toes in the sand + gingerbread bandit
Hellooooooo. 🙂 Happy Monday! Hope you’re checking in after a wonderful and relaxing weekend.
Last night, we decided to hang out by the water and get our toes in the sand.
Way to show off there, San Diego sunset. You’re looking pretty gorgeous.
I used to think that nothing could beat an Arizona sunset, but when you have still water and palm tree silhouettes, it gets pretty close. 😉
I had P in the wrap,
Livi alternated between walking in the water with us and playing at the play structure close by,
and the Pilot wrangled this one.
We brought Bell along to get some fresh air, and I’m always surprised at how her “puppy” comes out when we’re at the beach or park. She’s always playful and spry, but she goes crazy whenever she has the chance to run freely, kick up some sand, and sprint with other dogs. I can’t believe she’ll be 10 YEARS OLD next week. Please tell me stories of little dogs that live to be at least 20 years old.
(We usually bring Caro along to the park, but she’s petrified of beach sand, so she stayed home for this one.)
The rest of the weekend was very relaxing. We watched Christmas movies, took Livi to her ballet class, I had my weekend nap (YASSSSS), went out to eat, enjoyed a glass of wine after the kiddos were in bed,
and got some chores done. I went for a couple of walks this weekend, which was particularly awesome because the weather has been insane.
Saturday, I walked around Liberty Station with P for about 45 minutes while the Pilot and Liv were at the gym. On Sunday, I usually have high hopes of the Farmer’s Market, but we haven’t quite made it that far. Instead, we walk down to the co-op, where I’m likely known by employees as the girl who regularly raids their vegan cookie stash. Thank you, People’s, for existing.
I also picked up a Thai coconut, berries, a butternut squash, Sunshine burgers, waffles and some butterscotch pudding.
(The bonus about walking is that it hinders impulse buys, since I have to carry home whatever we purchase haha.)
We also made a gingerbread house! Before you’re impressed with our skills, please know that Joe the Trader did about 90% of the work..
Are you supposed to eat these things immediately? Livi was ready to dive in, but since it was 9pm and allthesugar was not a good idea, we let her have some candies and gummies before calling it a night.
Quote of the evening:
“You can have some of the candies, but I think it’s for decoration for a while so we can enjoy it!”
“But looking at it just makes me hungry.”
Aka how I feel every time I’m on Pinterest.
I’m sure that by Friday it will no longer resemble a house. 😉
Hope you have a wonderful morning! What was your favorite part of the weekend? Are you holiday baking this year? Please shout out your favorite recipes in the comments section. I’m off to make some gingerbread amazeballs.
See ya later today, and don’t forget that we have some awesome giveaways coming this week aaaaaand next week!
xoxo
Gina
Something to do: this HIIT workout! It’s one of my all-time favorites. It’s only 20 minutes, and you will be DRENCHED in sweat.
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Now that’s a sight for sore eyes sunset! I just made some paleo gingerbread cookies yesterday and they’re almost gone!
recipe/??
Best recipe of your life, I promise! http://skinnyfitalicious.com/paleo-salted-gingerbread-cookies/
i’m on it!
Pretty sunset!
Love your gingerbread house—it’s nice to be able to have it on display for at least a few hours before diving in 😉 Haven’t made one of those in forever!
I’m doing a holiday bake exchange with some friends next week. It’s going to be fun to share all of our favorite types of cookies with each other 🙂
i hadn’t made one in forever, either! liv had a blast 🙂
love cookie exchanges! such a fun idea
We made the same gingerbread house and definitely do not eat it! There is raw egg in the frosting and the frosting dries like a rock – you couldn’t bite into it without losing a tooth. Ours have been up for a week – they are solid and aren’t going anywhere!
haha i’m so glad you told us!
My weekend started at work this time with a gingerbread building contest so I would say it went wonderfully! My boyfriend came to visit and we got coffee, went out for sushi, watched Christmas movies and went to a Christmas lighting, it was such a fun and festive time!
My little shih-tzu Napoleon is going to be 11 in March and I tell him all of the time that he better live to twenty, minimum. My mom has a small dog that is 19 and still going strong, so I think they have a fighting chance 🙂
when i pet bella, i tell her to “never die” haha
so wonderful to hear your mom’s dog is 19!!
I totally understand, Livi, I’m getting hungry just looking at the photo of the gingerbread house 😉 Looks like you had a great weekend!
My weekend involved a surprise visit from my parents, me crying because I was so happy about said visit, and lots of wine and board games 😀
i would have cried, too! what an awesome surprise. happy you had such a great weekend!
That’s a great gingerbread house! As far as cooking/baking — I’m getting together with some girlfriends to make truffles this weekend, and it will be my first time doing it. Can’t wait! Happy Monday to you and your fam! 🙂
What an adorable gingerbread house. My gingerbread houses as a kid were such hot messes with frosting everywhere and “missing” candies.
Living in California, you might find this funny…A friend from the bay area had a gingerbread house contest and the winner was one that had a broken in roof with a sign that said “2.8 Million- As Is” Haha! Gotta love CA real estate prices.
hahah it’s so true! when we were first house hunting here, it was like “here is a shack. for 2 million dollars.”
Isn’t People’s the best? Also.. gotta love the SD sunsets. I take a moment to breathe them in each evening.. and realize how lucky I am to live here!
THE BEST 🙂
No holiday baking until close to Christmas now that our work schedules are nuts til the holiday. We did have a wonderful weekend though- played Nintendo, went to several open houses (trying to buy a house in Boston is no joke, this is like our full time job), decorated our tree, and the weather was even warm here so we ate lobster rolls outside by the shore. 🙂
oh i’ve heard the market there is CRAZY. lobster rolls by the shore sounds like perfection
That sunset is seriously beautiful!
Gingerbread house creations = excuse to eat frosting? I think so! Beautiful photos!
Oh I would love a view like that! Looks like a wonderful weekend!
Don’t blame Liv one bit – that gingerbread house does look yummy!
What a gorgeous sunset!!! We lived in La Jolla this summer working at a summer camp and I miss the cliff walks so much! Hard to beat 🙂
Okay, not sure you’ve seen this video but it reminds me of something you’d post on favorite Friday’s. It reminded me of the family Adele video, but there’s something about the fact that a family is singing, “now Whatchya me whip, watch me nae nae” that’s pretttttty hilarious. http://youtu.be/YzDxt6axexs
Recipe:
I love new ways to eat lots of veggies, so I created a coconut curry kale recipe that my hubby LOVES.
Sautee onion and 2 cloves garlic until translucent on medium. Add 1 big bunch of kale (or half a bag from TJ’s) to be pan. Wait 3-5 minutes until Kale shrinks, then add a can of coconut milk and green curry paste (I used that thai kitchen one). Season generously with sea salt and pepper.
Reduce heat to simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
I love to pair this with turkey jalapeño burgers (the Pilots recipe actually) and or some other protein. I will caution you, you can almost eat it all yourself, it’s that good! Let me know if you give it a try!
Best thing that happened this weekend, we launched our fitness brand online yesterday! It’s been 18 months in the making and after a longgggggggg web development process, it’s finally here. Website is http://www.retifit.com if you’re curious 🙂
Have a wonderful week Gina!
A
that sounds amazing. i will definitely try it! congrats to you on your fitness brand! going to check it out now 🙂
My cousin’s dachshund lived to be 21! They lived in San Diego, so maybe there’s something in the air that keeps dogs young and spry!
YES. this makes me so happy
How fun!! I love decorating gingerbread houses.
A friend of mine has a corgi-border collie cross (a not-so-little dog). Buddy Freckles has a few health issues, but at the ripe old age of 17, he’s still hanging in there, though he goes for walks in a stroller now. He patrols for moles at the nature centre in Tennessee where my friend works.
Wow those sunset pictures are gorgeous! It looks like a professional took that silhouette picture of you, Liv, and baby P. I’m so glad you had a fun weekend- I couldn’t help but feel the warmth and happiness that it brought you. After so much stress with keeping P healthy, you more than deserved it!
I’ve been loving our San Diego weather too! I practically spent all weekend outside, soaking up the perfect 75 degree weather. It’s beautiful, and the sunsets never cease to astound.
Have a wonderful Monday, Gina!
We have miniature schnauzer that’s 16+!!! We inherited him from my brother and nobody can remember when my brother got him. I remember that the dog was 1 or 2 at the time so 16 may be a conservative estimate.
He recently went through surgery to remove a benign mass that has become necrotic (totally as gross as it sounds) and he’s back to himself. Poor guy is deaf and going blind but still the best cuddle buddy around.
Dogs are awesome.
Little dogs easily go 15+ years. I’ve known lots of 17, 18 year olds! 🙂
That is a gorgeous sunset! I’m a sunset kind of girl… 90% or more of the photos on my phone are of sunsets.
I have a Brittany Spaniel. (Medium sized dog). She’s 12 and crazy as ever. Still frequently acts like a puppy! I keep wondering when she’s going to slow down.
i just wanna say, i love that whenever i’m needing some workout inspiration, i know exactly where to come. i needed a plan for tuesday morning (i wanted weights + cardio and only had a lifting circuit on the docks) so i came here, and frost hiit to the rescueee 😀
it’s one of my favs! thanks!!
I have a lhasa apso, and I was walking her on the beach when we bumped into a couple with two of them. They were all running around and playing and frolicking and we asked how old theirs were, one was 18 and the other 16! It gives me hope, I tell Izzy all the time that she best live to be at least as old as those dogs on the beach! I know she’s “only” a dog but she’s my baby haha x
that is amazing! fingers crossed our dogs live forever
long time no comment my friend. My border collie made it to 17 1/2. If only love could make them live forever. Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family.