We’re super handy over here lately.
Don’t get used to it.
We’ve been hard-core decorating for Christmas. Vegas made a wreath for our front door and has lined the entire living room with Christmas lights. She’s threatening to leave them up all year. We’re so Southern… but at least they’re all white! 😉
I’ve been baking, working on a wine cork wreath, and brewing up some more kombucha. My scoby is HUGE! I decided to make it seasonal with the blood oranges we found at Whole Foods (where else?) this week. I ordered my scoby on Amazon – I love it so much that I featured in Monday’s gift guide post. Who wants a puppy when you can have a scoby?
https://www.instagram.com/p/-_vU_NmjX0/
Last night’s Christmas activity was a gingerbread house.
It’s harder than it looks! There is icing allllll over the table… but how cute is this house?!
https://www.instagram.com/p/_DgOK3Gjcg/
Read on for my day of eats, and join in Jenn’s WIAW baby over at Meghan’s today!
Breakfast:
I had my usual morning cocktail and sludge (mixed with kombucha since I’m still out of matcha).
We’re headed out of town once again and I am – once again – low on groceries. We do seem to always have greek yogurt though! I made my Pumpkin Pie Protein Bowl topped with pecans, coconut, hemp hearts, and pieces of a pumpkin Quest bar.
Lunch-ish:
I’ve been loving the crockpot lately. It’s insane how easy it is. Why didn’t someone make me try it out sooner?!
Lunch was leftover from a recipe I’m working on to post here Friday. It’s involves chicken, BBQ, and beer. Can’t go wrong with that combo!
Dinner:
We headed down to our favorite brewery for dinner. The breweries in San Diego actually have great food, and Ballast Point is home to our favorite beer and some of the best mussels we’ve had here.
We started with the Wahoo beer steamed mussels with garlic, ginger, onion, chorizo, and roasted shishito peppers. After getting our mussels fix, we both opted for salads.
More room for beer… 😉
https://www.instagram.com/p/_BDwdCGjQ_/
I shouldn’t have to tell you this happened.
[Tweet “Kombucha brewing, gingerbread house making, and crafty eats for #WIAW! #fitfluential”]
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Fun fact: In San Diego, you can be fined $250 if you leave your Christmas lights up after Feb 3rd.
Do you leave lights up year-round?
Have you used a crockpot before? Game changer, no?
I AM GOING TO BUILD A Gingerbread MANSION!!!!!!!!! And then I am going to make a Gingerbread Kim Kardashian…. And a Gingerbread G-Wagon…. And then RUN HER OVER WITH IT… And then take residence up in her awesome house I made… Oh and this gingerbread is going to be GiGi-Diet approved, caused I am going to want to eat it. Duh.
But what happens if you eat your own house?!
Wow, you go to the yummiest, cutest restaurants! I want to just pick the food right up and EAT IT! And your pumpkin pie protein bowl? YES PLEASE!
Haha I love the fact about the fine for lights – gosh back in scotland that would have been very much welcomed! Keep them up yes but don’t keep turning them on every night when it’s March! (Indoor lights are different though!)
Love the Kombucha flavour. I have just been drinking mine natural but am looking to get into flavouring them. I tried a lemon one but found it a bit sour for me – the above combo sounds perfect though!
I doubt it’s enforced… but maybe! I love the strange laws we have.
Have a great weekend!
I love using my crock pot! And we haven’t put up Christmas lights, but we did decorate inside. I think there is a certain point in the year where if you haven’t taken down your lights yet you might as well leave them up until the next year! That’s crazy about the fine though!
ok so you got the NO WAY from me about the being fined for leaving up the lights!!!
I dont even celebrate and I think that’s a little…crazypants!
I’ve always wanted to build a gingerbread house. Jealous!
Do it!!!!
I like how you use hard core and handy all in the intro. Gives me a little thrill of giddy pleasure.
Well done on the gingerbread house.
The phrase “giddy pleasure” gives me a thrill. 😉
I had to refer to your gift guide to remind myself WTH a scoby was…yeah, that is not happening 🙂 I absolutely love that you made a gingerbread house. I make one with the boys every year and YES it’s much harder then it looks! I’ve gotten smarter over the years and I will do the “foundation” the night before so it sets. They throw candy on there like the hulk and the walls sometimes cave. #twinproblems
Love all the pics as usual…
Haha! It’s super easy, I swear!
We leave our (indoor, and white) Christmas lights up year round. We have terrible lighting in our apartment (read, no overhead lights!) and they are perfect for getting just the right amount of light throughout the room!
I feel like that straddles the acceptability line?
I think we’re going to leave up the lights we hung around the living room. They’re so pretty!
I like kombucha but I have to admit, the scoby freaks me the F out.
It’ really not bad! Just a slimy little disk…
Gingerbread houses always look so much fun! I want to build one. Or maybe just eat all of the candy! Haha. I can’t believe about the lights! Wow. And yes I love my crock pot. Thanks for reminding me I need to give it some love
My scobys are getting out of control. I must have 8 growing now. A bunch of wild kids they are – but I just can’t stray from any of them! Haven’t tried orange yet though – that’d be perfect for the season. I’m on a cinnamon vanilla bean kick.
Gingerbread house making is NO joke. It always seems like such a nice, innocent, easy festive activity, and then before I know it I’m throwing candy balls on the floor and whining like a 2 year old.
8?! Where do you keep them all? Are you starting a kombucha store??? I’m in awe of you.
That gingerbread house is adorable!! I haven’t made one since I was a kid. I don’t know why though; it’s so fun. But so, so messy.
I saw that Amazon scoby on your gift guide. It really would make a cool gift!
There SHOULD be a fine for leaving your lights up! I love all the Christmas stuff until the day after Christmas. The second it’s over I want to purge everything and spring clean the whole house. Sadly, this leads to expectations of spring arriving early, but that’s a whole other issue.
I love putting together gingerbread houses! So fun! Also, if you put shredded BBQ chicken on anything, I’ll happily eat it.
So yeah, I’m with you on that gingerbread house business being way harder than you think.
Tried to make one as a decoration for a work party. NOPE. You’ll see me at Party City picking up real decorations instead. What a mess. Haha
I don’t know why we stopped doing the gingerbread houses I love them and I love eating all of the candy decorations. Oh yeah that’s why I stopped buying them 🙂
that gingerbread house looks perfect! They are so hard to put together!
Blood oranges <3
I love your gingerbread house!!!! I want to make one!
Blood oranges are the best, right?!
I have to say that your gingerbread house looks SO perfect! Did you make it from scratch?
Oh noooooo… I’m not that fancy LOL!
when we moved into our house, we realized the prior owners left white lights on the big pine tree out front and hadn’t taken them – sorted our decorating for us!
Score!!! Outdoor lights are such a pain.
I LOVE using my crock pot – I try to cook something in it at least 1-2 times a week 🙂 I have heard a lot about kombucha but have yet to try it…
You have to check it out! Try a citrus flavor if you buy it. I think it’s the easiest one to get into.
Oh my gosh, Laura, that’s hilarious about the law on lights in San Diego. And you guys have been very crafty and festive. Props to you! We at least put up a fake tree and are feeling GOOD about that. We weren’t able to decorate in our tiny city apartments the last few years. I feel proud to at least have that tree! Have a great day, lady!
I’m so completely & totally in awe of Evie and her ability to get you in the Christmas spirit!!
Shut it. 😉
I really need to get on the homemade kombucha wagon, buying it at Whole Foods is becoming an expensive habit.
That’s why I started. It’s been sooooo worth it!
I’m a huge fan of mussels and beer. Great combo!
Your gingerbread house looks awesome by the way, great job!
I NEED to try brewing my own Kombucha! And mussels…yum. Chicken + BBQ + beer = match made in heaven.
Ballast Point has delicious chicken tacos, too! … with a side of Sculpin, of course.
Haha! We never turn down a sculpin. I can’t believe I haven’t gotten the tacos there yet! Im such a mussels junkie. Next time!
That blood orange kombucha looks amazing… I absolutely LOVE blood oranges. I didn’t realize they were seasonal this time of year. I’ll have to look for them at the grocery store 🙂
Look at you go with the homemade kombucha!! …and yum! Your eats look delicious! Also, I LOVE making gingerbread houses! Me and some of my friends want to do that this year! I really need to get on that! 🙂 SO fun!
I just read an article on Bon Appétit about SCOBYs being the best (and weirdest) thing to have on your Christmas list this year. So just know that you’re totally on trend 🙂 Also, “more room for beer” is my life motto.
Haha – really?! Bon Appétit will never lead you astray.
I need to get a crockpot! Every one always makes such delicious recipes on their pots.
I waited wayyyyyy too long. It’s a game changer, for sure.
Hey, year around Christmas lights sound good to me- maybe San Diego needs a little bit of southern 😉 on another note, I think I need to be there. I want the promise of a 75 degree winter. It doesn’t get too bad in SC, but the warmer the better IMO.
That IS a fun fact – didn’t know that! There are a few people in my neighborhood that leave their Christmas lights up all year long, and it kinda bugs me. I feel like it wasn’t necessarily intentional, and think they’re just too lazy to take them down haha. My lights and decorations are up and I’m loving them!
How did your wreath turn out? You guys did it with wine corks right?! I love mine!
I don’t mind the white lights, but the colored lights drive me nuts!
I ran out of corks for the wreath. We need to drink more. Doh. But it’s looking good so far!
New years resolution: brew my own kombucha!
I LOVE gingerbread – reminds me that I need to grab a house from the grocery store this weekend for my fiance and I to decorate!
All your food looks SO delicious
Did you do it?! I sort of can’t believe ours hasn’t fallen down yet. LOL!
You can be fined for leaving your Christmas lights up?? WTAF! Another confession (it seems I leave a lot in your comments section): I’ve only tried gingerbread once and I hated it. I’m almost tempted to try it again due to my Nutella experience (I tried it once when I was 7 or 8 and spent the next 12-14 years thinking I hated it, when it is in fact the best thing ever!).
I always enjoy your confessions. 😉 Also, I’m not a huge gingerbread fan. I won’t spit it out, but chocolate is so much better. As is Nutella. 🙂
Shall I call you both Martha? Kidding. Although Martha can’t brew kombucha. If she did, she’d probably suck at it anyway!! Have fun with Vegas in Vegas!!
Haha! Nah, I bet she’d mix it with vodka and call it breakfast.
And now I want to make a gingerbread house.
I leave my Christmas lights up until there are flowers outside to take over the color-providing duty, lol!