Saturday, December 31, 2016

Five Things Friday

I love the whole week that follows Christmas. You're past the stress of holiday entertaining (and perhaps holiday traveling) but still riding a high from the gatherings and good fun of it all. And, you still have the New Year to look forward to!

Here were the five little things that made my week…

Eggs benedict on Christmas morning

1. Christmas morning starts the same every year: I sleep in while the hubby continues the family tradition of making eggs benedict for brunch. He mixes it up every year, and I think his eggs benedicts get better and better each time. This year, it included spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, and olives with a delicious hollandaise sauce made from pastured orange-yolked eggs (though not from our chickens, who are taking their annual winter break). It's my absolute favorite of all breakfasts, and I could eat this all day long.

Christmas Day hike on the coast

2. After brunch, we partook in another Christmas tradition: an afternoon hike on the coast, finishing just after sunset. We've hiked this particular trail a few times, but we still find something new and wonderful every time we get out there (and with a baby this year, everything feels new again).

Baby snowboard

3. Of all the presents she opened on Christmas, this is probably my favorite one. I think I'm more excited about it than she is! Our nine-month-old can't walk yet, but she's trying very hard to stand on her own and I think she'll have a blast being pulled around on her very own snowboard this winter! High-five to the designers at Burton for making the smallest-size gear on the planet. (In case you're wondering, that's an 80 cm Chopper.) The adorably tiny board, bindings, boots… my husband wants to hang them off his rearview mirror.

First time at the movies

4. We're not big moviegoers since we're spoiled by streaming movies in the comfort of our humble little home theater, and the last movie we saw in an actual cinema was "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" when I was pregnant. So, it was only fitting that almost exactly one year later, our next cinema splurge would be "Star Wars: Rogue One," and it would also be Gemma's first movie! We went to an evening showing and she was amazing through it — she slept through half of it, actually. And when she was awake, she was enthralled with all the pictures on the big screen (and loving the popcorn). We were a tad apprehensive about bringing a baby to the movies, but she proved herself to be the perfect movie date. If you have a calm and happy baby and have wondered whether this was possible, don't be afraid to try it! (I also recommend these earmuffs, which help protect little ears.)

Winter tomato plant

5. Remember this volunteer tomato plant that had been growing in a small pot on our patio? We decided to move it into the ground, and it's now a healthy 2-foot-tall plant with a cluster of bright yellow flowers! Winter tomatoes are kind of hit or miss in Southern California, but we're hoping this one will produce a few juicy tomatoes to tide us over until summer.

The CSA Cookbook makes a great gift for the garden lover and whole-foods cook. Buy it on Amazon or get a personally signed copy directly from my online store!

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