christmas part 2...

*part 1 of christmas here* as i mentioned before, me and dyl skipped the gifts (minus 1 book for each other, since we're book junkies), and just put money away for our next trip. it worked out really well and while we got some weird looks from people when we tell them that, we would both rather go away than get more stuff.

 i picked 'the death and life of great american cities' for dylan. the man at the cash said it was an 'excellent choice!'

and he picked margaret atwood's alias grace and got it signed by her when she came to town a while ago! she's a popular canadian author, so it's pretty cool!

he made out like a bandit, too (from my parents)

the books (and movies) i got in my box of books i mentioned yesterday!

champagne time.

parents making homemade biscuits/rolls/whatever  you want to call them.

 grandma (dads mom) and me

 the grub.

 chocolatesssss. and also sooo tired.

our little 4-pack.

i've gotta say, this year was a success, and i'm counting down the days until next year ;) now bring on the snow!

christmas magic...

oh christmas. you were awesome. as usual. i got spoiled by my parents, and lets face it, that never gets old! the only down side is that it didn't snow. boo his.

 christmas eve family picture.

the animals should be used to this by now. but mocha (the cat) really hates it.

 christmas even pj tradition.

and i get to pick 1 present from under the tree to open.  it ended up being this bracelet i had asked for :)

my mom goes overboard. i asked for maybe 3-5 things this christmas. my dad just shakes his head. (a lot of things were like $20 and under, but i'm aware it's still an awful lot.)

 sniffing out her goodies.

 a box of books from my amazon list!! what's better?!

stocking time! i won 5 whole dollars on that scratch ticket! i'm rich!

looking on...

whatcha got there grandma? they were opening my gifts to them.

i got a bunch of gift cards, a french press and milk frother (woohoo!), a big travel bag, clothes, jewelry, makeup, a bunch of movies, a lot of books, and some other things. my amazon wishlist is now empty! i'll show ya which ones tomorrow.

what was your favorite thing you got this year??

christmas sneak peek...

i've got quite a bit to catch on with christmas! until then, here's a few pictures from my phone.

a christmas eve tradition; a picture with the pets in their santa hats (chloe threw hers off, bugger)

christmas morning stockings

mimosa's in the morning and then moving on to eggnog and rum

cheers!

dylan, the hard and fast non-believer, brought this lovely cake to christmas day dinner. ha!

i want to read everyone's posts about christmas, i just need the time! give me a bit :) i'll get mine up shortly, too. 

oh. ps. IT SNOWED last night!!! a few days late (we had an ugly green chrstmas) but it's here!!!

merry christmas {eve}!

merry christmas eve everyone! and a merry christmas for tomorrow! i'm off to work until 6:30 (boo) then my mom will be here to pick me up and head back home. christmas eve is always with my dads side, and christmas day with my moms. this year christmas day is at our house. can't wait to see what my parents are making for dessert (way more important and awesome than turkey and stuffing).

as for traditions...i always get pj's on christmas eve, and then i get to pick one present from under the tree to open. then the next morning is when it all goes down; breakfast is cooked by my dad, my mom is snapping away with the camera, christmas music is playing, and wrapping paper is flying.

chloe says merry christmas to all her furry blog friends.

unless mother nature has a grand plan of letting some flurries fall overnight, or tomorrow morning, i think this is the first green christmas i've ever experienced. so sad :(

anyways, have a fantastic weekend, all! ♥

family time...

i finally got to go home on sunday/monday and it was long overdue! i finished my christmas shopping, and pretty much hung out with my parents. it was great. over the 2 nights, we watched christmas vacation (duh), four christmases (if you haven't seen it, i highly recommend it. it's become an absolute must every year now), and the grinch. we had homemade soup, a fresh baked lemon cake, and lots of christmas treats. and some rum and eggnog. and a fire going. good times.

the night before, my parents had company and my dad had made these! aren't they great? olives stuffed with cream cheese, and then carrot feet and nose!

the little miss got a haircut. and a christmas bow. and then dylan photobombed.

 the downstairs tree. filled with presents galore.

 the upstairs 'victorian' tree.

playboy (err playgirl?) pose in front of the fireplace? where's the furry rug?

 so delicious. why does eggnog have to be so bad?

no fancy pinterest wrapping for me! i'll stick to the classic stuff, thanks. plus, it's what was available ;)

  just peeking outside.

anyways, i'm off to a quick early shift this morning at work, then it's our annual girls christmas dinner. it's our 8th or 9th year..i can't keep track. it's always a potluck, but this year we're going out for mexican! yum yum yum. so after work, i've got to head back to my place, get myself ready, and take the bus back home. cheers! because i know we'll be downing the sangria tonight!

christmas spirit...

me and my dad, walking down the stairs to see everything  santa brought for me on christmas morning. circa 1990.

 so excited. the both of us.

 santa always left everything in front of the fireplace. and unwrapped.

my mom still takes the same picture of me walking down the stairs every year (minus my dad ha). except now, there's no santa pile anymore. just wrapped gifts from my parents. less than 1 week, folks!

baking instructor?

add that to my resume. my mom gave me a container of all her christmas treats to bring to work, and everyone loved them. they all asked if i baked too, and one girl even asked if my mom had her own store! (the answer is no, by the way). she was so amazed that my mom did all that and asked if i liked baking too. when she found out that i, in fact, did like baking, she asked me to teach her! (last years baking weekend here)

the other night i went over to her place to play 'instructor'. no, not really. we hung out and made a cake together. however, she got almond meal in place of cake flour to try and be healthier. i know you don't mess with baking (unlike cooking, baking needs to be exact), but it was already bought and i told her it may not be the same. well, i was right. it came out super oily, but the taste was still there. we had to leave them in the pans to cool overnight, so i'm not exactly sure what it looked like the next day, but she said it was pretty ugly hahah but it tasted good. so i guess that's what matters. and hey, anything covered in that delicious cream cheese icing can't taste bad.

so yes, from now on, follow baking instructions to a T! it's too precise to mess with! and plus, like my mom said, "i don't get why people try to make cakes healthy; you're eating 1 piece, not the whole thing!" or *ahem* maybe 2, or 3...

skipping the gifts?

this year, me and dylan decided to skip christmas gifts for each other. kind of. we're getting one book for each other, because we both love to read (and both have really long amazon lists full of books), but what we're really doing is putting money that would have been used on gifts (ie. stuff) for our next trip. when or where that trip may be is still undecided. but a getaway together is way better than getting more stuff, in my opinion. and he agrees. and it's not like my parents don't spoil me, still ;)

i could barely muster up a list to give my parents. my mom bugged me for months, asking me what i wanted, and i literally could not think of a single thing. finally, late november/early december a few ideas started trickling in. mostly practical things like a wooden cutting board, a milk frother, a french press, oh and a bracelet.

plus, stockings are still my favorite ;) my mom goes all out.

(in order from l-r: chloe, mocha (the cat), my dads, dylan's, moms, and 2 for me :))

i see all these wishlists around blogland, and i only wish i could come up with lists like everyone else! it would make my moms life a lot easier. what are some things you're asking for? or just link me to your list in the comments!

a week together...

this past week, from monday to friday, dylan came up to 'live' with me. he was able to manage that because classes are done and exams hadn't started yet (actually, his first one was yesterday). i had to work a few of those days, but we were pretty much lazy bums and it was great. we cooked dinners, and watched a lot of tv. we watched love actually, too. i heard good things about it, but for me, it really only picked up in the last 45 minutes, and definitely wasn't christmas enough. eh, wasn't a fan.
we also got into mike and molly recently. we downloaded the first season and watched it all last week. they definitely base about 80% of their jokes on fat people, but we find the show hilarious. and dylan also got all the seasons of how i met your mother and we made our way through the first season of that. told ya, lots of tv.

and now, i'm working my way through a 9 day stretch with 1 day off. i am so beyond exhausted. and i had a raging headache yesterday. and i have yet to do my christmas shopping. hopefully that will be done tomorrow when i'm off. on the day it's supposed to rain. le sigh.

 hot chocolate cheers.

rockin' out to christmas tunes. (just kidding, no music was playing)

while it's defintely nice being walked to and from work, and having someone around to watch funny shows with, i'll be honest in saying that it's nice to have my bed back. a double bed with 2 people and a dog just does not work. when we move in together, i will not settle for less for a king (and if i'm being really greedy, a california king). do not touch me when i'm sleeping or i will kick you, elbow you, slap you, etc. i like my space!

our christmas card...

2 years ago, we decided to send out christmas cards to a few family members and friends. they got a kick out of it. (see it here). this year, we decided to do it again. dylan said it should somehow involve photoshop, and senT me an example of a couple in space (?!). given that my mom loves dean martin, i thought we should do something that involved him. a quick google search brought me the picture below, with frank and nancy sinatra, and dean martin and i'm assuming his wife? except we photoshopped our faces onto dean and the woman.

 yep that's our faces there on the right. singin' away.

i couldn't stop laughing when he sent it to me. i can't believe i actually had a picture on my computer where i look i'm singing. and dylan? well he looks a little funny without hair! pretty much everyone has gotten it already and loved it. win!

it's a marshmallow world...

everyone knows that christmas is just a beautiful time of year. no denying that.

toronto eaton centre (love the big metal reindeer all over the mall. they're huge)

the swarovski christmas tree that's put up every year. it sparkles like crazy, decorated with thousands of swarovski crystal ornaments.

a few weeks ago, i couldn't make it home for the weekend while my parents were putting up all the decorations and baking. so we skyped instead.

 it's like i was there! but not...

but no worries, now that my tree is all set up, my place is beautiful too. the lights are basically on all.the.time. still can't wait to get home to my parents and see everything all decorated. nothing like being home for the holidays.