our christmas day

On Christmas morning Sean and I woke up to lots and lots of snow! We took Cami to the dog park by our house and she loved galloping in the deep snow.You can see us running in it together!

Cami also had a fun time opening up all of those presents under our tiny little tree in her Christmas PJs!

We missed our families this year but there is something about Chicago during the holidays that we just love. There are Christmas lights on everything - trees, street lamps, bars, apartment windows, cars and of course houses.

We have also started our own tradition of having Christmas morning mimosas together while we open presents, then we make a big breakfast of hash and eggs with cinnamon streusel coffee cake! It was all so yummy!

It was fun to go play in the snow and then cuddle up to watch season two of Parks and Recreation that Santa brought Sean and I. Santa also brought us two new board games to add to our collection - Life and Yahtzee!

fat, fun, + running

Looking back at old pictures of myself from college I realized something: Yes, I let myself get fat... but wow did I have fun getting there! My reasoning behind this revelation came from the many college pictures I was looking at - house parties, date parties, drinks from The Barn , late night snacking in the Theta house, 21st birthday parties with friends, going out every night with Sean when we first started dating, bachelorette parties, destination weddings, grad school, internships, jobs...

Wish me luck!

...add this up with no time for the gym or trying to eat normally and you get one chubby Caroline. My road to gaining over 30 pounds in college was from having a TON of fun and not really stressing about what I looked like! Now that I have dropped all of that weight from college I can take a look back now and not feel so down on myself like I use to. I was never really unhappy and I still have all of my best friends, and Sean met me when I was at my biggest and he still loved me at that size anyways! Lucky me, right!?

Now that I can fit into my skinny jeans from freshman year, my new goal for this year is to become a runner. I started this training program called Couch to 10k on my iPhone! I have so much more energy now and my best friend Amber (read her blog here, DayEndReview) has really motivated me to start running. She has ran a ton of 5ks all around Oklahoma and now she is signed up to run a half marathon!  Plus, Sean is an amazing runner and I want to keep up with him when we start to run Lake Michigan this summer!

the winter coat

I have been searching for a winter coat ever since we moved to Chicago. I never thought I would ever need to buy a super long winter coat that basically goes down to my ankles! But the temperatures in Chicago this winter are so cold and I mainly do my commuting outside. So I searched and I searched...I wanted something fun, flirty, and flattering! Not a big coat that makes me look like a bear. So I came across this one from a Victoria's Secret website and it was love at first sight!

It is like wearing a blanket and has all the necessary number of pockets for a girl on the go. The fur hood is perfect for covering my hair when the snow comes and the cinched belt adds a nice feminine touch. Here is me with Sean wearing it at the Lincoln Park Zoo Lights a few weeks ago!

lulu i love you

I am in LOVE with these two dresses from LuLu*s, a Website my friend Whitney told me about. Like ModCloth, LuLu*s has some really chic stuff at great prices. I am getting the blue dress to wear for Whitney's bachelorette party in January that I am hosting. I know I will be cold but at least I will look super cute!

The cream dress is so dreamy and I just love the accents of gold around the oval neckline. This dress is definitely on my wish list but not yet in my shopping cart. 

power ballad of 2010!

My power ballad of 2010 has to be Strip Me by Natasha Bedingfield. This year I think I finally became an adult. Sean and I lived on our own in a big city and actually survived. We had a few struggles in the beginning that made us a very humbled couple but in the end we made it work. We were able to enjoy the city for the first year without going under. Sean and I are happier than we ever thought we would be and we are very much looking forward to our future together in Chicago! Happy New Year 2011!

And if you strip me,
Strip it all away
If you strip me,
What would you find
If you strip me,
Strip it all away 

Ill be alright...

- Natasha Bedingfield "Strip Me"

rub-all-over-your-body cornbread stuffing

This stuffing is probably the best stuffing I have ever had in my entire life! (Sorry mom and grandma!) I was in charge of making the stuffing this year and I decided to use this recipe from one of my In-Style magazines. I even rolled out my very own biscuits using a french rolling pin. If you don't have a french rolling pin get one immediately! It is so much better than one with handles. Also, make sure you use sweet cornbread mix and add corn to the cornbread if you like, the cornbread mix I used was from Trader Joe's and it already had corn in it. I also added raisins and it came out perfectly! I made it as a side dish but I'm sure it would be great stuffing for a turkey too! This was a big hit at our Friendsgiving dinner!

Ingredients:
• 5 cups day-old cornbread, crumbled
• 4 cups day-old Bisquick biscuits, crumbled
• 1 1/2 cups celery, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. salt
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 tbsp. dried sage
• 1 tsp. parsley flakes
• 1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 lb. mild pork sausage, cooked and drained

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together. Stuff turkey with mixture and follow your own recipe for cooking time or treat as a side dish by placing mixture in a 9" x 13" ovenproof pan or casserole dish in oven, uncovered.
3. Cook 1 hour, adding extra broth if it starts to become too dry.

Serves 8 (with leftovers)