Christmas Eve & Christmas day 2014

Hey everyone! It's Sunday, but doesn't really feel like Sunday because we've already had so many days hanging out as a family! 

I want to say I truly hope everyone had a totally amazing Christmas!! Ours was pure joy and such a relaxing day, after a kinda exhausting Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve started with a trip to Target to pick up some last minute items (both gifts and grocery items). We got home, baked the Happy Birhday Jesus cake, did some food prep, wrapped some last minute gifts, got the hostess gifts together for the two parties that night, and set out for a 6 mile run. We got 1.5 miles into the run and my body was basically screaming at me. I tapped Angelo on the shoulder and put up 4 fingers, indicating I was only going to do 4 miles. He smiled, then got a serious face and agreed. I think it was all the good but not good for you food we've been eating the past week. That four mile run was the death of me. It's not that I was huffing and puffing, but my body felt like 900 pounds! No Bueno

After that dreadful run, we all got ready (which is like a marathon in itself) for 4pm Christmas Eve service. The service was wonderful and reminded us that Christmas never really ends. We celebrate the gift of Jesus on Christmas and we should always be celebrating that, right?! 

After service we went to one of our long time friends house (who used to always throw the parties in high school). Well the times have   changed over the years & the  party consisted of painting bird houses with the kids and a surprise visit from Santa! It's all about the kids these days.

Around 9pm, we hurried to the last party of the night. My husband is Italian/Venezuelan and his family tradition is to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve night and do a big toast at midnight and pass out gifts. It was 11:45pm and Nelpe just about had it with life at that point. She was a hot mess and everyone kept yelling at us to stay another 15 minutes. At 11:53 I gulped down my champagne and called it a night, I heard much talk of me having bad luck since I drank my champagne 7 minutes before midnight. I don't believe in luck, but I might as well knock on some wood...you know...just in case. 

At midnight Angelo and Sophia made it out the house and we were finally on our way home. Both girls were sound asleep by the time we got home, so both were changed into their pajamas and put to bed. Angelo & I put together "santas toys" as fast as possible and called it a night without finishing putting the wheels on the Radio Flyer wagon.

All that hoopla was just Christmas Eve. 

Christmas was a lot more relaxed.

We woke up around 9 am (woohoo, slept in!), with Sophia so eager to see what Santa brought her! This was the first year she's actually put any energy into the whole Santa thing so it was really cool and exciting for me too. I mean seriously, it was pure happiness and nothing else can beat the excitement a kid has on Christmas morning. 

We opened up all the wonderful gifts Santa brought, cooked a breakfast full of bacon, and just relaxed in the messiness of Christmas morning for a bit. It was nice. Real nice. 

We then took showers and headed over to my parents to spend the rest of the day with my mom, dad, sister (visiting from Seattle!!), brother, Katie, Katie's mom and of course Kennedy! 

The day consisted of mimosas, wine, food, cake, new toys, the 654th showing of Frozen and the Cleveland/Miami basketball game.

My girls <3

My sister is a vegan, and so our meal consisted of lots of different vegan friendly sides including a totally delicious Kale Cesar salad that was my favorite! 

We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and ate cake cake cake!

I know that all might sound like it was just a cluster but it was actually less frantic than Christmas's in the past. It was a good couple of days! 

Xoxo

The weekend before Christmas

Hey world!! I know it's been a few days since my last post but things are serious over here! Like seriously  busy! 

I know it's probably like this for everyone (tis the season), but I have barely sat down at my computer since Thursday, and when I did yesterday for 2 hours, I tried with all my might to get some work done without going crazy over the 2 kids jumping on me asking for stuff every 7 seconds. Nearly impossible! But that's life and yeah...it just keeps going. 

Anyways, 
This past weekend was actually productive for me. Well Friday was. I dropped Sophia off at school and headed straight to the mall to get my Christmas shopping done. With almost no one there and a front row parking space, I got everyone finished except two people, who I'm going to finish today! Say a little prayer that actually happens.

Saturday was full of loads of laundry (the never ending job) and then FUN! We had a Parent's Night Out and went to dinner for Luisa's birthday. We went to Tryst Gastro Lounge in St. Petersburg. It was a real neat place and the food was outstanding! 

Since Luisa is CakePopsByLu and usually does all the cakepops for everyone's birthday, I knew I had to get her a special cake. Do you know where you go to get SPECIAL CAKES? Sweeties Delights Bakery in Valrico. No lie...the bomb.com and then some. No one beats their WippyDip frosting. Don't even try because you will fail miserably :) 

Awwwww... :) 

Sunday, we went to a wedding, which had amazing food from Italian Kitchen! It was a cute intimate wedding, like 25 people, but was special none-the-less. I didn't get any pictures because Nelpe destroyed my phone screen on Saturday and I left my phone in my purse to ensure no glass splinters. I was trying to use my husband's phone to take pictures, but he was being so sneaky and wouldn't let me near his phone. After a couple hours, he goes outside and comes back with a new iPhone 6Plus for me!! SURPRISE! New Phone!! And it's BIIIGGG! I love it, even though it is taking some getting used to with that big ol' screen. My thumb is getting some serious stretch work in while I text. 

Yesterday was Luisa's actual birthday and I took the office some lunch and we had cake, sang, sat and talked and didn't get any work done  had some fun until it was time to head home and try to actually get work done. That was a FAIL, but I did get my desk somewhat organized, so I guess not an entire FAIL. I'll take what I can get...

This morning I am about to wake the girls up, get them pretty, and head over to the mall to get Santa pics. Last minute, I know, but Sophia's been in school and going to see Santa after school just never sounded like a good idea. 

If I don't get back to you before Christmas, I hope everyone has a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Spend time with the ones you love, or some really cool friends!!!

XOXO

Christmas Tree Disaster & A new chicken recipe

It's Friday y'all!!! And oh how glad I am it is!! While this week was filled with many many blessings, it wasn't ALL blessings. 

For one, my Christmas tree is a complete disaster! You see, we have two fake Christmas trees in storage at our work office. For some reason, unknown to this universe, Angelo wanted to get a real one this year. (After spending $100s on the 2 fake ones last year...). So, he picked up a real tree on Monday and brought it home. We were told to let it "drop" before decorating it and still today, four days later, it's still shaped like it is wrapped up in twine, and it's crooked. And it sheds like CRAZY and it's driving me CRAZY!

This morning I  thought maybe if I decorate this ugly thing it'll look better. So I go to Target to get lights. Have you ever bought Christmas lights? These things aren't cheap. Add that amount to the $$$ already spent on this tree. Then, to pour sugar on top, I get home and one of the boxes of white lights was actually stuffed with colorful lights. So the tree is crooked, half lit, with tree needles shedding all over the floor. I mean seriously, I can't catch a break with this damn tree. At this point I'm entirely fed up with it that I want to throw it out the window!! I texted Angelo (after vacuuming for the 5th time today) and told him to bring home my wonderful angel-sent fake Christmas trees.PRONTO!

You know...none of this would of happened if we would of just put up our fake pre-lit trees in the first place. 

Anyways....I promised to post two different recipes this week and that hasn't happened...until now! 

This was dinner on Monday night. For the girls, I took some chicken and broccoli out of the skillet before pouring on the sauce since it was spicy. Angelo loved it and ate it all up!

Sweet & Spicy Chicken and Broccoli

What you’ll need:

2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 bag of broccoli florets
2 tbsp. EVOO
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. Sriracha hot sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup soy sauce (low sodium)
2 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. brown sugar
4 tbsp. flour

What you do:

In a small bowl mix together the sesame oil, hot sauce, garlic, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, and flour.
Prepare ice bath for broccoli. (This will be used to “blanch” the broccoli after boiling it)
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add broccoli. Let boil for about 4 minutes and then immediately transfer to ice bath to stop cooking. Set aside.
Heat the EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook completely.
Add broccoli to chicken skillet and reduce heat to medium.
Add sauce to skillet.
Stir to coat all chicken and broccoli. Keep cooking for about 5 minutes or until sauce thickens.
Serve over quinoa or rice.
ENJOY!

XOXO

Al2GetherFit's Christmas Gift Guide...HoHoHo

This time of year every website, magazine, and TV show is all about gift guides! When I watch the Today Show or GMA do their gift guides, sometimes I say, "Who would buy that?!" While some things are pretty awesome and so practical, others are NOT! I'm talking about that $150 set of hand lotions or $75 pair of socks. What!? Sorry folks on my shopping list...you're not getting lotion that costs the same as my car insurance. 

To join the fun and hopefully make someone's life a little easier, I put together a list of gifts I think any lady or guy would like! If you're not done with your Christmas shopping yet (like me) I hope this puts some ideas in your head!

The Glamorous one:

Sephora gift sets – It’s that time of year that Sephora has the best gift sets available! If you know what her favorite make up item or toiletry is, get her a Sephora sample gift set of it! They have sets of lip gloss, nail polish, perfume, eye shadows, etc.

Pictured is the Tarte Kiss & Belle Lipsurgence Lip Set but there are TONS to choose from.

The one who loves the kitchen:
How adorable are these ceramic baskets from Birch Lane?! Adorbs for any kitchen!

The "Let me drink my coffee first" One

Pajama Set – You know those things you really like but hate to spend your own money on? Pajamas are one of those things for me.  Check out this perfect Vintage Pajama Set from J.Crew for the lady who loves to lounge around with a cup of coffee/tea in hand on the weekends!

The Face Mug to hold coffee & cookie/muffin/biscotti or whatever it is you take with your coffee.

The Wino:

What goes better with wine than cheese? Not much! Display cheese and crackers on this Vermont made cheese board from UncommonGoods

Know a wino who likes to take things outdoors to the beach, park, or pool?  Don't let them break any more wineglasses by the pool and get them these WineMeUp Silicone Wine Glasses to add to their beachbags or take out with them to the firepit!

For the Man who has everything:

Cologne – A guy who smells nice can do no wrong. There are two colognes that have been a top favorite of mine for a-long time, like since middle school! Giorgio Armani Acqua De Dio and Kenneth Cole Reaction will never get old to me. Spray and keep spraying that good stuff boy! If you don’t want to kick it old school, Chanel Bleu and Yves Saint Laurent L’Homme Libre (the blue one) are good choices for this decade.

Dillards

The one all about Technology:

Smart Watch – Too bad the Apple Watch doesn't come out until 2015! There are a lot of different smart watches on the market, each that synch up to different phones. Have an iPhone, get the Pebble! Have a Samsung, get the Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch!

  

Beats by Dre - Think luxury sports car of headphones. 

Go Pro Hero4 Silver – For the adventurer! This is the newest GoPro on the market and it features a touch screen! 

FitBit - The Fitbit has come a long way and is probably one of the must-haves for 2014. Get it for the health freak or person who wants to get fit in 2015!

XOXO

Weekend Recap: First Official Christmas Event of 2014

Monday has come!! I'm saying that with a smile. :) After a fun weekend of events, this Monday came with a welcoming hug, blanket, cup of coffee, and no alarm clock.  It's officially Thanksgiving Break over here for Sophia so the usual morning hustle and bustle was exchanged for a nice hour of silence while the girls slept in. 

This weekend, as most weekends, was spent with family and friends and included the first Christmas event of 2014!

Friday night we bribed my family with pizza to come over and help Angelo hang new blinds and install a new light in our bathroom. The pizza worked and all those to-dos were marked off our list.

Saturday we went to the Hyde Park Village Tree Lighting. The kids had a blast dancing to music, meeting Santa (only Sophia enjoyed that), and just running around being kids while us parents chased them around while also trying to enjoy a cold craft beer. Insert grandparents and things became a lot easier for us while we waited an hour for the tree lighting. The waiting isn't so bad when you have grandparents, kettle corn, and mini donuts that melt in your mouth. 

(It's really hard to get 4 kids to pose in a picture together.)

Sunday morning we woke up early to head to Orlando to celebrate our nephew's 2nd birthday! 

 CakePops By Lu always steals the show with her Cakepop and Oreo creations!

They hired a balloon artist who was also a hit! This guy was seriously talented. 

We got home last night around 7 p.m., took showers, sat on the couch, and watched the AMAs. 

Did you watch them? They were entertaining.

Hope you're weekend was a good one!

XOXO