Years ago, BC (before children) Ninja and I spent months making all of our Christmas gifts for our parents, siblings, and friends. We made trays of flavoured salts, different types of liqueurs, flavoured oils, candles, bath bombs, knitted scarves, mittens, touqes, wood burned drumsticks, and so much more that I can’t remember because I didn’t know what a blog was and I didn’t own a camera 😂.
I used to painstakingly cut out Christmas tags and I used tweezers to glue beautiful little mittens and other handcrafted beads onto each tag lovingly.
Then we had HBear and the homemade gifts turned into little crafts from her and perhaps one item per extended family member that I could manage to get done over the year.
Then we had SBean and homemade Christmas gifts ceased to exist 😂. Of course, I still make each family a calendar filled with pictures of our past year but essentially our homemade gift giving became homemade Christmas crafts for the Girl’s classmates.
This year, SBean was very clear in what she wanted to get her sister. She wanted to get her a giant photo album and fill it with pictures of HBear since she was born! We have pictures up all over our house that I change up quarterly, when I take down all of the 4x6s, I put them in a box… Or 2 😂 SBean went through the entire 2 boxes and filled up 300 spots in the 500 picture photo album! ❤️ I just know how much HBear is going to love it and it makes my heart burst thinking of all the time SBean spent creating such a special gift for her big Sister.
HBear was also very clear in what she wanted to get her sister for Christmas this year. A necklace holder. SBean loves accessories! Necklaces are her favorite! We went to Claires and to a few other places but none of them were what she was looking for. She had poked around on Pinterest and had many ideas about the perfect necklace holder 😂 using our creative imaginations we came up with this! HBear is so proud of her beautiful work and I know SBean is going to freaking love it!
First, Ninja and HBear drilled little holes in the bottom of a scrap board they found in the garage.
Then, they painted the board with black high gloss spray paint.
Ta Da! 2 beautiful gifts made with love ❤️
A few weeks ago Ninja was telling me how he was craving a delicious roasted pork tenderloin. Pork isn’t my favourite so I said, “have at ‘er!” I found a recipe and he made us the most mouthwatering, delicious, and satisfying Sunday dinner I’ve had in a long time! This dinner is easy enough for a weekday, comforting enough for a Sunday family dinner, and elegant enough for a holiday feast with friends! This Pork Loin with Wine Gravy will NOT disappoint!
Pork Loin with Wine and Herb Gravy
Adapted from Seasons and Suppers
1/4 cup oil
5 cloves garlic peeled and sliced in half lengthwise
2 Tablespoons rosemary, chopped
1/4 cup sage leaves, roughly chopped
2 – 1 lb. pork tenderloins
1 1/4 cups dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Saute the garlic, rosemary and sage, stirring, for about one minute. Add the pork loin to the pan, carefully placing it on top of the herbs. Saute the pork for about 5 minutes on each side, then remove it to a plate.
Reduce heat to medium-low heat. Return the pork to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Partially cover with a lid and cook for about 45 minutes -1 hour, flipping the pork and scraping the bottom of the pan every 20 minutes or so. Keep an eye on it, making sure there continues to be some liquid in the pan. Add 1/4 cup of warm water if necessary.
When the pork is cooked through (if you want to test with a thermometer, it should be about 140-145° internal temperature.) Remove pork to a cutting board to rest and cover with loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil to help retain the heat while it rests.
Increase the heat in the pan to medium. Deglaze with a splash of white wine if needed. Stir well to loosen the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Allow to cook until the alcohol smell disappears (about 1-2 minutes). Add the chicken stock and stir to combine. Heat over medium heat for a few minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the cream. Heat gently over medium-low heat, stirring the sauce constantly, until it thickens a bit and is warmed through. If your sauce doesn’t thicken up, mix a slurry of 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water and add a bit at a time to your sauce until it thickens to your liking. Add salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.
When the sauce is ready, slice the pork very thinly and pour the warm gravy over-top to serve.
The festivities kicked off on Friday morning at our 6th Annual RoadRunner’s Pancake Breakfast! For the past few years I have helped put it on but this week was a work week so I took a giant step back. Ninja and I went for the first hour to help out and we were lucky enough to see SBean enjoy the fun with her friends! Thankfully my GR2Besty took pictures of HBear for me!
When we got home from the recital, we celebrated Christmas “morning” with Dad! He left for Christmas in Cochrane the next day so we pretended it was Christmas morning complete with stockings, present an orange and… cocktails 😂 🤗!
Of course some delicious hot cocoa and Mario Cart is the perfect way to end a great day!
SBean really grew attached to Maynard, our Elf, this year. She talked to him every day and really tried to convince him to put her on the nice list even if she was just a little bit naughty 😂.
After our snow adventure, Ninja took the Girls to his parents to work on some Clay Creations!
HBear helped me prep our Christmas Eve dinner! Recipes to come!
After we opened the box we went to the Christmas Eve service at the Bethel Church. I love Christmas Eve at church. The sense of community and love is overwhelming. The Girls LOVE singing carols and being involved in good Christmas cheer.
