Finally! I’m done work for the year and am on holidays until 2015! Yippeeee! The last week and a half has flown by. It’s been so busy but fun.  I got a little sidetracked from my weekend recaps due to too many activities (tough life, I know), but here’s a little quick glimpse into some of what’s been keeping me busy:

• Dinner party for 20 on a Wednesday night? No problem! Amazingly, D and I fit 20 of our closest friends (+ 2 babies) into our place and made enough food for everyone.  It’s a miracle! I made lasagnas the night before (one meat, one veg) so that we could just stick them in the oven late afternoon the day of the party. I love making lasagna in advance for large groups – it means that I can actually enjoy my guests’ company and visit with them rather than slave away in the kitchen as most of the work is done before anyone arrives.  We had charcuterie, cheeses, and olives out when guests arrived, then served the lasagna along with fresh bread and mixed greens, and homemade lemon squares for dessert.
• A + L’s Annual Holiday Party in Gastown.  Our friends A + L throw a great holiday party every year in their amazingly spacious, stylish Gastown loft.  I love going to their place – they take entertaining seriously. From the food spread to the bar set up, this was definitely a party worth going to.
• J’s North Shore Holiday Open House. My girlfriend J is the hostess with the mostess.  She made hot apple cider and gingerbread cake that I am still craving, plus she spoiled all her guests with little presents (homemade cookies, jam + tea). Too cute!
• Phantogram Concert at the Vogue theatre and pre-concert food and drinks with friends.  I had been looking forward to seeing Phantogram for awhile now and they did not disappoint. They sounded really good live – Fall in Love off their new album and then When I’m Small and Mouthful of Diamonds from their older album were my highlights.
• Leave Out Violence (LOVE) Society BC Holiday Dinner.  LOVE BC is an amazing local charity working with youth impacted by violence that I have volunteered with for about 4 years.  Tuesday was the annual holiday dinner with all staff and youth, and friends of LOVE. It was a fun party the energy of the youth always makes it a vibrant event to attend. Except I always feel old when I leave…
• Work Holiday Party.  This was my first holiday party at my new job – definitely more low key than my old law firm (the difference between public vs. private sector) but it was still really fun. Since I’m new at this job, I volunteered to help out with the social committee to get to know people better and as it turned out, this meant I had an opportunity to put in a good word for LOVE BC and it was selected as the charity of choice for all 50/50 proceeds to go towards! Perfect!
• Christmas Shopping.  I don’t want to brag, but I finished my Christmas shopping and everything is wrapped and under the tree. I don’t think I’ve ever been done so early – I feel victorious (silly, I know, but I’m not usually this ahead of the game).
• Cards Have Been Sent Out… Speaking of being on the ball, I managed to get 100 custom Christmas cards ordered from tinyprints.com out the door.  Whew! That’s a lot of cards (what was I thinking?).
• And… More Christmas Baking.  I’ve been baking up a storm and… I never thought I would say this, but I think I’m actually sick of eating baked goods already.  If you are what you eat, then I’m a lump of butter, flour and sugar.

After all that, I am officially on holidays and another weekend is here.  Next up: brunch over the weekend, a few more parties to go to, lots of visiting with friends, and then we are leaving the city on Monday to spend the holidays with our families. I can’t wait!

Wishing you a very Happy Holidays!

xoxo
Karine