Monday, December 23, 2013

Heee Heeeeeeeeeee Hee!

Check this out while I run around in a panic getting last minute Christmas stuff done. I hardly ever get to watch SNL, so when I saw this I laughed and laughed. Jimmy Fallon is so awesome!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

You will bawl like a baby!


This story is so sweet that I had to share it. Now I have to go get myself together because I am crying at my desk at work. I love love!

Monday, December 16, 2013

Oh Christmas Tree

This is what we did on Saturday! There is a tree farm out near Poulsbo that is family owned and operated called Henry's Tree Farm. We have been going there to cut our own tree for the past several years. Super nice people, many many many trees to choose from and really reasonably priced. Lucky for us, it was warm and pretty dry on Saturday, so we had a nice time, and our 7 foot tree fit in the back of the SUV. No need to tie it to the roof, no fuss, no muss. 

Here are a few shots of their place and various trees.






Here is what we ended up with and a little time lapse video of how the whole decorating thing went down. Yes, in one of the photos you can see the footstool and Kit's feet. He fell asleep while I was working on the tree and I didnt have the heart to wake him up just to tell him to move his feet out of my shot. 

And, it doesn't show, but I did get the needles cleaned up and a tree skirt on the tree. It looks pretty good.









Wednesday, December 11, 2013

It's Christmas time in the city!

Seattle is all dressed up for Christmas and I love every minute of it. Here are a few pics from a little city tour we did last night. Downtown over to Queen Anne, around and back. More to come because I'm not sure I'm over it yet.

4th Avenue
Outside Hotel Andra on 4th
Construction cranes in South Lake Union

12th man! Go Hawks - combining Christmas and a little Seahawks love!
Space Needle
City views from Highland Drive QA

Even simple lights are pretty - in front of an apartment building on QA
Most well done and just gorgeous - my favorite of the night

I hope a kid lives here
Looking from QA toward Ballard



Looking south on 5th Avenue. Walls of tree lights - awesome!
And possibly the worst house ever - I'm not sure the photo will do it justice, but it looks
like Christmas threw up all over the lawn. I'm choosing to believe that the parents who live here are
so great that they let the kids decorate the entire property - no matter how embarrassing.
MORE IS MORE? 

Monday, December 9, 2013

Figgy Pudding

Here in Seattle there's a little annual Holiday tradition called Figgy Pudding. It's a fundraiser for the Food Bank at Pike Market. Every year the streets of downtown Seattle close down for a caroling competition - and crowds of people walk around and listen and vote for favorites and then the winners get called up to the main stage at the end for a "sing off". Anyone can assemble a caroling group, some are corporate groups like Starbucks or Amazon, and sometimes the groups are just friends who like to sing badly. Some of the singing is traditional, sometimes songs are sung to the tune of a Holiday favorite, but might be completely different in lyrics. It's a lot of fun, and we've attended it for the past few years with friends- super fun thing to do during the season.

This year we were a little weak in our participation. It was so cold that we couldn't get out of the apartment to see the carolers, but we made it down to the main area in time for the last of the finals. Oh well. Still awesome and fun to be a part of the crowd. 

And especially awesome that a certain friend brings the baby boozes to make the season even brighter. Woop woop! 







Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Yes, I'm judging you!

Now that Thanksgiving is over and the sparkle of gratitude is fading...... can we have a word about the cranberries on the table? Look man, nobody EVER said that they preferred the jiggly canned mess o' cranberry over the gorgeous homemade version. So don't even think about showing up with the store bought cranberries next year - learn how to make them yourself. And the best part, they are SUPER EASY. SUPER EASY (twice for emphasis)!

Here's how:
1 C sugar
1 C water
12 oz fresh cranberries

Weed through the fresh cranberries and take out any that don't look good to eat. Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, add the cranberries, return to boil. Reduce the heat and boil gently for about 10 minutes, stirring a bit here and there. You'll hear the cranberries start to pop. pop. pop. And the color in the saucepan will become beautifully shiny red. If you like your cranberries a little runny, take them off sooner, if you like them super thick, do the full 10 minutes. Cover and cool completely to room temp. Refrigerate and serve in a glass dish (which emphasizes the gorgeous color)! Makes 2 1/4 cups. Tastes delicious.

On the stove - pop pop popping!

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Only 22 days to hear this song over and over!

I love Christmas time, and I love Christmas songs and I am now going to share with you a NUGGET of triumphant joy that will make your entire Holiday season. You're welcome.

The Cory Band - Stop the Cavalry

Now go forth and sing along LOUDLY until your husband can't take it anymore! Ah, I heart Christmas.