Christmas Recap!

December 25, 2013 by Christine Skari

Merry Christmas to all of you wonderful people!

I hope your day was filled with good times and family, I know mine was.

It sounds a bit weird, but my family and I celebrate on Christmas Eve and traditionally eat our Christmas dinner on the 24th before opening our gifts that night (I actually grew up thinking everybody did this), so I had a bit of a head start on the holiday festivities!

Here’s a quick recap:

On Monday night, Kyle and I drove over to a neighborhood to go check out some Christmas lights. The people there always go all out and we had a wonderful time wandering around and sipping on some hot chocolate. The morning of Christmas Eve, my sister and I opened presents sent from one of our Norwegian Aunts. She had handmade us stunning Norwegian sweaters and we were shocked at how beautiful they were when we put them on! It’s obvious how talented she is at creating such gorgeous pieces, but it still blows my mind that she made these completely from scratch. I wish I was that talented!

I love how stylishly they fit and their feminine cut, which makes them cinch in at the waist instead of just hanging off of you like most sweaters.

At around 5:30, we headed over to my relatives house to get our festivities started! I live only 5 minutes away from most of my cousins and my grandparents and we’ve always been a tight knit group. Our holidays are always spent in comfortable company!

My family!

Dinner was fantastic and consisted of a big roast, creamed corn, roasted vegetables, homemade bread, salad, and mashed potatoes.

Then it was time to exchange presents!

We had 21 people in one house, so things were crowded in the happiest of ways! I love that we have some cousins that are still little. There’s nothing like the joy and excitement that come from little kids on Christmas. It completes the season!

My sister and I with our Obachan!

I felt completely overwhelmed this Christmas by the presents given to me. Kyle went out of his way to get me a gorgeous diamond bracelet (holy smokes, I think I drooled all over it!) and made me a beautiful handmade jewelry box. My Dad jokingly said that Kyle will need to get me a lot more jewelry to help fill it up- HAH!

My parents also generously got my sister and I our own iPad minis. I didn’t even know there was such a thing. Apple keeps on cranking out all this new technology and I can’t keep up!

Tomorrow I head out to Tahoe with my extended family, Kyle, and a friend from college. I’m looking forward to skiing, but not to the 8 hour drive!

Hope you had a WONDERFUL Christmas!

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White Chocolate Cranberry Scones

December 22, 2013 by Christine Skari

You know what’s Marvelous in My Monday? These babies.

I’m in a sugar coma.

This morning has been filled with delicious goodness and I’ve been busy in the kitchen baking scones and mountains of cookies for a cookie exchange party tonight. On the menu? Apple pie cookies and deep dish chocolate chip cookies stuffed with caramel (literally a mouthful).

But, back to these guys.

Delicious, light, moist, and with a great texture. These white chocolate cranberry scones are straight from heaven! I mean, c’mon. Just LOOK at that powder sugar drizzle. Liquid gold, I tell ya.

These scones are perfectly sweet and with a great combination of flavors! I love the bit of tartness that the craisins add to the moist scones and the heartiness of the them. Usually, baked goods don’t leave me feeling full and satisfied for long, but these beauties are made with a combination of white and whole wheat flours and oats, making them more substantial!

If you’d like to pin this recipe, I’d really appreciate it if you’d pin the image below!

Another great things about these white chocolate cranberry scones? They’re made with only three tablespoons of butter in the batch, which gives them the perfect light texture and lighten up a normally calorie and fat laden treat! While I’m most definitely not against treating yourself, any recipe that lightens up a recipe without sacrificing flavor is a winner for me. (Plus, they give you the perfect excuse to eat twice as many.)

I have a major sweet tooth, but I’m one of those people who can’t handle an excess amount of sugar in the morning. Like I mentioned before, these scones have the perfect amount of sweetness which lend themselves to be called a (healthier) treat, but they lack the sugar content to make you feel sick from the sugar buzz.

These taste superb with a cup of coffee or tea and I can’t wait to savor one in the quiet hours of the morning!

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Healthy and Low Calorie Desserts

December 20, 2013 by Christine Skari

Healthy and Low Calorie Desserts!

To say I have a huge sweet tooth would be an understatement. I’m the kind of person who wakes up in the middle of the night and decides that I need a cookie/brownie/chocolate/ice cream rightthisveryinstant and that waiting is not an option. However, eating sweets for every meal of the day doesn’t lend itself to a very healthy lifestyle and eating pie for breakfast usually leaves me feeling sluggish for the rest of the day (to be honest, I usually eat it anyway because I am a child with no self control).

That’s why I decided to put together a quick roundup of a few of my favorite healthy and low calorie desserts that are regulars in my never-ending pursuit of sugar.

These babies are not only better for you, but absolutely delicious! Clocking in with less calories and fat than most desserts, they help keep me in my skinny jeans (though I usually have to dance/squirm my way into those jerks anyway) and feeling energized all day!

1. Dark Chocolate Avocado Truffles

This recipe is absolutely magical and has gotten rave reviews from people who have tried them! They taste just as delicious as the heavier versions made with tons of sugar and heavy cream. I promise, you can’t taste the avocados! These truffles have only 60 calories each and sneak in some healthy fats!

2. Healthier Pumpkin Bread

A favorite among my roommates and I! We love the sweet fall flavor and how easily it comes together. Did I mention that it’s made with no butter, mostly whole wheat flour, and egg whites?

3. Amanda’s No Bake Almond Fudge Protein Bars

Talk about delicious! Whenever I make these, I end up doing the whole stand-over-the-bowl-nibbling until I’ve basically eaten half the recipe. You need these in your life!

4. Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

The perfect bite-sized treat! One of my favorites in this Healthy and Low Calorie Desserts roundup, they clock in at only 35 calories a pop, and help satisfy any craving!

5. Healthier Banana Nut Bread

Similar to my Healthier Pumpkin Spice Bread, but bursting with banana flavor! Also contains no butter, egg whites, and mostly whole wheat flour!

6. Skinny Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Walnut Streusel

I drool even thinking about these. Look at that gorgeous powdered sugar drizzle and that tasty streusel. *Pass out*

7. Healthier Cinnamon Roll Scones

You get a big, sweet, cinnamon-filled scone for only 170 calories. Need I say more?

8. Healthier Roasted Almond, Dark Chocolate, and Craisin Cookies

Great for an on-the-go breakfast or pre/post-workout energy booster. These tasty cookies have only 85 calories each and 2.2g of fiber each!

And there you have it! Hope these delectable treats will help you manage your sweet tooth as well :)!

*If you found this page helpful, I would appreciate it so much if you could pin/share the image at the top of the page!

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Smoked Salmon Pita Sandwiches

December 19, 2013 by Christine Skari

Want your own adorable bento box? Enter my giveaway below for the chance to win one of four lunch boxes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Sometimes I feel almost embarrassed to share a recipe. I usually love putting together complex recipes and enjoy spending hours in the kitchen, which eventually leads to me making a huge mess and vowing never to cook again. That, of course, lasts all of two hours before I’m back at it. It’s a viciously delicious cycle. Other times, I’m lazy. I don’t feel like cleaning anything up and even the idea of foraging through the cupboards for ingredients makes me cringe. Those days are the ones where I can usually be found absorbed into my couch with a gallon of ice cream, hanging out with my best friend 4eva Netflix. We get along just swell. Anyways, today was one of those days. I did, however, put together a tasty lunch that is, like I mentioned before, embarrassingly easy. These Smoked Salmon Pita Sandwiches are great for when you’re craving a healthy and delicious lunch that can be put together in a flash. The smoked salmon give the pita pockets a great salty flavor and the arugula adds a fantastic peppery bite! And how about these unbelievably cute bento lunch boxes? They’re the perfect size to carry with you and come in a large assortment of colors! The lovely people at Mira Designs are sending four lucky winners their own bento box in either lavender of pink! Enter my giveaway below for your chance to win! f2e067973ab717c0eaba5849a2f4e580 Want to have your own adorable bento box? I’m partnering up with Mira Design to giveaway 4 of their pink and lavender bento boxes! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hope these help fuel your lazy days as well!

Beach Walks & Froyo

December 18, 2013 by Christine Skari

These last few days have been happily spent resting and relaxing after finishing some intense finals. I can’t even begin to describe how nice it is to have a break and be back at home!

I’ve been catching up with a few of my favorite things, including cooking/baking, exercising, netflix-ing (yes, that’s a verb), and, of course, blogging.

Today, Kyle and I went on a semi-active date and went walking by the beach. It was a wonderful way to spend time together and also stretch out our legs! I did a leg workout today and I’m, to say the least, feeling a little stiff.

Our first stop was by Yogurtland to get a much-needed froyo fix! I underestimated how much room was in the bowl and didn’t leave nearly enough room for toppings. Womp womp womp.

After filling our bellies with the good stuff, we headed out for our walk! It was a bit cloudy and very, very windy, but we still had a great time chatting and enjoying the view.

I took the opportunity to wear one of the new dresses I got over Thanksgiving break and love how it looks! I’m a sucker for anything lace and love how flattering the cut is and how it cinches at the top of the torso. For those of you who were wondering, I got this dress at H&M for a steal! They have a ton of great holiday dresses and I’m excited to get the chance to wear the other two I got.

*Hint hint: Kyle, take me out on a date ;).

Hope the week it passing quickly for you! I can’t believe how soon Christmas will be here and really need to catch up on my Christmas shopping- yikes!