25 Days of Christmas... Day 2

Red Bows. I am a bow lover, and red ones are the best. =)

25 Days of Christmas... Day 1

As we mentioned in our last post here, we are posting the 25 things that remind us of Christmas, and writing about what Christmas means to us. Today's thing that reminds of Christmas is:

Street Lights

When the streets are lined with stings of lights around here, I know Christmas is around the corner! It makes you want to run home and put on Christmas music. I usually do. =)

And so it begins...

It is December 1st. 25 days until Christmas. Each day we will posting what Christmas means to us, and what reminds us of the holiday season. Please feel free to share what the holidays remind you of and what they mean to you. =) Happy Holidays!

{photo via the blonde salad}

Spring Lake, NJ

I was down in Spring Lake, NJ this past weekend. I was right on the water and it was brisk! But the view was beautiful, and even with the ice cold breeze, it was refreshing. This is one of the places that you can come to and just feel like a new person. One deep breath of fresh air, and your problems just seem to float away...

Tis The Season!

Jenny Steffens is the apple of my eye (as you can see here). As I wrote yesterday, the winter time does really bring so many great things. Those things are also know has Holiday Parties, Holiday Decor, and tons-o-food. I LOVE what is done here with the dessert bookshelf. And the dessert's don't look to shabby either!

Changing Seasons...

The tree's are bare and winter is right around the corner. I love the fall and hate when the beautiful leaves that changed to all these fabulous colors fall off in one swift rain storm. It seems that with the winter comes bitter cold weather, frost on my car in the morning (and cold seats!), and snow leaving you stranded when you have a million errands to run. But this year, I am looking at the good things winter brings. Like Christmas, snow (hopefully on days where I have nothing to do other than eat and watch tv), parties, New Years- and plenty of shopping. I've caught myself being less optimistic lately than I should be, and I am making a change. Why be sad about a season that brings so much good?

After a long weekend...

....this is what I would have loved today.

I had an amazing 4 days with family and friends, but I am exhausted. This would have been a wonderful day for coffee and bed socks. But- life must go on. This weekend taught me a lot about what's important, and what is not. This Thanksgiving I truly was thankful for the people in my life. And when you have family, you have everything.

{photos via dress design decor}

Stumptown, NYC

I am a coffee addict. No day is a good day that starts without coffee. I generally am all for ice coffees (yes, even when it is freezing outside!) but I needed to go to Stumptown to see what all the hype was about.

When I walked in, there was a lineeeee and a half. But I patiently waited because obviously all these people are on line for something delicious, or beautiful.

This was my macchiato, that came in this itty bitty mug which was the icing on the cake. It was tasty, and definitely well worth the wait.

Bite-sized pumpkin pies

C'mon. This is pure genius. Any pie that I have ever enjoyed, will now be made in this size. If your having Thanksgiving by your place, this is perfect for the kiddies! Thank you One Charming Party for this brilliant idea!

Via One Charming Party Blog:

We filled a small shortbread tartlet shell (purchased at a local grocery store) with a bit of pumpkin pie mixture. These shells are about 2″ in diameter. The exact baking time and temperature will depend on your pie recipe, but ours didn’t take long at all to bake. Watch your mini pies carefully in the oven so the bottom of the shells don’t burn. When you’re ready to serve them, add a tiny dollop of fresh whip cream. Yum, just the right size.

Kate Spade Accessories!

How adorable and fun are these new winter accessories?! kate spades creativity is like no other. I could look at their merchandise all day long!

 

Boozy Books

Stop. How was I not aware of these books earlier?! You can beat your bottom dollar that I will be purchasing them on my next trip to the book store!

Fall Entertaining

Since I discovered the web page of Jenny Steffens, I have been hooked. She is the answer to so many of my entertaining prayers and I was so eager to share her Fall Harvest Dinner Party post with you!

Yesterday was the first day of Fall - I had to run to the farmer's market to pick up some of my favorite heirloom pumpkins, squash and gourds.

Here is a fun seasonal table setting for your next Fall Dinner Party.

Whether it be fresh flowers or farm fresh pumpkins - have something from nature as your centerpiece.
 

When your guests arrive, offer them a glass of wine, then this hunk of cheese, crackers and cashews is the perfect light start.
 

Roasted Butternut & Apple Soup

1 butternut squash
2 sweet apples (not granny smith)
2 tablespoons of salt & pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons of butter
1 yellow onion
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of vegetable stock
1 cup of apple cider
1/4 cup of cream

Peel and cube the squash and apples.  Place them on a baking sheet, toss with olive oil, salt & pepper and roast them in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes until the squash is soft.  In a stock pot, saute the garlic and onions in butter until soft.

Add the squash and apples to the onions along with stock and cider.  Cook for 5 minutes until bubbly.  Puree the mixture in a mixer or food processor.

Serve hot and garnish with cream, salt & pepper.

For the entree, I served a steak with a simple wine and mushroom reduction.  A light salad of field greens is a good compliment to the indulgent steak.

Steaks with a Mushroom Wine Reduction

4 - 8 oz. Strip Steaks
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt & Pepper
2 tablespoons of butter
2 cups of mushrooms
1 cup of red wine
2 tablespoons of heavy cream
1 teaspoon of dijon mustard

Coat the steaks liberally with salt & pepper.  In a saute pan, heat the olive oil and sear steaks on each side for 3 minutes.  Place the steaks on a baking sheet and put them in a 450 degree oven for 3-5 minutes, depending on thickness of steaks.

In the saute pan used with the steaks, lower the heat and saute the butter and mushrooms.  After 2 minutes, at the wine, scraping the pan to get all of the bits off of the bottom.  Add in the cream and dijon and simmer the sauce until slightly thickened.  Pour over the steaks to serve.

This apple crisp is the perfect finish to a Fall Harvest Dinner Party... with ice cream, of course.

Get the recipe for the Apple Crisp click here

Kate Spade

"She tucked her coral lipstick away and floated back to the party"

kate spade

I wish my blackberry wasn't just awful at taking photos

What life is made of, take 1

I don't think any photo could do justice. This tree shined when the sun was setting and was perfectly placed upon this tree. For some reason just looking at it gave me inspiration.