Merry Christmas! (A day late..)

We were a little busy yesterday, so I didn't get around to posting, but

Merry Christmas from the Sages to you!

Have to share a few other pictures too....
Alex with part of one of Cody's Christmas gifts

Alex with his new teddy bear...soon to be besties

Erin had already gone down for a nap when the camera came out, but just know that she was so adorable in her Christmas clothes and that she was a HAM this year! So fun to watch open gifts!
And finally our girls stalking a squirrel in the backyard..

Family pictures

For part of my parent's 55th birthdays back in September, we did family pictures (in October). Cody and I had the most amazing wedding photographer, Casey Jay Benson, so we went back to him for our family pics and he delivered again. We LOVE them! (PS. I did not get Christmas cards together to send out this year, so just picture the words Merry Christmas Love, The Sages : )

The Brown Fam

Brad, Jen, Erin and Alex

Mom and Dad

The Mr. and I

27

Y'all I just keep getting older.....and closer to the big 3-0. I still have three years though, so I'll hold onto that for now! Today was my 27th birthday. I love birthdays!
We started celebrating yesterday. I went to my friend Lauren's for a little baking with Carolina and Meagan.
Look at this adorable bundt cake Meagan brought from Nothing Bundt Cakes! So yummy!

We headed out from there to meet up with Dinah and we played some Bananagrams. There were quite a few broken rules for Bananagrams....playing in English/Spanish, making up words, stretching out words, but we all had fun!

Afterwards following Lauren's husband, Cody's suggestion, we ate at Torchy's tacos. They are originally in Austin and have just come to Houston. So good!

Today I got to relax with an easy morning run with Ellie and quick walk with Chloe before a nice mani-pedi. Cody got off work early today, so I got to spend time with him!
Here's a sweet pic of Ellie relaxing by the upstairs tree the other day. Looks like this girl loves Christmas!

Chicken Roll ups

I made these a couple of weeks ago. They were quick and super easy.

Chicken Roll ups

• 1 pkg cream cheese (8oz)
• 1 pkg crescent rolls (6 ct)
• 2 shredded cooked chicken breasts
• 1.5 C grated chedder cheese
• 1 C grated Monterey Jack
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• *I also added in some poultry seasoning and a little bit of garlic.
  
• bread crumbs
• 1/4 stick melted butter

Combine chicken, cheeses, salt and pepper. Spoon onto crescents. Roll them up making sure they are sealed around the chicken mixture. Brush tops with butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. To reheat, just place in a 325 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Deck the Halls!

This weekend Cody was enjoying a little hunting (avert your eyes if you are anti-hunting...)

While he was gone, Carolina and I had a sleepover! We went shopping, running, crafting, ate some yummy food and watched some movies.

I was also able to finish wrapping presents, so I'm ready to show you my Christmas decorations now that my tree is not naked. Here's a glimpse into our winter wonderland here at the Sage Casa:

I like all of the subway art that I have seen on blogs and pinterest, but could not find one that told the actual meaning of Christmas until I came across this one. It has part of the story from Luke 2.

I always wrap my presents according to family. The Sages get one color of wrapping paper (maroon this year), the Browns get one color of wrapping paper (black and white this year) and our extended family/friends get another color of wrapping paper (silver this year). It just makes it so much easier to get the correct presents to the right place. I used raffia for the bows instead of ribbon and kraft paper + sparkly letter stickers for the labels (initials only). I LOVE the way they turned out!

(The stocking on the right was being super uncooperative..)
I had some frames left over from a craft (that I will tell you more about once those recipients of said craft have them) that had the glass broken out of them. I did not want to throw them out, so I picked up some wooden letters. I painted them with green acrylic paint and then immediately added green glitter to them. I put kraft paper in the frames and then hot glued the letters onto them. Afterwards, I hot glued the frames together to add a little joy to our tv. : )



I had yet to find a good way to display Christmas cards and did not want to spend the $$ to buy one, so instead I made this one that I found on pinterest. I used 60ish clothes pins that were spray painted green. After they dried, I took a wire hanger and formed it into a circle, then placed the clothes pins on alternating with clear beads. Once the wreath was full, I cut of the hook part of the hanger, hot glued it closed and I added a brown bow at the top. The tutorial is here.


Our upstairs manly tree that has deer antlers instead of a star...
My ornament wreath!
My other wreath from the crafternoon, some garland that happened to run upon (literally...think garage sale) and my sweet little snowman.

Hope you are all enjoying this beautiful weekend, holiday season and remembering the real reason for the season!

Lately

So I've been psuedo absent from the blogging world...Here's a little glimpse of what I've been doing
Processing 25lbs of venison meat with my husband

Eating Cold weather food like Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup for dinner

Becoming a brunette again (One of my kids said "Its like your hair was vanilla and now its chocolate!)

Coordinating my first 5k! Woohoo Fit Girls! You rocked it! (can't show you their picture, so here's ours!)

School work!


Finished for the semester! PTL, Sic 'em and Gig 'em!
Look at all of the books/articles I read this semester!

Crafting for Christmas (more to come on that later...)
And Christmas parties!
K/1 Christmas Party


Christmas dinner at Dinah's

Only 2 school days left until Christmas break! I am SO excited!!

Vegan Oat Bars

I bought some hungry bars from Emily a few weeks ago and they were amazing. I have not had a chance to order again, so I searched her website to find something to tie me over in the mean time. I found theses vegan oat bars. They have been a great quick breakfast which I have been in need of lately.

Soft & Chewy Raw Vegan Oat Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 large ripe banana, mashed
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup wheat germ*
• 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup dried fruit (I used dried cranberries)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used roasted almonds)
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
  
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (agave syrup will work also)
• 1/2 cup nut butter (I used peanut butter)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

*If you do not have wheat germ on hand, don't sweat it. Just replace the 1/2 cup wheat germ with 1/2 cup oats.

Directions:

1. Mix the above ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.
2. Line a 8x8 baking dish or tupperware with plastic wrap or foil.
3. Place the oat bar mixture in the pan and pat down evenly and firmly.
4. Cover and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.
5. Remove pan from freezer and cut into 10 rectangular bars.
6. Store in freezer for firm bars or refrigerator for soft bars.

After the bars firmed up, I wrapped each bar in plastic wrap and placed them back in the freezer.

Fit for a princess

Our niece is 3 1/2 years old! She loves princesses, princess dresses, shoes and purple. She loves life and sings her way through the day. Basically, she's a girl after my own heart. For her Christmas gift this year, I thought I would make a few things:
1. Chalk board
-I spray painted a picture frame purple
-I took a piece of wood and had the Mr. cut it to fix the frame.
-I sanded the wood, primed it with grey spray paint and then applied a few coats of Chalkboard spray paint
-After it dried for 24 hours, I used gorilla glue (a little too much....but I fixed it) to glue it into the frame
-Now its ready for some beautiful drawings! : )


2. Rock alphabet
EG loves rocks. She has an ongoing rock collection at her house. When she came to visit this summer we added quite a few rocks to it. I got 26 rocks from her collection and used a paint pen to write the capital letters on one side and the lower case letters on the back. After both sides dried, I used clear spray paint to seal/protect them.


3. Magnetic board
-I spray painted this frame purple also
-After it dried, I cut a sheet of stainless steel from Home Depot down to fit the frame
-I also cut a piece of scrapbook paper and layered it in front of the stainless steel in the frame


4. Letters for the magnetic board
-I used clear stones, alphabet stickers, modge podge, magnets and scrap booking paper to make these
-Place the stickers on scrapbook paper
-Place a stone on top and cut around it (each stone is a different shape, so you want to use the stone that will be glued on top)
-Use a little modge podge on top of the paper and attach it to the stone

-Let it dry completely and then add a magnet to the back