Runs on Coffee and Cream

The holiday season is upon us, winter is creeping up, and the real world has definitely been throwing some unexpected punches. It's time to practice self-care.

Until January my work will be insane. I'm working maximum hours each week and have been offered overtime more than once already. On top of that I have a list of a million things to do over the holiday season before Christmas hits. Then there's stress from real world problems, minor personal stresses, and trying to keep up with all my hobbies. I've turned into a giant ball of exhaustion and stress.

Up until last week I thought I could handle it all. Then I broke down. I can't. I'm human and I need to accept that I can't do a million things at once. So here I am writing down my self-care plan for the holiday season.


1. Take time outs.

Turn my phone off, shut out the real world news updates, and just zone out; read a book, put my headphones on to listen to music while I clean or fold laundry, or watch a good tv show without also working on something else.

2. Get more sleep during the night.

I'm sleep deprived. I never get enough. I go to bed late, have restless sleeps, and then struggle to get out of bed on time for work. I've already spent 4 days heading to bed earlier than normal and getting up at a reasonable time so that I don't sleep my morning away.

3. Learn to say 'no'.

I tend to say 'yes' to all plans and ideas that come my way. This holiday season needs to be simplified. Less unnecessary outings, less Christmas gifts (not to be cheap, but it's time to lessen the gift giving stress with some people), and not letting work take over my life.

4. Head outside.

Life is busy during the holiday months but I need fresh air, sunshine, and time to just have pointless conversations with Adam or to zone out with my music.

5. Eat better.

Hello sweets and fattening foods! That is what the winter months are for. But I need to balance out the rich foods and treats with more fruits and veggies. I've already started this and have been loading my lunch bag up with snap peas, sliced peppers, and all the fruits I can fit into my bag.

Source

There's a lot more I've been consciously doing over the last few days; pampering myself with face masks, massaging lotion into my arms and hands before bed, using the computer less during the day, trying to not let work situations stress me out or follow me home, playing with the cats more.

Right now is an important time to step away from the madness of the world and find some positivity and happiness in your own little bubble. At least that's what I'm going to be trying to do so I can get through the holidays in one, happy piece.

xo Jen

5. Once cookies are completely cool, melt chocolate chips in microwave in a microwave-safe bowl. I added in the chips a little bit at a time and microwaved in 20 second intervals and stirred vigorously in between to prevent burning the chocolate.

6. Once you have the consistency you like, dip cookies in white chocolate and place on wax paper to dry. If you want sprinkles, add them at this point while the chocolate is still wet.



7. Let the cookies harden completely before packing them in a container. You may want to put the cookies in the refrigerator to help harden the chocolate.


These are by far one of my favourite ginger cookies I've ever had. Slightly chewy and very spicy. The chocolate adds a nice bit of sweetness to them, but I think the next time I make these I'll omit the chocolate. They're the perfect compliment to a cup of coffee or tea.

And now that I have leftover molasses on hand, be prepared for all the gingerbread recipes!

xo Jen

Even as an adult I have moments where I feel exactly like Buddy the Elf. This is probably why Elf has become one of my favourite Christmas movies.

On Christmas Eve, this is me ALL day...


I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

xo Jen

Anyone else excited that Christmas is THIS week?!?! I'm incredibly excited! To get in the Christmas spirit I've been fitting in Christmas activities wherever I can... Christmas movies, building gingerbread houses, wrapping gifts, writing out cards, and consuming festive treats!






What have you been doing to get in the holiday mood? Countdown till Christmas is on!
xo Jen

 




This was definitely my highlight of the month because since then I feel like I've been living at work and in a time crunch when I'm at home.

I hope you have a good weekend! I'll be at work and doing my best to stay in the Christmas spirit!
xo Jen

Christmas is SO soon! I'm spending the rest of my evening wrapping the last of the gifts and watching Elf. I just love this time of year.

My Christmas wish list was sent to Santa a while ago but thanks to online window shopping, I'm always adding to my wish list. These are a few things I'd love to add to my wardrobe and wear over the Christmas holidays.

Can you believe we're at the half-way mark in November? Christmas will be here so quick! This realization has got my butt in gear and I've started working on Christmas baking, finishing up shopping, and sewing like crazy!

The last couple of years I've made a point of adding a lot of new items to my Etsy shop during the couple of months leading up to Christmas. Currently, there are tons of new items added and I still have more to post! This is just a snippet of them...


And these are a few of my favourite items in my shop:





Since Christmas is around the corner, I want to give everyone a head's up to get their online orders in! Mail becomes slow during this time of year and orders take longer to get to their final destination.

Valentine's Day has never been a big event for me and Adam. Sometimes we exchange a small gift and sometimes we just go out for a meal together. Now, in no way am I hinting this post towards Adam (I swear!), but I wanted to share some of my top picks that I'd be happy to get for Valentine's Day.

Did you have a good Christmas? I can't believe it's over already. I had a fantastic time visiting family in Hamilton. I was completely spoiled and I ate tons of yummy food! Before heading down earlier this week, I did some baking. I brought half of it down to Hamilton to share with my family.

Adam's a huge fan of shortbread. I don't love it, but I do enjoy it in small servings. I made a batch of my Great Grandma's shortbread recipe. The edges were a little too dark for my liking, but Adam insists this batch is one of the best I've made. I guess previous batches have been extra crumbly.



One of my favourite Christmas cookies is Belgium cookies (or Empire cookies) but they take forever to make! There's numerous steps and since I was baking alone, I didn't have the energy to make any. A while back I did see this recipe for Raspberry Almond Shortbread cookies. They sounded super easy and really good. So.... I made them and I want to eat them ALL! They taste like Belgium cookies! This makes sense since it's similar ingredients, but layered differently. I will definitely be making these again. My family loved them as well.



I've promised Adam a few other batches of cookies so I have some baking plans for the next couple of weeks. Plus, I've been buying discounted Christmas M&Ms so they will be used in some recipes in the near future.

We'll have to go on more hikes and finally go skating to help us work off all the sweets that are in our home!
xo Jen

Christmas is SO soon! This holiday season is flying by! I'm super excited for Christmas and some events that lead up to it... specifically building and decorating a gingerbread house with Adam, checking out the Festival of Lights, and wrapping up the last of the gifts.

These are just a few things I'd be super happy to receive for Christmas. The holiday-themed dresses and skirt are beyond adorable and I'd wear them all Winter!

The last week or so has been an exciting time for IGGPPC.... we made an announcement about looking for a new staff member (which is open for about another 24 hours or so if you're interested in applying), we're working on some future plans and ideas for 2014, Round 9 opened, and I started up a Holiday Card swap in the Symposium.


Round 9 will be our last round of 2013 since December is such a busy month for most people. You can enter our last round here. We also have a pretty cool giveaway happening on the site right now too.

It's Christmas Eve and I wanted to wish everyone Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!



xo Jen

Considering the time of year, Christmas music has been playing non-stop around me. I listen to tunein radio or AccuRadio while I'm on the computer. And most radio stations are now playing a Christmas song at least a few times every hour so even at work I'm listening to Christmas music.

Last week, me and Mary went to see Meaghan Smith again at The Pearl Company here in Hamilton. It was the 'It Snowed' tour so it was extremely Christmasy. The venue had twinkle lights up and there were decorations hanging from the ceiling. And Meaghan played a bunch of her Christmas songs. It was such a great show. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy haha.


Work has been getting very busy and my free time has been spent preparing for Christmas or working on Sparklegirl-business things. I've been making a point of getting into bed a bit earlier everyday though. Even if it's just to read and shut my mind off before going to sleep. I just finished the first Sailor Moon manga. It was so good and cute. I'm excited to continue reading the series. It was a very fast read.



I do own the second Sailor Moon but I thought I'd break up the books with Ultimate Spider-man. I bought the first 2 volumes of this Spider-man series at Big B Comics a couple of months ago. I've been told by a lot of people that I'll enjoy it so I'm excited to start it tonight.



I recently started Season 4 of Supernatural. Oh man, is it good! If you don't watch this show, you should and when you get to Season 4 you'll be even more hooked than you previously were. It doesn't seem possible but the story gets so good. In between Christmas movies, I'll be watching as much Supernatural as possible over the next couple of weeks.



What are you obsessed with at the moment?
xo Jen

First, do you like eggnog? I know it's something people usually love or hate. There's no middle ground. I'm a big fan of it myself. It's sweet and creamy. And it tastes really good with rum or amaretto. It's definitely a treat I enjoy throughout December.



Recently while Christmas shopping I stopped in Sephora and came across the Philosophy Holiday line. Their Old Fashioned Eggnog Shampoo/Shower Gel/Bubble Bath smells amazing! Exactly like eggnog! I wanted to drink the bottle right there in the store.



It's a pricey bottle of shampoo so I didn't buy it. But I will definitely be checking to see if it drops in price after Christmas. Though Adam doesn't like eggnog, I like the idea of smelling like it for me!

I've also been trying the Davids Tea holiday flavours. Cookie Dough was surprisingly satisfying. The after taste really does taste like cookies. I'm eager to try their Cocomint Cream next.



My Mom picked me up a bag of Andes baking bits when she went shopping in the U.S. recently. I knew I had to try out these cookies that I came across on Pinterest using them.



Oh my, were they good! I took pictures but I didn't realize just how blurry they were until I uploaded them on the computer. My cookies had more chocolate pieces throughout them and they didn't turn out as green, even though I put in the right amount of food colouring as the recipe states. Either way, I highly recommend these cookies!

And on a completely different topic, I recently did an interview with Kristy at Indie Girl Blogs. It was posted today and there's also a giveaway! Go check it out!

xo Jen

I have already started to bake some holiday treats... chocolate mint Andes cookies and gingerbread cupcakes. And Pinterest keeps inspiring me with more holiday recipes that I want to try!





What are your favourite holiday treats to make?

xo Jen

Over the last couple of years I've been making stockings out of scrap fabric. They got a great response the first Christmas I made them so I've continued making some stockings every year. I decided to post them in my Etsy shop earlier than normal this year. This looks like it was a good idea since I have steadily been selling stockings. I made up 3 more last week that I will be posting in the shop tomorrow.



There's only a few stockings left in my shop at the moment.

I have also posted new pillowcases in the shop.Go take a look!

And, remember you can get 10% off using the coupon code: HOLIDAYS2012

There's still time to place Christmas orders, so if you're looking for something custom send me an email at sparklegirl.jen@gmail.com

xo Jen

The holiday season is underway for me... I have a good chunk of my Christmas shopping done, I purchased wrapping paper and Christmas cards (with kittens on them!) tonight, and my Etsy and custom orders are increasing!

I recently updated my Etsy shop with all my zipper pouches I have on hand. There are 28 in my shop currently. Earlier this week I photographed all the pillowcases I have so I will be starting to update my Etsy shop with those later this week.

And remember, if you are looking for a specific item or fabric, send me an email at sparklegirl.jen@gmail.com

On Facebook, I currently have a giveaway going. I will be drawing a winner at the end of November to win any zipper pouch of their choice from my Etsy shop. So head over to my Facebook page to enter!

Finally, I'm offering 10% off in my Etsy shop with the coupon code: HOLIDAYS2012

Happy Holiday Shopping!!

xo Jen

It's no secret how much I love winter clothing and I'm on the hunt for some dresses and clothes that can be worn to family functions over the holidays. I recently stocked up on tights at Target over in the U.S. and I bought new boots from Payless. I need just a few more things and I'm ready for the winter holiday season!

Winter Wishlist:








What's on your wishlist for the winter season?

xo Jen

I was really stumped on a costume for Halloween this year. At first we had no invites to any parties to go to so I never 'really' looked for a costume. We just talked about it. But once we got invited to a Halloween party, I just didn't have the time or money to put together a creative costume. Adam told me I should go as April O'Neil from the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show. Initially I shrugged it off. But then we kept watching the show... and I completely fell in love with it. The humour, chemistry and personalities of  the turtles on the Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show is so awesome!



So after countless trips to thrift stores and Google searches for a costume that would be easily and cheaply attainable, I decided to dress as April from the new show.



Her outfit is very straight forward and I only spent $4 on a pair of socks. I did, however, go on a search for a crew-neck yellow t-shirt but apparently that's impossible to find at this time of year. So I had to go with a v-neck I already owned. Either way, it was a quick and fun costume.



Most people had no idea who I was at the Halloween party but me and Adam were happy with what I put together.

 xo Jen