If only these worked the same!

dinner for one

Home alone tonight and too lazy to go to the store, so I threw this little dinner together with literally almost everything that's edible and not expired in the house (actually the beef broth was expired, but not THAT expired...oops) If I wasn't pleased with how it turned out would I post a blog about it? I'm not sure- still new at this blog thing! I will call this dish something clever when I think of something clever to call it- the recipe I based it on is called Kale-llaloo found here: Food Network: Chef Sunny Anderson (who?))

-heat bacon fat in a pan, throw in some sliced onions and sauté
-add garlic (sidenote: how did I go this long peeling and mincing cloves of garlic?? The jar of that stuff is so worth it!) Add a ton of kale and mix all together
-here's where I got creative: added a can of beef broth, some coconut milk and a can of diced tomatoes with diced jalapeños (drained the juice first)
-found some sliced carrots and brussel sprouts in the fridge, threw those in there too
-stir it all together and let it simmer until the brussels are cooked slash you're sick of waiting to eat
-added cayenne pepper and salt to taste- believe it or not, my dinner tasted good and healthy which is just what I needed after a solid WOD and fatty weekend!

white elephant fun

This week was my first work Christmas party that wasn't at night and didn't involve getting blacked out. I'm so grown up! Thursday was a great day actually because our boss took us out to a nice lunch at REEF.  Then the office shut down early and we all went to a White Elephant Christmas party at the other Erin's house (I'm Erin B. because she's senior to me but I don't mind- I've always been Erin B.) It was so fun! For my gift, I individually wrapped a box of Swiss Miss, a bag of marshmallows and a Christmas mug with an unopened bottle of peppermint schnapps that was left at my Christmas party- all in a bag from the stationery store where we buy all of our event invitations (red and white color scheme).  I made a small recipe book entitled "what the heck do I do with all of this Schnapps?" and tied it around the bottle and threw in one of the mistletoe headbands (also left behind at my party). I almost included a voucher good for one live fiddle tune but chickened out. Came home with a pair of fleece sock monkey footie onesie pajamas.  They're terrifying and I can't help but fall asleep when I am wearing them.  We played a really fun game where you pass around dollar bills based on what you roll on some special dice- I want to play that on Christmas (reminder: get special dice).  It is more fun than it sounds!  Tested this pinterest recipe and it turned out pretty good- you can't eat very much before your teeth start to hurt which is good for consumption control I guess? I've renamed it Christmas Crack. Days like Thursday only happen this time a year!

Christmas Party Re-cap

When we first moved into our rental house, one of my first thoughts was "omg this place is going to look awesome in Christmas lights!"  Black Friday finally rolled around, and I was at Lowes and then Guy was on the roof hanging those bad boys while I supervised. To say I am pleased would be an understatement- every time I look at them is like taking a hit of Christmas heroin (Guy's terminology, not mine):

                                             

But look how awesome they look! You can also see the tree through the front window! Christmas! Anyway-

There was a need to throw a Christmas party.  My friend (and landlord's daughter) suggested we have a Lights in the Heights party- LITH is an annual event that takes place just up the road from our place- two streets and their connecting blocks are closed to traffic and most of the neighbors decorate their houses like crazy (they compete for prizes! but I have no idea what those prizes are aside from lawn signs that say "winner") Porta-potties are set up and bands play on people's front porches and driveways.  Once we learned the date (12/8) the Facebook invite was sent and Styrofoam roadie cups were purchased! 

Since I was too busy mixing drinks and wandering the neighborhood enjoying the lights, I sadly did not take any pictures (except for our forthcoming Christmas card photo featuring BOTH DOGS!!) Guy wore his new sweater and I wore my tried and true J.Crew plaid taffeta dress (which has gotten a surprising amount of wear- or not that surprising, actually, if you know me) Most of our guests got the plaid memo too since the invite said "Festive attire encouraged"- I am thinking the 80 degree temperature is to blame for lack of sweaters- but that theme is starting to be played out anyways...

I think the $6.99 punch bowl set I bought at Salvation Army earlier that day was the highlight for me- the resulting punch was the cause of most people's headaches on Sunday morning:

• Christmas punch recipe:


• 1 bottle of Orchid pomegranate liqueur
• lots of vodka (measuring is for amateurs)
• some cranberry juice (100% juice, none of that cocktail nonsense)
• 1 bottle of cheap champagne
• 2 cans of lemon lime sparkling water
• Pomegranate seeds for garnish
• Decorative ice ring to keep it cold (water frozen in bundt pan) was surprisingly a huge hit! Hasn't your mom shown you this strategy? Does your mom make punch? Guess not.
• 

Sunday morning I woke up to a clean house (I drunk-clean while people are still in my kitchen the night before pretending to offer to help as the party winds down) and went to brunch with our hungover friends to rehash the fun of the evening. I feel lucky to be skilled in such things as 'making cocktails' and 'throwing parties,' but am also looking forward to being a guest and not a hostess when I get back to Colorado for Christmas.

two weeks

Two weeks from today I will be heading home to Colorado for Christmas!  To say that I am excited would be an understatement- Christmas and Colorado definitely top the list of my all-time favorite things in the universe!!!  I haven't been home since LAST Christmas- my longest time away in my entire existence. Even though I have lived in Texas for more than 4 years, Colorado will always be home since that is where my parents (and brothers and most of my best friends) live. I can't believe I haven't seen my dad for an ENTIRE year, my mom since she came to visit me in Austin last February or little brothers since their visit last March!! This will also be Guy's first time celebrating a holiday with my family so that is a major contributor to my anticipation too!

irony

One of my roommates in college said she hated New Years Resolutions because it is dumb to resolve to do something new just because the date has changed.  Even though she was psycho, she was kinda right about this because apparently my 2011 resolution of "Starting a Blog" was the same as my 2012 resolution to "Start a Blog (for reals this time)." To prove a point (and because work is slow), I'm starting now (again) and I can't help but laugh and appreciate the irony that I did the exact same thing last year.  It isn't time to resolve for 2013 yet (aside from the obvious necessary doctor appointments I missed these past 12 months..oops), but so many awesome and fun things happen in December that I might as well share them with the two people who might read this.