chocolate gingerbread men with a bourbon + vanilla bean glaze

the mister and i aren't people of the traditional variety.

we got married our way, planning every step of the day and ceremony to reflect what we like and who we are, dropping some of (what we considered) the silly traditions, left and right. our house looks nothing like any of our friends houses since i frequent yard sales and thrift stores as well as anthropologie and west elm to decorate our abode.we don't decorate the house in red and green and santa figurines for the holidays, opting instead for homemade yarn pom poms, paper wreaths and funky colored gift wrap for the gifts. we adopted a 5 year old medium-sized black bear, ahem, half chow/half flat coated retriever dog from the local animal shelter (no pure bred $500 dogs for this fam!) and we are waiting (not.so.patiently.) to adopt a baby. that last one threw us for a bit of a loop but we have come to accept and embrace the fact that that is just part of our (non traditional) path.

creamy spiced oatmeal, in no time

i know that mornings can be hectic- trying to get yourself, your children and your partner out the door so that everyone can make it to school or work can seem nearly impossible. a sit down breakfast tends to fall by the wayside- enter pop tarts or frozen breakfast burritos or breakfast sandwiches, full of preservatives and sodium. the sodium!

put that pop tart down and step away!

gathering inspiration

as someone that loves to cook i am always gathering inspiration for new meals and treats. i have lots of food magazines and cookbooks stacked around the house that i am constantly looking at for dinner ideas. i even spent my vacation sticking tabs on those books and magazines marking all the recipes i want to try at some point. it was a 3 day activity.

no joke.