Highlights of 2013

I rang in 2013 with a bang. We took a party bus to Atlantic City (which was cray) and partied to the funky beats of Tiesto for the New Years countdown and then ate all of the food we could find in Revel. It was so much fun! 

This year will be a little different, we're headed to Butcher & Singer for a swanky steak dinner with a small group of friends. New Years always gets me feeling a little sentimental... another year has gone by, lots of memories made, and new goals and dreams are set for the future. But, before I get into my new goals post (which will come later this week) I thought I would run through some highlights of 2013. 

My favorite gifts

Christmas was amazing this year. For one, we got to spend a full week with our families! It was so nice to be able to stay longer than a weekend and have some quality chill time with our parents and my siblings. I also am fully aware that I overindulged on life (and food and drink) over the past seven days and need to step away from the cookies for the next month or more. I'm so blessed to have such generous people in my life and I wanted to share some really cool stuff that I scored this holiday! Read on for details and links. 

A reunion dinner

I met up with these crazy girls for a little reunion dinner at the The Ginger Man in Albany. This is the first time we've all been back in the area in a long time and we had a dinner filled with laughs, hilarious gift giving, alcoholic beverages, and a special announcement! The Ginger Man is nostalgic for our group and it didn't disappoint this time. The food was great and the atmosphere was perfect for a catch-up with my bffs.

Roasted red pepper, leek and potato soup

This recipe is one I've been dreaming about for years. My dad made this soup for Christmas Eve years ago (soup on Christmas Eve is our tradition) and it was so yummy I've thought about it ever since. So, I scoured the interwebs and finally found a recipe that was similar, if not identical, and whipped up a batch for a holiday party we were attending. The soup received lots of positive feedback and will definitely be put on my regular dinner rotation. This year, pops is making a corn and crab chowda! I'll let you know how it turns out. 

Full recipe and additional photos can be found below. 

Ten happy moments of the week

Image credit: Found on Pinterest, original source unknown. If you know the original source of this image or own rights to it, please let me know and I’ll credit/remove as appropriate.

Also, can I just say, how can smoking which is kind of a gross habit, look so beautiful when photographed?!

1. Last weekend, I competed in the CrossFit Hardbat Holiday competition and it was a lot of fun. I haven't competed in a while and it was exciting and stressful all at the same time. I learned that I definitely prefer team competitions over individual ones.

2. Receiving my parent's Christmas card and spotting the little typo that said it was Christmas 2015.

3. Having a really nice relaxing holiday breakfast with my co-workers to close out the year together.

4. Finishing up most of my shopping this week and feeling stress-free on the shopping front. Amazon Prime totally saved my ass this year.

5. A fun little Twitter chat with Philly Blog Love on Monday night. I've never participated in a twitter chat, but I was really impressed with how smooth it went and I had a lot of fun doing it! I'm already excited for the next one.

6. Hit a new personal record (PR) on my clean & jerk at the gym this week. Woohoo!

7. I successfully set up a girl's night dinner with my girlfriends from high school when we're all in town next week. It's going to be so nice to see all of them when we are home for the holidays.

8. Something is in the air these days... I'm surrounded by pregnant women and I love it! I love hearing all of their stories about how things are going and sharing in their joy and excitement.

9. Making cookies and eating way too many of them.

10. Getting my spice shelf organized. I know that's so lame. But honestly the thing was driving me nuts. Every time I opened it, cinnamon or some other jar of something would fall on my head. It was so annoying! I found a little wooden spice organizer thing at Home Goods (kind of like this) the other night and it's a lifesaver. Now I can see where everything is and all of my spices have a proper home. (Honestly, it's the little things in life that make the biggest difference.)

Cookies, cookies, and some more cookies

It's national cookie month. No, it's not, that's actually October. But I have no idea why it's not December! There has to be more cookies made and consumed in the month of December than all of the other months combined. At least that's how it goes in my house. I've been working hard in the kitchen these past couple of weeks to make up some delicious cookies to give out as gifts. Also, I have a policy that for every cookie I give away, I get to eat one as well. It's doing wonders for my waistline...

This year I made an assortment of treats -- Polka Dot Merigues which are my father's favorite and surprisingly not that difficult to make (even though meringue gets a bad rap.) Shortbread Bites, which are my personal favorite, they are so simple and so buttery. And lastly, I added Oatmeal Caramel Bars to my repertoire this season. I brought them to a party and they were a huge hit, so I whipped up some more to share with others. Get all the recipes and see more photos below. 

Last-minute shopping tips

So, you have seven days left to shop... don't panic. That won't help. I've got some tips for you if you have a few last-minute items to pick up or if you haven't even purchased one gift yet. Also, last week I put together a holiday gift guide if you still need some inspiration. 

Haters they gonna hate

A brief narrative about how I plan to contribute more positive energy to society.