mystery day date: lititz

happy monday!

hope you all had a super fun & exciting weekend! :)

if you know mr. mack at all he's super fun & sometimes sneaky...

this past weekend he planned a mystery day date for me us.

(these my friends are the best!)

even though i strongly dislike surprises; day trips even that out.

we slept in past 8, he made this awesome breakfast,

we cheered on our friend, jess, who ran a race passed our house,

eventually got ready & hit the road to adventure!

but first, he had to wash the jeep...

& I naturally had to take a selfie. #howwedo

our drive was filled with lots of chit chat,

and undivided attention.

(sorry Blue if you're reading this)

____________________________________________________________

our destination was…

Adam & I have never been here together, 

and we had been talking of going for awhile.

This winter day was perfect;

it warmed up to almost 50* & it was super sunny!

our first stop was one of the most popular places:

(I may be biased but they are the best!)

____________________________________________________________

next we hit up

for a late lunch.

this place was so quaint & cozy. <3

the food was INCREDIBLE!

If you are in Lititz, you must go here! promise?

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then the rest of the afternoon we spent perusing the countless

tiny shops to find all sorts of hidden treasures.

(if you know me, you know:

for things I never new I needed until we crossed paths.)

(the curiosity shoppe was the cutest!)

(i want to live HERE!)

here are our treasures:

lace table cloth, linen tea towels, hearts hankie, wilbur buds, a canning book,

and a 1963 philadelphia paper after JFK was assassinated.

this day was SO MUCH FUN!

I recommend you plan a mystery date for you & someone you love.

It is so worth it & think of all the memories you will make.

Thankful for this fella. <3

Hope you have a great start to your week!

snow day: in the kitchen

words that are becoming all too familiar in our neck of the woods.

breakfast has become one of my favorite meals to cook.

normally I pack my breakfast & eat with my kids at work...

so these days are rare, especially for mr. mack & me to eat together.

I decided to try this sweet potato hash brown with dippy eggs

I've seen/pinned a few times on pinterest.

I can see this super easy breakfast becoming a family favorite.

[the cast iron skillet made this dish even tastier.]

love being across the table from this guy. <3

it's always a sign of a good day..

as you can see this pup would stay out all day if we'd let him.

snow days are his absolute FAVORITE! 

& as per usual he is always covered in white. 

 with the snowfall means= baking!

Am i right?

Well I'm currently doing the WHOLE30.

Essentially it's a 30 day kick start to better eating & choices

by eating clean & healthy foods.

I'm on day #9,

and today has been tough.

I really want to bake cookies & drink hot cocoa!

But my self control has surprised me! WOO HOO!

So with that being said,

I decided to bake but not for me..for Blue.

He was running low on treats.. so I found a recipe

and luckily, we had all the ingredients here!

(I don't think I could've made it to the store otherwise)

original recipe found here

                Ingredients:

• ⅔ cups Pureed Pumpkin
• 2-½ Tablespoons Vegetable Oil*
• ½ teaspoons Cinnamon
• ½ cups Instant Oatmeal
• 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• ½ cups Water*

               Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, vegetable oil, and cinnamon.
3. Slowly add in oatmeal and flour until combined. Using your hands may be required as this does get very sticky.
4. Finally add in the 1/2 cup of water.*
5. Roll dough to 1/3″ thickness and cut into doggie bone shapes or whatever is easiest for you.
6. Place on a greased pan and bake for 30 minutes.* Monitor to make sure they don’t burn. Every oven is different, so they can burn quickly if you’re not looking.
7. Brush top of treat with bacon fat.
8. Let cool on wire rack and then toss one to your faithful four legged friend

I made a few edits(*) to the recipe:

*used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil

*didn't use the water it called for..the mix was the right consistency

*only baked for 20 minutes

*AND brushed bacon fat on top for some extra flavor

[I found this heart cookie cutter thrifting with A the other day!<3]

All in all--Blue loves them

& that's what matters!

I even let him lick the spoon ;)

What a lucky dog.

Oh & then there is THIS GUY!

He's the best.

It always amazes me all the ways he cares for me..

even if it is shoveling the sidewalks & cleaning off my snowy car

for my early morning drive.

I'M A LUCKY GAL.

[chief frozen beard]

Hope those of you who also had a snow day...

had an excellent one!

P.S:

 for dinner I'm making ribs with roasted veggies! :) YUM!

mack christmas: 2013

whoa. was christmas a blur or what?!

our christmas was so fun & special for many reasons..

it's hard to believe its our
second married christmas!

 

Adam & I were able to spend some much needed time together
with our numerous holiday vacation days! :)
it was awesome!

we celebrated a few of our christmas eve traditions..

breakfast & gifts with family:

[my sweet grandparents]

    kiddo gifts were on point this year.               that vw bus in on my list for next year ;)

she LOVED her new scooter!

 

[my great aunt cindy always gives the best handmade gifts]


candlelit service with family:

caroling at midnight with friends & some old school carolers

in Glen Rock, PA:

                                                                                                [let me tell you, we were frozen as per usual.]    

 

           we even unwrapped christmas pj's before bed!

this year we, meaning I, made a ton of food gifts:
(Adam mostly taste-tested as they were coming out of the oven)

 were the majority & they were delicious!

[click for recipes]

I also made some
homemade dark chocolate peanut butter cups..
yeah, they didn't last long either.

 

I made this little market basket out of felt

for my sweet baby cousin, Ana.

 

It turned out super cute & she loved it! :)

onto Christmas Day:

it was baby blue's first christmas.

he loved all his squeaky wrapped goodies,

& chewing the paper of course.

 

        

my cousin shawna, got ENGAGED! yay!

and we realized we have way similar rings (both from the 50's)

 

we got to spend time with my brother,
Collin, which is always eventful.

He's a cool kid.

 

Adam & I recieved a bunch of homesteading &

canning goodies that will be put to great use! ;)

 

^^the aftermath^^

 

And Adam spoiled me with some new lovins for our bed!

 

[my man loves some flannel]

 

the day ended with a beautiful christmas sunset

happy birthday, Jesus. <3

 

Overall christmas was seriously one of the best yet! <3

We are beyond blessed by our family and the love that surrounds us.

Hope you had a beautiful christmastime with your loved ones.

our 2013 review in 15 seconds! http://fgr.am/f/hVSHH9ET4t
 

XOXO,