Life Lately (via Instagram)

Life's been a little hectic lately, but it's all my own doing.  I feel like I haven't had a second to really just relax.  I'm either at work usually skipping all or portions of my breaks, standing in the kitchen for hours on end baking Xmas gifts, or passing out on the couch from sheer exhaustion (only to wake up at 3am, stumble upstairs and actually go to bed for real).  But the end (vacation/Xmas) is near!  Last night was my last scheduled night of baking (WOOOHOOO!) and tonight I get to hang out with my sister and our dear friend Helene to celebrate Michelle's birthday!  Then, after work on Friday, I am officially on vacation until next Thursday!  So that means I'll probably be AWOL a while longer, but here's a peek into what my last couple weeks have looked like for me...

As of last night I've made 15 loaves of bread in the last two weeks!  Eek!  I branched out this year and didn't just make my challah (or rather Smitten Kitchen's challah) which is pictured above, I also made some classic white bread and some whole wheat.

And since I literally spent the entire past weekend in the kitchen, Antoine was sweet enough to put up our Xmas tree (a task I usually do).  Then this adorableness happened and Antoine, because I was too busy either cooking or passing out, took this photo and shared it with me!

In addition to baking a ton of other stuff this week, one evening I cranked out 72 of these brown butter pecan sandies!  Thankfully I had a couple leftover for Antoine and I to share. YUM!

Meanwhile, I think this guy might have missed me or something.  He's a diligent helper in the kitchen (anxiously waiting for me to drop something), but I think he might have missed some precious couch time with me the last couple weeks.  Because when I finally sat down for a second last night he got right up in my face and put his paw gingerly on my lap!  It was so cute! 

I hope everyone has a happy, safe holiday!