12.27 Friday Faves

Hi friends! Happy Friday! How’s your week going? Friends who are celebrating this week: how have your holidays been?

Before we head into today’s post, a HUGE congrats to the winner of this year’s Favorite Things giveaway: Mary Anne C. Stay tuned for more giveaways coming up in the new year!

It’s been an amazing week. We spent a couple of nights at the Scottsdale Princess, which is one of our favorite winter traditions. They have so many gorgeous light displays, Santa, ice skating, rides, and the atmosphere is so festive and fun.

(They also have a ridiculous hot cocoa cocktail called the Nutcracker that is SO good.) We met up with friends and enjoyed all of the activities on property, and also had dinner at the new Toca Madera.

We were blown away by the food and the service. Everything was cooked perfectly – we shared guacamole, chips, oysters, and the Pilot and I enjoyed margaritas. For entrees, the kids got truffle mac and cheese and a chopped salad with chicken, while the Pilot and I enjoyed steaks and sides. We ordered three desserts (we want to try everything when we go out to eat lol) and the presentation was so unique – everything was on a board adorned with a lit sparkler.

While we were in Scottsdale we also saw the Ballet Arizona Nutcracker; one of my all-time faves!

The rest of the week has been Winterhaven lighs and a party with friends, Christmas Eve at my dad’s, and Christmas Day at our house. This week has been filled with everything I love: family time, chill time, and amazing food.

(All of our pajamas are from Hanna Andersson)

We had the usual nana’s egg casserole, tamales, beans, and homemade cinnamon rolls.

The Pilot made his famous egg nog:

and for dinner, we had a giant charceuterie board, caviar + accompaniments, shrimp cocktail, and for dinner, beef tenderloin with horseradish mustard sauce, smoked turkey, maple brussels, and mashed sweet potatoes.

Dessert was a yule log from dedicated,

homemade pumpkin pie,

assorted macarons, and a million cookies that madre and I baked