Hello 2012

2011 Family Holiday Picture

Hello 2012!!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and that 2012 is treating you well so far.  I love the holidays but at the same time it is such a stressful time of year.  My last post was the cranberry pear sauce and then I disappeared. Vanished. Poof.  My life was a whirlwind, but I’m getting a better handle on things.  Sometimes I have to remind myself to stop and take a break, breathe and refocus.  My goal for the new year is to have a more balanced life.  Wish me luck!

Taylor Christmas Collage

Taylor in front of the Christmas tree. I love seeing her stick her whole head into the tree to smell the fresh pine!

In case you were wondering…. this is what happened during my disappearance:

Derrick and I hosted Thanksgiving and both of our families came.  We feasted and gained 5 pounds.  We served turkey, jalapeno corn casserole, mashed potatoes, cranberry pear sauce and peas.  Of course when my father in law is in town we have clam dip which is part of the reason why I gained 5 pounds, I can eat that stuff all day long!  The following Wednesday, Derrick had a client appreciation event at work and I helped him organize and execute that for 60 plus guests. It was fun but exhausting at the same time.  The next day, I stayed up all night making cake pops and a slide show for Derrick’s parents’ 35th wedding anniversary.  We drove up to Northern California on Friday morning and I caught up on a few hours of sleep on the ride up.  When we got there we run errands, bought food, prepped and set up the house for the Saturday’s party.  We served spinach artichoke dip, caprese skewers, meatballs, antipasto platters, pulled pork sliders and had a dessert table that consisted of red velvet cupcakes and cake pops.  The next day was Derrick’s aunt’s 70th birthday party.  We attended the party and had a great time catching up with family.  We then drove directly back to Southern California. We arrived home after 2:00am on Monday, crashed and then went to work a few hours later.  Yikes!!  That was how the first week of December played out.  It makes me tired just thinking about it.

anniversary collage

The cake pops and red velvet cupcakes were popular at the anniversary party.

The rest of December was just a blur.  We had three holiday parties over the second weekend of December.   I hosted my 3rd annual cookie exchange over the third weekend of December. The 4th weekend was Christmas and we had both sides of the family over for dinner on Christmas Eve.  We had prime rib, scalloped potatoes, creamed corn and green beans.  We feasted, had more clam dip and gained another 5 pounds.  I made bacon pear cinnamon rolls Christmas morning for the family.  Unfortunately, Derrick’s mom was terribly sick over the holidays and I was extremely run down.  I tried to fight off her cold from Christmas to New Year but I lost.  My cold was full blown New Year’s weekend and then it lingered the first two weeks of January.  I am happy to say that I can finally smell and taste my food and I am back in the kitchen again!  So here I am.  I’m back, recharged and healthy!

cookie exchange collage

I love having my friends over for a cookie exchange. No party is complete with out cocktails. Derrick made a refreshing cranberry orange cocktail for everyone to enjoy. I had 17 guests and lots of cookies to last us until the new year!

The photo in the top right hand corner is a picture of some of my favorite local bloggers:  Amir & Chrystal of The Duo Dishes and Nancy of A Communal Table.  Love them!

2011 family holiday picture

This is how we shoot our holiday pictures: a DSLR on a tripod set on timer! Good thing Taylor is a pretty photogenic dog!

Happy New Year!  Hope you have a healthy and successful 2012!!  Here’s to family, friends and good food!

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8 comments

  1. Lana says:

    I can only imagine how exhausted you were, but it’s all good (except for the cold:) I am glad you feel better! Welcome back! The photos are gorgeous! Looking forward to seeing you soon:)

  2. Kim says:

    Welcome back! I too, disappeared for part of 2011 and know how hard it is to get back into it. Hope to see more of you soon!

    [K]

  3. Renee Fontes says:

    Nice to see you are blogging again, I always enjoy your posts. Your pictures are so amazing and you have a talent at party design/beautiful food. Happy 2012…

  4. Nancy@acommunaltable says:

    Whoa!! Could you have crammed any more into the end of 2011?? I don’t think so!! No wonder you needed a break – I was exhausted just reading about it!! So glad that I got to see you in December – the cookie exchange was so much fun!
    Definitely hope to see more of you in 2012!!

    P.S. I think Taylor would make a great model!!

  5. kitchenrunway says:

    bumble bee: Thank you!!

    Valentina: xoxo right back at ya!

    Lana: Thank you! Everything was worth it except for that stupid cold 🙂 Glad that’s over!

    Kim: Thank you! It’s so hard to keep everything up over the holidays! For me anyways!

    Geez Louise: Taylor misses sharing her stories too! (and Flapjack!)

    Renee Fontes: Thank you! Happy 2012 to you too!

    Nancy@acommunaltable: I know – I look back and it was such a blur! I’m just happy I survived! I’m so glad you made it to the cookie exchange – hope to see you again soon! xoxo!

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