have yourself a merry little christmas

Merry Christmas to you and yours 

christmas time is here...

Not to be a copycat or anything, but I love how my cousin of The Howard Bunch always shares her Christmas card on her blog...so here's mine.  (and can I just say how much I LOVE all things Tiny Prints?! Seriously the best thing ever!  They make me want to send personalized cards for every. single. holiday.  Real or imagined.  I may require a second job to justify the added expense, but it would be so worth it!)

*photos from Maui and NYC, 2013

trouble with a capital 't'

I'm sure you're wondering what could possibly be the cause of trouble at this time of year.  The answer, my friends, is simple: holiday baking.  Tis the season to make all kinds of grand and gloriously delectable goodies, and I suddenly have cravings to make one of everything!  Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but I love the smell of something yummy baking in the oven, and, of course, the added bonus of having said yumminess available for emergency snacking or just because.  This year (in addition to our traditional 7-layer cookies and Christmas morning coffee cake) I want to make a cinnamon roll cake and re-visit a personal fav, cranberry/orange/cornmeal cake.  (The latter is NOT for the faint of heart.  It makes a million and one muffins or a seriously huge cake.)  That's a lot of goodies to have around the house and doesn't exactly aid ones goal of not gaining weight this holiday season.  What to do?!!!!  

(knowing myself as well as I do, I predict I'll do the baking anyway and then find a few unsuspecting passersby (aka friends) to share with.  When the mood strikes, act, right?!  And just think about how happy my taste buds will be.)