Baby it's COLD outside!

I'm pretty sure my fingers are still frozen as I am typing this morning, but hopefully by the time I'm done they'll be nice and warm. It was about 20 degrees this morning when we headed to bootcamp, but thankfully we have access to an indoor facility for these frosty mornings. Come to think of it, that should have been on my list of things we are thankful for last week, because Lord knows that working out in the freezing weather would not make this bootcamper happy!

But moving on... this weekend has allowed us to dive in head first to the Christmas season with a work Christmas party Saturday evening, a cookie swap with my Jr. League girls on Sunday afternoon, and a dinner party with friends on Sunday evening.

I joined the Jr. League of Atlanta this fall in an attempt to not only meet girls around my age and in my stage of life (who knew that getting married, starting a new job, and moving to a new town all at once could be such a big transition?), but to also feel more connected to the Atlanta area. It's so easy to get in the daily routine of going to work, coming home, working out, spending time with the hubby, and that's about it. Although those are definitely priorities in my life, I just felt like I needed to have something to connect me to my new "home," and to allow me to give back to the community. Thankfully, this was a great decision, and I've met lots of sweet girls in the process. Because the Atlanta chapter is so large, they split the "provisional classes" (basically pledge classes) into small groups so they can get more acquainted with one another, and feel like they are more than just another face in a large organization. I think this is probably my favorite part of JLA so far, because I've made such great connections with these girls. So, now that things are started to slow down for us, with thought it would be fun to get together for a cookie swap!

My creations- Gingersnaps. I thought I would branch out and do something new, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well they turned out! I borrowed this recipe from Darby's blog.

We also had some fun appetizers. This is a yummy dip that I need to post the recipe for sometime in the future. It is cream cheese based (anything that has cream cheese in it is a winner in my book!), with a ranch seasoning packet, corn, jalapenos, olives, and red pepper. Yummy! As a side note, I attempted to make this with fat free cream cheese (of course), and I will admit that it tastes much better with the reduced fat cream cheese.

We were served some delicious mimosas.

And this item...wow. Unbelievable. Baked brie cheese with apricot preserves (I think) and walnuts, served with whole wheat crackers. This was delish!

This was also a great idea- a cheese board (a super cute cheese board at that!) with spicy chutney and a variety of crackers. I don't know anything really about different types of cheeses, but I think this may have given me the inspiration to start trying some different types. Lizzie (who was our gracious hostess with the mostest) says that it is a favorite past time of her and her husband's, and they will sometimes just have a light dinner of a few different cheeses, crackers, and wine. How fun does that sound?

Later that day...

We headed over to our friends' (Jessica and John Lee) for a dinner party. This is something they've started doing once a month that started with Jessica and her friend (Anna) going to a cooking class at Williams Sonoma. They thought this would be a good way for them to start trying new things in the kitchen, and what better way to try with your friends, so they aren't too critical? :) Each dinner they are supposed to make something brand new, have a theme, and set a table scape. We were the "guest couple" at this dinner, and our job was to bring the wine.

We are by no stretch of the imagination wine connoisseurs, but we do enjoy having a glass of wine every now and then. So, considering we were the "guest couple" and we were in charge of the wine, I didn't want to mess this up. I googled "wine pairings with turkey," and came up with my list- Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and a very fun addition- sparkling red wine. I had actually been reading about this fun new item this year on other food blogs, and it has recieved mucho praise. We opted for a wine called "The Chook" (a sparkling Shiraz), and it did not disappoint. It was very festive, and worked well with our smoked turkey. It kind of reminded me of sparkling grape juice, but with red wine, if that makes sense.

Jessica's table looked beautiful with all of her fine china.

John and his delicious turkey that he smoked on the Big Green Egg.

The handsome men, who apparently all got the sweater + button down memo.

Sweet, sweet couple. They were married two weeks before us, and John was one of Hunter's groomsmen. They are expecting their first little one in March, and are so excited about her arrival.

The Shepherds (and my new 'do!)

 The other couple that provided the side dishes and dessert- Jonathan and Anna.

I can't think of a better way to warm your heart than to surround yourselves with fabulous friends and great food during such a joyous season!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."-Romans 15:13