Boog-Mas

This holiday season was slightly wacky for me. It consisted of unexpected travel, new challenges, and a shortage of time, all of which landed at the end of an extremely tumultuous four month period. Can you say "Happy New Year"?

Even with the craziness, I was looking forward to ending 2010 in my home state of Minnesota. Actual Christmas was spent "working" out of the country, but we decided to celebrate our own Christmas when I was back on December 28th which also happens to be Bryndal's second birthday. Hence, Boog-Mas was created.

See the resemblance?

The Boog


SXM, ATL, and MSP all helped cheer on the holiday atmosphere by providing Christmas music in the concourses and tinsel, garland and bows still decked the halls of every gate I passed. TSA was even...dare I say it?...jolly!

My travels were re-routed due to the massive snow thunderstorm which hit the Northeast.

Hoboken, NY - Dec 2010 (photo: Molly Stuart)


Back home, the tree is still evergreen and lit, and Minnesota manages to keep up with the White Christmas competition ala frosted trees and snow banks perfect for fort building. It's time for family and food.

The honorary B was showered with new toys

 and lots of attention.

It's tiring being doted on!

I saw these treats showcased on the blog Red Vines for Breakfast. They literally took about 7 minutes to assemble and although the sugar quotient is off the charts, they make a crowd pleasing holiday snack (in moderation). Recipe HERE. I think they should be renamed Oreo Crack.

Swirled and ready to be chilled.

Cracking the crack.

Keep chilled.

Of course, the recipe only called for 10 Oreos. This means plenty of leftover Oreos which in turn means Oreos must be hidden.

Secret Stash

I'm also trying to achieve the perfect ginger snap, which seems to elude me year after year. I've tried THIS recipe and THIS recipe. Any suggestions? I'm looking for a snappy, caramel colored, and immensely spicy version.

A trip to MN is not complete without a little bit of the Mall of America (I had no idea there were so many forms of Viking apparel that people aren't embarrassed to wear in public), Target aisle roaming (I'm loving THIS body wash-so fruity!), and lots of Caribou Coffee runs. I was gifted these mitts/coffee sleeves for Boog-Mas. How cute and how useful!

Knit Glove Coffee Sleeve - Caribou Coffee

Since I came directly from the Caribbean, I only had sandals, swimsuits, and shells to shield me from the cold. Luckily, post Christmas is a great time to make purchases and The Gap's 50% off all sale items promotion gained me these easy pieces:

Shoulder-zip Sweater - The Gap

Always Skinny Cords - The Gap

I have a fabulous sparkly skirt sulking at home in NYC that was supposed to be my New Year's Eve attire. Since it didn't make it to the big night, I suppose I need a good celebratory reason to wear it in 2011. Here's hoping!

Tonight will be a gathering with our dearest family friends for some lasagna, prosecco, and laughs.

Going to try and make these easy and savory Chic Cheese Sticks feature on THIS blog which will tie in perfectly with our Italiano themed New Year's Eve.

Photo & Recipe courtesy of The Broke and Chic Project

I'm fairly certain that some games will be played. Taboo, Cranium, and Trivial Pursuit seem to be annual favorites. What are some of your favorite gathering games?

All of the Sorensens were obviously on Santa's Nice List this year judging by the goodies that were given.
I'm beyond thrilled to start playing with my new toy:

With my new boost of power and storage, I'm going to finally be able to access and send many promised photos and hopefully start whittling down the 3436 emails in my inbox.

Let the game of Catch Up begin! A domani!