Hi everyone!
Thank you for your kind words about my Pumpkin Pie Cinnamon Rolls entry for Challenge #8! The post was in the works for about 3 weeks now and I was soooo happy to finally hit publish. Voting is now open if you care to show your support. They are cutting 50% of contestants, so only 12 will remain for round #9.
What’s with all this snow, you ask?
Eric and I are in Alberta visiting my family for an early Christmas celebration!
We leave on Wednesday and I am already very sad to say goodbye to my family. I’m pretty sure I am going to stuff my nephews in my suitcase and make a run for it. ;)
We were a bit scared during the days leading up to our trip out West because we heard that there was a deep freeze going down in the Prairies…
Burrrrrr.
Luckily, OSGMOM told us that it would be ‘warming up’ to –10C by the time we arrived.
Err… ;)
I need layers…lots and lots of layers.
I have also been drinking my body weight in hot chocolate and tea.
Luckily, fur ball Rudi has been keeping us warm…
He is never cold!
Well, sometimes…when he wants to snuggle up to The Cat Whisperer (Eric).
I hope Sketchie doesn’t see this!
They have a view of The Rockies from their backyard. I guess this makes up for the cold! :)
Gorgeous, eh?
My mom and sister Kristi surprised us with a mostly vegan Christmas dinner on Sunday night.
It was very exciting.
I came into the kitchen to find that they were working hard on a bunch of my recipes!
This time I got to have it made for me!
Mom said, ‘I hope you will still love me if I screw up these recipes!!’
I said, “I don’t care what you do as long as I don’t have to cook!’ ;)
I had total faith in my worker bees.
I kept them in line with a spoon!
I got to make the vegan gravy and then I forgot about it on the burner and nearly fried it! Just a day in the life…
The non-vegans had stuffed chicken and myself and my friend Ashley had In A Jiffy spelt veggie patties.
They were awesome in a roll with vegan gravy! It was a great idea to make for the vegan protein portion.
High Protein Garlic Mashed Potatoes:
I also brought along Soft Peanut Butter Cookies for my nephews and the rest of my family. They were a huge hit!
Mmmm, I filled my plate and was one happy vegan!
I had a whole wheat dinner roll with vegan butter, peas, butternut squash, This Ain’t Grandmas Sweet Potato Casserole, High Protein Garlic Mashed Potatoes, In A Jiffy Veggie Spelt patties, vegan gravy, and Cranberry, Pear, and Pecan Spinach Salad.
For dessert, my mom made my Pumpkin Gingerbread with Spiced Buttercream!! Gosh I love this dessert.
And some non-vegan layered cake!
The boys watched the Grey Cup football…
The ladies did not. :)
Then we exchanged gifts with Kristi and the family. I got some amazing pictures of my nephews, a new apron, a holiday table runner, and artwork from my oldest nephew. :)
I told my nephew that my fridge was covered in his artwork, but I was going to add all of the new drawings to it too, and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and he said, ‘REALLY???’
Then Papa and mammoth Kinder Eggs stole the show and that was that!
Well, we are off for another day of adventures. See you later!
Holy snow! This makes me so excited for Christmas. You and your sis are so beautiful too.
Looks like you are having a beautiful time with your family! Enjoy every moment of down time ♥
ah yes that cold spell was horrible! glad you were able to miss it. Saskatchewan had it just as bad, and it is definitely much warmer this week -10C is warm believe it or not haha
you should tough it out more and visit the prairies more often, they are truly beautiful, Saskatoon in the winter is pretty amazing by the river.
Have you been? hit me up if you do stop by!
Your pumpkin gingerbread will be making an appearance at my Christmas as well :)
Wow– this is such a cozy holiday post!!! Beautiful pictures, as always…and I LOVE the cat! :-)
That cat picture with Eric is so adorable! I am sure Sketchie would *not* approve. Have fun playing in the snow!
This post really warmed my heart and even made me tear up a bit just from missing my own family. I can’t wait to get back home to them in a few weeks now! It’s clear where you get your hostess and presentation skills from… your mom’s house is beautiful! And I love the Beatrix Potter dishes… that would be something that my mom would set out for the children too!
Awww, what a gorgeous early Christmas celebration… Glad you got to be with your faraway relatives. I’ve NEVER had a white Christmas! Growing up in South Carolina and now living in Los Angeles- it rarely drop below 40 degrees F, in fact. I guess there are pluses and minuses to both situations ;)
so amazing! i wish u were staying longer with them your family is sooo beautiful. You must miss them sooo much and you all look so happy and warm there. I hope you have a wonderful time you deserve it and can I say that your cinnamon bun post has got my vote and has got to win you just blow the competion out of the water over and over again.
BTW those kinder eggs are just the next size up from the small ones in italy where I live they go up three sizes from that to a truely massive massive egg ;)
Peace,
Sabrina.
My first Vegan dinner was a success & delicious – yeah! Thanks to my Assistants in the kitchen, Kristi & Eric. I couldn’t have pulled it together without you! Thanks to my clean up crew, Peter and John :)
It was AWESOME :) You can cook for this Vegan-food-aholic anyday!!
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the meal! We’ll have to get together again for another Vegan meal and try out a few more of Ange’s recipes.
I LOVE Kinder schokolade! It reminds me of my Oma, who used to give us bunte teller at Christmastime — colorful plates (the literal German translation) filled with nuts, chocolates and other German candies (including Kinder products once in a blue moon) and the requisite orange and apple. :)
Looks like you’re having a blast. Enjoy!
voted!! sometimes food tastes better when prepared for you…especially by your mom.
Ah it all looks beautiful–the inside and outside! What a great view!
I’m so glad you are enjoying time with family!
That all looks great!!!!!
And is that cat a Ragdoll??? It is absolutely beautiful…I have Ragdolls and it looks a lot like one :-)
Yes Rudi is a ragdoll :) Sweetest cat ever
Great post! I am originally from Alberta and this post has me excited to go home for my early Christmas as well!!
aww this post made me teary! I miss the frigid prairies! The mountains — my heart melts. Hope you guys make time for some skiing!
that first picture is beautiful… it belongs on a christmas card! i’m so glad you got to spend quality time with the family :) your nephews sound adorable.. way to be a “cool” aunt w/ the cookies haha
I love the snow photos!! What a gorgeous Winter Wonderland!
Looks like you are having fun and the food looks great!
Ah, what a fun early Christmas! I thought my family was jumping the gun doing our presents on Christmas Eve @ Midnight because we never could wait till morning ;) And hey, who knows, maybe fried gravy is the next big thing!?!?