Christmas This Year

While on the way to Fenton with Kyle for his family's Christmas breakfast, I asked to stop at this place I saw called Value Village. It was AWESOME! and HUGE! And this is what I found...

two pretty green candlesticks, a purse, a skirt (that i want to rework), and pink and gold bangles. all for under ten dollars. i'm excited.

here are my super cute siblings and puppy relaxing on christmas eve.

the christmas tree! all decorated and full of presents.

olivia: our resident christmas flamingo.

julie gave me this adorable umbrella for christmas. i very much appreciate it, seeing as now i do not have to walk to class in the rain. jenn and i went outside to try it out in the snow...

it was cold....

now off to grandma's house! 

merry christmas!

...

I'm seriously sad i don't have a camera anymore. so many pretty things. weheartit.com is my new friend.

p.s. i think my dog just ate a candy cane..

O Christmas Tree

I put up a baby Christmas tree in the living room.

Oh. and santa waved at me today. yep. Such a sweet old man.

Coffee...

Its finals week...Drink coffee. I am.

Home

I love this time of the year.  Here are a few reasons why...

 Thanksgiving table decorations...

 Giving the deer some character...

Decorating the tree and putting up our flamingo...

 Seeing puppy loving the snow...

Making a Rachel Ray Breakfast - Baked French Toast (with cornflakes and pecans) and Baked Brown Sugar Bacon. It was AWESOME!

Bacon:

• 1 pounds applewood smoked bacon
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

Toast:

• 8 large eggs
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 pinches salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups corn flakes, lightly crushed
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly crushed
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 12 (1 1/2-inch-thick) slices challah bread or soft "Italian" style bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Arrange bacon on slotted broiler pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and place in oven to bake until crisp, 20 to 22 minutes.

Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.

In a shallow dish, beat together with a wire whisk: eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon. In a second shallow dish combine flakes and nuts. Add 2 tablespoons butter to warm skillet. Place a cookie sheet lined with foil (for easy clean-up) near the stove. Coat 4 to 6 slices of bread in egg, depending on the size of your skillet, then coat bread in cornflakes and nuts. Cook slices 2 minutes on each side and transfer toast to cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining slices and transfer toast to oven. Bake 10 minutes, with already cooking bacon.

Chef in Training

I'm addicted to cooking shows. I just want to learn how to cook. I LOVE it. Tonight, Kyle and I made a zucchini parmesan soup. Well, I made it, he fried up some bacon to crumble on top. It turned out really good! Even my mom liked it, which is saying something. ;) We baked some pita with a little bit of salt to make some pita chips for a side.

I think this is close to the recipe we used...

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic

2 large zucchinis roughly chopped

salt

3 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup cream

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Heat oil in sauce pan. Add garlic, zucchini and salt to taste. Cook for a few minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Allow to cool slightly and blend until smooth. Return to saucepan and heat. Add cheese and cream.

The Dress-Up Bin

When we were little, we had a giant tub of old dresses (some mom's, some grandma's, and some thrifted) as well as a clown outfit, pilgrim gear, and miscellaneous halloween costumes. After talking to Jenn, I went down into the basement in search of it today. I remember loving it when I was younger, but only now am I seeing how great some of these dresses really are. But seriously, they're so awesome, they could almost be in style right now.  

A box of our Grandma Fran's jewelry had also been passed down to us girls. I finally took the time to look through it all and found a couple of really neat things. I put together a new necklace out of a few pieces I found as well as a broken necklace I already had. Then I found some amazing earrings, and a clutch! And then I found some pretty fabric that would make an awesome scarf! Not joking! My day was that productive. Just wait until I tell you about dinner...

Saturday Date Day

Awesome: Lunch date at McGurks with this wonderful man.

Awkward: Backwards tights. And being aware of the backwardness.

J.. dress: f21 / cardigan: f21 / tights: target / necklace: f21 / flats: target

K.. polo: target / jeans: target