Peachy Keen

{Sweater: Tommy Hilfiger, Chambray: H&M, Jeans: American Eagle, Shoes: Aldo}

Did everyone have a fun, festive, weekend? Oh good, I'm glad.

This outfit is from last Thursday and was my played-down attempt at this lovely ensemble. Not quite as fabulous, but very comfortable, so I'm good with it. 

I didn't go Boxing Day shopping today. Why not? Because, to tell you the truth, malls on Boxing Day scare me more than crocodiles swimming in a pool of lava. To give you some reference, lava and crocodiles are my two greatest fears. Except on Boxing Day. On December 26th, nothing terrifies me more than being elbowed in the face by a rabid mother of three while reaching for the last pink cardigan at the Gap. So, I choose to stay at home and let someone else be the victim of a cardigan war, thank you very much.

Treat of the Week: Home, Sweet, Home

First off, does my leg look abnormally long in this picture? Because I'm pretty sure it does. It's okay for you to tell me the truth - I can take it. It does? Oh, okay. Thanks for being honest.

And on that note, me and my one abnormally long leg are off to my parents house for the next little stretch - can't wait to spend the holidays with all of my siblings back in the house where we all grew up!

I hope you all have warm and cozy holiday plans filled with loved ones and cinnamon hot chocolate!

December Snapshots

1. Festive streetlights by the water downtown. I had a pleasant walk taking in the crisp winter sea air on my birthday, last week.

2. Soft lights in my living room.

3. A decorative tree, all lit up downtown.

4. Skype chats with Baby K, my niece, and my sister {someone had to work the computer.}

5. A display from the fashion department at the art institute - all these pieces are made out of food wrappers in support of the local food bank! Amazing.

6. Christmas tree under the archway at the Legislative Buildings downtown.

7. The bright lights of the Legislative Buildings.

8. Homemade Peppermint White Chocolate Marshmallows.

Flashback

{Button-up: H&M, Cardigan, Skirt, and Tights: Gap, Boots: Steve Madden}

So I realized halfway through the day that all these items {minus the boots} were actually part of my 30 for 30, but never pulled together into an outfit. How did I miss this combination?! Anyways, I'm proud that I am still able to unintentionally find new ways to remix the older items in my closet.

What did you get up to this weekend? Since you can't actually answer right now, let me tell you what I did: Nothing.

Yep, that's right. It was the first weekend in a long time that I basically had nothing to do. Other than a staff appreciation dinner on Sunday evening, I pretty much spent the weekend lazing around in leggings and sweaters, switching between reading, watching this T-Swift video, and napping. Sometimes being unproductive and lazy is just the break you need, am I right?

Ours

I've been watching this on repeat for the past few days. I love how anti-glamorous but beautiful it is.

Treat of the Week: Holiday Decor

{A single leaf is left dangling on this otherwise bare tree}

{A beautiful holly tree found outside my house}

{I can't wait to see this archway dusted with snow}

{Twinkle, twinkle.}

{Mini-ornaments and a candle make a festive holiday centerpiece}

{Cinnamon and Spice Hot Chocolate}

{As I'm sadly not permitted to have a real tree in my house, I thought this little guy would suffice until I get to my parents' house}

{Holiday magazines all wrapped up}

{A sweet holiday treat in a fun holiday bowl}

{This box may or may not have been opened just an hour before...}

I had so much fun decorating my house and getting into the holiday spirit last weekend! I sang along with christmas tunes, sipped hot chocolate, and untangled strings of lights. I'm so happy to have this little festive getaway. Here is a peak at the results.

Pant Jeans?

{Top: Thrifted, Blazer: Aritzia, Jeans: Gap, Shoes: Aldo} 

On Monday, my coworker asked me if these were, and I quote, "pant jeans..?" I still don't quite know what he was trying to say, but it was hilarious none the less.
Which is why I'm still laughing about it.

Speaking of laughter, I had dinner with some of my aunts and uncles yesterday and it was outrageous - in a really good way. My uncles decided to brainstorm ways to make my cousin's wedding 'more fun' and 'competitive'. I do believe we left off somewhere between a tug-of-war and water balloon fight. My cousin was less than impressed. She asked if we knew it was supposed to be a wedding and not a circus. I'm pretty sure no one at the table could give her a definitive answer.
Oh, family.

Remember to Smile

from here.

Musical Interlude

I realize that it is December, and that I should be posting a holiday song right now, but I'm not. This song has been played too many times over the past few weeks for me not to share.

I did find this music video rather heartbreaking, however, so let this be your forewarning.

Treat of the Week: "Mom's Apple Pie" from DAVIDsTEA

Treat of the Week is a new series I am starting in order to celebrate the simple indulgences in life. Each week, I will feature a favorite pastime, product, place, or project {alliteration, anyone?} that I happen to be enjoying at that given time. So, with no further ado, let's begin!

This week's Treat of the Week is the "Mom's Apple Pie" green tea from DavidsTea. I'm a little bit of a tea addict, and this one is perfect as we start to move into the nippy winter months. There aren't too many things I enjoy more than curling up with a great book and some warm and delicious tea. To me, this green tea tastes and smells like cinnamon and apples, sort of like a light apple cider.

{This autumn/winter flavored tea pairs perfectly with a big holiday mug.}

My collection of DavidsTea has slowly been growing over the past two years and I love them for their unique flavors and dedication to making a quality product. With the exception of a few NYC locations, DavidsTea has store locations across Canada, plus shipping to all of North America.

Story time: I definitely researched whether there were DavidsTea store locations in my new city before I moved. As the interweb told me there wasn't, I made a special trip before I moved to stock up. Flash forward to the night of my arrival in my new city. I'm driving through downtown and what do you suppose is the first store I see? Yep, you guessed it: DavidsTea. I have since come across two additional locations since being here. So what have we learned from this little story? Don't trust everything you read on the internet. {Except this piece about DavidsTea being delicious. Because that is a cold, hard fact.}

As a side note, I am seriously considering their 24 Days of Tea Advent Calendar as an early Christmas present for myself this year. I think it would be such a fun way to sample some new flavors! Plus, who doesn't enjoy an advent calendar in December?

Traveling times

{Reading materials, puzzles, snacks, and keys!}

{Coffee and The Zac Brown Band}

{Comfortable clothes for the long ferry line ups. Sweater & jeans: Gap, Top: Banana Republic, Boots: Steve Madden, Socks: American Eagle.}

{When I'm driving, cruise control automatically becomes my best friend.}

{A few more CDs in case I get tired of the music on my phone}

As I type this, I'm sitting on a ferry. I'm heading back to the mainland to attend my convocation ceremony at my alma mater and then up to my hometown for the weekend. I'm so excited to be able to visit my old friends from university and high school! Since work has been pretty busy as of late, I'm also pleased to have this mini break before we have our big push to the holidays.

As I will be both driving and taking a ferry to complete my journey, my bag is packed with reading materials and music. And snacks - you always need some good snacks on a long journey. I kept my outfit pretty simple and comfortable so as not to interfere with all the driving and the reading and the snacking and the singing-along-to-my-music-in-the-car that I'm planning on doing.

{The view from my seat}

On a related note, this ferry ride is beautiful - and so sunny! Who would have thought, considering the catsanddogs storm we've been experiencing since Saturday.

What are your traveling tips?

From the Oven: Spiced Apple Cider

First off, yum! I was so pleased with this recipe! I will definitely be making this several times before this holiday season is over.

Ingredients
5 cups cider
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/2 orange, sliced

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil and stir. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring often. Reduce heat and let simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain {I placed cheesecloth over a strainer and strained the cider twice}. Serve warm, cinnamon sticks and brandy optional.

Recipe is a combination of pretty much every apple cider recipe I could find on Martha Stewart's website.

Count down

{Dress: H&M, Sweater: Propaganda via Plenty, Boots: Steve Madden, Tights: Gap, Socks and Belt: American Eagle.}

I was looking up when the first day of Winter was and came to a horrible and confusing conclusion: Winter doesn't start until December 22nd. Now, I don't know about you, but I find this strange. I mean, we've already started to see snow fall and you're telling me 'Winter' is still a month away? Okay. Suuurrre. In reality, I understand that the winter season is identified by the winter solstice, aka the shortest day of the year, but this girl doesn't care about all of that. This girl cares about when she can jump up and down and officially say "Winter has arrived!" which, apparently, is a whole month away. 

So, while I slowly check those days off my calendar, I figured I'd come up with a list of things I want to do this holiday season to help me make the most of it all.

Visit the gardens and walk around amongst all the twinkling lights.

Go ice skating.

Bake sugar cookies.

Walk around downtown {preferably in the snow} with warm apple cider in hand.

Deck the halls {including a tree!}.

Have a holiday movie marathon {Miracle on 34th Street has always and will forever be my favorite. Followed closely by Love, Actually}.

Enjoy some spiked eggnog.

Go see a play.

Give someone a secret gift.

Make peppermint bark.

Walk around the neighborhood and look at christmas lights.

Cinnamon hot chocolate.

Dress in red and green, just for fun.

Bake cinnamon buns from scratch.

Get myself an advent calendar.

Enjoy family time.

Marcel is Back!

a SECOND video?!

my day just got so great.

all he cares about is treats. treats and snoozin'. look at him.

guess why I smile a lot. uh, cuz it's worth it.

A little bit of Fam Jam time

{Sweater and Jeans: Gap, Shoes: Old Navy, Scarf: Garage}

Last night I had the privilege of joining some of my aunts, uncles and cousins for my cousin's daughter's 15th birthday. {Does anyone know what that makes her to me? Cousin? Second cousin? Cousin once removed? I just don't know. But she's family and it was her birthday, so that's all that really matters.} It was great to catch up with them and celebrate. Even though I live in the same city {read: retirement community} as them, I still don't get to see them as much as I would like, so evenings like that are always such a treat. Thanks for being such a wonderful bunch to get together with!

Also: This. On Repeat. All day.