What I Got For Christmas

I saw another blogger do this and I thought it would be fun to do a picture post of what I got for Christmas! I also like to go back and read my blog sometimes, it's like an online diary so this is good! I took pics of everything last night while my hubby was having a nap hehe.

First of all, you might have seen this already but I got a Keurig for Christmas! Also in the picture, our new cups from my brother and sister-in-law, my Christmas k-cups (spicy eggnog, gingerbread, and golden french toast-all amazing!) and the carousel to keep them in (both from my in laws!)

awesome cozy socks in my stocking!

my stocking was awesome! in the little bag was a pink razor! and I also got an Archie and Quality Street and a snowman full of hot chocolate!

 My mom got us awesome stuff for our house that we totally needed, like dishcloths and long rugs because our whole place is hardwood! She also gave us a Tassimo coffee maker lol! She wanted to surprise us! Everyone knows me so well and how much I looove my coffee!! I will have to take one back because I don't need two. :-P Also this awesome lamp and clock!

 Watch from Leigh in my Stocking from American Eagle! So cute!

 My fave jeans from American Eagle!

 Workout outfit from Leigh!

 My sister in law gave me this adorable book and my sis gave me a sister charm which you can't see on my bracelet but it's really sweet!

 My mother in law made me this super cute pillow! How cute is that!!

I forgot to take pics of some stuff because I am already using it. I got an top and cardigan thingy from my mother in law and I wore it on Christmas Day. She also gave me a jewelery box which I already put in my bedroom so I forgot to take a picture of it. I wish I had this hilarious picture from her camera because her and I gave each other the same sweater! She gave me a white one and I gave her a black one! Too funny! Oh and I got a Chapters gift card from my brother in law!

All in all it was an awesome Christmas, I got to spend so much time with family which is the best!!

What did everyone else get for Christmas?!

xoxo,
Taren

2011 Recap!

I'll be honest with you guys. 2011 was not my favourite most fun year ever. It was hard. Really hard. But now that I am at the end of it, I am realising that even though it was a struggle, I was moving forward in life and getting stronger.

Here's a little recap:

In January, I left my full time office job to pursue my personal training career. At the time I thought it wouldn't take me very long as I'd already started the process. I was very wrong. When I had previously done my research, the BCRPA had a much easier process. Now they've made you really do your work! In between each course/exam/packages I had to fill out, I had to register with the BCRPA and wait for them to send me back their acceptance of whatever I sent them. Ugh. It sucked. However, I am now very glad for this process because it is the highest standard in Canada for Personal Training and that's something to be proud of. 

2010 was my wedding year and also my brother's so it was a big year in my family. This year was all about my little sis Jenn and her fiance/now husband Andrei! We had quite a few wedding events that were a lot of fun!

In February she had an engagement party at our apartment building:

I'm sad to say that most of this year was focused on career and so Leigh and I didn't get a chance to do any little Summer trips or anything, which is why we have big plans for 2012!

In August, we did celebrate our 1st Wedding Anniversary! Read my anniversary post here!

He surprised me at work with a Pandora Bracelet and Mother of Pearl Heart Charm, which was perfect because he gave me a Mother of Pearl Tiffany necklace for our wedding! 

We also had a little mini photoshoot with my fave photographer ever, Carol-Ann!

Click here to see my post with more pictures!

In September, we had Jenn's Saved By The Bell themed Stagette! Sooo much fun! I was so stressed because I'd ordered her outfit online and it didn't come until like the day before!!

In September I also celebrated having my blog for a whole year!! yay me!

October is always a crazy month in my family. Three birthdays + Halloween! This one was even crazier because of Jenn's adorable purple themed shower hosted by her co-worker Chris!

Click here to see my post on Jenn's Shower!

Leigh and I also had our long awaited Pumpkin Patch Date! I don't know if I told you guys but I actually worked there a bit too! I've known the owner forever through my dad's company so I called her up and asked if she needed an extra hand. That place is crazy popular and it was so much fun working there! 

I also had a low-key birthday gathering to celebrate turning 27!

November was Wedding Month! We went to Cabo in early November:  Click here, here, and here for some recaps!

On November 11, 2011 (11-11-11!) Jenn and Andrei got married!! 

They had a reception on November 26, it was so beautiful!!

That about brings us to the Christmas season, which I will have already posted about by the time you read this!

Happy New Year to every one of you! I know 2012 is going to be an amazing year and I have some fun plans I am very excited about! Thanks for reading!

xoxo,

Taren

2011 Recap!

I'll be honest with you guys. 2011 was not my favourite most fun year ever. It was hard. Really hard. But now that I am at the end of it, I am realising that even though it was a struggle, I was moving forward in life and getting stronger.

Here's a little recap:

In January, I left my full time office job to pursue my personal training career. At the time I thought it wouldn't take me very long as I'd already started the process. I was very wrong. When I had previously done my research, the BCRPA had a much easier process. Now they've made you really do your work! In between each course/exam/packages I had to fill out, I had to register with the BCRPA and wait for them to send me back their acceptance of whatever I sent them. Ugh. It sucked. However, I am now very glad for this process because it is the highest standard in Canada for Personal Training and that's something to be proud of. 

2010 was my wedding year and also my brother's so it was a big year in my family. This year was all about my little sis Jenn and her fiance/now husband Andrei! We had quite a few wedding events that were a lot of fun!

In February she had an engagement party at our apartment building:

I'm sad to say that most of this year was focused on career and so Leigh and I didn't get a chance to do any little Summer trips or anything, which is why we have big plans for 2012!

In August, we did celebrate our 1st Wedding Anniversary! Read my anniversary post here!

He surprised me at work with a Pandora Bracelet and Mother of Pearl Heart Charm, which was perfect because he gave me a Mother of Pearl Tiffany necklace for our wedding! 

We also had a little mini photoshoot with my fave photographer ever, Carol-Ann!

Click here to see my post with more pictures!

In September, we had Jenn's Saved By The Bell themed Stagette! Sooo much fun! I was so stressed because I'd ordered her outfit online and it didn't come until like the day before!!

In September I also celebrated having my blog for a whole year!! yay me!

October is always a crazy month in my family. Three birthdays + Halloween! This one was even crazier because of Jenn's adorable purple themed shower hosted by her co-worker Chris!

Click here to see my post on Jenn's Shower!

Leigh and I also had our long awaited Pumpkin Patch Date! I don't know if I told you guys but I actually worked there a bit too! I've known the owner forever through my dad's company so I called her up and asked if she needed an extra hand. That place is crazy popular and it was so much fun working there! 

I also had a low-key birthday gathering to celebrate turning 27!

November was Wedding Month! We went to Cabo in early November:  Click here, here, and here for some recaps!

On November 11, 2011 (11-11-11!) Jenn and Andrei got married!! 

They had a reception on November 26, it was so beautiful!!

That about brings us to the Christmas season, which I will have already posted about by the time you read this!

Happy New Year to every one of you! I know 2012 is going to be an amazing year and I have some fun plans I am very excited about! Thanks for reading!

xoxo,

Taren

Christmas Magic!

Just a quick pic post! Merry Christmas to all my favorite readers and bloggers!

Pizza Dip

A few weeks ago we had a Christmas party at our place, so here's some pics courtesy of my friend Nicky!

Don't worry, I know what you really clicked on this post for. You want the pizza dip. It's okay, I understand. Here's the info.

My mother in law gave me this recipe from a Family Circle magazine after she made it as an appetizer for our Thanksgiving Dinner. I made it for some friends at our Christmas party and it was a hit!

                                                                  Pizza Dip

Ingredients:

• 8 oz softened light cream cheese
• 3/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 8 oz sliced pepperoni, chopped
• 2 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped
• 10 large, pitted black olives, chopped (optional, I didn't use them!)
• 4 crusty Italian rolls, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, mayo, cheese, pepperoni, tomatoes and olives. Spoon into a 6 cup baking dish.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes until lightly browned and bubbly.

4. Allow to cool slightly and serve with bread pieces for dipping.

Enjoy the cheesey goodness!!

xoxo,

Taren

Yet Another Reason Why My Husband is Awesome

Last night I was at work when my husband showed up. He kinda poked his head in the door with this mischievous look on his face and I was wondering what he was up to and he produced this:

What is this? It is a Christmas decoration that my family has had since I was about 4 years old. About 4 or 5 years ago, it got broken in a move and the sleigh and wood the reindeer stood on went missing. I had the pieces all this time and I recently took them over to my in laws to see if my mother in law had any ideas on how I could repair it as she is quite crafty. With his parent's help, Leigh restored it to it's former glory and almost made me cry. Now it gets to go back to it's rightful place in front of the fireplace. Thank you Leigh! <3

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

For the past 6 years, I have baked a ton of cookies and headed over to my bestie J's house for her annual cookie exchange. Last year was Jam Thumbprints. This year I wanted to make something extra special. I found the perfect thing on Pinterest: Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies. Seriously.

 

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Found on Pinterest: Scrambled Henfruit 

Ingredients

• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 box (7.4 oz) Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink mix -not sugar free- all 10 packets (I found this in my grocery store near the hot chocolate mixes.)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 bag Kraft Caramels (14 oz)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Line cookie sheets with parchment. (You really need the parchment!)
• In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
• With your mixer (or an energetic spoon) cream together butter, sugar, salt and all 10 packages of apple cider drink mix powder, until light and fluffy.
• Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix well.
• Gradually add flour mixture to butter/egg mixture. Mix until just combined.
• Refrigerate for about an hour. (If you're really impatient you don't have to do this, but it makes it so much easier to work with.)
• When you are ready to bake, unwrap your caramels. 
• Scoop out cookie dough ball about the size of a walnut. (I used a rounded cookie scoop-full. My scoop holds about a Tablespoon.)
• Flatten the ball of dough slightly in the palm of your hand. Press the unwrapped caramel into the center of your dough and seal the dough around it, covering it completely. Place on parchment covered cookie sheets 2 inches apart.
• Bake 12-14 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges. Please don't over-bake! Once the cookies are done, slide the parchment off of the baking sheet right out onto the counter. Allow cookies to partially cool on the parchment. When cookies are cool enough to be firm but still slightly warm, carefully twist off of parchment and allow to finish cooling upside down (either on the parchment or on a rack.) If you forget about them and they cool too much and stick to your parchment, put them into the freezer for a few minutes and they'll pop right off.
• Yield: about 4 dozen, depending on how large you make your cookies (or how many caramels have been snitched out of your bag before you begin.) Store in an airtight container.

Christmas Lights

Last night I was reading the newspaper (mostly the flyers, I love flyers!) and I came across a list of the best houses in our area. I showed it to Leigh and he was like "Let's go!"

Sidebar: The other day this convo happened I need to share:

Me: Leigh, I can't wait till we have our own house so we can put tons of lights up and be one of the houses in the paper!

Leigh: Great. You know it's going to be me out there on the ladder freezing my ass off while your looking out the window drinking hot chocolate being all "Christmas is magical!!"

LOL so true!

Anyways, we listened to Christmas music and I took pics of the amazing houses.