while others were napping or reading books. I really enjoy doing them and it felt great to be so productive while on vacation. I can't recommend these kits enough! If you are interested here are a few of my favorite sites: www.outonalimbscrapbooking.com and www.lottstoscrapabout.com.