Merry Christmas

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We had a nice and relaxing time in Montgomery with lots of time to catch up with friends and family. The bad weather really forced us to slow down, stay inside, visit with family and focus more on the true reason for our celebration. As always, the time went by too quickly, but at least we have New Years to look forward to in just a few days!

Of course there were lots of fun presents given and received...here are just a few quick highlights (that I could find quick pictures of...)

Not one but 2 jackets! Jackets are just my weakness I guess - I wore my Barbour one today, and it was perfect for the cold, rainy day. Also, lots of new luluemon gear (great because I won't usually spring for it on my own!), some hair ties (made by my crafty sister-in-law), new perfume (perfect for traveling in the roller ball so it won't spill everywhere), and a cool avocado slicing tool.

As for the favorite gift that we gave, I think it would have to be the giant (i.e. larger than life) stuffed dog that we gave our 20 month old nephew. No pictures unfortunately, but we were just too busy watching him try to drag it around the room by the ear, ride it, jump on it, etc.

Merry Christmas and thanks to all who helped make it so special!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Christmas! I can't believe that it is now less than a week away, and in a way I wish that we had a few more weeks to enjoy all the festivities and decorations. We are pretty much done with all our shopping and errands though, so now it is time to really enjoy the holiday and prepare to celebrate Jesus's birth with family.

Here's a little peak around our house this year:

And yes, I did get slightly OCD this year and decide to wrap all our presents in brown paper with fun different ribbons. I know it's slightly crazy, but I just like the uniform look under the tree. I had found a simple brown paper at Target a while back, but of course they were out so instead I used packing paper! It is pretty thick, so not the easiest to wrap with but at least it doesn't rip on you!

And the tags...so Andy and I were attempting to clean the attic a few weeks ago and came across some stuff from our wedding. These tags were what people wrote on at our wedding instead of signing a guest book, and turns out there were literally at least 100 left. I told Andy I wanted to keep them and would find something to do with them. Then it dawned on me, why not use them as gift tags with the help of some stamps!

And that my friends is about the height of my creativity (sad but true). 

Thankful

Thankful for a (relatively) quiet weekend that is...and a return to blogging! I know it has been quite a while since I posted, and there is no excuse really. I felt like there wasn't much exciting going on to report, but I've been reminded by a few that the every day can be fun to read about as long as there is some good food to go along with it. So I will try to be better....

After scrambling around to do some last minute Christmas errands among the masses, Andy and I wanted nothing but a quiet night at home on Saturday. So we headed to Whole Foods and came up with a steak dinner menu while wondering the aisles:

(The pictures aren't the best as I used my little point and shoot instead of Andy's big camera - clearly not back in full blogging form just yet!)

Maybe one day I can get Andy to post about his delicious steak rub, but for now here is a little more on the sides....

Up first, the brussels sprouts....now, before you skip over this section and move on to the carbs, you should think again. Brussels sprouts get a bad rap, but they really are so good not to mention good for you. Think beyond school lunch rooms or the soggy frozen variety in the butter sauce. Just roasting them  is delicious, but last night I stepped it up a bit and used this recipe (only I didn't have pecans so I substituted almonds.)

And next, the amazingly simply Capellini Gratin which is like a grown up, slightly healthier mac and cheese. Here's the recipe adapted from Frank Stitt's Bottega cookbook. Try it as a side or on its own with a salad and you won't regret it!

Capellini Gratin
(serves 2 but can easily be multiplied)

Butter
1/4 lb capellini
2 TBL heavy cream
1/2 cup grated parm
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 425. Grease a small gratin dish with the butter. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and generously salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water.

Combine the cream and 1/4 cup of the parm in a medium bowl. Add the pasta and enough of the pasta water to loosen the consistency slightly. Season with salt and pepper then toss to combine. Transfer to the prepared dish and spread evenly. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of parm on top.

Bake until golden and crisp around the edges (15-20 min). Let the gratin cool 5 to 10 minutes before cutting.

Garage is done!

We've come a long way, in along amount of time. But now we can both park behind the house!

The finished project (looks good at night too):

Saying Goodbye to the Red Couch

Thanks to Andy for posting while I was in San Diego for the week. I was sad to be gone all week, but it was hard to complain when this was the view I woke up to every morning...

The weather was amazing too. I could really get used to average highs of 75 and average lows of 65. Hopefully I can convince Andy that we should go back again to visit - apparently there is some good fishing (mako sharks??) so shouldn't take too much convincing.

Now, about the red couch....when Andy and I first bought our house, my parents were in the midst of downsizing and were kind enough to pass along some of their old furniture. It was a huge help because neither of us had much furniture outside of bedroom basics. One of the items that we took was a red couch that my family has had for as long as I can remember.

To say that the red couch has been well loved would be an understatement. It makes for a great nap spot as it is plenty wide and the perfect length. I remember spending entire days on it when I was little and home sick from school.

My dad may miss it the most though as we have caught him sleeping on it several times when he has stayed with us! But, alas, as you can see it is far from its prime with very little shape left to it. So it was time to move on.

So this weekend we said goodbye to the red couch, and hello to this new guy (just a quick picture from the store, more to come once we get it situated in its new home)....

Here's to hoping it will last even half as long as the red couch did!

Garage Update

Carolyn left for San Diego this morning, so I headed to Lowes to get some wood stain for our new garage, which is probably about a week out from being done. Below are some updated shots from Carolyn's last post.

So what do you think, color on the left or color on the right?

If you said left, you are correct (there's no turning back at this point)

Last minute idea to come in a couple feet and add some closets for extra storage. I sketched up some barn doors and we built them out of scrap siding from the rest of the project. A little framing and trim work, and they brought the drawing to life.

The storage room now opens from the inside to the larger of the two new closets. Stay tuned for shelving to be added later.

We have electricity now, went with these warehouse lights for over the parking area.

The fence has been repaired from where the tree landed on it.

On this side, we moved the fence in to be flush with the rest of the garage/fencing. In the lower left of the photo, we now have an additional off-street parking spot...just in case the boat ever gets lonely in FL and decides to come for an extended visit in Bham.

Oh yeah, this is the stain.

A Late Harvest

Once the construction crew started on our garage, I pretty much gave up on our little (albeit very overgrown) garden. Andy was cutting the grass on Saturday though and told me that I might want to go take a look at our tomato plants. Look what I found....at least a dozen tomatoes ready to be picked!

We have already enjoyed a few on pizzas and sandwiches and can't wait to eat the rest! 

Better late than never I guess and a nice surprise in October....

A Few New Favorites

I thought I would share a few random recent discoveries that have made me smile lately...

1. 24

 How did I miss this show for so long? Clearly we are behind the times here. Let me preface this with saying that Andy and I are not big TV watchers and don't really have any shows that we follow regularly. We tried watching Lost for a little while, but then it just got too weird for us. We had thrown around the idea of watching 24, but then just never started. Well, Andy got an Apple TV for his birthday so we signed up for Netflix streaming and 24 was one of the only tv show options that sounded appealing. 7 episodes in 4 days later we are addicted!! It is hard to watch just one...I am glad we waited to start watching until all the seasons were out! Maybe we should start taking bets at how long it will take us to finish the full series.

2. Mini Food Processor

Photo Compliments of Amazon.com

We received a full size food processor as a wedding gift, but I found that I rarely took the effort to take it out and use it. Then when I tried to use it once or twice to make a sauce or salad dressing it didn't work very well because I didn't have enough liquid in the bowl to bring it up to the depth of the blades. Then one day I was at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and saw this guy and decided it was well worth $30. I have definitely gotten my money's worth! It is so quick and easy to pull out to make salad dressings (my current favorite is garlic, lemon juice, rice wine vinegar, EVOO, and salt/pepper), pesto, etc.

3. Books by Robert Whitlow on my Kindle

Photo compliments of Amazon.com

I have always loved mystery books and old John Grisham novels, so this has been right up my alley. Whitlow went to Furman, which is obviously a fun tie. The stories are legal thrillers set in the South, and they are quick fun reads. I went through 2 this summer and am looking forward to downloading another one soon!

4. Vietnamese Food

So this isn't really a recent find, but I haven't blogged about it before so I thought it would be a good time to mention it. Andy and I tried Pho Que Huong (be careful how you pronounce it :) for the first time probably a year ago following the recommendation of Mike Wilson (of Saw's BBQ). I am a big fan. The food is great and lighter than Chinese food or even Thai food. It is in a very nondescript shopping center, so we usually just pick it up to go. Definitely worth trying! My favorite is #21 with pork (Bun Xao Gia??) which is vermicelli rice noodles with seared pork topped with a light peanut sauce, green onions, bean sprouts and lemon grass.

Week in Review

The weekend has flown by, but overall it was a GREAT one! After a laid back dinner with friends on Friday night, we headed to Tuscaloosa for the Bama game on Saturday. Somehow we managed to avoid all traffic and had the easiest trip in and out on a game day that I have ever experienced! It was my first time in Tuscaloosa since the tornados so it was heart wrenching seeing all of the damage. There really are no words to describe it. We have a service day at work on Wednesday and are helping out in Pratt City which was one of the other areas hit hard in the storms, so I am looking forward to the opportunity to give back.

On a brighter note, it was an awesome game, and we had a great time cheering on the Tide. After the game, we headed home where we had a fun dinner with my parents, Andy's parents, and my aunt and uncle. Andy grilled some wonderful steaks on the Green Egg, and we all thoroughly enjoyed being together.

Just wish the weekend wasn't over yet, but here is a little bit more that has been going on around Manhattan...

First up, our garage - it has seen quite a change over the last week. It was just a little over a week ago that it looked like this...

Then they gradually tore down the existing structure and cleared out the space...

Three short days later we have this!

Still plenty to do - staining the boards, painting the storage room, etc - but it was amazing to see it go up so quickly! It will be very nice to be able to park both cars back there before too long.

I've been doing some cooking too...

Here is a quick and easy appetizer recipe for Sundried Tomato and Feta Dip from Real Simple. I've made it several times now, and it always seems to be a hit. The best news is that it really only has 3 ingredients (+ salt and pepper)!

Also made another pizza this week...this time with just homemade marinara, fresh mozzarella, caramelized onions, cherry tomatoes, and feta.

Lastly, I made a new pasta recipe tonight - I just sauteed a diced eggplant in olive oil until it softened (10-15 min), then added homemade marinara, basil, and fresh mozzarella. It was a hit here, even with Andy who doesn't love eggplant. Just a quick picture of the sauce before I added the noodles (I used a medium size shell pasta, but a penne or any medium size noodle would work well I think.)

That's all for now - hope everyone had a great weekend!

You Know it is a Monday When...

Your computer screen suddenly gives you this:

The blue screen of death...

Luckily it decided to work after I forced it to shut down and gave it a break!

Change of Scenery

I've been on the road for work the past 2 weeks, making it difficult to find time to blog (and things to blog about...) Luckily I'm back home for a few weeks though with just a few day trips planned so hopefully more to blog about over the coming weeks! 

Here was the view outside of my hotel room window last week...

I took this picture the morning I arrived in the midst of the typical gray London weather, but over the rest of the week the sun actually came out quite a bit! It was actually the nicest weather I've ever experienced in London. One thing I did not enjoy...drying my hair every day with this!

Really? It is a silly complaint I know, but the extra 30 minutes required every morning to get my thick head of hair dry was not fun! Glad to be back to the comforts of home. 

Speaking of, I came home to this in the front window:

Remember our storm damage here? Well, after lots of negotiations with the insurance company and finalizing plans with the contractor, construction of our new garage is finally under way! They have torn down most of the old structure and started framing the new storage room. When it is done, we will have a true 2 car garage! 

Excuse the overgrown garden - we kind of let it go after the storm, but funny enough we have still salvaged a few tomatoes and cucumbers! 

That's it for now. Have a great weekend!