Happy new year to you all, friends!
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
One more
The last sunrise of 2014! (And not even my own footprints in the snow, I promise.)
Happy new year to you all, friends!
Happy new year to you all, friends!
Monday, December 30, 2013
2013 in review
Hey! I browsed through this year's photos, and then PhotoSnack made them into a little video for me!
Check it out (with optional soundtrack): 2013 in review
Cheers to 2013 - and 2014! - and thanks for stopping by Miles and Laurel this year!
Check it out (with optional soundtrack): 2013 in review
Cheers to 2013 - and 2014! - and thanks for stopping by Miles and Laurel this year!
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Christmas 2013
Here's what we were up to over Christmas!
We spent Christmas Eve at my grandma's house with most-but-not-all of my extended family. It snowed about three inches through the day, which was beautiful to look at but made for a slow drive home (thanks to Josh for getting all of us back to my parents' house safely!).
For the first time in a few years, my brother and sister and I were all at my parents' house on Christmas morning. It was a special year for that to happen, because it was their first Christmas at their new house. For a house they bought only a couple of months ago, it was amazing how comfortable and cozy and festive it felt: not strange, not even that new. It's a good place.
Wish, by the way, was loving having a bunch of family around. He has long considered my mom, sister and dad among his closest confidants, but after this holiday, we add my brother and my sister's boyfriend to that list. He also loved running around in the backyard and on quiet snowy roads.
He even has his own stocking. What's not to love?
His stocking included a cookie cutter shaped like a Keeshond (that's his primary breed, but he's definitely not purebred). I loved it!
After stockings, we went upstairs to open the gifts under the tree.
My mom and dad gave each other pans!
Josh and I borrowed my brother's rake in October and may have possibly not returned it yet. This Christmas, there was a mysteriously shaped package under the tree with our names on it.
Our own rake!
Many, many thanks to each family member (and Santa) for the sweet gifts.
We posed for a few photos...
...before heading to my aunt's house for the rest of Christmas Day. This is also her first year in a new home, and it was perfect for our group. (I was between Josh and my brother at the dinner table.)
Later, as longstanding tradition dictates, we played White Elephant, the dice game that rewards rolling doubles with prizes (and sometimes "prizes"). There were tons of dice being circulated, but my very favorite was the tiniest little dice you could ever imagine.
(My winnings were a box of tea and a box of Clif Bars!)
After the game and dessert, my aunt took us on a quick walk to see the neighborhood lake at night. It was a gorgeous evening and not too cold.
And then we went back to my parents' house, where we relaxed on the couches, visited with my parents and enjoyed our White Elephant prizes. And Wish fell asleep with the cheetah.
We missed our Colorado family, but it was a wonderful holiday in Minnesota.
We spent Christmas Eve at my grandma's house with most-but-not-all of my extended family. It snowed about three inches through the day, which was beautiful to look at but made for a slow drive home (thanks to Josh for getting all of us back to my parents' house safely!).
For the first time in a few years, my brother and sister and I were all at my parents' house on Christmas morning. It was a special year for that to happen, because it was their first Christmas at their new house. For a house they bought only a couple of months ago, it was amazing how comfortable and cozy and festive it felt: not strange, not even that new. It's a good place.
Wish, by the way, was loving having a bunch of family around. He has long considered my mom, sister and dad among his closest confidants, but after this holiday, we add my brother and my sister's boyfriend to that list. He also loved running around in the backyard and on quiet snowy roads.
He even has his own stocking. What's not to love?
His stocking included a cookie cutter shaped like a Keeshond (that's his primary breed, but he's definitely not purebred). I loved it!
After stockings, we went upstairs to open the gifts under the tree.
My mom and dad gave each other pans!
Josh and I borrowed my brother's rake in October and may have possibly not returned it yet. This Christmas, there was a mysteriously shaped package under the tree with our names on it.
Our own rake!
Many, many thanks to each family member (and Santa) for the sweet gifts.
We posed for a few photos...
...before heading to my aunt's house for the rest of Christmas Day. This is also her first year in a new home, and it was perfect for our group. (I was between Josh and my brother at the dinner table.)
Later, as longstanding tradition dictates, we played White Elephant, the dice game that rewards rolling doubles with prizes (and sometimes "prizes"). There were tons of dice being circulated, but my very favorite was the tiniest little dice you could ever imagine.
(My winnings were a box of tea and a box of Clif Bars!)
After the game and dessert, my aunt took us on a quick walk to see the neighborhood lake at night. It was a gorgeous evening and not too cold.
And then we went back to my parents' house, where we relaxed on the couches, visited with my parents and enjoyed our White Elephant prizes. And Wish fell asleep with the cheetah.
We missed our Colorado family, but it was a wonderful holiday in Minnesota.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Saturday sunrise
The best part of a morning run in the winter?
Seeing the bright sun coming up!
It felt like the sun stayed low in the sky for a large part of my run, so that early morning gold light was everywhere. I liked it a lot.
In case you were curious, I remembered that the hardest part of a morning run is when your 10-miler passes the neighborhood bakeries and you can smell all of the pastries being churned out for the day ahead. Today I even saw a car drive past me with a boy in the front seat holding a donut!
Luckily, I had potica waiting for me at home. Happy Saturday to you!
Seeing the bright sun coming up!
It felt like the sun stayed low in the sky for a large part of my run, so that early morning gold light was everywhere. I liked it a lot.
In case you were curious, I remembered that the hardest part of a morning run is when your 10-miler passes the neighborhood bakeries and you can smell all of the pastries being churned out for the day ahead. Today I even saw a car drive past me with a boy in the front seat holding a donut!
Luckily, I had potica waiting for me at home. Happy Saturday to you!
Friday, December 27, 2013
Pizza and Potica
Oh, it has been a great week.
After the Christmas festivities (more on those soon), we made plans for yesterday to be Potica Day at my parents' house. It has become a tradition in our family to make potica (basically poh-TEE-tsah), a Slovenian bread with a honey-walnut-butter filling, sometime around Christmas. My dad had to leave for a work trip, but my mom, sister, sister's boyfriend, brother, Josh and I tackled the project. My mom prepared the dough, and we took turns kneading our way through the batches.
(Wish was never too far away.)
We rolled out the dough and spread a layer of filling, which my mom had prepared in advance, then rolled it up carefully.
Then you can make a spiral with the dough, or a loaf, or a circle, or whatever. Sometimes our first initials end up on the pan. We made a lot of spirals last night. I tried a circle and it ended up looking like a smushed U. It was not my finest effort. It still tastes good, though!
The first potica day in the new house's kitchen!
As my mom was finishing the last batch of potica dough, a movement formed in the kitchen to make another batch of dough for homemade pizza. I don't know who started the idea, but it caught on quickly. Credit my brother, though, with being pizza captain last night. He took charge of the project and made it happen. We planned out two pizzas - one with pesto, shrimp, tomatoes and mozzarella and one with tomato sauce, peppers, olives, onions, spinach and more cheese.
Mom switched gears and whipped up a batch of pizza dough, and Brother and Josh prepared it for baking.
Then we all helped with the toppings. Wish is strategically under my mom and sister's hands.
The pizza was marvelous, and it was a great evening to wrap up the first Christmas at my parents' new house. Pizza and Potica is a new tradition we'll definitely revisit next year.
After the Christmas festivities (more on those soon), we made plans for yesterday to be Potica Day at my parents' house. It has become a tradition in our family to make potica (basically poh-TEE-tsah), a Slovenian bread with a honey-walnut-butter filling, sometime around Christmas. My dad had to leave for a work trip, but my mom, sister, sister's boyfriend, brother, Josh and I tackled the project. My mom prepared the dough, and we took turns kneading our way through the batches.
(Wish was never too far away.)
We rolled out the dough and spread a layer of filling, which my mom had prepared in advance, then rolled it up carefully.
Then you can make a spiral with the dough, or a loaf, or a circle, or whatever. Sometimes our first initials end up on the pan. We made a lot of spirals last night. I tried a circle and it ended up looking like a smushed U. It was not my finest effort. It still tastes good, though!
The first potica day in the new house's kitchen!
As my mom was finishing the last batch of potica dough, a movement formed in the kitchen to make another batch of dough for homemade pizza. I don't know who started the idea, but it caught on quickly. Credit my brother, though, with being pizza captain last night. He took charge of the project and made it happen. We planned out two pizzas - one with pesto, shrimp, tomatoes and mozzarella and one with tomato sauce, peppers, olives, onions, spinach and more cheese.
Mom switched gears and whipped up a batch of pizza dough, and Brother and Josh prepared it for baking.
Then we all helped with the toppings. Wish is strategically under my mom and sister's hands.
The pizza was marvelous, and it was a great evening to wrap up the first Christmas at my parents' new house. Pizza and Potica is a new tradition we'll definitely revisit next year.
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