Christmas Kick-Off
23 Dec
Phew; it’s been a busy two days! I never got around to posting last night because I got home from dinner & immediately started wrapping presents & didn’t stop until about 10:00PM! Yikes! Anyway, let’s back track a bit…
Yesterday I had a half-day of work, & then it was officially Christmas break! Woohoo! This means no work until January 3 for me. 
Last night, my friend Sara & I went out to eat at local restaurant, Austin’s. I got Chris to snap a photo of me before I headed out for the evening:
- Blazer – The Limited
- Leopard print shirt – Target
- Black scarf – Target
- Jeggings – LOFT
- Flats – LOFT outlet
- Flower headband – LOFT outlet
My dinner choice was something out-of-the-ordinary for me – pulled pork!
I wouldn’t normally have gone for this, but it sounded really good for some reason! I was able to choose two sides & went with the apples & mashed potatoes. It was delicious, & the best part was there were leftovers for lunch today.
Dessert was a delectable slice of cheesecake:
It was a fun night & a good way to kick off Christmas break!
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I slept in this morning, waking up at 7:30AM instead of 5:00AM – a nice change of pace! I love that throughout the next week I’ll be able to go to the gym whenever I want & I won’t be “forced” to go after a long day of work. This morning, I attended a spin class.
After the gym, I had a few last-minute holiday errands to run & immediately got started on breakfast once I arrived home.
I whipped up some “boatmeal” that I based on this recipe from Chocolate-Covered Katie. I added in some chocolate chips & pecans, & enjoyed a Starbucks misto on the side.
This was my first time trying a misto, which had gotten rave reviews from one of my fellow bloggers, Pam!
For those of you that don’t know, a misto is a combination of coffee & steamed milk. I went with the Pike Place roast (which was the lighter of the two they had brewing) & skim milk. I also requested a pump of peppermint syrup to give the drink a little Christmas flair!
I really enjoyed the drink & plan on making my own at home this week. I actually have a milk frother (Chris’s parents got me one for my birthday last year!) so all I have to do is brew some coffee & froth some milk… done & done!
The rest of my afternoon was spent on this…
…but we’ll get to that tomorrow. 
For now, I have a little bit of kitchen clean-up to take care of, then an early bed time. My head’s been bothering me a bit this evening so I think some quality Chris/pug time is in order.
What’s your favorite Christmas cookie?
I’m glad you liked the Misto!
I really want to buy a milk frother because it would make a huge difference when making my own at home. Also, I love your outfit! I have a black headband just like that which I bought at the LOFT outlet earlier this year. We will definitely have to go to LOFT next month!!
Definitely!!!
Aww Merry (early) Christmas, sweetie!
My favorite cookies usually have chocolate in them. But peanut butter cookies are always good too!
Merry Christmas to you too Katie!
Misto’s are awesome and so much more reasonable than buying latte’s every SBux trip. I actually prefer them because I like my coffee drinks strong and often the latte’s are too sweet. Merry Christmas Erica!
I was pleasantly surprised by how much cheaper the Misto was! I’m definitely going to go with that instead of a latte from now on!
Everytime I come back your blog looks nicer and nicer
Have a Merry Christmas, Erica!
Thanks Brittany!
I love your outfit!! Glad you’re on break now! I love “sleeping in” until 7:30am as well
My fave Christmas cookie is an iced sugar cookie…I tried making a GF one this year, but it didn’t quite turn out how I expected it to. Oh well!
Merry Christmas!!
Thanks Kristin! Merry Christmas to you too!