Holidays – Page 2 – HilaryStyle

December 25, 2015November 30, 2017

The Christmas Edition: I Made A List…

…but I didn’t have time to check it twice?! It’s the Holiday Season and there is always so much to do… I call it Making Christmas and If you’ve ever seen The Nightmare Before Christmas you’ll recognize this as one of the songs in the movie. Very much like the characters from the movie, the entire time I am “making Christmas” I am humming this tune.

I haven’t always celebrated Christmas and while at this point I would like to consider myself a pro at making the magic happen, just like Jack Skellington, I was pretty dazzled by Christmas when I first discovered it, and I still am! The giving, the glitter, the twinkling lights (you know I love the twinkling lights), family, friends, baked goods, christmas stockings…

Making Christmas! Making Christmas! La La La La La La La La!

This year’s holiday card photo was taken in Lisbon, Portugal in the Belem neighborhood. As soon as I saw this heart sculpture I knew this would be our holiday photo!

Like many families we visit Santa at our local mall every year. Over the years we’ve developed a simple strategy to avoid the long lines: 1) We go early in the season 2) We get in line about 10 minutes before Santa comes back from his lunch break! This year, there were only three families in line ahead of us and I got not only this nice photo with Santa, but a pretty nice one without him too! Too bad I didn’t need a holiday card pic! I love to take out all the photos from previous years and lay them all in a row. It’s so fun seeing how much the kids have grown! I’m grateful to Simon for being such a good sport!

Because I already had the photo I was able to order our cards earlier than normal this year… I was even able to include the Santa photos in with the family holiday cards. I was so excited to find this travel design on the Minted website!

We have a lot of ornaments and I want to find the perfect tree to display them. I’m not great at this, so Tim chooses for me. He’s pretty good at it! This year we had a tough time finding a tree and I am guessing its because of the drought we are having here in California. We went to a number of places before finding “the one”.

Tim and I have been collecting ornaments from our travels for the past 18 years! One of my favorite Christmas activities is taking them out of their boxes. Don’t laugh, but its like greeting old friends. There are the wedding ornaments my sister gave me when we got engaged, the snowflakes I gave Tim when we were dating, and of course the many ornaments we’ve picked up from around the world! This year we added a number of beautiful memories from our trips to New Orleans, Portugal, Spain, England and Disneyland! I put together a mini tree to showcase all the new ones!

When holidays collide! I grew up celebrating Chanukah, but hadn’t done so in many years. Last year we decided to host a Chanukah Party and it was big success. Year number two cemented the deal! Chanukah is now an official part of our holiday season! Latkes anyone!

I’m lumping shopping, wrapping and holiday specials together, because I have to admit I jumped on the online shopping bandwagon this year. With the exception of a few items, almost everything was purchased online making me more available to spend time with the boys.

I realized my little one had never seen The Nightmare Before Christmas. He really enjoyed it and so did the rest of us. Its still just as fabulous as ever! I shopped and wrapped while watching holiday specials. Thank you ABC Family!

Tis the season for party dresses, glitter, dancing…There’s no better way to celebrate the holidays than spending time with friends and family. Lucky for us we had lots of fun opportunities to celebrate!

Okay, we didn’t get to do this project, but I had every intention of making it happen! We ran out of time. Maybe next year?

One word: Instacart. Yep, I did all my holiday grocery shopping online this year and I loved it! Not sure what time it saved me, since we didn’t get to the craft… But not dragging all those groceries into the house was a nice bonus.

Making cookies for Santa is one of my absolute favorite Christmas activities! There are certain things that just have to happen, like hearing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and making Santa’s Cookies. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without them! Also, Santa is very particular about “her” cookies!

Whether it’s going for a run, seeing a movie or dinner with the girls building in some time for myself is definitely on my list!

Of course we always take a photo in front of the tree. The boys are usually wearing matching pjs which they like to stay in all day on Christmas! This year we took the picture on Christmas Eve. Check!

It’s Christmas Eve and I’ve finally made it to the end of my list… As you can see there are still a few unchecked boxes. I guess relaxing will have to be first on my list of Things To Do Tomorrow… Merry Christmas!

November 26, 2015November 30, 2017

How To Make An Apple Pie!

I’ve always enjoyed baking! Mainly I bake cakes, cupcakes and cookies for various holidays and birthdays. However, Tim’s absolute favorite is pie and I rarely make them. Mainly because anyone who bakes regularly knows making a good pie is much more difficult than it looks. It’s definitely easier to just buy one.

Recently I discovered an attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer that peels apples in about a nano-second! I saw a demo in the store and decided its time to start making pies! I even volunteered to bring one to our Thanksgiving Dinner today…

There are many recipes for Apple Pie, but after a few practice pies I decided to use a combination of two:

Aunt B’s Filling

5-7 apples cored, peeled and sliced

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Dash salt

Mix and put into pie shell. Dot with 2 Tbsp butter or margarine

Bake at 400 about 50 min or until top is lightly brown

The Crust

The Gourmets Cookbook recipe for all butter pastry dough.

The Most Important Ingredient

I know this pie will be good because even though I’m no pie baking expert I made it with my dear friend Maria! We spent the day laughing, drinking wine, enjoying being together and making pie! Perfect!

We used some extra dough and filing to make these little fruit pies and they came out great! A fun treat for our families and honestly, we weren’t sure they would wait for today to eat pie. Insurance!

October 30, 2015November 30, 2017

The Halloween Edition!

The annual visit to the pumpkin patch… is it obligation or fun? For our family it’s some of both, but definitely leaning more towards the fun side!

Like many families the tradition of visiting the pumpkin patch started when our oldest was just a baby and the boys have gone each and every year since. I did miss one year, I don’t remember why, but it must have been important, and I was heartbroken. So, even though finding time to go the pumpkin patch can feel like a chore, getting the kids to pose nicely for my annual photo is beyond frustrating, and living in California means our pumpkins will rot long before the big day, we go… and we like it!

The Obligatory Photo

Beyond the collection of perfectly shaped pumpkins my other main agenda item when visiting the pumpkin patch is getting that obligatory adorable photo of the kids. I don’t want to complain, but living in California means that the ideal pumpkin patch I remember from my childhood, just doesn’t exist. You know, the one with lots of giant pumpkins growing on curly green vines as far as the eye can see. Don’t forget the squishy mud you had to wade through to get to them. Who knows, maybe that’s not even real? It could be we bought our pumpkins at the local QFC? Mom?

Anyway, here in sunny California we have dusty dirt fields with a bit of hay strewn about and the occasional pumpkin here and there. At this point its late in the month, and pickings are getting pretty slim and so are the photo ops, we’ll just have to make it work… and we do!

I’ve dressed the boys in Halloween-ish type shirts and arranged a few pumpkins strategically, hoping to make a nice scene, but Elliot is easily distracted and keeps running off and darn that California sun, but Simon just can’t keep his eyes open no matter what direction I point him. I yell at them for a while and take about 100 bad photos before I give up and hope I got at least one decent shot. There are always the Halloween night photos? This is fun, right?!

Attempt 1

Attempt 2

We’re Having Fun Now!

Barb’s Fish Trap has the best clam strips!

Now if only there were pumpkins behind them!

There are many pumpkin patches in the Bay Area, but we usually head to Half Moon Bay, a favorite destination all year round. The weather was beautiful, so after we completed our pumpkin mission we ate outside at our favorite seafood restaurant, Barbara’s Fish Trap, and then took a lovely walk on the beach. Gotta love that California sun! We decided to end our day with a treat… Roasting marshmallows at the Half Moon Bay Ritz. The views were amazing and there were bagpipes playing! Okay, we are definitely having fun now!

Surfers in Half Moon Bay

Bill Lewis the Sandcastle builder.

Creating Our Pumpkin Masterpieces!

I’ve always enjoyed carving pumpkins and I generally choose something in the pop culture genre, Simon tends to go for something a bit more spooky and Elliot designs his own on the fly. Neither Simon, nor Elliot used patterns of any kind this year and both tried their hand at doing some sculpting! I had decided upon Hello Kitty and a hilarystyle.me pumpkin. Though I didn’t do any sculpting I did use acrylic paint to enhance Hello Kitty’s face and bow and I carved hilarystyle.me freehand.

This was 2013s pop pumpkin

2012’s pop pumpkin

Simon’s Original

Elliot’s Original

If you decide to use paint, make sure to clean and dry the pumpkin before applying the paint and wait for each coat of paint to dry before applying the next one. If you live in a rainy place its best to keep your pumpkin undercover.

I found this pattern online

Acrylic paint works great if you wash and dry the pumpkin first

I used red paint to highlight the inside of the bow…Ta Da!

Roasting the pumpkin seeds was a Halloween tradition in my house and one I’ve enjoyed continuing with my own kids. For added flavor we like to leave a bit of the “pumpkin goo” on the seeds. I love the smell of them roasting!

Heat the oven to 375 degrees and spread the seeds out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Salt liberally before putting them into the oven for about 10 minutes. You’ll want to use a spatula to toss them around before putting them back into the oven for another 5 or so minutes. Don’t forget to salt them again! Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn!

Our Costumes!

I’ve always loved dressing up for Halloween even before I could use the kids as an excuse! Now, that I have two, the sky’s the limit! In recent years I’ve been everything from Bat Girl to a pirate and a day of the dead skeleton to the Black Swan. This year I’m going as a Harajuku Girl! We have a number of Halloween events planned, so I’ll be getting a lot of use out of my costume this year! Fun!

Argh a Pirate!

Sugar Skull

The Black Swan

October 2, 2015November 30, 2017

Buon Natale da Roma! Merry Christmas From Rome!

Fed up with doing all the holiday decorating, shopping, present wrapping and cooking when it seemed as though no one actually cared about any of it. I decided I was over it! “That’s it! I’m quitting Christmas!”, I announced to my family!

The following year we spent Christmas in Rome! “Don’t worry. Santa will find you wherever we are.” I told the boys and it was true! 😉

If you’re wondering, the holiday season is a great time to visit Rome. Fantastic even! The Christmas and holiday decorations are beyond compare, the weather is temperate and the lines are short. In fact with the exception of a few places there were almost no lines for anything. It turned out to be the simplest and best Christmas I think we’ve ever had.

The Holiday Decor

I think I can safely say that I have never visited a city with more holiday decorations than Rome! There was scarcely a corner left untouched by festivity. It’s simply spectacular! Where you might think that the streets would be deserted on the eve of a major holiday, it was the exact opposite. The amount of people who are out and about strolling and enjoying the lights and atmosphere is simply amazing.

#nowthatsatalltree — Visiting the Colosseum was a highlight of our visit!

#spanishstepscresh — Creshes were everywhere this one is on the Spanish Steps

#festivityeverywhere — Decorations like this were around just about every corner

#romedoesitright — These lights were incredibly impressive and stretched for blocks and blocks.

#walkingtheredcarpet — Many streets had red carpets on them!

#westinexcelsior — Trees in front of the hotel

photo 4 (1) — The Westin Excelsior Christmas Tree

The Christmas Market in the Piazza Navona

We visited the Christmas market in Piazza Navona one evening and had such a lovely time. There were all sorts of holiday themed treats and it was incredibly festive. We picked up a tiny tree for our hotel room and each of us picked out two mini ornaments to decorate it with. A small strand of lights and a little angel tree topper finished it off! We set it up on our hotel room desk! When it was time to leave we brought all of our ornaments home with us and we hang them on our tree every year!

Piazza Navona is also a great place to explore during the day. There is a beautiful fountain and many cafes where you can people watch and grab a coffee.

The Vatican

No trip to Rome would be complete without a trip to the Vatican and it was especially lovely decorated for the holiday season. Not only were their multiple creches on the inside of St. Peter’s, but a large portion of St. Peter’s Square was filled with the biggest nativity scene I’ve ever seen. No pun intended!

#wasthereanydoubt — an iphone4 can’t do this justice, but you get the idea

#spiralstaircasexmas — This tree was nice surprise when entering the building for our Sistine Chapel tour

#sunsetovervaticancity — Looking out from St. Peters

#thebiggestnativityscene — We visited on Christmas eve and it was so crowded. duh!

Via dei Condotti

Complete with red carpet and “crystal chandeliers” the Via Dei Condotti was all dressed up for the holidays! One of Rome’s most fashionable streets it is located at the foot of the Spanish Steps. Many of fashion’s biggest names have shops here, Dior, Gucci, Valentino, Armani, Jimmy Choo, and Prada, to name just a few. It’s no surprise that the holiday decorations on this street were nothing short of stunning.

Santa? Is that you?

Traditionally we have our big holiday meal on Christmas Eve. Rather then go out for dinner we decided it would be more fun to order room service! After all we were taking a break from the usual holiday traditions this year! A little while later when the food arrived, Elliot, who was only 31/2 at the time, heard the knock at the door and yelled out, “It’s Santa!”

Yep! The holiday magic had followed us to Rome! I think we enjoyed that Christmas Eve dinner more than any other. At least I know I did!

Later that evening after the boys were asleep Santa stealthily put the tiny packages she had hidden in my suitcase as well as the Italian candy she’d discovered during the week into the boys stockings also hidden in the suitcase. Under the tiny tree they went!

#santainrome — Santa brought tiny presents so they would fit under our tree.

#thatsantareallyknowwhatsheisdoing — Santa was here!

#preservingthemagic — The boys seemed just fine with an International xmas

“Mommy! Daddy! Wake up! Santa was here, he found us!” “Didn’t I tell you “he” would find us wherever we are…”

Category: Holidays

The Christmas Edition: I Made A List…

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How To Make An Apple Pie!

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