Hellllooo! It’s 72 degrees in Charlotte…on December 15…and it’s AMAZING. I mean, it’s a little weird to be getting ready for Christmas in flip flops and tank tops but I’ll take it. Apparently, we can thank a strong El Nino year for the 60 and 70 degree days that we’ve been enjoying all month. My favorite weather man says that we’ll pay for it come the official start of winter when it’s foretasted to be wetter than normal with some snow events. Still, totally worth the trade off right now.
Here’s a little slice of life (nod to my friend Brittany) post for you today as well as a few things I’m loving and a giveaway. Keep reading! 😉
I have been spending so much time on all things studio for the past few weeks (part of the reason that things have been quieter than normal around here). December-February are nuts in the hot yoga world and my life has been consumed by putting together holiday promotions, ordering apparel, sending e-mail newsletters, relaunching our cafe menu, planning for workshops and our upcoming teacher training and oh yeah…teaching.
I’m currently loving having this back in my fridge again and made a holiday-themed bowl of banana egg white oatmeal using this in place of regular almond milk on Sunday morning for breakfast. It’s so good.
While we’re taking holiday-themed breakfast ideas, how about this Sugar Cookie Shake from Premier Protein? I love the idea of adding almond flour to a smoothie. I’m going to have to give this one a try! (And I’ll definitely add the sprinkles.)
Loving holiday-themed flowers in my home. I’m not usually a bouquet of roses kinda girl but these were just too lovely to leave behind and they feel so festive.
Loving hosting a birthday party for my fiance and having a house full of friends.
He looked at me like I was crazy when I said I wanted to invite 70+ people over to our cozy home but I knew with the holiday season preventing some from coming and the warm weather allowing the party to spill onto the back deck that all would be okay. We ended up with around 45 people and it was such a fun evening. Here’s my food spread. Cheese plate, kale pesto and beet hummus, kale pesto and cranberry chicken salad and a Texas caviar dip.
And on the other side of the table…pimento cheese and pepper jelly phyllo cups (recipe), kale chips, fresh veggies and an incredible layered hummus dip that my friend Rajul was so sweet to contribute (along with the cheeses and the Texas caviar dip…gotta love those friends that refuse your refusal for help and save the day. She’s the best.)
Chai spiced sugar cookies (made these for the third time in 2 weeks…addictive), red velvet cupcakes and a peanut butter cheesecake that one of our students baked. These were the surviving cupcakes after Zoey’s counter surfing episode. Update on Zoey: after two full days of tummy distress, she’s back to normal. I called the vet and they got a good chuckle out of the story and said she’d be fine, especially since the wrappers were paper. I’d like to think she’s learned her lesson but I 100% trust she’d do it again given the opportunity. Oh puppies.
It was such a wonderful evening that left my heart feeling full. We have such amazing friends here in Charlotte and I’m very grateful to for the connection. I really enjoy hosting and entertaining and I’m so happy that we’re in a house now that has such a great flow for it. I can’t wait to keep filling our home with friends and family.
And staying on the food topic for a minute, I went to ALDI recently and stocked up on tons of pantry and fridge favorites as well as a few things for the party. This is just a small sampling of what I bought but clearly, I had the cheese and chocolate food group down. ALDI has some great seasonal specialty items right now so I’m giving away a $50 gift certificate to one lucky winner so you can go try them out yourself. It’s a quick giveaway…it will close at midnight EST on Wednesday, December 16 so get to commenting for your chance to win!
Any favorite holiday breakfasts?
What’s your favorite thing to bake during the holidays?
Do you enjoy entertaining?
