Christmas Recap

Hey all, I had this for Christmas dinner. What did you have?

Christmas always flies by in the blink of an eye, doesn’t it? I love the holiday season and am always a little blue when it’s over, but thankfully, there’s still New Year’s to look forward to (also, New Year’s eve is Jesse’s birthday!).

Our Christmas was very low key because it was just the two of us at home, but still eventful in my book. I got up just before 7:30 and made homemade turkey breakfast sausage (recipe to come!) and granola, all in the glow of the Christmas lights and my new holiday Scentsy plug-in (which I adore, by the way). It was dark, peaceful and magical with the glow of the lights. I also took it upon myself to play Santa and sneak some goodies into Jesse’s stocking. We agreed that our trip was our Christmas present to each other, so didn’t buy any actual gifts to open, but I couldn’t stand the thought of an empty stocking. I filled his stocking with a dark chocolate caramel sea salt bar, a locally made candy bar of dark chocolate, honey, hazelnuts and nougat, and some locally made creme de Earl Grey loose-leaf tea (this stuff is amazing). Jesse was pleasantly surprised to find a stocking filled with goodies.

Grain-free granola, fresh out of the oven. I added a little pecans too since I had a package open.

Homemade turkey breakfast patties. For our scramble, I took four of the patties and broke them up in the pan. Once cooked, I added the eggs and some frozen kale. — Homemade turkey breakfast patties. For our scramble, I took four of the patties and broke them up into the pan. Once cooked, I added the eggs and some frozen kale.

Scramble with pastured eggs and homemade breakfast sausage, avocado, and a small dish of homemade yogurt with fresh granola.

I woke Jesse up when breakfast was ready, around 8:15 or 8:30. He walked out to a place setting with a sausage and kale scramble and avocado, homemade 24-hour yogurt with fresh granola, and a glass of grapefruit juice. Jesse always has a glass of grapefruit juice first thing in the morning. It’s his ritual. After we ate, we both sipped on some heated cold-brew coffee (mine bulletproof-style with grass-fed butter and coconut oil) and then Skyped with my parents and sister for nearly an hour! We had a lot to chat about, especially with the recent news of our engagement. Everyone is pretty darn excited!

We gave the cats some cat nip (Belly Rubs). Dutch doesn't care much about it, but Mila loves it. You should have seen her rubbing all around in it and then going crazy and grabbing at her tail. — We gave the cats some cat nip (Belly Rubs) to celebrate Christmas day. Dutch doesn’t care much about it, but Mila loves it. You should have seen her rubbing all around in it and then going crazy and grabbing at her tail. Note, those are Dutch’s boxes behind Mila. It’s his favorite place to nest and dig.

The rest of the day consisted of discussing wedding plans, making lists, looking at invitations online, cooking and eating dinner, and watching Love Actually. Christmas is much different when it’s just the two of us versus when we’re back in Michigan with family. This year was especially different because our recent engagement was very much on my mind, and that’s why I took it upon myself to start jotting down ideas.

I had to mash my cauliflower old school style. There's something wrong with the motor in my food processor, so the blade doesn't spin properly. It's probably my fault because it's just a small, 4-cup processor that I often over-pack. For things like mashed cauliflower, I have to work in batches. — I had to mash my cauliflower old school style. There’s something wrong with the motor in my food processor, so the blade doesn’t spin properly. It’s probably my fault because it’s just a small, 4-cup processor that I often over-pack. For things like mashed cauliflower, I have to work in batches.

Jesse looks like he's praying here, but he's actually not. He was sitting there giggling and pretending he was. Really, he just wanted me to stop taking pictures, so he could eat. — Jesse looks like he’s praying here, but he’s actually not. He was sitting there giggling and pretending he was. Really, he just wanted me to stop taking pictures, so he could eat.

For dinner, we had spice-rubbed turkey legs, root veggies roasted with coconut oil and thyme, green beans with sauteed chanterelles and shallots, and mashed cauliflower. For dessert, homemade dark chocolate ice cream (recipe to come!).