Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you are having a terrific holiday with family and friends. Our Christmas was spent with my parents, brother and sister-in-law. It was filled with good food and a few gifts. And because I’m not currently leading a nutrition challenge, I enjoyed my fair share of cookies. =)

Lily and Jamisen are at such fun ages for Christmas; Santa is completely magical and unwrapping presents is a blast. My niece Alise (the additional kiddo in the family photo above) is now over two years old, so all the kiddos share in the Christmas excitement. Kids really make the holidays fun, don’t you think?

We also magically kept a light dusting of snow in the neighborhood so were able to sled today too. Lily’s Grandma (my Mom) is Norwegian and Lily showed that side of her genetics today, staying outside to sled, bird-watch and play in the snow long after her brother had gone inside to get warm.

It was a wonderful Christmas day that went on all day long. The kids are at the age where they opened one gift and then played with that one gift for a while before opening the next one. Because of this, Christmas morning felt long and drawn out all day … because, it was (!). The big hit gifts were a Lemonade stand for Jamisen and a “Stella” baby and crib for Lily. It was my favorite Christmas yet; the snow was so festive and fun and the kids were super fun to play with. I feel so thankful for all of the blessings in our life: health, our family, good food, meaningful work, friends, and the luxury of spending a day focused on love, laughter and relationship.

A big thank you to all the Bramble Berry customers that made this year such a success.    PS – Our office is closed today and tomorrow, but will reopen on Tuesday. Our website is open for orders 24/7. 

The post Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! appeared first on Soap Queen.

For dinner I made salmon, seared portabella mushroom steaks and chickpea and squash tagine. If you love salmon as much as I do, you have to try out this Lemon Butter Salmon recipe. It’s incredibly simple and my favorite way to prepare salmon. So delicious! It’s my go-to recipe. The hot sauce really gives it an extra flavor kick.

Santa visited the house this year. Santa is Uncle Weston (pictured in the dinner photo above). We painted his beard white with spray-on hairspray (which I’m pretty sure is just spray paint). As soon as Jamisen saw Santa, he said, “I knew you would come!”

This year, Chris and I decided to give Lily and Jamisen one big toy each, along with a smaller toy. Between our gifts and presents from family, these kids have plenty of toys already. For the big presents, Lily got new kitchenette (she loves pretending to cook!) and Jamisen got a new truck.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours; may your holiday be bright, happy, and joy filled.

The post Merry Christmas 2015 appeared first on Soap Queen.

The post Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! appeared first on Soap Queen.