So mother nature finally blessed us with some snow. Personally, my favorite seasons are those that fall right in between the extremes. But if it’s going to be cold then we might as well have some snow, right?
We took full advantage of our coldest day this year by going to get Oreo milkshakes from Pot Bellies. Well, at least the boys did.
I stuck to my plan of getting back on track by making myself a sugar cookie pumpkin chai latte instead.
1 sugar cookie sleigh ride tea bag + 1 pumpkin spice chai tea bag steeped in hot water then blended with almond milk, pumpkin pie spice, and stevia. The frothier the better.
Now it’s no Oreo shake, but it definitely does the trick. And after a steady sugar-filled holiday diet, I’m proud to say that I said no to the white stuff. Sometimes you have to sacrifice to get that balance back. Plus, it was a little easier to choose a warm drink over an icy one when there’s snow on the ground.
As for the rest of our Monday? It went a little something like this – watch a movie, nap, snack, cuddle with the kitties, and repeat. A classic lazy family day. Sometimes you need those kinds of days to get that balance back too. Oh, and it’s pretty difficult to resist lounging around when you’ve got these two guys just begging to be cuddled.
Let’s rewind a few days to NYE. We started out the day right by hitting up the YMCA. We played some basketball, ran a few laps around the track, soaked in the hot tub, and called it a day.
After getting all dressed up, we headed to dinner at a new farm to fork restaurant called Valley. It recently opened near us and I’ve heard nothing but great things about it.
At Valley, their belief is that serving fresh, local food helps to not only create healthier communities, but it also provides a great return for local farmers.
I have to say that I agree. And the restaurant certainly did not disappoint. In fact, we can’t wait to go back!
We were satisfied with everything from their adorable (locally made) mason jars,
to their unique martinis and delicious food.
[grape-aid tini and coconut express-tini]
[spinach salad served with warm brown butter vinaigrette, bleu cheese crumbles, and candied cashews]
We all agreed that this spinach salad was the one of the best we had ever had. The warm brown butter vinaigrette was seriously amazing.
The roasted pumpkin soup was equally delicious.
I think I know where our next date night will be.
After dinner, we visited friends to play (or in my case, watch) a game of pong and drink dreamsicles.
New Years comes but once a year and I treated it as such. On New Year’s day, we all gathered at my parents house to enjoy vegetarian lasagna, cookie dough balls, games, and goals.
Goal-setting is a yearly tradition that we’re somehow never prepared for. We all know that we’re going to share our goals over dinner – yet no one ever comes with a prepared list. Maybe it has to do with all those dreamsicles? Well, at least that’s my excuse.
Even unprepared, we still manage to get things done. We just go with the flow and discuss what we plan to accomplish in the coming year with the promise of committing it all to paper later. Although I suspect that no one really follows through on that paper promise. Oh well, it’s all done with good intentions – that’s what counts right?
So there you have it – my first few days of 2012. Now that the holidays are over, you’ll hopefully be seeing fewer cookies and more veggies gracing this little blog. At least that’s the plan.
Let’s make 2012 a good one.
<3 Stefanie
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