All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel
A few weeks ago, while Autumn was on VPK Thanksgiving break, we headed over to Disney Springs with my friend Aliya and her 2 kids for a day. We all wanted to check out the Christmas Tree Trail!
The Christmas Tree Trail started in 2016 and since then has grown with more trees. There are so many beautiful ornaments, lights, garlands, and tree toppers. So many perfect photo ops because there is something cute and magical everywhere you look!
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2018 was a wonderful year for new Cookbooks! This round up of 15 cookbooks is perfect for everyone, of every skill level. Something for everyone!
Gift giving can be tricky at times, but with this list of 15 Must Give Cookbooks For Christmas 2018, you’ll be all set for everyone on your list.
There have been so many new cookbooks published in 2018. So many scrumptious recipes, drool worthy pictures, and wonderful story telling in each of these cookbooks. Famous chefs, food critics, actresses, and awesome bloggers have all created wonderful collections of their favorite recipes.
Everyone from your mothers, fathers, boss, cousin, and the guy down the road will love to get a new cookbook. You’ll just need to find the one that is perfect for them. This round of up cookbooks in 2018 is sure to have something for everyone.
Post Contains Affiliate Links. Read my full disclosure HERE
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Move over Ben & Jerry’s, who ever you gift this to will be on their way to creating their own ice cream empire. The recipes are fun, creative, and, most importantly, delicious.
Gifting this cookbook along with an ice cream maker will make you the gift winner!
I know we all fall into a dinner time ruts every now and then, so this will help everyone get out of it and get a fun, easy dinner on the table. Recipes are ready in under an hour and can be prepared in advanced as well to make week nights a breeze
My blogging buddy created this new cookbook of untraditional desserts that are fun mash-up’s of your favorite things, like Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding and Blueberry Muffin Cheesecake. This book is great for bakers of all skill levels.
Make the Flutternutter Bars- to die for!!!
Chrissy Teigen is the best. Her first book was awesome, and this one is just as awesome- if not better. There are creative recipes that mash up flavors that will become family favorites in no time. Her banana bread became famous on Twitter, and it is clear to see why- so incredible! My favorite section is “Thai Mom” that features recipes from Chrissy’s mom, Pepper. Everyone will love the easy, flavorful recipes that are comforting for every kind of craving.
The Austin Cookbook is basically a love letter to Austin as it is a wonderful collection of recipes from the cities best chefs. Stories, recipes, and bright beautiful photos adorn this cookbook. It will make whoever opens this to book a flight to Austin ASAP!!!
Tiffani Thiessen graduated from Bayside to the Cooking Channel. She created a wonderful cookbook filled with recipes that every one will love. Everyone will want to gather around the table, pull up a chair, and dig into recipes like enchilada, pies, deviled eggs, and stuffed french toast. This book is great for everyone as it features fun Movie Night recipes for the kids to An All Dressed Up Cocktail Hour that is delightfully adults only.
Joanna does it all and now so can you! Or at least you can make up her family favorite recipes. Grab a Demo Day shirt and you’ll be a hit with any fan of Fixer Upper.
Better Homes and Garden has outdone themselves with this latest edition of their New Cookbook. It’s jam packed full of recipes that everyone will love. All recipes are accompanied with beautiful photos. Plus, there are plenty of informative guides that break down basics as well as more complicated processes. Perfect for everyone who is hungry.
Air Fryer’s are the new Instant Pot. It’s this seasons must get kitchen gaget. This cookbook has 100 recipes that you won’t believe were all cooked in an air fryer. Of course, the chicken wings are wonderful, but you won’t believe that you can create desserts in there too!!
Reese created a beautiful life style cookbook that will have you smiling along with her silly stories. Whip up some breakfast while you wear your hot rollers. Be Southern fabulous.
Gaby’s infectious personality shines through with this cookbook. Her Everyday California Food is all about having something tasty to eat. Recipes like Chimichurri Cauliflower Rice Bowl with Grilled Fish, Taco Skillet Bake, and Street Corn Pizza will transport you to the coast. Ingredients are simple but the end result are breathtakingly beautiful.
The perfect mixology book for long summer afternoons hanging by the lake or at the beach drinking the afternoon away. The low-alcohol drinks allow you to enjoy a full day of drinking, but without the heavy buzz and hangover the next day. This would be a great gift for your favorite hostess, along with some glasses or a bottle of their favorite spirit.
This would pair perfectly with the cocktails book, because you always need a snack when you are enjoying a drink. Beautiful boards arranged with veggies, fruit, meats, crackers, and spreads will make you hungry flipping through the book. Gift with a large wooden cutting board.
This is fun for the person in your life who is addicted to watching those crazy food videos and scrolling through Instagram for food pictures. The food and pictures are drool worth. Most of the over 275 recipes are cheat day worthy, but always fun.
The follow up to their original River Cafe Cookbook (which I have and love!), celebrates the 30th anniversary of the iconic London restaurant. This cookbook revisits the Italian recipes that became famous and adds new ones. Mixed among the recipes are snap shots sharing the history.
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Have a great holiday season gifting wonderful cookbooks!
Leave a comment below telling me what you are looking forward to this holiday season for your chance to win a copy of Tiffani Theissen’s Pull up a Chair!
Ends 12/7/18, midnight.
An evening at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party will put you in the holiday spirit with beautiful decor, fun shows, a snowy parade, & plenty of sweets!
Thank you to Disney for inviting me to spend a wonderful night at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
With just 46 days until Christmas, we headed off to Disney World to get in the holiday spirit at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. It was a night full gobbling up sweets, having fun on rides, enjoying some ‘snow’, and singing along to Christmas music. So, so fun!
While I am a ‘one holiday at a time!’ kind of person who doesn’t decorate for Christmas until Thanksgiving is over, I love going to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, even in November. I can break my personal rule for some fun with Mickey, Minnie, and their pals as they celebrate the holidays.
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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. Â 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}
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!
 
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
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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Dinner will never be the same when you make this Extra Cheesy Brussels Sprout Gratin. You’ll love all this cheesy goodness!
Post from 11/20/12, Pictures Updated 11/15/18
Post Contains Affiliate Links. Read my full disclosure HERE
I was recently going through old cooking magazines to organize them into a usefully system. Since a pile of cut up recipes from magazines tossed in a box isn’t much of a system…. no?
Well, my system is still getting tweaked but at least I can more easily find some fun things to try. In that process, 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!!!!
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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!
These little gift tags are my contribution for Christmas.
Price has been amazing, like always, and has taken over Christmas for us this year. I haven’t been in the Christmas mood so I did squat. We would go Christmas shopping, at his request, and I would just wanted around the store after him. At least I do add some entertainmentto our shopping trips to target. Back to the point… I whipped these cute gift tags up in about 30 minutes today. They are super easy and add a lot of festive details to gifts.
 
I used my Cricut machine to cut out the tags. I used the Doodlecharms cartridge which was the first cartridge I grabbed that had a tag shape. I’m sure there are plenty of other cartridges that have tags. I could have used my punches but I felt the Cricut needed to be dusted off. So you can use a die-cutting machine, punches or just your hands and scissors to get this done. No matter what they are super easy to make and add a lot of festive details to gifts.
Supplies
Process
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During some recent shopping trips, I have come across M&M’s holiday flavored candies. I picked up all the varieties I saw and started to look up different recipes that I could use with the M&M’s candies. So far my favorites are the cheery cordials to eat and the mint to bake with, but i’m just getting started.
 
 
One of my coworkers makes the most unbelievable chocolate chocolate chip cookies. I decided that I would make something similar but instead of loading it up with chocolate chips I would add in the mint m&m’s. Having made chocolate chocolate chip cookies in the past I decided that could wing it and see how it would come out. The first time worked out well but I did not add any chocolate chips, only the m&m’s and I didn’t feel that was enough so I made them again and added in some chips. Much better! I love the mint and chocolate combo so these cookies are ones I would actually eat. I ate 2- very usual for me!
 
 
*makes 2 dozen 2 1/2″ cookies*
Ingredients
Process Ingredients
-2/7 Studio Calico Sunday Sketch-
Years ago, if you would have asked me if I ever would have done pages with 1 photo I would have laughed at you. My pages were filled with pictures because I wanted to be able to look back and see all the pictures we took documenting the event. It’s funny to see how things have changed. I definitely think this is for the better since I have distilled my pages to feature the best pictures, not all pictures.
This page features my niece, who was about 2mo at the time. Cara is such a sweet baby that I wanted to do a page showing her off, showing her first Christmas off. We had plenty of photos of me holding her, which I could have included, but I wanted the feature to be Cara, and not me. I captured my moments with Cara in my journaling, but let the picture I selected show what I was most interested in… Cara.
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