Merry Christmas!!

Hello!! Just wanted to take a quick moment to wish all you have a fantastic Christmas and Happy Holiday.

I thought what better way to share today with all of you then to share something from home. This is Sean Quigley, he is from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada! 16 years old and he did all the arrangements, played all the parts and recorded/edited the video with his sister. Beyond AMAZING


ENJOY!

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

This has to have been the most fun I have had baking, receiving and eating cookies. Coming home to a parcel with yummy cookies has been the highlight of my week! I am still waiting on one more batch of cookies, but the ones I have received so far have been soooooooooooooooo good :) I received fantastic cookies from Lindsey at A Running Tale, in fact I had seen her gift these in our Favorite Christmas Things swap and wanted the recipe!! I also received some mouth drooling cookies from Dana at Hot Pink Apron.

Now onto my cookies. I wasn't going to make these, but then they are usually my most requested cookies of the year. I made some changes this year and I am unsure if I will keep them.


Gingersnap Cookies

Yield: 36 cookies

• 2 cups flour (I usually use whole wheat, but for the swap I used white flour)
• 1tbsp ground ginger
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 1/2tsp salt
• 3/4cup margarine(softened)
• 1cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses

1. Preheat oven to 350c

2. Cream margarine + sugar till light and fluffy. Add egg + molasses.

3. Add dry ingredients. Mix well

4. Roll 1tbsp of batter into some granulated sugar and place on a greased cookie sheet.

5. Bake for 8-10mins.

They smell just amazing!


 Now who did I send these to?

Elaina @ Flavour Food and Wine
Christina @ Oven Adventures
Shannon @ Red Deer Foodie

I hope everyone enjoyed their cookies! I really enjoyed making them :) And thank you to everyone who sent me some. SO amazing :)

Wedding - A Serbian Ceremony

Here is one of a few promised wedding posts. I will put them in categories of how the day went. As some of you know, I married and was baptized as a Serbian Orthodox.  My husbands family is from Serbia and I made the choice of having our wedding ceremony in Serbian tradition. Our ceremony mostly wasn't in English, minus the parts in which the Priest spoke to me and I needed to respond. It was quite traditional and also very different from some more common wedding ceremonies. I had to make a large program for my guests with information on all the parts, as it is quite different.

 My husband waiting for me.

My Dad and myself :)

The Candles
Symbolizing the perpetual light of Christ, and remind the couple that from now on they must shine in virtue and purity with good deeds.

The Rings
The rings are first blessed by the priest, who holds them in his right hand and makes the sign of the cross over the couple’s heads.  The rings are then placed on the 4th finger of the right hands of the couple. The rings are then exchanged between the couple three times.

The priest places our rings on our pinkie fingers, then we place them on each-others right hand ring finger. After the ceremony, we both put our wedding bands on our left finger. This was our choice. 

The Joining of the Right Hands
The right hand of the bride and groom are joined when the priest reads the prayer that beseeches God to "join these servants, unite them in one mind and one flesh." The hands are kept joined throughout the service to symbolize the "oneness" of the couple.

The Crowning
The crowns are said to represent the martyrdom, sacrifice and unwavering devotion. The priest takes the stefana and makes the Sign of The Cross three times over the couple. The crown is then kissed by the groom before it is placed, then the same with his bride. Then the crowns are exchanged between the heads of the couple three times.

The Cup
The couple will drink wine from a chalice to symbolize that they will be sharing the happiness and sorrows of life together. They do this three times.

I was soo nervous the red wine would land on my dress

The Walk
The priest will then lead the bride and groom three times around the alter on their first steps as a married couple.

The two people that are walking behind us our the Kume and Kuma. This means Godfather and Godmother. Just like when you are baptized and have godparents, the same happens for a wedding. Usually they are also our bestman and maid of honour, but neither of our closest friends are Orthodox, so we had to ask a family member and our Kume was my husbands Kume from when he was born.

The Blessing
The couple return to their places and the priest, blessing the groom, says, "Be thou magnified, O bridegroom, as Abraham, and blessed as Isaac, and increased as Jacob, walking in peace and working in righteousness the commandments of God." And blessing the bride he says, "And thou, O bride, be thou magnified as Sarah, and glad as Rebecca, and do thou increase like unto Rachael, rejoicing in thine own husband, fulfilling the conditions of the law; for so it is well pleasing unto God."

Tying the Knot
Before leading the couple on their first walk together as husband and wife, following in the footsteps of Christ, the priest ties the right hands of the couple together while praying for their marriage, the act signifying their    “Oneness” from now on.

It can be a lot for someone who isn't accustomed to this type of ceremony. But it was very very special. If you are interested in more things regarding this type of ceremony, you could find it here.

__________________________
And something totally unrelated that makes me smile on a whole different level.

Question: Have you ever been to a Orthodox wedding before? What did you think about it? What is your favorite part of a wedding ceremony?

A gift + a party

This past Saturday was my work Christmas Party and it was a blast! It had all sorts of entertainment. We enjoyed ourselves very much. 

 The red dress!!

On Friday I got a notification that a parcel had arrived. As soon as I had a free moment I went to go pick it up! Look what it was!! My Favorite Christmas Things Swap from Amber!! I loved it! So much so that I was in the Salted Chocolate Caramels before my husband reminded me that I needed to take a photo....whoops

My gift had a 

1. Big Coffee cup

2. Gingerbread tea(my fav also)

3. Hot chocolate

4. Salted chocolate Caramels

5. Starbucks Giftcard! (and Amber I absolutely love eggnog latte) 

Thank you SO SO much Amber!!!!

This post is short,  my husband brought me home a Christmas Tree and I want to put it up! I have been baking all evening so I have yet had a chance to do so!!

Question: Have you started your Christmas Baking? If so what have you made? Do you ever panic that it wont turn out? I know I do alllll the time. And am worried about exactly that right now!