{all the things i love}: home for christmas

1.20.2011

home for christmas

a. i already know i fell WAY behind on my 30 days of blogging. get over it. i'll do them sometime... maybe.

b. i've been MIA because i had a few big things on my plate. three will largely decide my future. one took a lot of sweat and pain...but mostly just pain... the last was tres, tres amazing (but more on that later).

c. i went home for some MAJOR r & r. i have missed my family so much this year and i loved spending my holidays with the people who i love most in this world. is there anything better than family? is there anything better than a child who wants nothing more than for you to just sit with him? is there anything better than making fun of mom for watching sabado gigante? better than watching harry potter with my sister while snacking on vegan carrot cupcakes? is there anything in this world that beats walking on a white sand beach with my mom, followed by pina coladas as big as your head? nope.

beautiful mom

those 2 minutes i walked in the water were absolutely glorious.

south beach is... exactly what i think of when i think of where i want to live long-term

if you like pina coladas...

d. the overachiever/wannabe chef in me decided i would prepare a christmas feast. thankfully, jessica insisted in making mom's delicious lemon-cream chicken supremes and saved me a ton of time, but the rest came from me with the help of martha stewart, cooking light and real simple magazines.

check it: apple bacon stuffing, vegan apple stuffing, barley risotto with porcini mushrooms and flat leaf parsley, vegan spinach artichoke dip, vegan sweet potato casserole, regular sweet potato casserole, chickpeas with tomato and spinach (for the vegan), and spinach salad with proscuitto, candied almonds, fresh mozzarella and homemade red wine vinegar poppy seed dressing. For dessert: vegan-friendly apple crisp.