Making this place home

While most of the Xmas stuff is in Birmingham, on my last visit, I managed to take a couple of things - the small Xmas tree (and ornaments) and the Xmas sign that Laurie sent us last year. I also fixed this - all the sparkle almost make the plastic bowl look like fancy crystal.

I also fixed this - all the sparkle almost make the plastic bowl look like fancy crystal. 

Happy Holidays

This year, we went with Tacky. Hope you're having a wonderful holiday season!

Holiday mood

Our tree is up and this year, we have lights on our balcony. Almost all of our packages and cards have gone out. Two out of my three batches of pralines turned out okay. I made a holiday craft inspired by Pinterest:

And we may have a problem:

Earlier this year, we decided that every year that we can afford it, we will participate in a Toy for Tots program. Last week, we set out to the store to pick up one item and came home with five.We hope that the stuffed animals will find a happy home and be a lifelong friend for a child in need.

Tasty Tuesday

In this edition of Tasty Tuesday, I also recap our Thanksgiving getaway.
We were fortunate to be able to go to Gulf Shores with our friend Colm for Thanksgiving, keeping up with the tradition of spending this holiday with friends. The three of us made it to the beach on Wednesday and we couldn't be happier with the condo rental. We had a great view of the beach right from the wrap around balcony. We had three flat screen TVs which meant that I could watch my girly shows while the men watched their shows. But I also made my first roasted turkey and Tom said it was delicious (Colm is vegetarian). We had way too much food but that mean we didn't have to cook for a few days. Days, which were filled with relaxing, eating walking on the beach, watching sunsets, and going to local favorites. We also managed a few snaps for a cute email Christmas card (now if I can only find time to put it together)On the drive home (which took us way longer than it should, oh holiday traffic), we stopped in the outlet mall in Foley and managed to get a a lot of our Christmas shopping done. We will miss you beach, but we will be back!

Here are some pictures:
Left to right (going clockwise), green bean with tomatoes, apple and craisins stuffing, cranberry sauce, broccoli gratin, roasted Brussels sprouts, wild rice salad, artichoke in bread bowl dip; in the oven: roasted potatoes, mushroom, gouda, and broccoli quiche, apple pie, pumpkin pie.

Snowy, the sandman

Sunset

Pool

Oh Valentine's

I love themes, especially those when it's perfectly ok for me to be covered from head to toes in pink and have glitter everywhere: valentine's day. However, Tom and I think that this is overly commercialized, so instead we had a nice dinner date on Saturday Feb 12: grilled filet mignon (meat from Mr. P's http://www.mrpdeli.com/ - as a side note, I love this place, it's nice to have a butcher!), grilled shrimp, garlic and jalapeno mashed potatoes, and tuxedo strawberries! Tom received a laptop cooling pad thingy, and so far, it's performing well.

December Recap

I met BFF Susie Beth and Jarrod’s baby, Julia Elizabeth in October and was named Aunt Kaj! She is adorable! Since Susie is using smile mommy, a diaper service provider (http://www.smilemommy.com/) I wasn’t sure whether a diaper cake would be appropriate. But then the Pattersons use diapers for their road trips so here I was, making a diaper cake out of 258 diapers! 

Tom and I went to the Institute’s (http://southernresearch.org/) holiday party, followed by Chantelle’s birthday party, where I was excited to see BFF Nate.

The first Christmas at the house was nice. Tom surprised me by putting blue lights on the tree (I don’t like lit trees usually) and I actually liked it. Santa came early and dropped off our gifts <3

We left for La Crosse, Wisconsin for Christmas, prepared for the 15 hour drive. There was snow, a lot of snow, but it wasn’t as cold as I expected it to be. It was awesome being in Packer territory, during football season. We went to Sloopy’s bar, where our friend Caleb works. They have a burger, topped with bacon, cheese, and batter fried cheese curd – try it if you’re in the area, it’s called the Westby Burger, and is not on the menu. It was nice to see Derek, Jared F, Jared V and his wife Sam. 

 

Christmas at the Larsons was OMG fantastic and relaxing. Tom, the grill master, cooked steaks in the snow for the Xmas eve’s dinner, and Laurie (Tom’s mom) made a wonderful standing prime rib roast. And the gifts the next day!

Then on Monday December 26, Tom’s sister, Mary got married.

We managed to include a date night, starting with cocktails at the 50’s theme Starlite lounge, followed by dinner at Buzzard Billy’s. This place has better Cajun food than Birmingham, and their menu is ridiculous! (http://www.buzzardbillys.com/vnews/display.v/ART/4522e4904d226) We also went to dinner with Caleb and Anna, Jared V and Sam at Digger’s.

Then like all good things come to an end, we left for Sweet Home Alabama, with a car full of gifts, beer, and cheese, and hearts full of happiness and gratitude, and lots of memories.

Holiday gift ideas

Edible gifts? 

Advantages: no wrestling crowds at the mall; can be done at any time, eg late at night after lab, when your mind is still racing and you can't fall asleep.

Cranberry Jam:

Cranberries, grated apples, fresh lemon juice, and sugar. I love my candy thermometer for this. The book Joy of Cooking also came in handy, especially when sealing the jars. Sealed, jams can be stored up to one year. I used my printer to create the labels, and used sheer red ribbon for the bow. This will go well with the scones mix (later post)

Pecan pralines make great stocking stuffers and thanks to my candy thermometer, no more guessing