How I D-Y-I-ed Christmas

I totally understand that Christmas happened well over a month ago and that it seems a little silly to post this, but I wanted to share some of the DIY gifts I made this year. .

Personally, I love homemade gifts more so than the store bought one. I would rather receive a gift that was made from the heart rather that a fancy-schmancy $100 gift.  They also tend to be a lot of fun to make!

Last summer I started canning. My purpose was to give out the can as Christmas gifts. Guess who totally forgot to bring them up to VT with her? This girl. To quote Homer Simpson: "D'Oh!"

For the ladies on my list, I made soaps and lotion bars. So easy and quick to make! 

For my brother, I downloaded Instagram photos of his motorcycle and of the truck he restored last year  and had them printed on photo paper. I used decoupage to put them onto tiles, sprayed them with an acrylic sealer, and vwa-lah - had creative coasters! PS. My bro takes that absolute best photos on Instagram. He really knows how to set up a shot. 

My final homemade gift was a simple, clay ornament with the initial of the recipient. Of course, I totally did not take a photo (that would have been the smart thing to do), but if you're interested in them, check out the website I used for inspiration. I bought white, air-dry clay at Michael's, some red ribbon to hang them, and used letterpressed cookie cutters to cut and press the cookies. After a little sanding, they were ready to go. 

Back from Vermont

Vermont was too nice to us over break. It was hard to say goodbye to the state and of course all of the people in it. We tried to see as many friends as we could but didn't have enough time to see everyone.

Church street was as beautiful as always. We spent a decent amount of time there between eating and catching up with friends and shopping for gifts. We even got ice cream at Ben & Jerry's with my brother on the coldest day of our visit. Call us crazy, or perhaps just real Vermonters? Ah but it was so nice to be there!

We drove up to Stowe one afternoon to watch Tom's Dad's band play. It was a fun afternoon and I felt like I was living the VT life again. No thoughts of DC whatsoever. On another day we went up to my mentor's house to go snowshoeing (for me) and snowboarding (for Tom). Another great afternoon there!

The snow at my dad's house

Tom got in plenty of snowboarding during our trip and the state saw plenty of snow thanks to its biggest storm in almost two years. I definitely got my wish for snow but then had to shovel! Thankfully we missed out on the cold spell that hit VT yesterday. Some folks woke up to -17 degrees in VT, but we were doing fine with a 30 degree wake up temp.

With all of the happenings over our 10 days there, I had little time/motivation to do much running. I mean, I'm talking only 15 miles during that entire trip. I am already paying for it.....

You better believe that Tom and I stocked up on some Vermont goods. I'm talking Vermont beers, pepperoni, and of course - Maple Syrup!! Tom got a lot of the items below, but the photo is missing the GIANT bag of Rosie's beef jerky that I gave Tom for Christmas. I mean, GIANT. As in it cost almost $30 to purchase. A lot of money, but well worth it when you can't get to VT that often.

I'm thinking that next Christmas I will ONLY ask for Vermont Food....

We're back in DC now. Drove 12+ hours to get here on Tuesday. While most people were recovering from the NYE celebrations we were stuck in a bit of traffic. It feels weird to be back, but it is so nice to be warm again when I go outside!

I have a few more days off before I return to work. I could get used to having two weeks off more often. The break has been so nice and relaxing, and I now worry about having to make my brain go back in to school mode.

Baking this Holiday Season

I love the idea of holiday baking. There are TONS of recipes out there that I want to try. However, each year I go back to the same recipes.

I must be forming my own traditions: fudge, peppermint cupcakes, and cookies.

This year there were no cookies. But there was plenty of fudge and cupcakes. Fudge for work, fudge for Tom to take into work, fudge for family and friends, and of course, fudge for a holiday party that consisted of a dessert-making contest. Cupcakes were for birthdays, baby showers, and that same holiday dessert party!

With all of that baking comes much taste testing. So I got plenty of chocolate deliciousness this season.

And with teaching comes along more sweets - like the caramel cupcake from Georgetown Cupcakes that I got on our last day before vacation.

I totally understand why people go on diets for New Years. I won't go on a diet, but by the time NYE comes around I am ready to take a step back from the sweets for a while!

Vermont for Christmas!

Hello all! Hope you had a Merry Christmas. Tom and I are back in Vermont for the week and we spent Christmas day with both of our families. Have to say, Santa was very nice once again this year.

Three gifts in particular will benefit this blog....

Tom's bro got me Americolor food colors! Some of my favorite blog-bakers use these colors in their frostings and I have wanted to try them for years.

The second, from my bro, is the Hansons Marathon Method book! I have got to find out more about their plan after having success with it this fall.

Finally, Tom got me a super nice lens for my camera. I was NOT expecting that one at all! It's a Nikon AF-S Nikkor 35mm 1:1.8G. SAY WHAT? I am not good with camera-lingo at all. But apparently it is going to be awesome for closeups of food and can still be used for everyday photos. Sadly, I damaged my only other lens two weeks ago. It works, but not well. It will be nice to play around with this new lens until I save up enough for a replacement lens.

In running news, I apparently have good luck with race lotteries (*knockonwood*). I get to run in the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in early April in DC!

It's back to the fudge making. I am on my fifth batch this year and there may be another one following this. I'll go for a run in a bit (yikes - it is 30 degrees colder here than what I've been running  in in DC), then I get to meet up with Kat for lunch! We're expecting a snow storm starting this evening. I can't complain about not experiencing winter this year. Vermont is making sure I see it!

 Hope you have a wonderful day!