Tired of being tired?

A Macy's Christmas and (Thanksgiving recap)-recipe

Even though it's three days after Christmas I wanted to do some sort of post on the last year for Santaland at Macy's in Portland, Oregon. Our tradition of going to the Portland Macy's is going to be coming to an end at the end of 2016. Macy's has sold their building and set to shut down their store location in Portland in spring of 2017. We are saddened, but it also gives us a chance to open up a new tradition of driving to the Seattle location and visiting the Santaland there instead. Here is the SNS post dedication to the Santaland Macy's in Portland, Oregon.


The Bean has been coming to the Santaland at this location since he was four. It's a really sad thing for him to see it all go away. I've been trying my best to tell him that we can start new memories in Seattle. I don't think it will fully set in that the Seattle Santaland will be great until we actually go there in 2017. In the meantime, we are drying tears and enjoying great memories in Portland,

The best part of this visit to Santaland is that we got to share the last year with family. If you follow me on Instagram you know that we had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year with the visit of Will and Kayla. There's lots more in this post about their visit too!



The entrance to see Santa Claus is called Holiday Lane. Toy soldiers stand guard at the start of Holiday Lane and are as tall as The Bean.




The Bean loves placing his stamped letter to Santa in the Believe Meter mailbox. It's one thing that will never fade, no matter how old he gets. Before we left, The Mr. and The Bean stood and looked at everything and remembered all of the years we had been there. The Mr. actually came to Santaland at Macy's when he was growing up and had some great memories of the place.






Portland courthouse.

We rode the MAX Train while we were in Portland and come to find out, this was the first time my brother, Will, has taken public transportation.


Christmas tree at Pioneer Courthouse Square.


As far as Thanksgiving goes, Will and Kayla landed on Thanksgiving day and we started cooking Thanksgiving dinner at about 6:00 a.m. They were set to land at noon, but got delayed in Dallas, so they didn't land until around 2:30 p.m. After getting the rental car and getting to our house it was well after 4:00 p.m. before we actually sat down and ate Thanksgiving dinner, but that didn't matter to us, it was great just having them here to spend a holiday with. And the meal was great!



The shape of the rental car reminded us of the car on National Lampoons Vacation.


We had to stop at A & W to have some original root beer.

We visited the state capital in Salem, Oregon, and afterward headed up the Cascades to play in the snow for a bit before it got too dark.





We all had a blast sledding down the hill. We all ended up crashing at the bottom, but the snow being so fresh it softened the blow a bit better.

The Bean was having a blast! Living in Oregon, where it snows a ton, does have its perks!

We headed to Crater Lake the following day and stopped off at Harry & David for a little snack. We decided to spend the night at Union Creek once we got into the area. It was pretty late, so we wanted to take advantage of the full area of Crater Lake without being pushed for time.

If you are a regular follower of South North South, you'll remember, our stay at Union Creek and road trip to Crater Lake back in May









Driving up to the top of Crater Lake wasn't too bad, but driving back down we started getting into some heavy snow.


It was worth the drive though to see Crater Lake in the winter. The last time we went (here) it was after the snow had begun to melt off and it was actually warm. The view of Crater Lake at that time was amazing!

We were pretty bummed that Will and Kayla didn't get to see the lake, but they had a blast in the snow regardless!










This picture is the one I shared on Instagram and I couldn't help be love it enough to share here on the blog too. Crater Lake is such a wonderful place! If you have a seasonal bucket list going, be sure to add Crater Lake to it for each season.

After leaving Crater Lake, we stopped off at Prospect Pizza. This place is the best! A tiny hole in the wall pizza joint in the middle of nowhere, but their pizza is some of the best!









A short and quick view of a whale passing through. We waited around for a bit to see if she would peek up again.

She finally came up and made a bigger splash. See her at the bottom left-hand corner of the picture above. 



First time for Will and Kayla to be in California, so stopping at the state line was a must. Remember, we are all from the south, so these moments are a big deal!

We arrived at the Trees of Mystery a short time later after crossing the state line. For the SNS family we've been here before, but we love the Trees of Mystery, so we were excited to show Will and Kayla 



Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox standing tall at the entrance of the park.















We rode the sky tram up to the top of the mountain and Will was quite scared that it would break. The valley below is a pretty good drop, so it did cross all of our minds. Once we got leveled out it wasn't that bad of a ride. We've been on the ride before (here), but I don't think you could ever get used to riding it.







That evening we drove up to Portland to stay the night. Their flight was leaving early in the morning, so staying up in Portland seemed like the best plan. The picture above was at about 3:00 a.m. and everyone was tired, but we were sad that they were leaving, so it almost trumped the tired feelings.

We said out last goodbyes. I am still sad that they are gone. I really enjoy spending quality time with my brother. As we have gotten older we have gotten closer. I value him a lot.

We watched their plane leave. They didn't know that we watched them the entire time until we couldn't see the plane anymore. I felt it was important.

We headed back to the motel room to relax for a few more hours and The Bean crashed right out on the room couch as soon as we walked back in the door. 

And that was it. We gathered out things, ate some continental breakfast, and headed home.

A few days later we headed to the Christmas tree farm to pick out a good Christmas tree for our little family. We scored the perfect one! I also made some delicious turkey soup with the leftovers from Thanksgiving. Similar to chicken soup, but replace the chicken with turkey.

Thanksgiving Turkey Soup:

Leftover, fully cooked turkey removed from the bone (At least half the bird)
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
10 yellow potatoes (cut into one-inch cubes)
1 large white onion (cut into one-inch cubes)
6 celery stalks (cut into small crescent pieces)
1 bag of baby carrots (cut in half)
3 springs of parsley (chopped)
6 cups of water (and an additional six cups as it cooks)
1 tsp. dill (fresh or dry)
1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tbs. onion powder
1 tsp. seasoning salt
4 bay leaves
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Add everything to a large stock pot and cook for 30 minutes. Add the additional six cups of water and cook for another 30 minutes. Serve! 



One of the best things about Christmas is receiving cards from friends and loved ones. 


Side note:
The Bean really enjoyed peeling away the days on his Fair Trade Chocolates Advent Calendar. I picked this up at the local co-op. 


Under each flap it shows different countries and how they say "Happy Holidays."
Snag one next year here. Also, we got the best gift from Will and Kayla after they left. Part of their Christmas gifts was this gift card to Shari's to eat. It was great and my brother said, "You can go eat at Shari's and pretend we are there eating with y'all." Wonderful! I just love gifts with thought!

Friday things

Two more days until Christmas! Can you believe it? It's been rather cold and rainy here in the Valley lately. Unfortunately all of the snow is gone and it's just wet here now. We had a blast with the snow though, and The Bean played in it almost every day. With the weather turning crummy we've been taking advantage of our Amazon Prime TV and binge-watching everything from Stranger Things to LOST. Little hint, our new kitten is named "Eleven." We are loving Stranger Things and can't wait for season two. With watching LOST we are still on season one about to hit season two. It's engaging and I honestly think shows are better after all of the hype from them dies down. Watching LOST makes me think of the line from This is 40 where the daughter has watched a lot of the episodes and the parents tell her it will melt her brain...

As we are watching LOST this scene was going through my head. I don't think we will be able to watch 100 episodes in five weeks, but with the cold and rain coming down, who knows. For now, here are the things that made this week great!

1. Snow

We had a little bit of snowfall and then a lot of snowfall in the first part of this week. It's all gone now and just rain is falling, but it was a lot of fun while it was here and made for some lovely pictures.




The walkway in front of our house.

2. Tree Star

We wanted something different this year, but wanted something eye-catching. We figured this stellated dodecahedron was perfect!

3. Calendar

I started getting things ready for the new year and with this Polestar family planning calendar I will stay on top of my A-game for 2017.

4, Winter Solstice

Not sure what everyone else did for the winter solstice, but we lit some candles and enjoyed a quiet night in. These candles are handmade from pure beeswax and will be available for purchase in the SNS shop in 2017. 

5. Cards

Our holiday cards came this week and I always getting super excited to send them out! We used a photo from our Trees of Mystery trip when family was here at Thanksgiving. Our holiday card receivers are just going to love them!



• Minimal thought for this week:

Have a great weekend and a fantastic Christmas!

Friday things

Less than 10 days until Christmas. We are so ready for it here in our house! We've been getting rid of the old to prepare for the new in the start of the new year. It's still a mission every day to get rid of things that aren't necessary. I can't even begin to tell you how much happier we have been downsizing our possessions. It's incredible how overwhelmed you can feel with stuff burying you. I just watched the documentary, "Minimalist" by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. It is an amazing insight on how much stuff people think they need. It's a great way to put your life back on track on buying the things you really do need and not buying the things you really don't need. With Christmas quickly approaching, I do hope you take a minute to watch it and remember what's important. It isn't stuff. "Love people and use stuff. Because the opposite never works." -Ryan Nicodemus

The Mr. and I went through our Christmas boxes and determined which things we could do without. We still feel that we could downsize even more, but for now, I think this is a great start.

The Bean loves to take things to donate. He is always buried in the backseat with all of the boxes and bags. It always makes me chuckle seeing him shoved in between all of the stuff.

Here are the things that made this week great!

1. Togetherness

Along with reducing our household down we have also been spending more time together outside of the house. For awhile there, all three of us had become sluggish on going out and about-other than grocery shopping. The Mr. and I felt it was time to chin up and let's do more together. Of course, The Bean loves doing anything and everything with us, so it was only a matter of planning and following through. This past week we took a walk downtown and popped into the downtown diner to have some dinner and listen to live music. This restaurant is known for having some great live blues and folk bands play.

2. Subscriptions

This week Honest Beauty and The Honest Company essentials bundles came. I am in the process of downsizing a lot and these subscriptions keep me on track with household and beauty needs. 

Also, Yogi Surprise boxes came on Tuesday and Wednesday. I actually get extremely excited when I receive these in the mail each month. December's boxes had such great products this month and I can't wait to try the 4th & Heart Ghee Butter this weekend. Grab a subscription to these boxes here and get on the list for the first of the year.



3. Butternut Squash

I made my first homemade butternut squash soup and it was delicious. The recipe I used was sort of on the fly, but it worked out great. Below is the recipe if you want to give this winter soup a try.

1 Three to Four pound butternut squash, peeled and diced into small cubes.
2 tbs. butter
1 Small white onion, peeled and diced.
6 cups water
Salt and Pepper
1 tsp. garlic salt

In a small stock pot melt butter and add diced onion. Cook until the onion is transparent and add the water. Bring to a boil and add diced butternut squash. Reduce heat to medium and boil for 30 minutes uncovered. Remove from heat and using a slotted spoon, add the cooked squash and onions to a blender. Slowly pour in liquid and blend until smooth. Pour soup back into stock pot and add salt and pepper-to taste. Add the garlic salt and serve hot.

4. Kitten

Allow me to introduce you to Eleven. The Bean has named the stray kitten and for now she has a home. She has grown on us, so I don't think she will be going anywhere soon.

5. Clock

We needed a clock and so I definitely found us a good one. It's such a great item and for now it serves as the clock in our front living room. The Mr. and The Bean actually depend on it when they wake up in the morning and we've all gotten in the habit of glancing at it as we go out the door. So I've justified the purchase so far. 


We've been getting some snow here lately. Here's a little glimpse of the Valley right now.




Have a great weekend!