I hope everyone’s Christmas Day was wonderful! I took a couple really looooong walks with my parents this afternoon and it was fabulous. For the first time in a long time, my blackberry was not attached at my hip and I felt like I could just “be”. Good to get grounded every once in awhile, no?
After we walked for about an hour, I snacked on an apple that I zapped in the micro for 2 minutes and topped with a mix of 1/4 c oats, a bit of brown sugar, cinnamon, roasted pumpkin seeds and pom seeds.
And then I pretty much laid on the window seat with a cup of hot cocoa and read for the rest of the afternoon. It was splendid.
Around 5:00 we busted into the Christmas wine!
I LOVE Hartford Court wines!!! I think this Fog Dance Pinot is my very favorite….I tried this for the first time at Thanksgiving and it was love at first sip. Lots of raspberry and juicy flavors. Mmm!!
My mom roasted the chicken and I got to work on the veggies. I roasted parsnips and brussels sprouts in a bit of extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and pepper:
While everything was cooking, I explored the kitchen on a deeper level. Turns out the owner of the house is a big time bread baker and has a 50 year San Francisco sourdough starter in the fridge! He told me I could take a little bit home and I’m so excited to bake the good stuff again. I also spied an amazing cookbook and jotted down some recipes I want to try…
I found a recipe for PEANUT BUTTER BREAD!!! Mmmmmmmmm
My mom stuffed our rocky chicken breasts with a mixture of local goat cheese, paprika and smashed garlic. It was delicious!
I also split a sweet potato with my mom. It was such a satisfying Christmas dinner!
Dessert was a little bit of dark chocolate Toblerone:
After dinner I soaked my sore yoga muscles/black & blue knee in the bathtub, which is the size of a small swimming pool. It felt sooooooooo gooooooood. I’m a big sucker for bubble baths 🙂
I’m off to bed to read and journal. Goodnight all!
Whitney
December 25, 2009 at 9:29 pmI love your hair like that!!! 🙂 how are you doing it? Just a braid down the sides? Merry Christmas!
Leah
December 25, 2009 at 9:43 pmYour dinner looks delicious!!
Merry Christmas!
Ameena
December 25, 2009 at 9:44 pmWhat a lovely day! Have a great night…
Shelley
December 25, 2009 at 9:51 pmlooks like a great day 🙂 your eats are always delicious looking!
Alex Johnson
December 25, 2009 at 10:26 pmYou are just so amazingly inspiring. Merry Christmas! Glad you had a beautiful day.
Hillary @ Nutrition Nut on the Run
December 25, 2009 at 10:50 pmWhat a beautiful, peaceful Christmas on the coast you had! Looks merry ‘n bright!
Suzanne de Cornelia
December 25, 2009 at 11:57 pmOld bread starter–COOL! I’ve also taken to walks sans electronics, just door-key. Dinner looks GREAT! Esp that wine! Looked for turkey (or roasted chicken) leftovers recipe…found one from a famous French chef who has a popular restaurant on Rue Saint Dominique in the 7th, which includes Rue Cler—the foodie paradise. Love that neighborhood as where the ‘Madeline’ books were set. Here’s the recipe if interested…had to translate from metrics. http://tinyurl.com/oe4ezq
Karla
December 26, 2009 at 12:12 amWhat a yummy looking dinner!!
I like low key holidays but they never seem to turn out low key in my family!!
rebecca lustig
December 26, 2009 at 4:50 amIsn’t it so rejeuvenating to ‘just be’ and stay grounded?
Glad you had a wonderful Christmas <3
simpledaisy
December 26, 2009 at 5:10 amLooks like a really wonderful Christmas!!
Take care~
Andee (LAEasyMeals)
December 26, 2009 at 5:10 amMerry X-Mas Jenna! Glad you got to spend it with your family, your dinner looks delicious 🙂
Cassie @ A Very Busy Mind
December 26, 2009 at 5:29 amBubble bath + reading + journaling = heaven. 🙂
Kailey
December 26, 2009 at 5:38 ampeanut butter bread!!? ah that sounds amazing 🙂
glad you had a nice christmas!
christie @ honoring health
December 26, 2009 at 5:45 amYum, I can’t wait to see the results of the PB bread!
Glad you had such a lovely Christmas!
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is
December 26, 2009 at 5:48 amMerry Christmas, Jenna! Glad you had a nice day. 🙂
Kristen @ Change of Pace
December 26, 2009 at 5:54 amHope you had a wonderful Christmas Jenna! It sure seems like it 🙂
Susan
December 26, 2009 at 6:19 amMerry xmas! I feel kindred with you bc we both had “untraditional” Christmases this year but they worked out great!
Jenna
December 26, 2009 at 6:22 amGlad ya had a relaxful Christmas:)
Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope
December 26, 2009 at 6:42 amWhat a wonderful Christmas Jenna! Sounds like the perfect mix of relaxation, fun, and family. And such a delicious dinner spread!
Lauren @ louisianagrown
December 26, 2009 at 6:47 amThey make dark chocolate Toblerones? Holy cow…
Danielle (Coffee Run)
December 26, 2009 at 6:53 amEverything looks so warm and comforting. I’m also a sucker for bubble baths 🙂
eatmovelove
December 26, 2009 at 7:14 amYour balance in life is admirable. Gosh, I wish I could achieve that. My dessert was 5x yours (why the ice cream?) and then I feel awful needless to say…and that’s not enjoying life or the finer things. Photos look cozy girl. Are you staying at someone’s house?
Emily
December 26, 2009 at 8:10 amsounds like you had a great christmas with your family, jenna. your chicken + local goat cheese dinner sounds amazing! i went mostly unplugged yesterday and didn’t blog at all..it was nice. 🙂
Heather @ The Joyful Kitchen
December 26, 2009 at 8:27 amWow, that sounds like a beautiful evening. It’s so nice to escape the “real world” for a while and just live your life 🙂 I’m anxious to try that chicken recipe, too, it sound amazing!
Mae
December 26, 2009 at 8:40 amMerry Christmas! Spending time with family is so nice, and so are long walks… I’m trilled you had a wonderful day! You’ve inspired me to make the west coast one of my life-travel goals. 😀
Sam (Merit to the Carrot)
December 26, 2009 at 8:44 amYour Christmas Meal looks fantastic! You & your family have great taste 😉
Cynthia (It All Changes)
December 26, 2009 at 8:46 amThat apple thing is my favorite dessert. I make many variations of it.
Glad you are having fun with your parents.
Jenny
December 26, 2009 at 9:21 amSounds like a really wonderful Christmas! I made it a point to leave my iPhone in my room for the majority of the day, it was SO nice to not worry about getting every text message or email that came my way 🙂
I’m a sucker for bubble baths too, perfect ending to the day for sure.
Chelsea (Chelsea's Chew and Run Fun)
December 26, 2009 at 12:13 pmWhat a gorgeous day, with gorgeous food. Your meal looks so fresh, hearty, and healthy. Lovely.
I hear ya’ on the Blackberry front. It’s really nice to digitally disengage whenever possible. Glad you got in some serious quality time with the folks.
Sarah (Running to Slow Things Down)
December 26, 2009 at 12:16 pmSo glad you’ve had a wonderful Christmas! All the holiday photos are gorgeous. 😀
Carolyn
December 26, 2009 at 4:50 pmSounds like a wonderful Christmas!
Jolene (www.everydayfoodie.ca)
December 26, 2009 at 8:38 pmMmmm, I love tobelerone – def. my fave choc. bar!
Jil
December 27, 2009 at 3:43 pmSounds like a wonderful meal and day!