Christmas 2023

It was Fall 2020 when I first sat down with my cousin Dan to discuss preliminary home building plans. It was over that meal of sushi, where scratched on a napkin, we envisioned a staircase leading to a catwalk with banisters waiting to be adorned with Christmas garland, and a living room with cathedral ceilings to hold a 12-foot Christmas tree. Three Christmas seasons would come and go until those Christmas visions over a sushi dinner would come to life. And the wait was everything and more.

Many a box was delivered over those three years, holding Christmas goodies just waiting for their moment to shine.

The star of the show is the Norfolk Pine garland from Afloral. Oh this garland is simply dripping in timeless class. And I love her.

I put Christmas up mid-November to have several weeks to enjoy it. And I wanted it all up for when we hosted Friendsgiving, our first of many to come.

All we need now is a cascading of snow to blanket the ground and I’ll be holed up in front of fireplace until spring.

Sources: Brown Ornaments | Black Ornaments | Brass Bells | Brass Bells 2 | White Ornaments

The bar stool wreaths came from House Floral, a small online shop owned by House by JSD. The packaging, personal hand signed thank you note and recipe for fudge was such a special touch. 10/10 online customer service too.

I chose to keep the 10ft entryway tree bare as the vibe felt more cohesive. I love the simplicity.

Another view of the entryway from the catwalk where you can see a peak of the front porch where I’ve placed two small trees, wreaths on the door and a cute little Christmas rug from an Etsy shop:

I used simple black ribbon from Target for bows on the garland, and the hanging brass bells from Walmart.

Harley girl found her a nice and cozy spot. She hasn’t climbed any of our trees this year, much to my disappointment. Her rebel streak for 7 years has shifted elsewhere… of which is another story… another day.

What a dream it’s been decorating for Christmas this year. A long wait, but the reward worth it.

Cheers!

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Christmas has arrived in our home!

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Harley couldn’t be more excited.

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‘Tis the season for evenings of nothing but Christmas lights turned on, soft Christmas music playing in the background and holiday candles glowing.

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And naps under the tree for Grimmy.

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I love the peacefulness and renewed sense of spirit and hope that this season always provides.

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And the general feeling of joy that seems to be spread across the city and our neighborhoods.

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Wishing you a Merry Christmas season as you embark on the many holiday gatherings with family and friends.

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Cheers!

 

You have two weeks off? What are you going to do?

Yes…. I had two weeks off from work during the Holiday’s.  It was pure bliss!    People asked me what on earth would I do with that time..  Uh, are ya kidding?  Fill it with fun stuff, of course!   I promise – I had no trouble filling my days.

Let’s take a little walk down memory lane.

December 19th – my last day of work and first official evening off.   Spent the evening with fellow 24 Hour Group X instructors working out!

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December 20th – bought a new Jeep Wrangler.  Totally got a smoking deal on it, plus they gave me more then what I owed for my Grand Cherokee..aka soccer mom car… so ya, duh.  I am going to buy it.

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December 21st – Traveled to Mt Ayr, IA with this hunk-of-a-man for a family Christmas dinner

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December 22nd – Taught Insanity, shopped, got a new tattoo

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December 23rd – Taught Insanity, spent the morning at my friend Sara’s, snuggled on her baby Ady, watched Kaeleen run around like a wild woman and then subbed another Insanity class at Northpark 24 Hour and baked my little heart out!

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December 24th – Two Family Christmases!

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December 25th – MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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December 26th – Day After Christmas 5 mile Run.   Whew!  Holy carbohydrates and wine.

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December 27th:  Treated myself to a Starbucks, shopping and another run.  Only 4 miles this time around.  😉

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December 28th – Last Christmas with the Pirtle’s!

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Some wrestling happened.  Kind of like on Four Christmases but without the family drama.  ha!

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December 29th:  Lunch date with my girl, Claire!   Then home for our new appliances delivery!  WOOT!  These were an extra special gift.  Thank you. 🙂

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December 30th: Traveled to Clarinda to get my hair done – I went back blonde – and then had lunch with Kayla and Nicole. That turned into 5 hours, plenty of cocktails and a ton of laughter.  Gosh I love time with girlfriends. I don’t have a recent pic of the three of us, so I will do a fuzzy throwback.

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December 31st:  Lunch date with my girl Jessica – you’re welcome for yet another throwback.

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And then it was time for NEW YEARS EVE celebrations, baby!

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January 1st:  A day spent at home organizing my new Insanity schedule and chatting with multiple folks about my next 21 day challenge!  We’ve got a LOT of peeps committed.   So excited for them and the transformations that are about to take place!

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I am teaching a total of 8 classes.   There are two more that aren’t listed above because they are being offered to a private group.  I have my work cut out for me!  Whew!

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January 2nd: A little Insanity practice, followed up by a lunch date with my girls Tyree and Sarah -> we taught together for several years at Buffett Middle School <- and her daughter Kennedy.  So great to catch up!

And THAT brings us to today!   I am actually picking UP my new Jeep this morning.  Finally, she is coming HOME!!!

EEKK!!!!!  

And the rest of the weekend will be cleaning, laundry, packing for my new work schedule and meal prepping.

 

Have a super weekend, y’all!  I will catch back up with you again on Monday!

 

Cheers! 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas to You From Me!

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Wishing you and yours a Very Merry Christmas!

My gift to you is the recipe for my most requested treat, Caramel Chex! I only make it one time a year for a very specific reason:

It’s ridiculously addicting.

Consider yourself warned.

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Step 1: Heat sugars and butter over medium heat. On a prepared baking sheet spread out cereal, nuts and coconut.

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Step 2: Coat cereal mixture with caramel mix. Try not to drool.

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Step 3: Stir well, place in oven for 24 minutes, stirring every eight minutes to assure every cereal bit gets equally coated.

Step 4: After the 24 minute baking time spread mixture out on greased parchment paper making sure to create an even layer.

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Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, stir and break up with your fingers, continue cooling until caramel has set.

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Step 5: Try to keep your significant other out of it

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Step 6: Store as desired. I place mine in Gallon zip lock bags and add M&M’s. As the Chex settles it will stick together, creating clumps, so keeping it stored in baggies allows you to massage the chex mix to break it up.

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Printable recipe:

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I hope you enjoy family, friends, food and drinks over the next few days.

Cheers!