not a white christmas

its boxing day here in canada! the day after christmas - here we call it boxing day - is usually day three of christmas festivities. i hope everyone had a wonderful christmas (or anything you and your family celebrate at this time of the year). although this christmas was a little less hectic and eventful than other christmas's (and there was no real SNOW) i had a great christmas and santa (and my family) was way too good to me. in the past we had something going on on christmas eve, christmas day and on boxing day. this year there was nothing planned for christmas eve (and i actually didn't make it to the boxing day event my uncle had planned). for me it was just christmas day - entirely fine by me!..

christmas morning - i woke up around 8:30 (shortly after my mom and my sister). when we wake up on christmas morning, we are allowed to empty our stockings. when we were younger and used to wake up way before our parents the rules were - we could go down to the living room and open anything in our stockings but were not allowed to touch anything under the tree. traditions stick, we still are allowed to open only our stockings until everyone in the house is awake. more often then not (recently) - our parents are up before all three of us (my sisters and i) are up.

 the presents are packed all under (and beside) the tree

 even the little fluff ball got spoiled this year

 guinness goes for the squirrel

most of guinness' presents were just placed in a bag under the tree. thats normal id assume - why would you wrap gifts for a dog?! well my sister decided to be different - she decided to wrap the present she got guinness. guinness was a pro at unwrapping the present. he dug his teeth in and ripped the paper right off that gift.

he's content with the gift .. he worked hard to get it. it kept him distracted why we opened our gifts

after we opened our gifts we had our usual christmas breakfast - eggs benedict for my family and an english muffin toasted with butter for me! (i dont like eggs). around noon terry came over and we exchanged gifts. he spoiled me too - i absolutely had no idea what he had for me.. complete surprise! i think he liked his gift too! :) terry and i took guinness for a christmas day walk and we watched a movie with my sisters. we prepped for my dads side's family christmas dinner we were hosting - small gathering this year, only my grandma and my aunt, uncle and my three cousins. all the other aunts/uncles and cousins couldn't make it this year!

then came the turkey, mashed potatoes, squash, broccoli casserole, carrots, STUFFING, gravy and dinner rolls (with lots of wine). followed by pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie and home made christmas cake (rum cake?). oh and tea and coffee! lots of food! way too much! but all delicious.
after dinner we played our usual gift game (in which everyone ends up with a small gift) - tradition. although it a much smaller gathering this year (considering we were missing 9 family members who are usually there on christmas day) and despite the fact i am bitter about the lack of snow.. christmas was fun and filled with great conversation and everything good and special!

i hope santa was good to you and your tummy is full with lots and lots of great food!

instagram diary..

christmas is in two days! i cant wait for way for turkey dinner and apple pie, family and merry christmas hugs!.. heres a little christmas-y picture post in honour of the up coming celebrations.

 my aunt came over and brought guinness a bag full of christmas gifts for the little fur ball. raw hide, cookies, toys and more cookies (and a gift card for me - i usually use petsmart gift cards for when i take him to the groomers)

our christmas tree all decorated and lit up                              home made egg nog (with baileys/rum)

i went to a work christmas party with a blind gift exchange. basically each person was to bring a gift worth approximately $15.00. everyone picked a number and beginning at number 1, each person was allowed to pick a gift from under the tree and open it or they were allowed to steal a present from someone else who had already opened one (there were 36 of us). the only rule was that each gift was only allowed to be stolen 3 times. once the 4th person has it, that gift is theres and no one can steal it. i was number 36! i got to have last choice and i ended up choosing the book and the coffee (absolutely perfect for me!).

 guinness got into our dads christmas present from my aunt. my mom caught him down stairs eating this chocolate bar. not good guinness, not good!

christmas is on its way

its december again! the month where stores can play christmas music without complaints and christmas baking becomes my hobby. december 1st started my preparation for this holiday season with the chocolate advent calendar, christmas shopping and christmas tree cutting. my sisters and i have been getting chocolate advent calendar every december 1st since i can remember! one chocolate for everyday in a count down to christmas. i truthfully believe my parents will be buying us a chocolate calendar every december until we have children of our own - its a simple and common tradition.. then came the christmas shopping - christmas shopping excites me! i love shopping for the perfect gifts for family and friends - i like when there is room for creativity and thoughtfulness in the gift, some people are easy to shop for while others want whats on their list and no other. i've so far managed to get two partial presents for two different people.. id say its a good start!
another tradition of my family for the past few years has been to pick out and saw down a christmas tree for our house! all 5 of us put on our winter boots and warm jackets (guinness also got his sweater on) and we drove out to the christmas tree place we've gone for the past few years to scout out the perfect tree.
we now have our christmas tree decorated in our living room and christmas lights strung out outside our house.. im definitely in the christmas spirit!

we selected our tree and each took turns sawing it down.

 **proof i helped with the dirty work :)**

guinness observed.

toronto is all christmasy

last wednesday it was my dads birthday. usually each december 21st, for my dads birthday, my family and i go skiing. normally december 21st comes along with snow.. unfortunately this year it didn't... it was 4 degrees celsius and raining! yes raining! hey.. i live in canada.. its not supposed to rain in december. we are use to white decembers with temperatures far below 0. no snow concluded no skiing. instead, my dad decided we would go to toronto for the day. he asked me some of my favourite places in toronto and we went to all of them. we went to the distillery district.. walked to st lawrence market, then went to the eatons centre and walked around to see the beautiful windows decorated for christmas time (of course i have other places in toronto i love, but we only had a day!)

 yes. there was no one there!

it was rainy and a wednesday

 i think it would be much more attractive if there was snow

 beautiful windows

merry christmas eve!

secret santa

secret santas are always fun.. its always interesting to see what others get you when a) they are forced to spend less than $25 and b) they are forced to pick a name and its possible they may not know you as well. this year  i did a secret santa gift exchange with some of the girls from my program (there were 6 of us including me). we have only known each other since september, but apparently im easy to buy a present for.. katrina picked out the perfect gift for me...

i guess everyone knows of my addiction to coffee

and starbucks

* ps: inside the card.. was a chunk of santas beard! it was amazing! haha*

christmas wish list

for the past month and a half my parents have been asking me to make a christmas list. this task is harder than i imagined.. until all about 5 minutes ago i had one items written on my list. the only item on my list to my parents was a car charger for my blackberry (i dont even own a car, but my phone has horrible battery life and i think its a good idea to have when driving). for the past two years i had asked for a nikon d 3000. i got one for my birthday this year, placing a strike through that item on this years planned christmas list. i really dont need anything! i live at home for free, dont need kitchen appliances, food, bill payments. i cant think of cds or movies i want, not clothes or electronics. i can't even think of books i want, those ideas come to me as im walking through aisles of books, or recommendations from friends/family. 
so then 10 minutes ago i was forced to think long and hard about something small, like a stocking stuffer, i want from my sisters (we decided we should only spend about $20 on each this year). so okay, maybe i want a pair of mitts, and a picture/poster like thing for the wall in my room. maybe a hardcover notebook to carry around and write in, or bookends? i've wanted some for a while now. im unsure if any of these cost less than $20 but at least it gives them some ideas.. continuing my 'what do i want for christmas' search.. i was online window shopping on etsy and i found something perfect! ...

beautiful!

leather straps, snap button closure!

i love it and want it

*link it up here *

oh christmas tree..

a pine tree, never changing. no transformations in hue as the seasons change and not a thought in minds for 11 months of a 12 month annum. the 12th month brings appreciation and a recognized purpose of a simple pine tree. each year my family ventures out to select the perfect christmas tree; a tree to bring home and decorate, to guard our presents. its comforting to have it here, it creates a warmth not present in the absence of the tree, and it brings excitement and wills kindness and sharing. 
we personalize our christmas trees. my family and i place an angel at the top, wrap the tree in gold ribbon and each year place less and less homemade childhood ornaments on its branches (even though my parents most likely have saved them). some ornaments were purchased and others were gifts, still others were passed down. some place a cross or a star on top, some have no ribbon, some load the branches with candy canes and last years favourite christmas cards. others place pictures in hanging ornaments from the tree, some place coloured lights and some place white lights. they are personalized to each family, each house hold. 
this tree will be a huge part of my christmas season..

tis the season.

<3 

chocolate calendar time

its december 1st today! you know what that means..

i get to eat the first chocolate of this years countdown to christmas calendar. yes im 24 and my mom still buys me a chocolate calendar every year.. its one of the many traditions i love. 
its also time for christmas list making, christmas shopping, christmas baking, ugly sweater parties and all the other traditions; christmas tree cutting pour example. (yes pour.. its my attempt at french)
okay, so i'll cross off christmas list making this year. i got my nikon D3000 for my birthday this year which is way more than my parents spend on birthdays. no christmas presents for me this year.. but i have a puppy now! so i'll make a list for him. too be honest, i dont think i could even make a list for myself if i needed to. i can't think of anything i need/want. maybe a chapters gift certificate.. :)
and sadly, i even have to miss out on christmas tree cutting this year. i have to work this weekend and thats when my parents have decided to go :(.. but im totes in for the christmas baking and the ugly sweater parties im planning on attending! 
oh and despite what i said earlier.. if there is anything i want for christmas it may or may not be found in this little treasure right here:

and new glasses. i would like some new glasses.. as much as i love mine, i think my eyes have gotten worse.. thats what getting older does to you!

no im not getting greedy.. im just saying


*loop scarf american eagle outfitters, 40% off * 

santa came to visit

its only mid november and i know there is no snow.. but it is that time of the year again. the time when santa clause makes his appearances in all of our cities. he comes to our malls and our work christmas parties and yes he also marches down the streets in parades fully dedicated to jolly old santa.. well technically he doesn't march, thats for the bands.. he gets carried on his overenthusiastic float following mrs clause in her unfairly decorated float.. 
so yup.. this sunday santa was roaming the streets of downtown toronto and i went to see him.. (apparently he was also at limeridge mall here in hamilton.. but hes allowed to be in two places at once.. hes magic right?!)
i dragged a few of my friends along to the parade with me.. i may have bribed them with starbucks (sunday still had the buy one get one free holiday promotion thing on - otherwise i wouldn't have offered)..

 its the i love turtle man! (ps: i hate those chocolates, love the turtle)

 i actually dont know what some of these floats were advertising

due to the fact that i couldn't see!

 pretty sure this is my favourite float.. i love penguins

 tim hortons house of donuts

 mrs clause

santa!

he was skinny which disappointed me

after santa passed us, meagan and i decided we wanted a picture with santa clause. since we couldn't interrupt the parade and ask him, we ran and tried to get a picture with him in the back ground.. that failed pretty badly..

we asked peter to take it.. 

and he managed to get santa in with us