Christmas is nearly here!! I hope your remaining to-do list isn’t terribly long and you are soon able to settle in to the true reason for the season. We are packing for Mexico as we leave for our Mexican cruise bright and early Christmas Day. Our family is fortune enough to have the means to buy all of what we need and most of what we want so Christmas the past few years has felt like buying gifts for one another simply as a custom so this year we decided we’d rather spend no money on gifts and instead spend that on an adventure we could take together. The idea has already proven fabulous with all the forgone holiday time stress that we’ve avoided and we haven’t even left on the actual vacation yet! I’m relishing the thoughts of sunshine, sea water, and lots of time with my family but be sure to check back here next week because I’ve got some fun content lined up for you. Merry Christmas and many blessings to you and yours!
Thought: Was someone watching me pack last night…?!? Good thing my clothes are so small. There are some perks to being 5 foot nothing!
Gist: This recipe for baked sweet onion dip – nicknamed crack dip – has shown up on my blog feed several times over the years with many touting it to be a tried and true favorite. I’m thinking of giving it a go at our next gathering – whatcha think family, should I bring this for New Years Eve?
Image: For me, one of the first things to signal the holiday festivities have arrived is the emergence of Starbucks annual red cups. I’ve enjoyed following their Instagram feed this year and the positive messages of inclusiveness and love that Starbucks has promoted this year through the red cups. Protip: Starbucks is giving out free drinks throughout the remainder of 2016. And not just black coffee drinks. Any tall drink your heart desires. Here’s the fine print: you have to go to one of the selected locations between 1-2 PM. There’s 100 locations selected each day and these locations change daily. To find one close to you go to starbucks.com/cheer. [Photo courtesy of mom and her Sunday morning “habit” ;)]
Find: I’m only half way through this one but it’s proving to be a delicious read, simultaneously light and suspenseful with characters that are a breeze to connect with. As an added incentive to devour the book, Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Shailene Woodley are starting in the much-hyped HBO series adaption coming out in January. I plan to finish it poolside this week and will report back with a full review 😉
Soulfood Saturday: I hope you are surrounded by family, love, and joy this weekend but if all the family, love, and joy become a bit tense a laugh is always great for the soul. This made me laugh several times this week. As my dad said, you’ve just got to ensure you don’t throw a real present in the fire! Now…if only we had a fireplace with an open flame at our house…
