Ari, Author at Ari's Menu

Technical Difficulties

January 4, 2012 · by Ari ·

Offffff course. Right in the middle of all of my vacation postings, I run into a big, fat blog error. I had read a post on Tina’s blog about resizing images so you don’t run out of space, and I remember telling Steve that we needed to make sure we were doing it. He was convinced that it wasn’t going to be a problem, but from then on started making them smaller. Well, unfortunately I guess the old ones were enormous and the new smaller ones apparently aren’t small enough, so I’ve run out of space. I know I can just buy some more, but I’m kind of in the middle of figuring out what I want to do as far as going self hosted anyway, so I’m going to try to figure that out before putting more money into the wordpress account. Anyone have any amazing suggestions? Or know someone that might be able to assist in the whole self hosted process?

Boston Day 2/3: Cooking and Frog Pond

January 1, 2012 · by Ari ·

On Friday, after a fabulous day in Salem, we all headed back to Lisa and David’s to make a delicious dinner. There were more drinks

David did most of the cooking (he is like an actual cook), but I made the most simple and easy beer bread that ended up being super delicious also!

Self rising flour, beer and brown sugar. So easy.

I also whipped up a little cheese spread to go on top with some fat free cream cheese, cheddar, gouda, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne powder. It was one of those happy moments when I just put things together and they come out delicious 🙂

While we waited on dinner to be ready, we hung out with my favorite dog niece Daisy!

When Lisa spent a month in Switzerland, I got to live with Daisy and it was so wonderful! I love her!!

Jason and I also baked some cookies.

They came out realllllly yummy, but we didn’t end up with any good pictures of them. Boooo. We spent the remainder of the night in eating, drinking and watching Crazy Stupid Love. I love that movie.

The next morning Jason was supposed to go for a run for me, but stayed in bed, so I ventured out into the pouring rain all alone. I hope you’re feeling this guilt trip from your zoom, Jason. Actually, the rain wasn’t too bad, and I kind of got used to it. We don’t really have weather in Phoenix so it was a nice change. You know what else we don’t have? HILLS! Good lord. Hills are hard. I ended up doing 5K at a 9:13 average pace. By the time I got back I was soaking wet and I couldn’t even tell what was rain and what was sweat. I know, I’m gross. Sorry.

Finally everyone else was awake, we had some breakfast and headed into downtown Boston. We parked at some sort of park and ride and then took the subway. Steve takes awesome subway photos!

When we got out we walked around for a little bit, seeing some of the New Years Eve happenings that had already begun, like ice sculptures–cool! Def something you don’t see in AZ!

The next stop on our plan (we seriously planned out stops on a map because we’re awesome like that) was ice skating at Frog Pond! I hadn’t been ice skating since I was like 7 and even then it was at an empty indoor rink in Arizona. I had never even seen an outdoor rink before! I have to admit, I was super nervous about it and when I realized we only had 2 hours before they closed, I was almost relieved because I didn’t know how long I would actually make it. I am super clumsy, and the idea of slipping and falling on some hard cold ice 2 weeks before PF Chang’s did not seem too appealing, so I started out very cautious…

"Ummm, it's cold and this is scary. One trip around the rink is enough, right?"

But I actually got the hang of it much faster than I anticipated!

"Okay, so I'm not dead yet...."

And before I knew it, I was having a blast! Turns out I really really enjoy ice skating!

"Wooohoooo!! This is awesome!"

We all did pretty well and had a really great time!

Jason was so speedy! I decided he was Nancy Kerrigan and I was Tanya harding because I totally wanted to take him out so that I could be the best!Nacho did really well too!

And Lisa can even look pretty while ice skating 🙂

I was so surprised at how much fun it was, and I even started to feel a little sweaty like I was getting a work out! Sweet!!! It ended up being probably my favorite thing we did while in Boston!

Skinnified Sunday: Salted Caramel Toffee Crunch Cupcakes

January 1, 2012 · by Ari ·

Happy New Year! Let’s celebrate and make cupcakes! 😉

If there is one thing I really love in a baked good, it’s probably toffee bits. Before the days of the skinnified baking, I would bake the most amazing cookies that had chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and toffee bits. If you ever feel like baking something delicious and not healthy, just follow the Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe, add butterscotch chips and toffee bits. So delicious. But you know what’s also delicious and has toffee???? These cupcakes! And they are so much healthier and come with a salted caramel frosting that is more delicious than my beloved salted caramel hot chocolate. I sent some home with my mom and got a text from Hank an hour later asking “Where are the rest of the cupcakes?” I also loved when Jacob announced how great they were with a line of chocolate smearing his teeth. He’s classy. So in case you’re not already in the Christmas sugar coma, here you go 😉

Inspired by Toffee Crunch Cupcakes from Annie’s Eats

Original Recipe:

For the cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp. espresso powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup brewed coffee
1 cup toffee bits

For the ganache and toffee layer:
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½-2 cups toffee bits

For the frosting:
5 large egg whites
1½ cups sugar
4 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ tsp. coarse salt
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup caramel sauce

My Swaps:

1/2 recipe
Less sugar/some Splenda (-sugar, -calories)
Applesauce for butter (-fat, -saturated fat, -calories, -cholesterol)
Egg substitute for eggs (-fat, -calories, -cholesterol)
Less quantity of ganache and toffee layer (-fat, -sugar, -calories)
Grain sweetened chocolate chips for bittersweet chocolate (-sugar, -calories)
2% milk for heavy cream (-fat, -saturated fat, -calories)
Light whipped butter for regular (-fat, -calories)
Original salted caramel cream cheese frosting (-fat, -calories)

Skinnified Toffee Crunch Cupcakes

yield 15 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 packet Starbucks via
1/2 tsp baking soda
dash salt
1/2 cup raw cane sugar
1/3 cup Splenda
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup egg substitute
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
1/2 cup toffee bits

For the chocolate toffee layer:

1/4 cup grain sweetened chocolate chips
1/2 tbs light whipped butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-3 tbs 2 % milk
1/4 cup toffee bits

For the Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 oz red fat cream cheese
1 tbs light whipped butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tbs Fleur de Sel caramel
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Fleur de Sel or sea salt for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with paper liners and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, via, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together applesauce, sugar and Splenda. Add in vanilla and egg substitute.
Slowly alternate beating in dry ingredients with coffee, starting and ending with dry ingredients.
Fold in toffee bits.
Fill liners 2/3-3/4 full and bake for 16-20 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Let stand for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Melt chocolate, vanilla and butter for next layer in a microwave safe bowl stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Slowly add in milk until it reaches a smooth and creamy consistency.
Using a butter knife, spread a small amount of chocolate on each cupcake. Sprinkle with a pinch of toffee bits.
Begin frosting by using a hand mixer, beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla.
Beat in caramel.
Slowly add in powdered sugar (use more or less depending on desired sweetness).
Frost cupcakes. Sprinkle with Fleur de Sel or sea salt.

Boston Day 2: Salem

December 31, 2011 · by Ari ·

Yesterday morning started with my first legit winter run. I mean, I’ve been running all “winter” in Phoenix, and the lows in Phoenix do get down there sometimes, but I don’t think it really counts. Yesterday I put on long yoga pants, tall socks, leg warmers, 2 long sleeve shirts, a sweat shirt, performance fleece, a hat and gloves. Ummm, I was regretting my top half a little bit. My face was so cold, but my middle body was totally over heated! Also, this neighborhood is super hilly. I don’t think I encountered flat road for more than 10 seconds. I was pretty proud of myself for busting out 2.5 miles with an average pace of 9:03. Not too shabby for winter/hills/vacation 🙂

After I got back, we made breakfast and then headed out to Salem. I have to be honest, I’ve never thought too much about Salem or the witch trials.

Oh, just all of us with our awesome porta potty friends.

I don’t think it was even in my school curriculum (Arizona schools are so awesome), but I found myself fascinated! It’s so hard to believe that at one point you could so easily be hanged just for being different. Our society isn’t perfect by any means, but looking back on things like this, I really do feel like we’ve learned a lot, and although our justice system is by no means perfect, we’ve come a long way.

We started by exploring the graveyard.

Whhheeeeeeee!!!!

Tree huggers

We looked at the “witches” grave stones and I found this one especially interesting. He refused to plead guilty or not guilty so they pressed him to death with stones to make him talk. He still refused, so for two days they stacked more and more stones on top of him until he finally passed.

After the graveyard, we went to the wax museum and explored downtown Salem.

After walking around for a bit, we stopped into Salem Beer Works for some drinks. Jason, Nacho and I each ordered the sampler with 4 oz samples of 4 different beers.

Yummmm. The Rustic Porter was definitely my favorite.

Steve just got the Black Stout which was also delicious and David ordered an Irish coffee. It was disgusting. Here is the evidence.

Steve got a candid of Lisa trying a sip.

There was no cream, no sugar. Just about half coffee and half whiskey. Holy hell. That’s a little too intense for this girl. I mean I like coffee, and I like whiskey, but I need some half and half in there or something! Yikes!

After Beer Works, we headed back to Rockport to make dinner at David and Lisa’s. More on that coming soon 🙂

2012 Goals

December 31, 2011 · by Ari ·

If you know me at all, you know how I feel about New Years resolutions. Every time I hear the words “After the first of the year…” it’s like nails on a chalkboard to me! I am a firm believer that if you want to change something, you don’t wait for the first of the year, or month, or Monday, or even the next day. If you really want to change something, don’t waste any time. Start now. This second. I would love to say that my New Years resolutions are to clean more, do my laundry, and stop procrastinating, but let’s get real and say if I reaaaalllllly care enough about those things (I want to care enough!!!), then I will fix them when I’m ready and a different ending on the date stamp doesn’t necessarily inspire me.

However, I am big on setting goals for myself. I read a lot of blogs where they set monthly goals. I love that and I want to steal it! I definitely have a few goals that I really want to accomplish in the next year. Some are running/fitness related:

Cross the PF Chang’s finish line with a big ass grin on my face. Yes, Big.Ass.Grin.
26.2
Run a 7:59 min mile.
Try crossfit.
Try hot yoga.
Keep strength training consistent.

Some are food related:

Drink 9-10 cups of water per day. (I either do really well or really awful on this one, not usually in between.)
Try at least one new recipe per week.
Only eat out 1-2x per week. (I get so stuck in the “Let’s go out!” mentality.)

Some are more life related things I have been trying to focus on in the last year that I don’t feel like I’ve fully accomplished yet:

Give others the benefit of the doubt, and don’t take every action personally.
Chill the F out! Umm, this has been a goal since JULY. Clearly, it’s a work in progress.
Have patience. With others, with myself, with life.
Focus on career goals and choose work accordingly.
Continue working towards balance in all areas of life (I have come a long way, but I still have a long way to go).
Sing and dance. Every day.
Be me, no matter who else is around (again, still working on it).
For the love of all things holy, TAKE A FREAKING HONEYMOON!!!!!

I hope this is just the beginning of things I work towards and accomplish in the next year, but I feel like it’s a good place to start, and I feel like the first set is 100% achievable, the secpnd set can and will happen most weeks of the year, and the third set is 100% work-towards-able–is that a word? Is now. I will not become the pillar of patience in 2012 just because it is a goal, I guarantee it, but I will become more patient.I can’t wait to spend the year checking back in with my goals and check things off the first list as they happen! 🙂

What do you want to achieve next year? Next month? Today?

Boston Day 1: Mike’s Pastry and Little Italy

December 30, 2011 · by Ari ·

After a lovely morning in Rockport, we headed down into downtown Boston. We parked at Lisa’s fancy hospital (MGH) and experienced some public transportation.

Apparently, everyone is supposed to visit Mike’s Pastry while they’re in Boston and we were all hungry, but not quite ready for dinner so we headed down. I’ve gotta be honest and say that the whole experience wasn’t my favorite. There’s not really a menu and it’s ridiculously crowded and it just gave me major anxiety. I ended up just ordering a cappuccino and stealing bites from everyone else.

Chocolate peanut butter brownie. Sooo rich, but it was super yummy.

Tiramisu--this was my favorite. Probably the best tiramisu I've ever had.

Cannolis. I like the filling of the cannoli. I wish they sold it naked with no shell.

We did things a little backwards and had dessert first. It’s vacation 🙂 We found a delicious restaurant in Little Italy where I had the most delicious mushroom risotto, but somehow this ended up being the only picture from dinner.

You can tell what we were focused on....

After dinner, we walked around downtown Boston for a bit. Soooo pretty.

My hubby takes good pictures 🙂

By the time we got back to Lisa and David’s we were all exhausted and pretty much went straight to bed. Today was Salem…more to come on that soon! Happy New Years Eve Eve everyone!

Boston Day 1: Rockport

December 30, 2011 · by Ari ·

Hello, from Rockport, MA! In the day I’ve been here, I’ve totally fallen in love with this super cute beach town. My friends Lisa and David moved here last May after David got a fab job at Rockport Music. Yesterday, we spent the morning and early afternoon exploring the downtown area.

Jason and Nacho

We went into a cute kitcheny store and found a bacon chocolate bar.

Lisa practiced her thug face.

I really have no idea why, but this time Steve told us to keep our tongues in our mouth, so of course we did the opposite.

Lisa and David

My fav picture of the trip so far 😉

Jason was cold and needed a hat. I tried to convince him that he needed to buy the Oscar the Grouch one, but unfortunately we were not in agreement.

Steve got some really great pictures of the town and the scenery.

Then David gave us a tour of Rockport music. They have the most gorgeous concert hall with a huge window in the back overlooking the water.

Above the concert hall, there is a big area where they often to wedding receptions.

Nacho suggested we all do "Porn lips" whatever that means...

II really really loved Rockport and would especially love to come back in the summer months when everything is open and it’s not 20 degrees out :O) We spent the rest of our evening in Boston, but that is a post for a later time. Now we’re off to Salem to find some witches!

Highlights of 2011

December 30, 2011 · by Ari ·

There is no doubt in my mind that 2011 has been my favorite year I’ve been alive so far. I hope to say that every year, but 2011 was particularly special with some pretty amazing things going on. Here’s a list of some of the highlights (in chronological order, not favorite order):

Steve and I celebrated our last non-married anniversary by going with Winston to a cabin in Northern AZ and spending the weekend just the three of us. Winston saw snow for the first time. Trips are awesome. Trips with puppies are even better 🙂

My mom threw me the perfect bridal shower! My mom isn’t much for hosting parties, but she told me early into the wedding planning that she wanted to throw my shower, and with the help of my amazing bridesmaids, I spent the day feeling totally overwhelmed by love and gifts, and amazingness!

My best friend Bethany went way above and beyond as my maid of honor to make me feel like the most special bride in the world and threw me the perfect bachelorette party!

I GOT MARRIED!!!!!!! And it was perfect.

In addition to all the reasons marrying the love of your life is awesome, I had almost every single person I love in the same place at the same time. Friends and family flew in from across the country and made me feel like a million bucks. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so loved as when I stood there looking at Steve and looking out at the faces of all the people who love us, their eyes glowing and each one totally present in the moment, and grateful to be there. Then, at the reception, there were so many unexpected speeches that left me crying my make up right off my face. Thanks for that, Bethany 🙂 I don’t think a better maid of honor speech has ever existed.

WE GOT CLEMENTINE!!! Second only to the wedding, best part of this year. That dog drives me nuts. She won’t go to the bathroom outside when it’s raining, she walks around on the coffee table like it’s the floor, and she runs in crazy circles around my neck for no reason, but I love her, and she was the best gift I have ever received. Thanks, Amelia!!!

I got my first big directing job in Phoenix! I directed/choreographed/music directed The Rockin’ Tale of Snow White for AJTC (the same theatre I just did Fiddler with) and finally began to feel like I was doing what I wanted to do with my degree.

I met the two most amazing mentors! Molly and Emily, I’m not sure if you two read this, but your friendship, guidance, and insight have changed my life this year. I feel so lucky to have the two most incredible people to look up to and learn from as I grow and build my career.

I went to the Grand Canyon for the first time since I was like 4! It was grand. Okay, that sounds lame, but pretty much John and I looked at it, said “Yup, it’s grand”, enjoyed it for a bit, and went on our way, but I did really love going and especially getting to go with John!

I ran my first race, decided to run a half marathon and discovered a love for something I never thought I could do. I don’t care if it sounds cheesey, but running has changed my life and being able to do it with Kara and the friendship we have developed through it has been so amazing.

I choreographed Aladdin! Definitely one of my favorite working experiences ever, and I had been wanting to work for Greasepaint pretty much since the second I moved back to Phoenix. I had the most incredible team, and I ended the show feeling so proud of the kids, and of my own work!

We hosted our second Thanksgiving. It was pretty perfect in my opinion 🙂

The same day, I had my first double digit run!

I directed/choreographed Fiddler on the Roof Jr. Okay, so I’m not super great at being Jewish, but I must admit doing this show was pretty special to me. Seeing the audiences that came out and how much it means to so much of the Jewish community was really inspiring, and I was so proud to show my parents what I had done. I know that sounds silly, but getting to do work that meant something to my family and my cultural community was really amazing for me.

Annnnddd, by the time you read this, I will be on a trip with my 3 favorite guys to see one of my favorite people in the whole wide world, my friend Lisa! Steve, Jason, Nacho and I will be freezing out booties off in Boston with Lisa and her husband David and I cannot wait to go and spend New Years with them! I’ve never been to Boston and I’ve been wanting to go visit Lisa ever since she moved there.

It has been a truly incredible year and I am so grateful so the life I am living. Happy New Years everyone!

Leavin’ on a Jet Plane

December 28, 2011 · by Ari ·

Its here, its here!!!! My vacation is finally here! I have a confession. When I bought this plane ticket I knew this wpuld be towards the end of my half marathon training so I scheduled the flight specifically to be able to get a long run in this morning before I left because by the time I get back it will be less than 2 weeks until the race! So Kara and I got our run on at 7am.

I don’t know what it is, but my last 2 long runs I have felt so sluggish. Every time I think I’m going fast, I look down and see like 10:30 on my garmin. Blecchhh. Maybe my body is just ready for a little bit of a break.

After the run, I packed at lightening speed, got coffee and got to the airport. Steve and I are just waiting for our flight to board!!!

I figured this was a good time to try out blogging from my phone. Not my fav, but definitely convenient for traveling.

Alright, I’m off to Boston! Yay!!!!!

Mexican Egg Bake

December 27, 2011 · by Ari ·

I made this recipe a long time ago, back when this blog was titled “Skinnified”, but recently made it again with a few changes, so I just wanted to give it an update with some better pictures. It is equally, if not more delicious, and so perfect for hosting brunch for a large group!

Mexican Egg Bake

yield 12 servings

1 8oz package Pillsbury seamless creations
12 egg whites
4 whole eggs
1 onion, diced
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 can green chilies
1/4 cup red fat sharp cheddar or goat cheddar cheese, shredded
2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1 lb cooked turkey or soy sausage, chopped (I’ve made both and I love it both ways)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbs ground cumin
dash chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
splash Chalulah
splash milk (I used 2%)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9×13 pan with nonstick spray.
Press Pillsbury dough into sprayed pan and cook about 12-15 minutes until golden.
Spray a large pan with nonstick spray. Over medium heat, saute garlic, onion and bell pepper until tender. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder.
When veggies are tender, add in sausage and continue to cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Whisk together egg whites and eggs. Add a splash of milk and a couple shakes of Chalulah.
Pour veggies and soy sausage on top of cooked dough. Add green chilies and egg mixture.
Top with cheeses and bake at 350 for about 45 min or until the center is set.

Christmas 2011

December 27, 2011 · by Ari ·

I know it’s now December 27th and I’m super late with my Christmas recap. I thought about just skipping forward, but I had such an awesome Christmas that I wanted to rewind a little bit and talk about what a lucky girl I am 🙂

As always, I was the first one awake. At 5am, which is gross on a day off, but I was too excited! I tossed and turned for a bit before deciding 6am was the acceptable hour to wake everyone up on Christmas morning. I jumped out of bed and ran around the house shouting “It’s Christmas!! Wake up, it’s Christmas!!” I have an 11 year old sister in law and every year that I’ve celebrated Christmas with Steve’s family I have been the one to wake everyone up. For some reason, they still love me 😉 After ~~a little persuading~~ no time at all, we all joined in the living room to open some presents. Steve and I were mostly waiting on my mom, Hank and Charlie who were arriving around noon, but we opened a couple of things and watched Lisa, Ashleigh, Mathew and Deann open all of their gifts.

"Look!!! Santa came!!!" Looks like he brought someone a fancy new macro lense 😉

Clementine kept trying to hide from the big dogs behimd the tree so we decided she was a present. She was a present once--just not a Christmas one.

"I'm tired, mom." Being a present is hard work.

"Please don't tell me this Hanukkah sweater is my Christmas present. You can't fool me. I wore this last year!"

After presents round 1, Deann and I went out for a short run. I left my Garmin at home and was totally bummed because I originally planned on doing the Home for the Holidays 10K on Christmas day, but no dice. Deann and I took about a mile and a half loop, I dropped her back and went on an other 3ish solo, no music or anything. It was weird, but kind of awesome to run with absolutely no technology. No checking my pace, and really no clue how far I had gone. I remembered that I really enjoy running, and I’m not just doing it because I signed up for a race–something I had kinda been quietly questioning lately. Of course the second I walked in the door I hopped onto mapmyrun.com to try to figure out my distance, and figured it was somewhere between 3.5 and 4. Not too shabby.

The next part is my favorite. I have a niece that I don’t see nearly as much as I should/would like to. She’s 4 and the absolute cutest little girl EVER. Her name is Aubrianna, and watching her open presents was without a doubt the highlight of my day. Check out this cuteness.

She was so excited about her $5 bill. I want to be 4 again and feel like $5 is a lot of money!

After presents Round 2, we all hung out as I anxiously checked the door about every 5 seconds waiting for my mom. Hank and Charlie to arrive, so we could commence presents Round 3!

This was my second favorite part of Christmas. On my epic day off, Steve and I had gotten my mom a Vera Bradley purse for Christmas, almost 2 months before. Well at Lisa’s birthday, my mom starts talking to me about how much she wishes she had a Vera Bradley bag. We had only gone in the store once together and never spoken about it again until that day. I got the gift on a hunch because she seemed to really like the store when we had gone in. So she talks to me for a good 10 minutes about wanting one while I bite down hard on my tongue to contain myself from spilling the beans! I get sooooo excited when I know I’ve gotten the right gift. Holidays can be stressful, but nothing beats seeing the face of someone you love as they open something that totally makes their day!

Once she saw the name on the box, it was done! That wrapping didn't stand a chance 😉

There were also some pretty hilarious gifts.

A Clementine shirt. The rest of the dog is on the back. So freaking cute. Good work, Charlie!

Jewball. "I know you don't like to read, but it's about Jewish basketball, so if you don't read this, you're illiterate."--My mom

iPad for Dummies

Apparently if the "For Dummies" aren't dummied down enough, they have Seniors for Dummies so that even the oldest of farts...or my mom...can learn too. PS: Mom, I don't think you're old!

Then there was my awesome hubby. I think Steve took notes of every single thing I said I wanted for the entire year. You see, I always see things I like and want to buy, or talk about things I kinda need, but apparently don’t absolutely need because I never end up buying them for myself. I suck at buying new things sometimes. So this year Steve bought me everything I wanted. There were no big expensive gifts on my list this year, and honestly I loved this because I had so many presents to open and they were all things that showed he had been listening to me. Whenever people ask me what I want, I can never think of anything, but he just listened carefully and knew exactly what I wanted. I love him!

Running clothes!

A new fuzzy robe

A clippy thing!!! Such a long story, but I REALLY wanted a clippy thing for my garage door opener. Don't judge me.

A zeester!

A super fancy cutting board

And the one thing that I didn’t get from Steve, my mom ordered for me and wrapped up a picture of it because it’s not here yet hahaha. I love her.

Onion goggles!!! I really really really wanted some. My eyes cry so badly every time I chop!

What an amazing Christmas this year. I got a million more amazing gifts that would take hours to go into from all my family and friends. Thank you everyone for making me feel like a million bucks!! Even more importantly (even though I REALLY love gifts), I got to spend the day with the people I love. Last year, my mom, Hank and Charlie started coming to Lisa’s for Christmas, and honestly, Lisa opening up her house to my family so that we can all be together is the best Christmas present anyone could ever give me.

Okay, I gotta know!!! What was your favorite gift you received?!?!?!

Lisa’s Birthday

December 26, 2011 · by Ari ·

Steve’s mom’s birthday is on Christmas Eve. I personally love it, because Christmas is really his side of the family’s holiday anyway, so we spend December 24th celebrating Lisa and getting ready for Christmas, and then do a huge family celebration on Christmas morning. This year, I started Lisa’s birthday off with a brunch. I made Blueberry Applesauce Muffins by following this recipe almost exactly. They came out soooo yummy!

I also made a Mexican Egg Bake and realized that I need to update my recipe a little bit because I did some things differently, so that will happen soon. It came out delicious and the whole thing was devoured with not a leftover in sight.

And of course I made cupcakes. Salted Caramel Toffee Crunch Cupcakes to be exact (recipe coming soon).

Anyone want to give me some frosting/decorating lessons? In case you've never seen my food before, presentation is not my strong suit haha.

After brunch we all hung around the house for a bit. Hermano had brought over our Christmas presents since we wouldn’t be spending Christmas together, so Steve and I opened our gifts. Let me tell you, my brother totally out did himself this year. Last year he bought me The Cake Bible which was awesome and perfect, but this year his gifts were thoughtful, personal, and no offense to anyone else, but possibly my favorite! The first thing I opened was a gift card, but not just any gift card…

LULULEMON!!!! EEEEEE!!!!! Let me just say that every single person who asked Steve for advice ended up getting me super awesome things. My husband rocks.

But the best part was this:

You can't fake that kind of present excitement, friends.

It’s a personalized water bottle that says “Hermana” on it. I love love love love love it! Anything personalized (not like just my name, but personalized to my relationship with that person, or an inside joke) is the key to my heart. You did good, Hermano. I am such a lucky sister!

Okay, back to the birthday. Sorry, I get on tangents and I can talk about myself for hours. It’s a skill. There I go again 😉 Steve and I took Lisa and Ashleigh to dinner at The Arrogant Butcher. The last time I went to The Arrogant Butcher, I ordered asparagus and a side salad. F you carb diets. This time was sooooo much better! I ordered a turkey sloppy joe on a pretzel bun with sweet potato soup. Hellllllooooo, carbs! Glad we’re BFFs again. I missed you so.

So yummy, but honestly, I would have been happy with a huge bucket of the soup and nothing else. Something about soup with sweet potato, pumpkin, or butternut squash. My favorite.

I really love this guy. In case you didn't know 😉

Lisa might end up super mad at me for posting this picture, but I love it. She cracks me up.

I mean, really the whole napkin on your shirt thing is smart. Do you have any idea how much I end up spilling on myself on a daily basis? Just me? Oh, whoops....

They even brought her out a free birthday dessert! You know me and free 🙂 Seriously delicious peanut butter cup.

mmmmmmmmm

Lisa has treated me like a part of her family since the moment Steve brought me into his life. I am so grateful to be a part of such an incredible family, and I am so happy to have the most wonderful second mom a girl could ask for! Happy birthday Lisa!

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