366/366

The last day of 2012 started with breakfast in bed,

watching the year reviewed on the Today Show,
while I painted my nails
and Matt read articles about investing.

A quiet morning while the city of Cartagena prepares to welcome a new year.



We're thankful for an amazing 2012,
full of adventure
travel
family
friends
lessons
and
love.

See you next year.

365/366

matt spent the day soaking up the last week of regular season football.

i spent the day soaking up the last hours of those lights on the tree while reading magazines.

a pleasant afternoon and evening.

364/366

Today I went to centro {downtown area} to make reservations at a hotel for a New Years Eve rooftop dinner/party.
While there I shared some wine with a friend and swapped Colombia 2012 stories.

Not a bad view to welcome 2013.

363/366

Matt made a declaration that he is still on holiday.
Considering our tree is still up and lit,
he is technically correct.

So, tonight we skipped the gym,
made a nice dinner
and watched a marathon of The Wire.

All are recommended for a quiet Friday night on holiday.

362/366

Today I made hummus,
for the first time,
with another one of those kitchen appliances that makes me happy.

I think after 20 months,
I am finally getting the hang of this 'ama de casa' thing.

361/366

Santa brought me something I've had my eye on for a little while now...

that's right.

I have a juicer.

After running to the store to buy all sorts of fruits and veggies, I made my first juice.

spinach

carrots

cucumber

celery

apple

Loving it.

We found a nice little cozy spot for it on the counter, so it's accessible for a daily juice and the possibilities of fruit and veggie combinations are endless. 

Who knew you could be this creative with fruits and vegetables?

Who knew when you turn 30, Santa brings you kitchen appliances...

and you get excited about it?

360/366 {Christmas Day}

Merry Christmas!


After returning from the Decameron, we turned on the Christmas lights, lit candles, and started the Christmas playlist full of glorious holiday melodies that have been wandering through our apartment for the last month.

We felt lots of cheer {and a bit spoiled} as we opened gifts and shared laughter and excitement about all that lay under our tree.



We prepared a late Christmas lunch,
with a roast chicken instead of a turkey, corn, mashed potatoes & gravy.


Our Christmas ended as many have in the past,
curled up on the couch watching Christmas movies,
sharing candy from our stockings,
and taking in the final moments of excitement and magic that this season brings each year.

I hope your day was just as magical.
Merry Christmas!
xo

Merry Christmas!

359/366 {christmas eve}

Merry Christmas Eve!

Our day consisted of lots of sun, relaxation, rest, reading, cocktails, conversing, and togetherness.



It's interesting to spend Christmas at a pool... you have to remind yourself it is in fact a holiday.
Just in case, we brought plenty of Christmas goodies, Christmas movies, and even some gifts from under the tree to open each day.

We enjoyed our little Christmas vacay, the rest & relaxation, the time spent together, and the lack of pressure to try to make a perfect holiday.

As jolly as it was, we're already in talks to make it home for the holidays next year,
because, honestly, who doesn't want to spend their Christmas like this...

...and a Christmas sunburn is overrated.

358/366

Before heading to Baru Island, we got to open a few gifts...
I was very excited to try out my new camera lens, while sporting a new camera strap.


Our journey to the Decameron was not near as eventful as the first {no tolls}.
Upon our arrival, we went into vacation mode by changing into our suits and enjoying a few beverages.



We soaked up some afternoon sun while discussing 2012, how fast is passed, and what may be in store for us in 2013.

As the sun went down we retreated to our room to enjoy the view.

357/366

And so our Christmas vacation begins!

To kick off our holiday vacay, we decided to get in some last minute shopping.
Did I mention we have a new mall in Cartagena?
Like, a real mall, with a department store that is two levels!
It's kind of a big deal around here and since Matt hadn't had to opportunity to experience it, we thought it was only appropriate to spend the afternoon there.

We browsed through all the new stores and ohh-ed and ahh-ed over things that we've been searching for the last 20 months and are now only a cab ride away.
Unlike the States, there wasn't much of a last minute Christmas rush, which made me a much merrier shopper.
{Can you imagine the line etiquette in a rush situation?}

After making a few purchases, we sauntered over to a store that is not on my nice list. Mostly because I'm pretty sure they don't have air conditioning and each time I purchase something there, I stand in line for a ridiculous amount of time, sweating.
I digress.
We were looking for a yoga mat.
Not an easy find here in Colombia.
I've only been hunting for 6 months.
I digress. again.

While not finding said yoga mat, we did find something else that felt like a bit of a Christmas miracle.
Matt likes to drink Jameson. Thankfully we've always been able to find it at our local grocery store.
Until a few weeks ago.
Christmas vacay with no Jameson is not what Sr. McQuinn had in mind.
So when we discovered a full liquor aisle with several bottles of Jameson,
someone's Christmas wish had been granted.

I'm sure you can guess how the rest of the story goes.
The liquor bottle is not actually in the box, so the checkout girl has to send someone to retrieve the bottles. After about 16 minutes, a different man returns with 4 bottles of Jameson.
Now there is only 3 boxes for the 4 bottles since the box was given to the original retriever. We then wait approximately 9 minutes for the box to be found.
The best part was Matt wore an easy-going grin the whole time...
full of good will and cheer after that little miracle.


The rest of our afternoon was spent baking scones while sipping mulled wine,
watching Christmas movies,
and enjoying the beginning of our holiday together.

356/366

Happy First Day of Winter!

355/366

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.
Despite the sunshine, heat, maxi dresses and A/C blasting...
the magic of Christmas has arrived.

Maybe it was the snow storm posted all over Facebook,
the fact that we have now reached the December 20-somethings,
or maybe that we are a mere 24 hours away from Matt getting an actual Christmas break.

The combination of all three left me with a deep need for hot chocolate and Christmas movies.
So I did.


My Spanish lesson turned into an open bottle of red and conversations about the holidays.


We're pretty content in our Colombian holiday joy...

and ready for our Caribbean Holiday to commence.

354/366

I continue to bake.

It's like an addiction this week.
Just me, a spatula, my trusty oven, and a Christmas movie playing in the background.
With each batch I've made, the majority has been sent to work with Matt,
to spread some holiday cheer to those hardworking boys
and to keep the sugar out of my reach.

Today I tried my hand at a new holiday-bake-craft-project,
making cinnamon Christmas ornaments.
My ornament collection is quite limited here
so I thought layering on some additional pieces and fragrance would be a nice touch.

I checked out a few different recipes,
including Martha Stewart's.
{she called for craft glue and I wasn't sure if generic Colombian glue passes as craft glue}

I should have stuck with Martha.
My little cinnamon snowflakes didn't turn out near as pretty as they looked like in the pictures.
Let's be honest...
They're a hot mess.

Literally.
They are slightly burnt in spots.

Despite their appearance, they made it on the tree,
tucked away in some less obvious locations.


Moral of the story:
When in doubt, follow Martha.

353/366

A little bit of Christmas cheer in every bite...

352/366

I woke up this morning with a need for Christmas.
Something to remind me of the season, the cheer, the love, and the magic.

I received a sweet little Santa spoon as a party favor from a Christmas luncheon I attended last week.

I drink my coffee black or tinto in Spanish,
so his swirling magic ways served no purpose in my cup,
but a little Santa in my cafe was the perfect way to start the day.

**Tinto is not a direct translation for black. However when ordering coffee or red wine, one asks for vino tint or cafe tinto.
My best guess is it translates to dark.
Happy Spanish lesson**

My Christmas spirit continued on into the afternoon when I decided to bake.
Yes, bake.
Despite my many trials and tribulations with that oven,
I won't let it take away the simple joy of baking cookies.

In case you were wondering, the oven is still winning.

351/366

Today we pretended like our living room was a sport bar and our kitchen followed suit.
We watched football,
drank beer,
and this ama de casa whipped up all kinds of bar food.

Salsa
Guacamole
Meatballs
Potato Skins
Sliders

I spent the evening staring at my computer screen

{can you blame me?}
looking at all sorts of ways to makeover a blog.
Because this lil blog needs a pick me up.
Unfortunately I don't speak blog {or Spanish} fluently
so in the end all I can promise is a new picture.

European Holiday Revisited II

europeanholiday from Sarah on Vimeo.

European Holiday... Revisited

We recently received some group pictures from a fellow traveler during our European Holiday which sparked some wonderful memories.