Ryan’s day at work turned into a long one.
He didn’t arrive home until close to 7 p.m. which was a bummer, but it gave me a chance to check a bunch of things off my to-do list.
Lunch
After spending time at the garage getting my car worked on, I headed home for lunch. 
Today’s mid-day meal included a quesadilla, packed with cheese, black beans and roasted red pepper hummus, served with honey pretzel sticks and a cup of strawberry banana Chobani.
I enjoyed my lunch in our backyard while I watched Sadie hunt squirrels.
The weather today was wonderful. Jeans, a light sweater and a thin scarf kept me quite warm.
After lunch, I brought my lap top outside to work on a special project for a couple of hours. I also designed my family’s Christmas card!
Then it was time to shop for some Christmas presents for my family. I was very successful, and came home after a couple of hours to wrap the gifts.
Sadie tried to help… 
But tearing up wrapping paper, bringing me her stuffed pig and chasing ribbon didn’t prove very useful.
Dinner
Around 6:30 I received a call from Ryan telling me he was finally leaving the office.
I got a jump start on dinner, determined to make something comforting and warm.
Ryan absolutely loves his grandmother’s chicken and biscuits, and I figured I could recreate her meal using the pulled chicken we had on hand from last night’s dinner. 
I made warm biscuits for two by combining 3/4 cup Bisquick Heart Smart mix with 1/4 cup Almond Breeze almond milk. After baking them in a 400-degree oven for about 10 minutes, the biscuits were ready to be topped with the pulled chicken and gravy.
I made the gravy using a packet of McCormick turkey gravy mix that I snagged from my parents’ house several months ago. Once the gravy was bubbling and thickened on the stovetop, I added the pulled chicken and let it simmer for about two minutes.
While the gravy was simmering, I roasted broccoli and cauliflower in the oven to incorporate some veggies into our meal.
When Ryan walked through the door, dinner was ready! 
Homemade biscuits topped with pulled chicken gravy with roasted cauliflower and broccoli on the side. Not a bad meal for something that came together in less than 20 minutes!
With full bellies we were ready to head out into the chilly night to check out the Baldwin Park Festival of Lights, a neighborhood holiday festival located about 10 minutes from our apartment.
Baldwin Park Festival of Lights
We missed the parade which took place around 6 p.m., but we still had a great time walking up and down the beautifully lit streets with Sadie.
Within five minutes of arriving, a Santa spotting occurred! 
Apparently I’m on Santa’s naughty list… Check out the death look he gave me:
Yikes.
At least I had loving hugs from Miss Sadie to assure me that I am not too awful.
Ryan, Sadie and I also spent some time shopping in one of the stores that allows dogs. 
We nabbed a couple more Christmas gifts for family members before heading home.
And now we’re chillin’ on the couch. I’m glad to have my buddy home with me. 😀
See ya in the morning!
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HAHAHA oh my Julie, what have you DONE to deserve that look? You’re right ,at least you’re on Sadie’s nice list 🙂
Glad you enjoyed your night and got a lot done today! Yippeeee weekends!
xox Meg
Hahaha NYC was FULL of Santas today…it was the Santa parade and I think some of the Santas themselves were pretty naughty, by the looks of the bar crowds 🙂
Hope you have a relaxing Sunday!
Ooo, I didn’t know they had lights there! I’ll have to go check it out.
Wow! What a look from Santa! Geez! Haha!
Looks like you had a great day! Have a great Sunday! 🙂
Wow! Sadie really jumped high on you.
What a fun date- we too love looking at Christmas lights:)
that dinner looks so good.
christmas lights are gorgeous. they look so cheery hanging on houses. i can’t get enough!
Yummy!!! My grandmother makes chicken and dumplings, which is pretty similar, and I loove it!!!
What DID you DO to get that look from santa???? hahahaha
It’s okay, that wasn’t the REAL Santa. 😉
My boyfriend can’t get enough of his grandmother’s chicken and dumplins. If I can ever get anywhere near achieving his approval on that dish, I will consider my life’s work accomplished.
That dinner looks really good. I’ll have to remember the idea the next time I have leftover chicken.
And I’m glad you had a good night at the festival of lights … well, good minus the dirty look from Santa. 😉
the festival sounds so lovely!
that’s a pretty bad santa, giving you a look like that. I’m sure the real one loves you 🙂
Lol what did you do Julie? 😛
Sadie is SO cute!! I want her!!
Your dinner looked awesome!
Yikes Santa!!!
dinner sounds amazing…perfectly homemade and healthy too!
Sadie is so adorable, my kitten does the same thing when I am trying to wrap gifts! As if I need someone to make my finished products look any worse 😛
Psh, Santa clearly doesn’t know much.
Ha, the picture of you and Sadie is so cute! Can’t believe she’ll sit in your arms like a baby 😉
The festival of lights looks beautiful, I love things like that!
Oh I love festival of lights! There’s a place around here that sets up thousands of lights and what not..it’s beautiful and so fun to go through.
Bringing you her stuffed pig didn’t prove useful- lol! You’re too funny and I love Sadie’s precious face in that picture!