Happy New Years Eve everyone. I hope you're getting ready for something sparkly and fabulous or following my lead and staying in, watching Netflix and ordering in pizza. 2014 has been one of my favorite years yet. A lot of changes, happiness, sadness and some of the most amazing memories. This is going to be a long post, so if you need something quick, I suggest looking at the Skimm, it will be shorter than today. I hope the rest of you enjoy! 

January: Can I be honest? January was kind of a blur. We were still living in Omaha, the weather was cold and dreary and the only real thing I can remember is that Henry had knee surgery. Oh, and I was studying for the February bar exam. That's why January flew by with nothing exciting. 

Alright, you've read numbers 10-6, are you ready for the top 5 most fascinating people of 2014? 

Everyone's familiar with Barbara Walter's 10 Most Fascinating People. While we can agree/disagree on who we think is fascinating (Kardashians? Really Barb?), I'm pretty sure I've come up with the 10 most fascinating people of 2014, or at least 10 people who are having a better year than you. Here are #10-6. I'm waiting to post #5-1 until New Years Eve just in case someone super cool comes in and surprises us. I mean Kylie Jenner got popular the minute she got lip-fillers so who knows what could happen in the next week and a half.

#10: Prince George. 
He's a prince, he's adorable and his mom is Kate. I'm pretty sure, based on this face he's going to be a pretty awesome Prince. And who else can rock a sweater vest like that.

#9: Sam Smith. 
Have you all seen his SNL performance? Holy moly. Once I saw that, I knew Sammy's 2014 was going to be better than everyone's. Then he went and did 'Not the only one,' 'Stay with me,' 'Lay me down' and 19 other amazing songs, renditions and duets. Need I say more? Sam is #wining.

#8: The Duggars. 
They have 19 kids, three are married, one has 3 kids (aka 3 grandkids), another kid has a baby on the way and allegedly the 48 year old mom, Michelle is still trying for another baby. They have the #1 TV show on TLC and continue to make money going on trips, spreading their message and getting in all kinds of trouble on facebook. Wanna know what I find most fascinating? That the mom was able to come up with 19 'J' names, that takes some skills! Go Duggars, you're having your year.

#7: Men who decorate their beards. 
Have you guys seen this trend? Buzzfeed did a whole article on it. I understand the "lumberjack" style is becoming the new popular version of 'sexy'. But honestly, all I can think about is how much it must itch and how heavy your chin hair must be. But props to you guys, you brought positive attention to your facial hair. This won't happen again, soak it in boys.

#6: Gia Giudice. 
For those of you who don't instantly recognize that name, I suggest you get cable and watch Real Housewives of New Jersey right away. She's the sassy 13-year old daughter of Teresa Giudice. Yes, the Teresa who is about to head off to jail because she 'forgot' to report things like a 10-carat diamond ring, Ferraris' and boats on her tax-returns "I just sign anything". Anyways, back to Gia. She's 13 and has a band called 3KT. She remakes songs like Circus by Britney Spears and most recently released a Christmas jam. Looks like this little Giudice might be her family's saving grace as her mom and and dad head off to the slammer. Here's her (slutty) rendition of Circus. Here's her new Christmas jam. And, here's her picture. Go Gia. This will be your last best year for a while.

Merry Christmas everyone and Happy Birthday to my amazing mom! I hope you are all off celebrating Christmas, toasting cocktails and enjoying your time with family and friends. Adam and I are spending Arizona in Christmas this year and are enjoying the sunshine, golf, adult beverages and lots of family time. I hope you all have the best Christmas! This year has been such a wonderful year and what a better time than Christmas to reflect on all that. My heart is so full.

One of the funnest parts of Christmas for me is the decorating. This year is Adam and my first year in Denver and first year in our new apartment. We had so much fun watching Elf, drinking red wine and figuring out where all our decor should go. Here's a sneak peak at some of our favorite decorations.

The last couple weeks have been so busy, so finding an easy chicken dinner has been imperative. I found this recipe online a while back and I'm so glad I did. It's already become one of our go-to easy chicken (paleo!) dinners.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I used two packs of Costco chicken so we could have leftovers) 
• The juice of 2 limes
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

How to Make: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine lime juice, cilantro, olive oil, chili powder, salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse until combined
3. Pat dry chicken breasts and place in a 9x13 glass baking dish
4. Pour marinade over chicken and bake for 25 minutes uncovered. (Mine took about 30 minutes, the chicken was huge!) 
5. Enjoy! 

Mmm, squash. I love squash. Last night I made baked acorn squash with brown sugar. The original Paula Deen recipe called for brown sugar, but to make it paleo, I used coconut sugar. I was so happy with the results. They were delicious and tender and I wish I could eat them every day.

Ingredients: 

• 2 acorn squash, cut in 1/2
• 3 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup
• Salt and pepper

How to Make: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Cut the squash in half and scoop out all the seeds and pulp. 
3. In a small bowl, mix the ingredients together. 
4. Brush the mixture over the squash and place them on a baking sheet (cut side up!). 
5. Bake about hour hour or until the squash is tender. 
6. Enjoy! 

I love Christmas cards. Well, let's be honest, I love Christmas and everything it has to offer. I love getting Christmas cards every day and seeing new pictures of friends and family from all over the county. It's one of my favorite parts of Christmas and I'm so glad that in this new age of technology, people still send cards.

Today, I have beef stew for ya. Adam requested beef stew the other night because it was a cold and dreary day and some hearty stew sounded great. Until it wasn't. Yes, you heard that correctly, this beef stew was not that great. The main issue, the beef was chewy. If you ever tell Costco I said this, I'll deny deny deny, but we bought their pre-cut beef and it was as chewy as chewing gum. The broth and veggies were really delicious, but next time I'd use a different meat. Let me know how you change up the stew and make it great!

After a long weekend away, making dinner on a Sunday is the last thing I want to do. But have no fear, this is a very easy, delicious and filling recipe! I have to give Adam all the credit on the recipe, he came up with it on his own! Plus, we made lots of extras so our left-overs will be delicious tomorrow!

Ingredients: 

• Chicken breasts
• Broccoli, cut into pieces
• Mushrooms
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cayenne Pepper

How to make: 

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. 
3. Place all the veggies in a 9x13 pan. Toss with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. (I just eyed this, but I would say about 1/3 cup balsamic) 
4. Place the chicken on top of the veggies, drizzle some more balsamic. 
5. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes or until the veggies are softened to your liking. 
6. Enjoy! 

Every year Adam's family has a christmas cookie cookoff. We all bake our favorite cookies, come together and eat way too many cookies. It's such a fun tradition we've started and I look forward to it every year. This year I made one traditional cookie recipe and one new recipe from Pioneer Woman.

I know these recipes aren't paleo, but hey, it's Christmas and calories don't count right? Okay, so they do, but I can tell you a few cookies every now and then isn't going to completely sabotage your diet. Back to paleo tomorrow :)

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
Ingredients: 

• 2 sticks salted butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 whole egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces almond bark or white baking chocolate (i used white chocolate) 
• 8 candy canes, I used four traditional candy canes and 4 peppermint

How to Make: 

1. Cream softened butter with powdered sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and mix to combine. Add dry ingredients and mix together until the dough comes together. Place plastic wrap on surface of dough and refrigerate for 2 hours. 
2. In the meantime, unwrap the candy canes and place them in a plastic bag. Break them up! 
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
4. Roll cookie dough in walnut-sized pieces and place on a cookie sheet. Gently press balls flat with a plain, smooth surface. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, being careful not to burn. Cookies will remain the same general size and shape after they bake. Remove from oven and place cookies on a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely.
5. Place crushed candies in bowl. Melt almond bark in the microwave. Dip cooled cookies into almond bark, coating half the cookie. Immediately sprinkle crushed peppermints over both sides of the almond bark. Gently set on parchment paper or other nonstick surface and allow to cool before serving.

• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening 
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• granulated sugar, for rolling 
• 48 Hershey's kisses, unwrapped

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt, set aside. 
3. With an electric mixer, beat the peanut butter and shortening on medium speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar, and beat until fluffy. 
4. Add the egg, milk and vanilla extract, and beat well. 
5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually beat the flour into peanut butter mixture until combined. 
6. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in granulated sugar to coat. Place on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. 
7. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. 
8. Remove from the oven and immediately press a hershey kiss into the center of each cookie. Bake for another minute. 
9. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes then remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool. 
10. Enjoy!! 

Today I'm hanging our at But First, Coffee. Come check me out!

Adam and I are venturing off to Omaha land for the weekend. I apologize for the lack of posts this week, it's been so crazy busy, but I promise I'll be back next week with all new recipes, pictures and stories. Oh, and we can't forget about year-end wrap up and Christmas decorations! Stay tuned! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Thursday! Hooray, only one more day until the weekend! I can't wait! Here are some ramblings from today....

1. Last Saturday I went skiing for the first time in 5 years, didn't fall, had a blast and cant wait to go back. I just wish I could be like the 6 year olds who fly down the mountain instead of being the grandma skiier that I am, oh well. At least I can pose for pictures.

2. I'm very excited to share that this Saturday I will be featured on But First, Coffee. Kallie is so sweet and her blog is one of my favorites. You definitely should start reading her blog and check me out on Saturday!

3. Did you all watch the Victoria Secret Fashion show? Did you eat pizza while watching? I for one, love the fashion show. It's like watching a movie about people that aren't real. I mean, seriously, how can one be so beautiful and thin and walk in 400 pound wings while not falling over. It's not real life people, but I love to watch.

4. Did you know that Christmas is in 14 days. 2 weeks. Have you started shopping? I'm not even close to being done, but still, 2 weeks! I better get moving.

5. Why isn't it Friday yet?

6. Have you guys heard Sam Smith's version of "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas?" Oh, you haven't, don't worry, here's a link to it. Enjoy! I currently have it on repeat in my office.

7. My (future) mother in law recommended this coconut milk vanilla creamer to me and it is heavenly. It's not 100% paleo, but I'm really enjoying having some flavor in my coffee. It makes my mornings so much more enjoyable. You should try it.

8. I'm going to try and make these apple cider moscow mules tonight and I'm super excited. They're from Sugar and Charm (such a cute blog, you should go read it now!) I'll let you know how they taste!

My big sis (in Kappa, college sorority) sent me this recipe because 1) she knows I love everything sweet and 2) she knows I like to cook/bake/eat paleo! 5 years out of college, gotta love that Kappa bond :) These were SO easy to make and pretty delicious. They are a great fall treat when you're craving sugar but want to stick to your diet. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup almond butter
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts (I used pecans because I love them)

How to Make: 

1. Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Place the maple syrup, almond butter, coconut oil, pumpkin puree, and vanilla in a mircowave-safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds. Mix and return to to the microwave until everything is soft and melty. Add the pumpkin pie spice to the bowl and stir until combined. 
3. Add the coconut and nuts. Stir until combined. 
4. Use a small scoop and drop rounded mounds onto the cookie sheet. Refridgerate until firm, about 1 hour. Enjoy!