Happy New Year!

Hey everybody! How were your Christmas and New Year celebrations? It snowed and hailed some of the days surrounding the holiday, but we did not end up with a white Christmas.

It was, however cold enough for the dogs to need their sweaters!

Our Christmas was a comfy home affair where none of us really got out of our pajamas all day, we ate tons of yummy snacks throughout the day, (Please disregard the Temptations, they were for the cats, I swear!)

had a big fire in the wood stove, and generally lounged around enjoying ourselves. I made lots of cookies to share with friends, and to snack on throughout the week.

We let the dogs open their own gifts, too. That is always fun to watch. They were certainly enjoying themselves. The cat even joined in!

And this is what it looked like after the gift opening frenzy. We were wading through gift wrap all day!

 I had a wonderful time with family and friends. My mom and sister were visiting from California and we had a great time seeing the Butchart Gardens with all of the Christmas lights,

 lounging around, eating at the pub, and touring around our small island. We also did a day in Victoria where we went to the Empress Hotel for high tea!

It was SO good!

Very snazzy! I'm surprised that I even got out of my chair after all of the tea with cream and sugar, mini sandwiches, scones with jam and clotted cream, and an entire plate of desserts, not to mention the champagne! It was such a wonderful experience to share with my family!

We looked at the Empress' Christmas tree collection, wandered the inner harbor, admired parliament,

and went through the Royal BC Museum. There were SO many beautiful sights for us to enjoy! Plus, being reunited with some of  my family for the holidays was a fun treat. I love being a tourist in my own city!

We also had a great little new years celebration with me, Ben, mom and sister. We watched movies, ate lots of chocolate, drank champagne, did sparklers and pulled crackers, and set off a few fireworks from our deck. A very enjoyable night!

Today I cleaned up Christmas in the house. No more tree, decorations, or pine needles coating the floor. Presents are put away too, and things are back to normal. I've been messing around with teaching myself to knit, and I've managed a scarf, a purse and two hats so far. It's so fun learning something new!

I fully intend to get back into sharing tasty recipes with all of you very soon! As life evens out again I will find the time. I also have an awesome giveaway coming up for all of you, so stay tuned!!!

Happy New Year!