Christmas

Christmas.2015 Part 2

December 28, 2015

We had such a great Christmas this year. We basically celebrated it twice. First we had Autumn open gifts on the Sunday before Christmas so that she would have time to play with them that day and the week. And then we had Christmas all over again on Christmas with Price’s family, who we visited with for the weekend.

We got ready on Christmas morning and got out of the house as fast as possible (even forgetting Autumn’s antibiotics in the process… thanks to our Dr for refilling that quickly!). The 6-hour drive is never really fun, but Autumn’s extra frantic screaming of ‘Go!’ and ‘Down!’ made it extra enjoyable. ha!

But we survived and were greeted with big hugs all around once we arrived. And Autumn made out like a bandit with all her new goodies for the play kitchen we got her for, tons of books, and some fun Mickey & Minnie things. Like a Minnie ‘brella that Autumn would has since carried around with her everywhere. I think she would sleep with it if we let her.

There was a gorgeous full moon on Christmas that Price got some pictures of from the front lawn. I decided to remain warm in the house. ha!

On Saturday morning, Price, his sister, his father, Autumn, and I went out to breakfast at the Willow Glen Cafe. Can’t beat big portions for an affordable price. Autumn even did decent work on her plate sized pancake!

The Town of Skaneateles is located at the top of Skaneateles Lake, one of New York’s Finger Lakes. The water is so clear

Stop it Skaneateles, just stop. Stop being so picturesque and cute!

Unfortunately, we missed the the Annual Dickens Christmas in Skaneateles, which runs through Christmas Eve, where community members act out the story around town. But I did get a kick out of the wooden characters placed around The Village.

After Autumn’s nap we headed over to Price’s brother’s house so we could all hang out while the kids opened the last of the gifts. I love when everyone is together hanging out.

I love that the kids had a blast playing together. They did it all from playing hair dresser to Aunt Catherine, playing with Play-Doh and a new tea set, and hiding behind the sofa.

Don’t mind Autumn, she just makes herself at home to paint!

With all the fun activity with her cousins, Autumn went to bed about an hour later than normal, and *magically* woke up about 2 hours earlier than normal. How does that work?!?!

Thankfully, Price and I managed to sneak away on Saturday night for a drink and dessert at The Krebs in town. Then we headed over to Price’s friend’s house to catch up with them. We stayed much later than planned but I believe that is just a sign that you are having a great time. Or just horrifying them with the stories and advice you have since they are expecting a little boy in May!

Sunday morning was rough since Autumn got up 2 hours earlier than normal. Thankfully, Price let me sleep in while he brought Autumn out for an earlier breakfast with his father, sister, brother, and his 3 kids.

Autumn was having a rough morning since she was so tired, but nothing an early and extra long nap couldn’t fix!!

We then spent the afternoon with Price’s friends again. The guys watched football and the girls played with cats and talked important things like maternity leave and breast pump bras. ha!! Best of all they have 2 cats and Autumn had a blast playing with them and repeatedly telling them ‘Hi cat! Hi Gatos!”.

The Taggart Cousins!

I love that Autumn has such great cousins on both my side and Price’s side. She always has a blast with them from adventures in NY to running around the YMCA after breakfast. You can’t beat that! We are really looking forward to everyone playing together at the beaches and theme parks in FL. Can’t wait!

We took a few family pictures on Monday morning before we left for our trip home. It was wonderful to get some pictures and annoy Autumn with lots of kisses!

These are by far my favorite photos of the weekend. Maybe ever. I want to eat her up!

And of course I had to sneak a selfie in!

It was such a fantastic Christmas!

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{Glasses from Firmoo, Sweater from Stitch Fix}

Christmas.2015- Part 1

December 22, 2015

We did Christmas with Autumn this past Sunday.

The joys of having a 2 year old who doesn’t know what day of the week it is!

We will be traveling on Christmas so we figured it wouldn’t be much fun to rush in the morning to get her to open presents just to get her in the car. “Hey, here’s your brand spanking new kitchen set! But, sorry, gotta go now. Don’t worry you’ll see it in a few days!”

Unfortunately, Autumn had a nasty cold so she was feeling and looking really lousy. But she still enjoyed the gifts and fun she had playing around with her new toys.

She loves playing with the kitchen set at daycare so we wanted to get her a kitchen set for Christmas if her very own. The rest of her gifts were themed around that to stock her kitchen with pot, pans, and food.

My mom was up visiting from Florida so she was able to get to enjoy our mock Christmas with Autumn as well. Sadly, Autumn was feeling so sick so we didn’t get to do all the fun things we had planned for the weekend. But we’ll be in Florida soon so she will get plenty of time to hang out with Autumn so that should make up for it. ha!

And then she crashed!

Later on in the afternoon, we went to her Dr’s office to get her checked out. She ended up getting some meds to treat her ear infection and hopefully prevent pink eye, as she has spent the last 2 days rubbing her mocos (boogers!) in her eyes and all over her face. Fun!

Regardless to what or when you celebrate, just enjoy it!

Happy Holidays!

The Most Spectacular Christmas of 2014

December 27, 2014

Oh man, I loved Christmas this year. It was THE BEST.

Truthfully, looking back at it, I wasn’t too enthusiastic about last Christmas. Sure, it was Autumn’s first Christmas and that’s exciting but I was still in that new baby fog. The fog that means you live in your pajamas and your showers are limited. Christmas just felt so built up for nothing then. But this year was awesome. We all loved every bit of it

Hey guys, I’m ready!!

I got to open the first gift! Price gave me an oven thermometer as I do so much cooking and baking. Having an accurate oven temperature is vital! As I was making my version of The Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls, I just needed to open it to use asap!

Of course the cinnamon rolls were awesome. We enjoyed them throughout the day. As well as our neighbor and her visiting family, and Autumn’s daycare providers as I called them up and asked them if they wanted some. Gotta share when the recipe makes 48 cinnamon rolls!

We got Autumn the My First Anywhere Chair from Pottery Barn Kids so she can have her own special seat. She loved it. But, of course, instead of sitting on it nicely, she would sit on the armrests and I’d have a heart attack that she would fall backwards. And, if that wasn’t enough, she would push it to the sofa and use it to climb on there. Quick learner!

For this being the first Christmas as an active participant, she did really well with opening up the presents and checking all the new goodies out. She got this adorable peek-a-boo bear from my aunt!

The Fisher-Price Bright Beginnings Activity Walker that Price picked out was a big hit too. She quickly started to scoot it around the house with a massive smile on her face.

A Banana Republic wallet, some Cards Against Humanity add-on packs, Nike Hyperwarm shirt, and a new coat shell makes for a happy Pricer.

Plus, Kemper got some Christmas goodies. A new bed and some toys- that helped keep him distracted from ripping all the gift wrap into itty bitty shreds around our living room and kitchen.

She was so helpful with my presents as well. I was a very lucky girl and got not one, but two(!) Kate Spade wallets to replace the one that Kemper ate. Price wanted to make sure I had some options to match my different bags. ha! Plus, a coat (that I received earlier that month) and a mani pedi certificate. Spoiled. xo

Ah, one day I’ll get to give her some real pigtails. Also, I happened to put this on backwards. ha! She looks like a cabbage patch doll wearing it. Totes adorable.

After the gift exchange we went along with our typical weekend day with a morning nap, bottle, lunch, nap, etc. The weather was awesome so I took Kemper out for a walk with Autumn in baby hiking backpack.

Autumn had her first candy cane as well.

There might have been a back-arching breath-holding meltdown when I confiscated it when she was a sticky mess. ooph!

This Christmas was awesome and I know that next year will be even better as Autumn begins to understand it more and more. I’m already looking forward to next year.

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Hope you enjoyed your Christmas as well!

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Extra Cheesy Brussels Sprout Gratin

November 20, 2012

I was recently going through old cooking magazines to organize them into a usefully system. System is still getting tweaked but at least I can more easily find some fun things to try. I dug up recipes from December ’11 from Martha Stewart Living and one of the things that jumped out of me was the Smokey Brussels Sprout Gratin. Cheese! Brussels Sprouts! More Cheese! Winner!!!!

I made some adjustments to the original recipe to better suit our tastes. It called for smoked Gouda to be used in the Bechamel, but I don’t like smoked cheeses. I don’t like very smoky things and a smoked cheese is pretty low on my list. So I just used regular Gouda in the Bechamel instead. You can also use Gruyere and fontina in the Bechamel and top it off with a coarsely grated Parmesan. Just work with what you have and like. Also, I doubled the amount of cheese. What!?! I wanted cheesy Brussels sprouts so I made CHEESY Brussels sprouts. I really ~~like~~ love Brussels sprouts so this was not about masking their flavor but making a really cheesy dish.

The end result is a pretty quick dish that you can whip together. Some things took more or less time than the original recipe and I think that all depends on how you cook and the ingredients you have on hand. For example, it said the Brussels sprouts would take 3-4 minutes to cook but mine took double. No fault to the recipe, I might have just had really big Brussels spouts. Let’s blame the Brussels sprouts! Aside from paying attention to things like that it was super easy.

Make it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any dinner. It can actually be prepped in advance with the Bechamel being made 4 days in advances and stored in a airtight container in the refrigerator. The Brussels sprouts can be blanched ahead, allowed to cool and be refrigerated for up to 1 day. The assembled gratin can be refrigerated overnight as well. Bring the gratin to room temperature before baking.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
8 ounces of freshly grated Gouda, divided
1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Process

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 8 cup (8×12) baking dish.
Rinse and cut the bottoms off all the brussels sprouts. Depending on the size of the brussels sprout halve or quarter it. Set aside.
To make the Bechamel, in a skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk to blend the butter and flour together while the mixtures start to bubbles slightly but has not started to brown, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk and the salt and pepper. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking often. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally. Cook until the Bechamel is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and add the cheese and stir until incorporated.
While the Bechamel is cooking, cook the brussels spouts in a pot of boiling salted water. Cook until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Drain and put into the baking dish.
To assemble the gratin, gently mix the Bechamel and brussels sprouts together. Top off with the rest of the cheese and an extra sprinkling of salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, until bubbling and golden, about 25-30 minutes.

Baby Jesus in a Bubble

December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas!!!!!

One of our Christmas traditions is to drive by this house. It’s in the next town over from us. It’s on a dead end but on the corner of a busy road so we spotted it one year while looking for lights and since then we go back and photograph it.

What’s the appeal? Baby Jesus in a Bubble!

When we first stumbled across this house the nativity set was the only thing being protected. The set up was minimal but it was no less grand being protected in a structure that was slapped together and looked horrible. Since then they have added to the lawn display and crafted a much finer plastic structure to protect Baby Jesus. We started calling that house ‘the Baby Jesus in a Bubble House’ to reference to the 1970’s made-for-TV movie starting John Travolta.

This tiny house has it all from lights in the tree to decorations on the porch roof to eight of these frosty’s.

But what… the hell??!?!? WHERE IS JESUS?!?!?!

Christmas just aint right this year!