Hi my dear, dear friends!!
Oh how I have missed you all! Although it was definitely nice to take a couple of weeks to just unplug and relax with my wonderful family and boyfriend, I absolutely missed reading about your lives and sharing mine with you!
We have a LOT to catch up on! I don’t even know where to begin…I guess I will just give you a little recap of the past couple of weeks.
Ryan got here on December 16th and we enjoyed a few days of relaxing and fun before the rest of my family arrived.
We went ice skating…
(which I sucked at)
We went for a couple of pretty walks
And we spent plenty of time just laying around, snacking, and watching Christmas movies
On the 20th, my beautiful sister and my brother in law arrived!
(yeah, he’s 6’7″)
We had a small party with some of our family members on the 23rd and spent some much needed time catching up, baking, eating, and laughing.
sisters!
On Christmas Eve, we went to a wonderful church service and then came home to cook an amazing dinner and just hang out as a family.
the whole gang
For dinner, we made a copycat recipe of Carrabba’s Chicken Bryan. Carrabba’s is one of our all time favorite restaurants. Chicken Bryan is a chicken breast topped with goat cheese, sundried tomatoes and a lemon butter sauce and served with a heaping pile of garlic mashed potatoes.
Yeah…definitely not “diet” friendly…but DEFINITELY DELICIOUS!
We followed this recipe, and it turned out amazing.
After opening presents and eating Pumpkin Streusel coffee cake for breakfast, we spent Christmas day just laying around in our pajamas and watching Christmas movies.
My sweet boyfriend gave me an incredible gift…
A GARMIN FORERUNNER!!
It came with a heart rate monitor strap, and his parents got me the additional foot pod to clip to my tennis shoes for more accurate calibration.
I’m totally obsessed. I have wanted one for so long! I also used my Christmas money from my grandpa to get a new pair of Mizunos. All of my new loot is making my training for the half-marathon in March way more awesome!
The day after Christmas, the 6 of us drove up to Steamboat, which is a little town up in the mountains. My parents rented a house there and we spent 5 days up in the snowy mountains without computers or cell phone service. It was so nice!
We went snowshoeing…
We went sledding…
The boys smoked cigars…
The dogs got chilly…so I snuggled with them
We hung out at night watching movies, playing board games and card games.
And we even got a little pool time!
not the swimming kind of pool time
And we enjoyed some beautiful sunrises
I didn’t want the week to be over!! It was such a blessing to have family time.
Ryan left on January 2nd, and I was sooo sad to see him go.
It seems like it’s almost harder to go back to our long distance relationship after we’ve spent such a long time together. I’m missing him terribly already.
Whew…I guess that’s enough catching up for now! I’m working full time this week and next so that I can make some good money to get me through another busy semester!!
I will try to post again soon!! I am slowly getting back into real life…eating healthier again and getting back into a normal workout routine. So hopefully that will mean more blogging, too!
I can’t wait to catch up with you guys!
Love love love!!!!
What was your favorite Christmas gift?
Have you been snowshoeing before?! It’s an incredible workout!!
What was the best part of the holiday season for you?
Melissa
/ January 4, 2012Yay so excited to see you had a great holiday
, hmm my favorite gift…my husband and I got a WII from my mom/stepdad with super mario on it and we have been loving it, I wanna get Just Dance because its so fun and actually gets your heart rate up haha! And we used christmas money to go snowboarding which we had not done in years so that was fun too 
. The best part of the holiday season was seeing family!
Love to see you back on here!
healthycollegegirl
/ January 4, 2012ahhh wii is the BEST!!! sounds like you had a great christmast!!
Allison (Allison's Delicious Life)
/ January 4, 2012Your pictures are so wintry and gorgeous! It has been 80 degrees in California. I know I can’t complain, but I honestly wish it was a little cooler for Christmas…just doesn’t feel the same, you know?!
Anyway, I really enjoyed reading your catch up post. I’m sure you miss Ryan a lot, but it looks like you two had a wonderful time together.
Happy New Year!
Laura @ LauraLikesDesign
/ January 4, 2012Love that you’re back!
First of all, your sister’s husband is SO TALL. I am sure he probably gets that a lot, but whoa! That’s crazy!
Aw, your family Christmas makes me wish I was in your family! So fun! I love that you guys went to a cabin for a family bonding time! So awesome!
Favorite Christmas gifts = fuzzy robe, new slippers, and Apple TV (it streams netflix through your tv) from my husband!
I went snowshoeing a few years ago with some friends when we went on a little roadtrip to Estes Park–it was a blast and we were so sweaty when we were done–it is a great cardio workout!
Best part of the holiday season = my first married Christmas!
Brittany
/ January 4, 2012OMGAAHH what a picture perfect wintery blast!!!!!! Your family is ADORABLE!! Seriously..something out of a magazine. I love that you are all so close and spend so much time together..boyfriends and all. Your sisters boyfriend is whoa tall!! I’m sowwwwieee that Ryan left, just keep thinking about the end result when school is over..after you make it through this you guys will make it through anything!! I love you! My fav gift was def my bow ring from manfriend…but your Garmin is an AWESOME gift!! I couldn’t wait until Christmas when I bought mine haha.
In Sweetness and In Health
/ January 4, 2012Oh my gosh, it sounds like you had such an amazing break! I’m so glad that you got to spend so much time with your man. And I’ll say it again, you two are absolutely adorable together! You look like a couple out of a magazine hehe. And holy cow your sister’s husband is so incredibly tall!! Wowza. Yay for a great break! My best present was my new DSLR camera
Brittany @ GOtheXtraMile
/ January 4, 2012YAYY!!! Welcome back!:D All of your pictures are GORGEOUSSSS I’m soo jealous of the snow!! Looks like you had an amazing break, I’m so glad!!
Claire @ Live & Love to Eat
/ January 4, 2012Incredible photos – looks like a wonderful break!
ohshineon
/ January 4, 2012I love this post! It sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas vacation with your family and (cute) boyfriend… does he has a brother? I expect all the new posts you’ll be sending to distract me from my school work I should be doing. I’m a really good student, I know
healthycollegegirl
/ January 4, 2012haha he actually only has a sister
sorry i can’t hook ya up girl! and i am currently on my blog at work…so i’m a bad student and a bad employee!! haha
Kate @ Chasing It
/ January 4, 2012aaaaaaah all of your pictures are adorable!! it looks like you had an absolutely incredible holiday season with Ryan and your fam, got to wear some cute outfits and eat amazing food! Chicken Bryan is like my fave dish at Carabba’s lol
I bet the mountain house was tons of fun, two years ago my whole fam (grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins, cousins-in-law etc) went out to western PA for a ski weekend between christmas and new years…it was epic. ANd yay yay YAY for garmins and new shoes!!!!!! I think both of us are going to have a good year of running 
Emily
/ January 4, 2012Yay! Welcome back! Taking time to unplug and truly enjoy the time with your family and friends is SO important- I’m glad you took advantage of that!
It looks like you had an amazing holiday. You and your man are absolutely adorable. The kissing picture is priceless! And I love that you’re so close with your family. That’s exactly how I am, so getting to spend extra time with them over the holidays is the best!
Oh, and I’m so jealous of your new Garmin! <3
Tessa @ Amazing Asset
/ January 4, 2012I am glad you are back Jordan! it really is nice to unplug and take a few steps back to enjoy your time with family and friends
There are so many wonderful pictures going on in here… girl you are gorgeous and you and the man are adorable!
Kristen @ notsodomesticated
/ January 5, 2012Aww you and your boyfriend are so cute! Congrats on getting a Garmin as a gift!! I’m so jealous!!
runningperspective
/ January 5, 2012I LOVE YOU AND RYAN. when you guys get married i am comingggg to the wedding ok!! and (ryan needs to have some hotttt single men there for mee!) hahaha
but really you guys are the CUTESTTTTTTTTT
love that forerunnerr!!!!! so jealous i have the 405 but yours looks AMAZINGGGG
so glad you had an AMAZING HOLIDAY!!
love you<33
Shannon from Healthiful Balance
/ January 5, 2012What a sweet post!
Wishing you and Ryan, your friends and family the very best for the new year!
Sweetly Fit
/ January 5, 2012sounds like an incredible time you’ve been having! And oh my, those scenic pics are just too pretty!! I’m sorry you and Ryan have to be apart right now, I know how much it stinks to be away from your loved ones. But at least you will be keeping busy and before you know it, you guys will be back together again. So glad to see a post from you girl!!
Casey
/ January 6, 2012I’ve always wanted to try snowshoeing. I’ve heard its also very relaxing. Maybe 2012 is the year for it!
Karla @ myhighonlife
/ January 7, 2012I have said this a million times but you guys are PRECIOUS together. Makes me so happy
Your break sounds wonderful. I got a new Saucony running jacket and an Aaron Rodgers jersey. So happy!
LoveLiveAndLearn
/ January 8, 2012I am glad you had such a lovely time!
You two really do make the most adorable couple
You deserved to have a brilliant time together!
I wish you a a wonderful year!
Smore
/ January 9, 2012I got a garmin too and am obsessed with it! It makes running even that more fun! I went snow shoeing last winter break and it was a tough workout! Loved it though!
christina
/ January 12, 2012you are just the cutest! i love all your outfits and am enjoying your blog!
busylivinghealthy
/ January 14, 2012Do you love your Garmin? I’ve been wanting to buy one so I can use it to train with, but I don’t know which one to get?