Last minute scramble

If you and yours are anything like hubs and I, you're still working on New Year's Eve plans. Or maybe you're a lot like us and honestly, not really attempting any grand plans. We're simply not nuts over the opportunity to overpay at a restaurant for a crummy pre-set menu, nor are we the type to pay $100 just for the privilege to walk through the threshold of a bar. Our plans usually involve cooking at home or hanging out with friends at someone's home, vice a loud, amateur-hour bar or club. This year we've decided to indulge in some revelry on New Year's Day at our home, which will hopefully prove to be a great way to get some fun people together and rehash the relaxing wild and fun from the night before. So if you roll like we do, here are a few fun ideas for a night in with your pals.


Game Night: Ok, no one really openly admits they like board games all that much (except me), but it usually turns into a good time. Grab your Pictionary or Trivial Pursuit and engage in some good old fashioned board game competition. Bonus points for including some funny gag gifts for the winner and a booby prize for the loser.

Make your own pizza: No need to worry yourself with homemade dough here - grab some pre-made dough from the store and roll out into personal pizzas for your guests. Place out a few trays or bowls with various ingredients and let everyone go to town.

Movie Night: Pick a theme and run with it. We did a Hitchcock night once which was a big hit. Or, pick a new TV series to check out. Nothing says lazy New Year's Eve like watching 6 straight episodes of Weeds or Entourage.

Poker: Everyone loves money...or the opportunity to win some more. You don't need a fancy poker table - a coffee table, kitchen table or counter will do. Grab a few decks of cards, a few rolls of coins and ante up!

Video Game Fun: Someone in your social circle is bound to have Rock Band, Guitar Hero or a Wii...maybe that person is you. It's always a good laugh to find the ringer, the really serious guy and the horrendously bad guitar player or Wii skier (me).

*Photos courtesy of Hasbro, Fun Facts & Trivia.

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We're Back!

Hello friends out there in the ether! I apologize for my MIA-ness over the last week or so. We spent the Christmas holiday in the snowy north with my family and I enjoyed an entire 6 days, yes count 'em 6 days, without the internet (not because it wasn't available, but because I chose to be void of it). It was simply glorious, I tell you! But now, I'm back and ready for some fun posts for the upcoming weeks in the new year. I hope that all of you had a merry and bright Christmas season with friends and family.
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Pizza pizza

I don't know about you, but my motivation to utilize any kitchen appliance (other than the microwave) is about zilch. Not to mention that our fridge is just about bare in preparation for spending the holidays in the snowy north. So last night's dinner was an adventure in creativity and simplicity. Voila, the tortilla pizza! Not only is the meal simple, but without the heavy pizza crust, it's remarkably lower in calories and carbs. And it's another great way to use up any perishable cheese or veggies in your fridge. Here are the basics:

1. Lightly toast the tortilla before adding your toppings - this will help it crispen up a bit and be a little sturdier.
2. Add your toppings - marinara sauce, cheese, fresh veggies, pepperoni, etc.
3. Bake in your toaster oven or conventional oven for 8-10 minutes on 350 degrees.

The perfect accompaniment to relaxing by your Christmas tree.

*Photo courtesy of Chef Made Easy.

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Holiday Tip 7: Dinner mute points

When it comes to the holidays, they can be trying...on many different levels. There's the stress around scheduling various events, picking out the perfect present, decorating your tree and lastly, spending a lot of time with family. Spending time with your relatives can be stressful without added conversational dilemmas. A few tips for keeping the peace and the conversation lively during your holiday gatherings and meals.

Politics: Just don't go there. There are bound to be differing viewpoints within your family and tensions are running high enough - don't go bashing someone's political ideology at Christmas Eve dinner.

Jobs: A great topic, if everyone is gainfully employed, the mood is chipper and the topic of wages is left untouched. Just be sure this doesn't launch into a discussion on why so and so's job sucks and they have too many responsibilities blah blah blah.

People: No need to bash cousin Jody because she gained a little weight or opted out of the extravagent gift exchange this year. Even if she's not your favorite cousin, be merry; after all it's the holidays and blood is thicker than water!

Sports: A perfect conversation piece, even for divided houses...i.e. Michigan and Ohio State, Cowboys and Redskins, Yankees and Red Sox... Just keep this on the up and up and keep your Tiger Woods jokes for another day.

Holiday cheer: The holidays are the perfect time to break out cheesy sentiments. I know my family usually indulges head first into the appreciative, I'm-glad-you're-in-my-family discussions. Bring it. Everyone will leave the dinner table feeling uplifted and grateful for their family....at least for a few minutes until someone yells at you for not drying the dishes fast enough.

And my last piece of bossy advice - if in doubt, don't tell your possibly off-color joke, don't poke fun at your Aunt and make sure you compliment the chef even if the turkey is a little tough...Happy Holidays from my family to yours! May your family gatherings be filled with love, laughter and good cheer!

*Photo courtesy of Zazzle.

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Santa Paws

Since this is Paddy's first Christmas and her debut with most of the family, I wanted to ensure that she is looking her best. I'm not really into dressing the pup like a doll....she is a dog after all. She needed some holiday duds but nothing too froo froo so I came up with the idea of a holiday collar with a little pizazz....

Ta Da! Isn't that a pretty girl? (I say as if I'm actually speaking to her...)

An up close view of the collar on it's own...

This was an incredibly easy (and inexpensive) craft project - just trust me on this one!

Materials:

• 1/4 yard Christmas fabric - I went with a very simple print
• 2-3 feet contrasting ribbon - for the tie and for a decorative bow
• Jingle bells
• Thread

To Make:

• Trim the edges of the fabric and seam the edges on the long end.
• Fold the fabric in half, lengthwise, inside out. Make a seam about 1/4 inch from the edge down the entire length of the fabric.
• Iron the long seam so that each side of the fabric is flat, split away from the seam.
• Turn the fabric sleeve right side out.
• Make a seam about 1/4 to 1/2 inch away from the seam that was just ironed. This small space will be for the ribbon to gather the collar and then tie around the pup's neck.
• Add any decorative touches to the collar at the center, at the bottom of the seams at the top. I added a small bow and hand sewed at the knot. I also added two jingle bells just beneath the bow and sewed those on, similar to a button.
• Attach a safety pin to the end of the ribbon and slowly move through the small sleeve to gather the collar.
• Gather the fabric enough so that the collar is the right length for the pup. Once the gathering is right, tie a double knot with the ribbon at the end of each end of the collar and then tie around your pup for some holiday adornment!

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Today is a very special day

Not only is it the one year anniversary of my blog (woop woop), but it is also my Mom and Aunt's birthday!! No, they're not twins, but were born exactly 4 years apart.

My Mom, Grammy and Auntie Allie

Both of these women have been incredibly influential in my life. I remember spending the night with Auntie Allie when I was a young girl and going for bike rides, enjoying Smart Food popcorn, stopping at White Mountain for ice cream and reading books. We have spent summers at Disney World, Christmases in Florida, VA and Texas and day trips to Boston.

And Mom, you're the best! You taught me about the wonders of the Christmas queen, how to bake the perfect cookie, that organizational OCD isn't that crazy and that a well coordinated outfit is invaluable. I wish I could spend the day with you and we could munch on Chex Mix, Veggie Pizzas, Peppermint bark and holiday cookies with some Pinot Grigio, all the while watching Gilmore Girls and Christmas movies. If you lead, I will follow... :)

Happy Birthday, ladies! Can't wait to see you up North in just a week!!!

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Betty would approve

It's no secret that I have a (borderline) obsession with the TV show, Mad Men. And I've always had a slight penchant for the vintage housewife style and this show and one of it's main characters, Betty Draper, has just fueled the fire. So in honor of my favorite show and a style of which I adore, I found some beautiful 1960s-inspired gift and holiday trends.

1. Maggy London Halter dress from Barrie Place at $69; 2. Gold and pearl brooch from Silver Moon Trading Company at $15.95; Perfume Tray from Touch of Class at $31.75; 4. Silk Scarf from Amazon at $69; 5. Faux fur trimmed wool coat from New York and Company at $105 on sale.
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So you have some recipes?

Most people have compilations of recipe cards, recipe books and cookbooks; I know I definitely do! I find myself frequently look through my recipe box, binder and various cookbooks frantically looking for a specific recipe. Enter Taste Book. This cool site will make your recipes into a hard bound book with tabs to denote various types of recipes and whatnot. This would be a phenomenal gift for your favorite cook, or a bride-to-be, or someone interested in a collection of family recipes. I wish I had found this earlier this holiday season because a LOT of people on my shopping list would be getting one of these guys. To include 25 personal recipes is $19.95, $29.95 for 50 recipes and $34.95 for 100 recipes. Highly affordable!

If anyone decides to purchase one of these for Christmas, I would love your insight. Or have you used another recipe book maker site? I am so jazzed about this - I can't wait to make one for a cooking pal!
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Holiday Tip 6: Place Card Maker Extraordinaire

Since I was a young girl, I've been responsible for place cards for our Christmas eve dinner. And in preparation for another long journey to (hopefully!) snowy New England, I've been doing my homework to make some beautes for this year's feast. Here are a few of my favorites.

These evergreen cards from Martha Stewart are rustic and would go so well in my folk's little house in the woods of New Hampshire.

I love these Dickinson-esque scrolls with a sprig of holly (another from Martha Stewart online). My Mom's feast is usually highly traditional so these would conjure the right sentiment for dinner.


I love these sparkly cards (From Flickr user Townie)! I would probably use a different color paper for the letters and cards so the names stood out a little more. And I could very easily match ribbon to the rest of the place setting and centerpiece. So cute!

These pretty cards with ornament details are from inmagine. I'd love to see these with a coordinating centerpiece - maybe a few hurricanes in various sizes filled with coordinating Christmas ball ornaments.

I was also thinking about the endless possibilities with a pretty monogram in script on a basic card or a small box filled with homemade chocolates with a small tag with the person's name. What do you do for place settings for your holiday meals?

Related Posts: Everyone in their place.

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One Pot Wonder

I've previously mentioned that I'm a big fan of Sunday dinner. There is something deliciously traditional about sitting down for a more formal meal to conclude the weekend and prepare for another work week. After doing lots and lots of holiday baking Sunday afternoon, I wasn't really in the mood for more dishes and worked on a concoction to use pork chops and apples (a perfect pair), but also wanted to incorporate some vegetables in the fridge. And voila, we ended up with a one pot wonder meal that required very little prep (10 minutes or so) and only one dish for clean up...well not totally true, I added some corn and green salad as additional sides. This is definitely a recipe that I'm adding to my book - delish!

Roasted Rustic Pork Chops

• 4-6 Pork Chops (1/2-1 inch thick)
• 2-3 Carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 1 large onion, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2-3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into thin slices
• Salt and Pepper
• Spices - Savory, Sage, Thyme

1. In medium to large casserole dish, line bottom with carrots and then top with about half of the onions.
2. Wash the pork chops, trim fat and pat dry. Season each side with salt, pepper and other desired spices. Place pork chops over carrots and onions, overlapping slightly if necessary.
3. Top pork chops with remaining onion. Place apple slices (flat) over onions and then top with brown sugar.
4. Bake at 350 for about 50-60 minutes (1/2 inch chops) or 90-120 minutes (for 1 inch chops or greater) or until apples are soft and pork reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

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Jammin Jumpers

Every once in a while, a clothing article comes along that just sings to me. One of my absolute all time favorites is a black, wool jumper. It's so wonderfully versatile for fall and winter; it works for daytime, casual evenings, holiday parties or work.

Check out this darling number from Banana Republic. This would be so cute for a holiday party with some great tights and colored shoes. Or alternatively, it is absolutely work appropriate with a cardigan, tights and flats.

I also love this grey Theory dress from Nordstrom. And fear not ladies who live in cold climates, this would be great with a turtleneck sweater, tights and boots for a chilly day or evening.

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Double Duty Dressing

With the hustle bustle of the holidays, I'm a pretty big fan of food items that serve multiple purposes. I think I have mastered bottled salad dressing also serving as a marinade our sauce. Here are some of my favorite combinations below. May your December dinners be stress-free and simple...

Asian Salmon: Marinate and top salmon with an Asian ginger sesame dressing. Asian flavors compliment salmon quite well. Serve with sugar snap peas and brown rice for a very healthy meal.

Sweet Onion Swordfish: Marinate swordfish with Sweet Vidalia onion dressing. Serve with steamed broccoli and a green salad.

Peppercorn Steak: Top a grilled filet or new york strip steak with Peppercorn dressing for a chic sauce with very little effort! Serve with a Caesar salad and baked asparagus.

Photos courtesy of Health Blogger, Laloosh, The Fish Society, Amazon, Dakota Beef Company, Girard's.

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Holiday Tip 5: It's a date!

A quick little post for a Tuesday...don't be caught this month missing important dates. Check out the days of the week and dates of some key holiday events.

Friday, December 11th: Hanukkah begins at sundown

Thursday, December 24th: Christmas Eve

Friday, December 25th: Christmas Day

Saturday, December 26th: Kwanzaa begins

Saturday, December 26th: Boxing Day, celebrated in the UK and Canada

Thursday, December 31st: New Year's Eve

Friday, January 1st: New Year's Day

*Photo courtesy of I love cartoons.

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