Hi! How are you? I’m finally settling down on the couch after a very busy weekend. First things first, there was running!

I had to cut it short because my family was getting together to make tamales. We used to do it on Christmas Eve a few years ago but now it’s moved to a few days before Christmas and we steam them Christmas Eve morning. Have you ever made tamales? It’s not complicated but it’s a lot of work.
My Nana cooks the chili and meat the night before. My dad gets the masa prepared from a deli. And there are tons of ojas we clean and soak before using. Then, it’s an assembly line to make ‘em!



My Nana’s Christmas decorations are blue and white. I think it’s so pretty and unique! To complement such a distinctive color palette, consider exploring lamp shades for table lamps that match or enhance the decor.

The final product:


After the tamale making party I went to visit my grandma.

And then finally the pups!


Now I’m settling in with some tea and a mug cake. See ya later!
We make this Tex Mex party dip – terrible for you but DELICIOUS! Pork sausage, salsa, Velveta cheese, and Hormel chili. I usually eat my body weight in it. BUT we only have it once a year, so it’s worth it.
Pecan pie! We have pecan trees, and my hubbie spends many evenings in December shelling pecans.
I love blue decorations! Growing up, we always drove by Graceland on Christmas Eve, and the driveway was lined with blue lights. I love blue at Christmas!
my husband just said the other day he wanted to make tamales. it looks so complicated though! all that time with your family though must be nice!
There are a lot of steps, but it’s not difficult. That said, we only make them once a year!
We also make tamales, buñuelos, ham, rompope, and a bunch of other desserts. Oh we also love to make posole. Mmmm…now I am hungry!
What a fun holiday tradition!! I think the blue Christmas decorations are SO pretty!! Love the doggie picture!
A mess! Lol.
But back in the day we would make potato latkes for Hanukkah. My mom made them crunchy like hash browns. I actually put ketchup on them. Ahhh!
This looks like a wonderful tradition….I love ANY grandma’s house~ decorations, coziness, and simply how it makes everyone who enters feel~ LOVED through and through!!! (like you can do no wrong)
I wrecked our traditional clam chowder this year~ I added sweetened condensed milk rather than simple carnation milk…too sweet. I wrecked our traditional frosting of the sugar cookies by adding too much liquid and the frosting ran like a bunny running from a deer…..we tried to thicken it but it didn’t really work.
2 for 2….things are going great around here!! Off to Disney in 3 days….hopefully I won’t wreck any thing before or during the trip. 😉
Oh no! Did you see Ben’s mom accidentally put eggnog in the coleslaw a few weeks ago when I was out there. Sounds like a similar mishap!
Yup, we definitely had the production line thingy going during cookie making for Chinese New Year when we were younger. These days, my mom takes the easy way out and orders them from friends etc but we still cook the CNY eve dinner and CNY lunch and dinner.
This holiday, I hope we are making NADA.
This holiday season has been so tough – I am hoping that we “make” a trip to the local vegan restaurant and thank God that we are staring 2016 in the face!
Hope the holidays get better for you xoxox