Hey guys! I have absolutely loved following along on Facebook, Instagram and blogs to get a glimpse of everyone’s Christmas festivities over the last week or so.
I was a little bummed not to be seeing my family for Christmas. I considered booking a last-minute flight to Florida but in hindsight I’m so glad I didn’t because I would never want to take my germs on an airplane or to my parents and grandmother.
And in case you’re wondering, yes, I gave Tanner my cold and he was super happy to get that for Christmas. 😉
We decided to make the most of Christmas with just the two of us because this is likely the last quiet Christmas we will have for a very long time!
I mocktailed my way through Christmas with this combo of Fever Tree Naturally Light Ginger Beer with unsweetened cranberry juice, Spindrift sparking water and lime. I just discovered this ginger beer at World Market and I am OBSESSED! One big bottle has two servings and each serving has 50 calories and 12 grams of sugar, which is SO much better than traditional bottled ginger ale/beer. Also, no artificial sweetners or anything and it’s made with natural ginger so it’s got that awesome spicy kick. If you’re a ginger lover, try it out.
On Christmas Eve I decided to make a big pot of my dad’s bolognese sauce. While we usually do something a little “fancier” for Christmas Eve, a plate of pasta with homemade sauce sounded perfect to me this year. My parents told me they broke tradition too and had chili!
We spent the rest of our evening wrapping presents and watching the fourth Harry Potter movie. We are slowly making our way through the series.
We slept in and cuddled with the girls for a while on Christmas morning before getting up for brunch and presents. We watched Elf while I made coffee and brunch. That movie makes me so happy.
Brunch was french toast made from cinnamon bread that was a gift from a client alongside fresh fruit, scrambled eggs and the most delicious store-made maple brown sugar bacon from Whole Foods. Tanner said he thinks it’s the best bacon he’s ever had.
Of course we got gifts for the pups! A squeaker toy, a pull toy and elk antlers. They are obsessed with these elk antlers.
Although Arnie doesn’t play with toys and can’t chew on bones anymore, he sure does like lounging with the toys.
Tanner and I exchanged gifts for each other. He drinks so much sparkling water so I got him four cases to go with his stocking. He gave me three new pajama sets from Nordstrom since I kind of live in them these days along with a few other things. (FYI, they have tons of markdowns on PJs right now!)
The best part of Christmas was us getting each other the same exact card!!!!! We also both got each other baby gifts. I gave him these Hulk pajamas and he gave me a couple Dr. Seuss books.
After presents, I got busy in the kitchen prepping for dinner at Dorie’s later that evening. I was a DISASTER in the kitchen and made runny chocolate mousse, couldn’t find a bag of coconut that I swore I had in the pantry, burned a pot of cranberries and dropped a bowl of whipped cream. I posted this photo on Instagram and was reassured by many that pregnancy brain is a real thing. CLEARLY!
At least my prep for our main dish went off without a hitch. I made this cider brined stuffed pork loin from my site.
Later that afternoon we headed to the studio for classes. We are always open for two classes on Christmas day and they are always packed. Tanner’s class sold out at 98 yogis and I had around 60 in my class. While it wasn’t ideal for either of us to be teaching given our cold status, it’s a little impossible to find subs on Christmas day so we powered through and I just made sure not to touch anyone! 🙂
After quick showers, we headed over to Dorie’s house for a small Christmas dinner with her, her mom and one other friend.
It was a Christmas miracle that my chocolate mousse cake set in the fridge because that thing was straight liquid when it put it in and there was no gelatin-type thing in the recipe to help it set. I was so relieved. This recipe was super simple (if you read the directions better than I did) and VERY delicious!
The pork loin was also great. I swear, brining big cuts of meat like this just makes the biggest difference in moisture and flavor.
My dinner plate + a salad.
And my dessert plate. I made a backup pumpkin pudding pie with gingersnap crust when I thought my chocolate mousse pie was a bust. The pumpkin concoction was just okay but again, that chocolate pie was GOOD!
And I’ll leave you with this…I spotted this sign in Marshall’s behind the checkout line when Tanner and I were out doing some Christmas shopping. My head first went to “oh that’s cool that they have a policy on what to do if someone gets too hangry” before I realized that it was about actual hangers. I told Tanner that and he laughed so hard at me and told me I had to take a pic and share it with you guys!
So there’s our little quiet Christmas. It was just right for us and we can’t wait to see how Christmases change in the years to come!
Hope y’all had a great one as well!
Any kitchen disasters or fails this Christmas?
For Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner, did you keep it traditional or have something a little different?
I also made a stuffed pork loin for Christmas dinner, although next time I will try brining the meat first! I stuffed mine with a stuffing the I made with homemade sourdough (I use your recipe!), leeks and pancetta. Yum yum!
Love that you did bolognese. We too had a very quiet Christmas this year. We had swordfish with zucchini noodles. I’ve never been very traditional when it comes to holidays. Hope you’re feeling better!!
Hope you both are feeling better! That bolognese looked really good!! As far as pregnancy brain goes…. I am 6 months pp today and STILL have it. I am hoping one of these days it will go away lol
Your note on the ginger beer was perfect timing! Have some sort of stomach bug and spotted that brand at the grocery store last night. Thanks for the rec!!
Matching cards are so sweet!