as we gear up to bring in 2014, i thought i'd close out 2013 with some final holiday photos.


i call this photo // optical illusion

KIDDING! my farmer…he's pretty fine. like…he's totally hot.

there are several reasons i love this picture //
  • kaye staring at his bicep
  • kaye wearing her hat inside
  • kaye's belly sticking out
  • and my farmer flexing. 
this photo was snapped to check the lighting before i took some real photos…but i like this one the best.

and this chalkboard?

it was by far the most high maintenance piece of holiday decor. 

i re-wrote the "let it snow" about 17 times each line. i was nearly ready to light it on fire.

but i'm pleased with the end result.


the stockings? they lived right next to kaye's living room toy storage for weeks and she didn't pull them down once. it also deserves a mention that she only broke two ornaments…and they weren't even ornaments we hung on the tree. so that's a win.

i also stitched our names on our stockings when my farmer and i were dating.

seems like a lifetime ago.


i made christmas cakepops to hand out to our neighbors…i didn't eat a single one. i can hardly believe it.


i continue to be obsessed with our christmas decor. it'll be a sad sad day when the rest of it comes down. i have that penciled into the schedule sometime in april. i really REALLY wish it was christmas like…half the year.


did anyone else know pomegranates are so frickin' expensive? i didn't.

they are. but we needed one for the christmas salad…so i bought an entire box at costco. it made sense at the time.


speaking of christmas salad…


make this salad asap //
  • spring mix
  • (1) pear
  • (1/2) pomegranite
  • goat cheese
  • walnuts
  • dressing of choice - i chose a creamy vinaigrette and it was perfection
for christmas dinner's main dish i bucked tradition and nixed the ham. 

i went with a delicious pork loin with cranberry sauce. (recipe here.)

i'm not exactly a whiz in the kitchen but let me toot my horn. toot.



and another shout out to my farmer. 

as i manned the dishes at the sink, he enthusiastically helped with the pie-making.

speaking of pie-making // i really really believe i make a killer apple pie. i'll be posting that recipe sometime soon-ish. 





have a snazzy monday…and an even snazzier new year's eve!!