Snowshoeing up Tibble Fork

 While the east coast has been mercilessly dumped on with snow, 

we here in the west have had such a warm winter. I'm talking 50's and 60's!

When I went snowshoeing with a friend a few weeks back 

we weren't sure my favorite spot would have snow.

Luckily it was high enough in the mountains that it had snow 

and were able to snowshoe. 

Snowshoeing is my jam. I'm terribly

afraid of heights and fast speed, so skiing just makes me

want to curl in the fetal position and cry...

perhaps someday I'll tackle that fear but for now snowshoeing it is.

 ^^The most beautiful sunset greeted us on our way back to our cars.

My Winter Essentials

Growing up in a mountainous region really makes you keenly aware
of what your winter essentials are to survive the long months ahead.
I think everyone knows what they can
do without and what are the must-haves.  These are just a few
of the items that every year I realize I can't do without:

1. A good pair of gloves, I especially love the ones that can be a mitten

and then folded back to use your fingers like this pair from J.Crew.

2. A pufffer coat, this is not a luxury in my book, but more of an essential. It gets frigid

here and the last thing you need is to feel all that cold air permeating your body. There are puffers that

are expensive, but you can still find good quality for much less like this Gap one.

3. A good moisturizer. It is so dry here that without constantly lathering up my hands

they can easily crack or without a good chapstick my lips get chapped as well. So I take all

precautions and buy a good lotion like Eucerin and make sure my hands and body are lathered up.

4. Snow boots.  I didn't used to own a pair, until recently and wow what a difference! My leather boots 

would get ruined every year without fail. Now when the snow falls, I have waterproof, shearling lined

boots to walk around in and my leather boots are thankful to take the back seat!

Good Reads

Winter is definitely the time I read more than the summer when I try to 

spend most of my free time enjoying the sunshine.  I've compiled a list of

some books I've read lately that I liked enough to reccommend.

 

The Glass Castle: Such a compelling book that had me laughing, crying and cringing and baffled all within a chapter. It's a memoir of author Jeannette Walls and recounts her dysfunctional childhood with mentally unstable parents, moving around like vagabonds, and living in poverty.  It's a touching book that gives you a glimpse into what an unstable childhood must feel like.

The Paris Wife: I didn't know much about Ernest Hemingway when I picked up this book. The book is a novel about Ernest's first wife Hadley and her marriage to Hemingway.  The book made me feel like a fly on the wall of a married couple's marriage, which at times was uncomfortable but so interesting in that it describes her love for him, her insecurities in their marriage because of his infidelities and his passion for writing. A good read, but when I put it down I couldn't stop thinking about how it ended.

To Heaven and Back: A memoir of a doctor and her experience with dying while on a river in Chile. She recounts her recollection of going to heaven and coming back and how it completely changes her perspective on every day life. It was inspiring to read and makes you think about how each day we live is precious.

Unbroken: Before the movie came out I read the book. There are no words to describe what Louis Zamperinni, an Olympian and POW survivor went through in his life and actually survived. The book is so well written and detailed that it makes you feel like you are living it yourself.  There were times that I felt physically exhausted reading it and had to put it down for a minute before continuing on.  I absolutely loved this book. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend you start reading it asap.

Wild: Author Cheryl Strayed recounts her experience leaving her entire life behind and going solo on a journey to find herself on the Pacific Crest Trail. At times I'm not sure if I admire her for being brave to do this journey alone or plain stupid.  Either way it is respectful that she decided to make the journey on her own and have that sacred experience alone and getting to know herself better.

I'm always up for a good book recommendation and would love to hear about them!

As of late..

The last couple months seem like a blur. Has anyone ever had the experience

where you drive somewhere like work, the grocery store or wherever else and 

your mind was so preoccupied that you literally don't know how you got from point

a to point b? That's what November and December were like for me, especially December and here's why...

I was offered a new job and needed to make a decision between two offers, my good friend

got married, I helped organize a charity event for children with cancer, holiday parties, 

Christmas shopping, baking, family traditions, friend traditions and 

by the end of it I was exhausted. I'm not complaining because they were all 

good things to be spending my time with, I just can't believe it's a new year.

As mentioned previously I've started a new job with a different company.  This week I've 

been training and am excited to start off the year with new possibilities and opportunities

not only with a job but making new goals for myself.

I plan on getting back to posting more often, but right now I'm just

trying to catch my breath from all the madness.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

 ^^Impromptu family photos.

^^Good friends at the wedding.

^^Top photo: Friends that helped volunteer at the charity event

Bottom photo: The venue

 ^^Temple Square

^^Birthday celebrating with the most beautiful cake my brother made.

 ^^Baked so many cookies

^^Gave away cookie jars to friends filled with goodies

 My sweet mom knit us all beenies and scarves, shes' amazing

^^NYE

I blinked and it's now the middle of December...

Is anyone else baffled by the fact that Christmas is next week?

This month has flown by, I know it's not entirely over yet, but 

I really can't believe Christmas is next week!

I don't know if it's the fact that Utah hardly feels like Christmas because

it's been in the high 50's and 60's, a record that hasn't been seen in 75 years. 

So it just hasn't felt like the Holidays. This week I'm determined to get in the spirit of 

it all. Going to tackle my Christmas list, put on some Christmas music, movies

and just soak it all up before I blink again and am waking up to 2015!

Hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful time of year

and focusing on the true meaning of Christmas which is our Savior.

My Stuffing Recipe

As mentioned previously, every year I'm in charge of making stuffing for our

family Thanksgiving feast. I've tweaked it over the years and feel like I've now got it

down to an almost perfect dish. I love this recipe because it has all of my favorite components:

sweet, salty, crunchy and most importantly, it's a comfort food.  Below is the recipe, enjoy!

Sausage Apple Cranberry Stuffing:

Serves 8-10 people

16 cups 1-inch bread cubes, white or sourdough (1 1/2 pound loaf)*
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups medium-diced yellow onion (2 onions)
1 cup medium-diced celery (2 stalks)
2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored and large-diced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound sweet or spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Place the bread cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake for 7 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Remove the bread cubes to a very large bowl.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, melt the butter and add the onions, celery, apples, salt and pepper. Saute over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Add to the bread cubes.

In the same saute pan, cook the sausage over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through, breaking up the sausage with a fork while cooking. Add to the bread cubes and vegetables.

Add the chicken stock, walnuts  and cranberries to the mixture, mix well, and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes, until browned on top and hot in the middle. Serve warm.

*When I am short on time I substitute cubing and toasting my own bread with Mrs. Cubbison's Stuffing, I only use the dried bread and follow my own recipe.

Thanksgiving Tablescape Ideas

 Every year at Thanksgiving I have two assignments, make stuffing {I'll post that recipe soon}, 

and setting the table. I love doing both of these things so it doesn't feel torturous to me.

I am no Martha Stewart nor do I aspire to be so, but it's fun to get creative with 

setting the table each year and making it a special and enjoyable atmosphere for everyone. 

This year I've been wanting to do something different, so of course I turned to Pinterest which always

has loads of ideas. Here are some I've been liking. We'll see what I actually end up doing.

All images via Pinterest