home for the holidays

Though we're in the throes of the Christmas season now, these photos are actually from way back on Thanksgiving day, playing catch up over here!  Thanksgiving ended up being a gorgeous day and before dinner we grabbed some family photos of the whole gang to send out with Christmas cards.  It was really nice having a family-only, super laid back Thanksgiving.  Sometimes holidays can tend to become overwhelming with all the family get togethers, parties, and logistics.  It was nice to have the opposite and just spend the weekend relaxing with family.  We won't be spending the holidays up in Anchorage this year, so it was nice to get that time with my family in for the holiday season.

 

dress + cardigan/courtesy of modcloth :: boots/courtesy of vogue footwear  quartz necklace/courtesy of adorn by sarah lewis :: glasses/courtesy of bonlook pine necklace/handmade :: claw necklace/thrifted :: photos by Dan

chocolate (peppermint) fudge

After my headache inducting efforts to make caramels I decided to try something that seemed a bit simpler.  Dan loves fudge so when he saw the fudge recipe in my candy cookbook he requested that fudge be my next endeavor.  I happily obliged.  I'd never thought of myself as a fudge person, but after making it, I love it!
I made a standard chocolate fudge, but I think this recipe would be easy to customize, especially if you wanted to do a peppermint chocolate fudge.  I included a little edit to the recipe for a peppermint version if you want to do that, since it is the season for peppermint goodies, after all.  Fudge is pretty quick and easy to make, so I think it'd make for a nice gift to give out to friends, family, or coworkers.  Dan and I really want to go around town and give little Christmas gifts to our favorite service industry folks, and I think I may make another batch of fudge for just that.  

(recipe via Sweet Confections)

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup whole milk

1/4 cup corn syrup

3/4 tsp kosher salt

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (for peppermint fudge, use 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp peppermint extract)

Candy canes or peppermints, crushed (if you're making peppermint chocolate fudge)

1. Oil an 8 x 8 inch baking pan.

2. Bring the sugar, cream, milk, corn syrup, and salt to a boil over medium heat in a 3-quart saucepan, stirring occasionally with a heatproof spatula.  Add the chocolate, and boil to 238ºF, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla extract.

3. Pour the syrup in a thin layer in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.  Let cool to 110ºF undisturbed, about 20 minutes.  Once cooled, scrape into the bowl of a stand mixer.

4. Mix on medium speed with a paddle attachment until the fudge thickens and begins to hold its shape, about 7 minutes.  Scrape into the prepared 8 x 8 inch pan, and spread evenly with a spatula.  Let set for at least two hours at room temperature.  Cut into pieces of desired size and store in an airtight container.

5. If you made peppermint fudge, you can crush up some candy canes or peppermints and sprinkle them on top your fudge while it sets up for a festive looking fudge!

a delightful giveaway from albion!

Hello fine folks, I've got an awesome giveaway for you today!  I've partnered with Albion to bring you guys a giveaway for a $150 gift certificate!  I have tons of boring black leggings, so when Albion offered to let me try out some items from their new winter collection I was immediately drawn to these cute grey leggings.  I love that they have a subtle pattern that is interesting, but doesn't distract.  I've worn them like three days in a row and at this rate I should probably get a back up pair for whenever I wear these ones out!  They're not super warm so I'm not sure I'd go running outdoors with them in the winter, but the fabric feels great and breathable, especially when I start sweating in Yoga class.

This jacket is my favorite mid layer right now.  It's a bit too chilly to go out without a large jacket over it, but I like throwing it on first thing in the morning to let the dog out, and then I end up wearing it all day.  I'm not in to super girly athletic gear, so I love how it has some little feminine details without screaming "LADY HERE!"

If you want to snag some goodies from Albion, make sure you use the code delightful20 to get $20 off your order of $100 or more! (exp 12/16/13)  There are a few ways to enter the giveaway, so scroll down to get started!




a Rafflecopter giveaway

swap with me!

You guys have probably seen a few other bloggers mention Swapdom, and I just joined the other day!  I think swapping is such a fun way to expand your wardrobe and get rid of items that no longer get much wear, but are too cute to just give to a thrift shop before seeing if some friends or blog readers might want to snag them.  I have a few items in my own wardrobe that I love, but they just don't get as much wear as I'd anticipated.  Swapping is a great way to give those items a loving home!  I love doing little local swaps, but Swapdom gives you access to closets all over the country.  Pretty rad.  They just launched a couple months ago, so things are just starting to get going on the swap front.  Katie from Skunkboy Creatures just got a swap the other day, exciting!

It's pretty easy to set up an account, and then you can list as many items as you'd like and go searching for cute things to request for swapping!  Swapdom does all the behind the scenes work, and when the swap logistics have all been organized, they send you a message so that you can get to swapping!  I have a few items up for swap, and I haven't gotten a swap just yet (I only just signed up, you can find my profile here), but I'm excited for a swap to come my way!  If you want to sign up and get started swapping with other stylish folks, click here!  Membership is totally free, so you the only costs you have to worry about are shipping expenses to send your swapped items off to their new home.  I feel like Swapdom is the biggest Delightful Dozen of all time!  It's been a few years since the Delightful Dozen was active, so it'll be fun to get back to swapping with people.  

Q + A // tips for getting into rock climbing

"I am very interested in climbing but I don't know anybody who is climbing and so I don't really know where to start. When you wanted to try it out, did you just show up at a gym and asked someone to help you? How do I know what kind of routes are good for me? Should I do any specific exercises before starting it?"

As with most things, I think if you want to start climbing you should just go for it.  It's kind of silly to think you have to be fit before going to the gym to... get fit.  You have to start somewhere, and most people start at the beginning, which means you're not going to be very good!  This is the same with yoga too.  A lot of people say they need to be more flexible before they start going to yoga... but yoga is a great way to get flexible, so why wait?

The thing about climbing is that almost anyone can do it.  At my gym they say if you can climb a ladder you can climb a rock wall.  All rock gyms have climbing routes that vary in difficulty, which means there will be routes that you, the newbie, will be able to climb.  It might be a bit difficult just starting out but those routes are designed to be as basic as possible and require very little strength or technique.  As you gain strength and technique, you'll find that those routes will become easier and you'll start to try routes that are labeled as more difficult.

 

jacket + leggings/courtesy of albion :: hat (similar)/the north face :: shoes/evolv
*get $20 off any albionfit.com purchase of $100 or more with code  delightful20 at checkout! (exp 12/16/13)*

Something that I hear all the time, especially from women, when I mention rock climbing is, "Well, I have zero upper body strength."  While you do need some upper body strength, I've actually found that not being super buff in your upper body can actually be to your advantage.  Climbing well doesn't mean you're doing pull-ups all the way up the wall.  It's not a very economical use of your strength and oftentimes is evident of poor technique.  Because men typically have more natural upper body strength, I'll frequently see men who are clearly only relying on their upper body strength.  They lack the technique that would make them much better climbers.  Since women don't have this natural strength to rely on, I'll usually see women developing better technique sooner because they can't just do pull ups all the way up the wall.  All of that is to say, don't use your feminine body's "limitations" as an excuse.  There are plenty of women out there who are climbing just as hard as men.  It might be discouraging at first to see men climb up the wall using sheer strength, but once you can do the same routes expending half the energy by using good technique you'll realize that sheer strength isn't all it's chalked up to be.

Most climbing gyms will have classes for beginners that will tell you about techniques and safe climbing practices, and all should have knowledgable staff that can answer any questions you might have, and they're specifically there for you new folks!  Climbing people are pretty friendly so you can probably ask fellow climbers if you have any questions.  Most climbers are happy to help you figure out how to do a route, or answer any climbing questions you have.

Climbing gyms will also usually have rental gear available for you, so you don't really need to bring anything, other than yourself and clothing that's easy to move in.  For me that means leggings, a sports bra and a tank top (the leggings and jacket I'm wearing in this post is my new favorite climbing outfit!).  They'll rent you climbing shoes, a harness, a chalk bag and anything you might need to climb.  If you realize you want to climb a lot, it's probably best to buy your own gear, simply because new gear will be much better than the stuff that's rented out, and it'll be more cost effective than renting gear every time.  Again, climbing gym staff will be able to help you figure out what kind of gear would be best for you to buy.

 

In terms of doing workouts before starting to rock climb, I belong to the school of just doing something and not using the excuse of, "I'm not XYZ enough to start yet."  That being said, being fit all around does help with climbing.  I haven't been working out daily for the past few months and I can tell that not having that overall strength and cardio has kept me from climbing as hard as I know I could be.  Climbing uses a lot of muscles, not just your arms.  There's tons of core, back, and leg work, so working out on top of climbing will definitely help, but as I've said before, it's not necessary to start climbing.  When I started climbing I hadn't worked out in years.  If you start getting really into climbing and you want to be climbing at your peak, training through yoga, cardio, and other fitness regimens will definitely be something you'll want to do, but just starting out, it's certainly not a requirement for being able to climb.

I absolutely love rock climbing.  It's one of my favorite ways to "work out" mostly because it doesn't feel like working out.  It's fun and challenging and climbers are a wonderful group of folks to hang out with.  I enjoy climbing because I can choose whether I want to have a solo day projecting routes on my own, or be social and hang out with other climbers while working on routes together.

I've written about climbing a couple times in the past here, here and here, if you want to read more about my rock climbing experience!