December To Do List

December usually puts people in a surprisingly good mood and means lots of freebie days off from your company. I love the holiday season, so expect to see a lot more on my blog this month! 

I love sharing gift ideas, DIY crafts, festive holiday menu items, drinks to share at your holiday party... you name it, I have an idea for it.

Here is my December To Do List to inspire you!

1. Make a batch of marshmallow popcorn and watch a Christmas movie on ABC Family. So far I have watched the Santa Claus and Rudolf. Marshmallow Popcorn: 1.5 bags of popcorn, 1 stick of butter (run an extra 3 miles), 8 ounces of marshmallows (or a few extra), and half cup brown sugar. Microwave butter, marshmallows, and brown sugar for 2 1/2 min. Take out and stir. Microwave again for 1 min. Repeat until thin sauce. When done pour over popcorn and mix.Goodbye rice krispy treats! 

2. Make Christmas cards and send them to our family and friends. I love giving cards. My close friends are no stranger to getting a card in the mail for their birthday, mothers day, or Christmas. It is the one thing I think my generation lacks! There are so many simple ways to create your own Christmas cards! I am making a note now to do a post on cute and creative card ideas :)

3. Make a new holiday dessert to bring to a Chistmas party. I saw this on Pinterest and I am dying to make it for a holiday party. Instead of a pumpkin roll, you make a chocolate peppermint roll for your friends and family!

4. Go ice skating OUTSIDE! This is the perfect time of year to search for outdoor skating rinks. Chris surprised me on our anniversary earlier this year by taking me to an outdoor skating rink as one of our stops. It's a great way to have to hold on to each other tight and pretend you are Nancy Kerrigan.

5. Get a group together to adopt an angel this year. Alyssa from Fashion, Fitness, Foodie inspired me to adopt my own angel for Christmas. There are so many families and children out there that are not as lucky as you or me and the holidays are a great way to give back. Get a group together and adopt a few angels this year to make a difference in someone's life! Click here to find your angel.

6. Go see the ICE show at the Gaylord Hotel. We went last year and had a great time! I am up for going down an ice slide again this year :) Take your family for a great photo opp in huge blue jackets!

7. Drive through a Christmas lights parade. They have ones in Ocean City, Annapolis and Columbia. Or, just drive around your local neighborhoods. Christmas lights put me in such a great mood because they represent holiday spirit. It takes time and effort to put them up!

8. See the National tree. I am putting my name into the lottery next year to see the National tree lighting ceremony for it's 90th birthday. How awesome would that be? This year, I won't mind going to DC for a dinner date and walking by the tree to take in it's beauty :)

9. Try to perfect the perfect hot cocoa recipe. I am not a chocolate lover, but that's the best part about perfecting your own recipe! You can add as many extras you want. I happen to have something up my sleeve for our wedding that involves hot chocolate :)

10. Buy a new holiday CD. Yes, you can listen to Christmas music in the car, but don't you want to listen to your favorite holiday songs? I guarantee if you pop in a CD of your own holiday favorites it will put you in the spirit on your way to empty your pockets at the mall. I am loving the Justin Beiber/Mariah Carey duet for All I Want for Chrsitmas. That has been my favorite since the day it came out! I always make it my ringtone around the holidays :)

11. Paint my own holiday plate. When I was younger, my mom would take us to paint our own pottery around the holidays. They make great gifts and memories. I just found a plate I made in 1999 for a holiday party I did with my best friends. 

As you can see, I could go on and on. I love the holidays - mostly because I love how it brings everyone together.

Blueberry Lemonade Cake

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day weekend! Mine flew by since it was jam packed with lots of family events. But first, I need to share this moist blueberry lemonade cake recipe. It is a light dessert for the summer that is extra lemon-y and delicious! I made two of these this weekend for my and CL's mom. It was a crowd favorite and I got the recipe from a girl at work... there were ZERO leftovers!

Blueberry Lemonade Cake with a Lemon Glaze

1 package of moist lemon cake mix

4 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup fresh/frozen blueberries (I used frozen)

2 large or 3 small lemons

1 package of sugar free lemon jello

1 cup boiling water

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Combine the cake mix, eggs and vegetable oil in a large bowl and mix until combined. Add your package of sugar free lemon jello and boiling water together and mix until dissolved. Add to your cake batter and mix for 3-5 minutes until smooth and all is incorporated. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray your bundt pan (important) with cooking spray and dust with flour (also important). Add in cake batter and top with blueberries, bake for 50-55 minutes. Combine juice of lemons and powdered sugar. Remove baked cake from oven and poke the top with a fork, drizzle over the glaze and let sit. Remove from the mold once the glaze has sank in and serve (chilled is best).

I filled the center of my mom's cake with fresh strawberries and served with brunch. It was so good and I was impressed with how easy this cake was to make! Definitely one of my go-to cakes for the summer!

Speaking of brunch! I made a whole spread for my mom, sister, CL and myself. 

 

strawberries and banana fruit salad

mexican potato fritatta

blueberry muffins

bacon and hash browns

Alyssa, being the wonder woman she is, sent me a link of healthy brunch ideas on my facebook page and I chose the Mexican fritatta sans the cheese (lactose free). You can see the recipe here. I think mine looks a lot better than the fitness magazine photo!

CL and I hand painted flower pots and filled them with herbs and veggies for our moms.

oregano, stevia and roma tomatoes!

CL's mom gets to pick a special outing each year for Mother's Day and this year she chose the adventure challenge at the Terrapin Adventures. It was so much fun and I have the weak arms, bruises and confidence from facing my fears to prove it!

If you want to view some of our videos and hear the most awkward screams (me) you can check it out at the Chic Meets Healthy youtube page!

I had a fabulous Sunday hanging out with my mom and grandmother! It's nice to have days to celebrate the amazing and strong women in our lives! I'm so thankful to have so many that influence me on a day to day basis.

What plants are you growing? My mom bought me two strawberry plants yesterday (yes, on Mother's Day) and I have basil and cilantro! I need another tomato plant but I'm afraid it will take over like last year.

that was one tomato plant!!