The first night of snow--it snowed over 4 inches in an hour!

Our back patio.

Table Setting

Maybe because I am becoming more of a homemaker, or maybe becuase we were hosting company this year, I JUST started getting into table settings. I have been loving to cook for a long time but we are so casual I have never felt the need to purchase cloth napkins, chargers, etc. Well this year I finally splurged a little and did it. I enjoyed seeing my table come to life, but Bob is still questioning me about the chargers-- "Really, what do they charge?". I am going to have to find a way to use them in everyday life just to justify it :)

Christmas Eve Feast

Bob and I decided to stay here for this Christmas and incorporate ideas and traditions that we want for our own family some day. One of the things we wanted this year was for a simple to make yet elegan Christmas Eve dinner of bread, cheese, fruit, and wine. We felt we were feasting at a table with kings. We enjoyed this meal together and then went to an 11:00 church service. For Christmas morning, we had friends come for brunch and then spent the day hanging together, eating and doing puzzles. My family came out the day after Christmas and we got to make our traditional Swedish meal--the first time that I've really made any of it. It really was a wonderful time with food and company.

Baguette Competition

I have been really into making bread lately and decided to make some for Christmas Eve. Bob got me the William Sonoma baking book for my birthday and I had also just found Mark Bittman's recipe on a friend's blog so I decided to have a friendly competition between the two. I tried to enlist Bob so it would really feel like a competition--he could choose one to make and I could choose another--but he wasn't really game, so I made them both myself. It came down to this: They were both really delicious. Mark Bittman's recipe was way easier but not quite as great. The William Sonoma one was amazing but took a lot of extra steps. I am glad I made them both at the same time so I could test them against each other instead of just trying to remember what the other tasted like. I guess for a "normal" day I would make the more simple recipe and for something more special I would go all out and make the other.

A baguettepan was called for both, which I originally scoffed at. I do not need yet another thing to stick in a cabinet and didn't know why a sheet pan would not suffice. I learned quickly that while a baguette pan is not a necessity, it will drastically change the shape of your loaves. Mine turned out kind of flat since the dough is so thin and pliable and it didn't have the special pans to hold them in place.

Cheesy Christmas Sweater Party

This is the student in my class who won the cheesy Christmas sweater competition we had on the last day of school before break. Most of the students made the cheesiness of the sweaters themselves, adding on items such as this huge stuffed bear! I had made my own as well with a Christmas tree decorated with jolly ranchers. Bad idea because the kids kept trying to steal the candy off me. I love this class!

Cirque Dreams

Our apartment complex has partnered with the galleria near our home and are starting to offer $2 tickets to many off Broadway shows. Over the holiday, we got to go with friends to Cirque Dreams which was a crazy combination of acrobatics and dancing ornaments/weird music. I can't say we are better for having gone, it was a little over the top, but fun nonetheless. This month Bob and I got to attend Oklahoma for the same price (but I forgot to take a pic).