I realize it’s a new year and I am supposed to be looking forward or whatever, but I didn’t get to celebrate my holiday until the 30th…so excuse the delay.
After being on vacation for most of December, I went straight back to work through Christmas…and beyond. Hospitals obviously don’t shut down because it’s Christmas (if only Santa could make that happen).
Fortunately, I am now back on the West Coast (holler!) which makes travel around the end of the year MUCH easier. Driving up the coast vs. flying across the country? No brainer. So now I can make the most of a few free days between shifts (unlike when I lived in NYC and two of my three days “off” were devoted to travel).
What I’m getting at is…
I was really looking forward to seeing my family (pets included) and opening presents – even if it was a super short visit.
“Christmas” morning was actually just like any other morning. My dad had to work so Kyle and I spent the day lounging around the house. Why bother with productivity on vacation?
We slept in for-eh-ver (I have the night shift excuse and I’m sticking to it), so breakfast was basically lunch.
It took me 30 minutes to narrow down my oatmeal toppings because, well, my parents cupboards are obscene (in a good way).
The first version of this photo had the doggies noses in it. They were almost as excited about the abundance of dried fruit as I was.
In the end I went with the Good Apple Morning Trail Mix with salty cashews, yogurt covered raisins, toasted almonds, and cinnamon apple chips. I avoided the pecans entirely.
At first I was modest with the toppings, but after stirring things up I had to dump more on top. The only thing worse than a boring bowl of oats is a boring bowl of oats with a million toppings sitting on the sidelines!
The cashews were the highlight because they were salty, but also dusted with cinnamon sugar remnants from the apple chips. Amaze!
Due to the high fructose content in apples, I’ve been avoiding them in their fresh form (much to my chagrin). I was nervous to include them in my breakfast bowl, but I’m happy to report that the tiny bit of apple chips that didn’t give my GI system any grief.
After brunch I embarked on a major bake-athon…
Destination: granola-ville, USA!
Overcast weather aside, Kyle and I squeezed a 6 mile run in the afternoon. Did I mention Kyle signed up for his first half marathon? Let the training begin.
Before dinner, Kyle and I opened our stockings.
Pink apron alert! Weee!!
Did you know that leftovers are the new black? Yeah, it’s happening.
The above randomness included items from my parents fridge that were made around Christmas time…and beyond…including pasta, vegan pesto couscous, avocado, eggs, carrots and a big salad.
Then, since my plate was overflowing, I added my second serving of greens to a bowl a la mode.
Food related presents:
- Bryant Terry’s Vegan Soul Kitchen
- Mollie Katzen’s The New Moosewood Cookbook
- eco-friendly cutting board
- gift certificate to Seed Bistro
- gift certificate for Sprinkles Cupcakes
- lots of new vegan bars
I’m sure there are others, but I can’t really think right now. I’m really excited to get cooking though!
The next morning was a quick one. We woke up early to join my dad at the gym. My sister is a personal trainer there and she inspired me to try some new machines (new to me since I don’t belong to a gym in LA) and holy crap I’m still sore from it.
Afterwards we did the coffee and breakfast thang. Can you see Milo snoozing in the background above? Such a cutie.
Toasted sourdough with cranberry preserves and two fried eggs. My parents were tragically out of avocado. Broke my heart.
I helped watched my dad set up his Soda Stream (I want one!) before Kyle and I said our goodbyes.
And then we were off to Clearlake!
The town is a little, ummm, interesting. Like many mountain towns, it’s got some suspect characters. And by that I mean sketchy crackheads.
It’s beauty helps redeem it, but the food options were the likes of Long John Silver’s and a Chevron station (I wish I were exaggerating).
Needless to say, we stopped at the (brand new!!) Whole Foods in my hometown before we hit the road.
This may seem counterintuitive, but I have been avoiding this store since it opened. I get anxiety just typing this. The thing is, I love Whole Foods. SO. DANG. MUCH. I dream of one day having bulk bin aisles in my kitchen. The hot food bar is how I picture heaven to be. And each new store gets better and better. So imagine how crazy awesome this one was?!?! Well. I have no words. It was fantastic to the infinity-eth power.
Our NYE in Clearlake will get it’s own (abbreviated) post, but I can show you what it revolved around.
Wood burning pizza oven + champagne + friends = Happy 2012!!
What fun food (or fitness) related present are you most excited about?
Do you live near your family? How do you balance holidays with work, time off, multiple families, etc?
I get to rank my holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years – which includes the Eve) for hospital staffing. I have always put New Years as my #1 (it’s important to Kyle because his friends do a thing every year), but Kyle & I agreed that this is the last year of that. I don’t mean to sound resentful, but I don’t want to sacrifice my family time over the holidays for drunken debauchery anymore. Maybe that makes me an old fart, but there you have it. Our priorities are shifting.
Looks like a lovely holiday!
P.S: The apron is adorbs!
Don’t you love going back to the parent’s house to find a mish-mash of goodies? It’s fun once in awhile! That pizza looks to DIE FOR.. wow.. really?! my mouth is watering- Looks like it was a good holiday, Happy New Year to you.. and yes- Santa needs to grant us Nurses a wish once in awhile.. just close for one holiday? wouldn’t that be nice… Maybe next year 😉
I read everyday but don’t usually comment. I had to comment on this one because we live on the west coast and our family is on the east coast and it’s a huge pain. We hate traveling for holidays. The 5-6 hour flight plus 3 hour time difference isn’t that much fun. On top of that our families live 45 minutes away from each other, so it’s always a lot of driving back and forth. The only thing that would bring us back to the east coast is being closer to family. Envious that you’re only a drive away now!
Wow, so much dried fruit! It all looks so delicious. I’ve never tried dried cherries before though. Perhaps it will appear on my next shopping list? 😉
Just stumbled on your blog a few days ago and am LOVING IT!!
It’s great to hear about your holiday – you’re so kind to share you experiences like this on the blog. I used to keep a more broad topic blog before I narrowed it down to restaurant eating, so I kinda miss these sorts of food/family/festivities sort of musing!
Thanks for sharing and I’m looking forward to reading more!
I agree about shifting the new years vs. family priorities. I live about an hour and 15 minute flight from my family, which makes traveling pretty easy!
Looks like such a great holiday! Welcome back to the US of A, and welcome to 2012. 🙂
Better late than never! Aaaand I love that pink apron. You are adorable.
Your pink apron is adorable!
Isn’t raiding your parents pantry/fridge the best? It’s one of my favorite things about coming home. (:
And I’m so jealous of the oven your pizza is in! I would love to have access to one of those on a regular basis.
awesome gifts! jealous of your sprinkles gift card! …i requested Sprinkles vegan red velvet for my bday after seeing your delicious cupcakes on here, and now I’m hooked! they’re super moist.
Glad you enjoyed your time with your family, even if it’s a bit overdue! That first picture of you two is great!!
Since I’m still in school,coming home for the holidays isn’t much of a challenge but, with graduation looming (this spring!), I’m already feeling stressed about how al the family holiday fun will fit in with whatever my new schedule is next year!
And favorite foodie cursor as gift? Tie between my new immersion blender, French press, and Danish pancake pan! I can’t decide….basically ALL of my gifts ere food related 🙂
I don’t think your views on NYE make you an old fart; I think they make you even more admirable than I knew you were already 🙂
xxx
I’m the youngest of 6 and every year my family – because of all my sibling’s in-laws insisting on having their stuff on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day – celebrates the weekend before or the weekend after Christmas.
This year, with the holiday being on the weekend, the first weekend we all had available to celebrate is January 14th! It’s crazy…but it works for us. I can’t wait!
thanks! santa knows me well 😉
it WAS to diet for. i never realized how much of a difference a wood burning oven could make, but dayam was it fantastic.
i dont know why or how, but for some reason a packed pantry is so much more exciting at my parents house. haha.
hi stacy! thanks for reading and introducing yourself 🙂
i totally remember the hassle of flying across the country and then spending hours in the car commuting from one family to the next to maximize your time home. ugh. its so hard not living close to family and friends. now that we are back in CA i definitely dont take it for granted. how long have you been on the east coast? any move planned?
dried cherries are awesome! they are best when you let them soak overnight (ie in oats) because they get all plump and juicy. mmmm…
hi lisa! so glad you stumbled across my blog 🙂
im looking forward to following your vegan adventures in LA…i rarely make it to the valley, but your restaurant reviews could definitely tempt me to leave the west side!!
yes!! for some reason raiding my parents pantry is so much more thrilling…not sure why, but it just is.
whoa! you got some pretty awesome foodie gifts!! im curious about immersion blenders, so let me know how you like it and what you use it for.
awww…thanks jessica 🙂 happy new year!
wow, and i thought our get together was delayed! at least you all make an effort to get together – better late than never!!
merry (early) christmas 🙂
We’re on the West Coast now. We live in LA + have been here 3.5 years. My husband is getting a PhD at USC so we’ll definitely be here another 2ish at least. We’re both from the Boston area. We’d prefer not to have to put up with Boston’s winter weather ever again, but who knows. Being close to family + friends would be a big motivator. Good thing we have a couple years to figure it out and enjoy the sun + warmth in the meantime!
yikes. youre the reverse trek. i would have a hard time leaving the CA weather, but if theres anything to lure me back it would be family.
i am in love with that photo of you and K. <3
I am sooooo in love with my immersion blender and have been for years now- no more splashing hot soup around, just blend in the pot it cooked in! I use mine to emulsify salad dressings, make tofu whipped pudding things, make my edamame hummus or regular hummus in the container, and “froth” hot coconut milk all winter for my hot chocolate….Be sure to get one that plastic bottom part with blade comes off completely to clean (my mom bought one too and managed to find the kind that doesnt come apart!?)
it doesnt hurt the pots or pans that you blend things in? i was always scared it would shred up the bottom of my pots or something…
i never thought about hot chocolate – that doest make a huge mess flying all over?
im thisclose to going on crate and barrel right now. if you can rec a good brand (yours) ill pull the trigger this moment.
Oh no, the blade part is enclosed and never touches the pots or pans! Professional chefs use very often- and yeah, hahahaha, you can fling everything around the kitchen if youre not careful!! Just keep the whole “head” underneath whatever liquid, its very intuitive to figure out- when i make hummusy things i just use a deep container to prevent flinging. It probably wont blend crunchy nuts (maybe soaked ones?) and wont work for ice… Mine is a five year old cuisinart, and my moms is kitchen aid (im sure they make one that comes apart now!) id say dont pay $20 but also dont pay more than $50….
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