Some Things to be Thankful for

This Thanksgiving was a big year for us for many reasons. We just moved into this super cute house in Richmond and we had informed family that we would NOT be traveling for the holidays, considering that we had recently survived this move and were counting down the days until this wedding. I am not going anywhere so you people need to come to me. I think those were my exact words.

Well, much to my surprise, they actually listened and made the trek. So, Jeff and I were hosting our first Thanksgiving! Not only that but both of our parents came into town and this was the first time they had met. We were super happy that we had the opportunity to introduce them before the wedding. People are always so shocked that our parents haven't met. News Flash!!! They live on opposite sides of the USA and we don't live in the same state as either of them. We've all been pretty busy so our paths just haven't crossed. Until now.

Wednesday night before Turkey day, the parents took us to dinner at the Jefferson Hotel in downtown Richmond, which was super nice. The next day Jeff's baby brother, who I kindly gave the official nickname "Baby G", joined us. Drew, a friend of Jeff's also joined us for dinner. It was really great to have the whole group here.

" Jeff Boy R D" (as his mother calls him), really wowed us with his culinary skills, as usual. We will get to my contributions later. For the main course, Jeff made a "deconstructed" Turkey. This was the decision was reached for a couple of reasons. It is MUCH faster. I'm not starting a turkey at 6 am and I am not having that big bird take up my oven all day! I'm also not cooking the bird so it isn't really up to me. With this method, you cook the white and dark meat separately to keep the white meat from drying out while it takes the dark meat a bit longer to cook. Very good. Try this next time you are making a big old bird.  As a side note, the gravy in this recipe is to die for!

I dont think the grill was part of the recipe but this guy loves any excuse to fire that baby up!

With the bird there must be stuffing (or dressing for G.R.I.T.S). The classic overachiever that I am marrying, made 2 stuffings. One has meat and one vegetarian. The meat one he made for his work potluck and we still had leftovers so it was enjoyed on Thursday. The first one was really good. But after having this one, (which happens to be vegetarian also), I have a new favorite. Unbelievable!

Do we have mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes? Well, for some reason there was a rumor started that Baby G didn't care for sweet potatoes, so this dude made both. Interestingly enough, this was false and we all, including Baby G, enjoyed both very much. ** as a side note, the chef would like for me to add that for the regular potatoes, you should add garlic cloves to the water when boiling--this is not in the recipe)**

Lucky for me, the man of the house takes every one's favs in consideration when menu planning. So this one was for the lady (aka, me). Mac and Cheese, please! I have a feeling this one will be on regular rotation for family dinners!

For good measure, the responsible Jeff had a good veggie too. Roasted (with EVOO/Salt/Pepper), brussel sprouts, broccoli and sugar snap peas.

Yay for Jeff for doing everything! He went to the store and cooked all the food (with some minor soux cheffing for me and clean up along the way by FIL). The only thing I wanted to do was set the tables,( as seen here) and make the dessert. Drew was bringing Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies so I was going to make cinnamon ice cream  (via the ice cream maker). 

Drew's cookies!

At some point, I discover that Jeff is planning to also make this pie. Now that is real nice and all but you can see that this is clearly over stepping his call to duty. I wanted make dessert and he was to make everything else, what is so hard about that! Why the hostile take over?


Clearly, I had to take over pie making. Good thing I did because my ice cream was a FLOP!  I don't want to point any fingers or place any blame....BUT.....that morning I realized that bucket that I always keep in the freezer so I'm ready to make ice cream at a moments notice, was not in the freezer. This dude, had washed it last time I used it and did not put it back in the freezer. So even though I put it in the freezer at 9 am, it wasn't frozen enough to make the ice cream at 4pm. It turned out more like "cinnamon gazpacho" according to Baby G.

Its ok, the creamy base was still good so I returned the bucket in the freezer and made it the next day, after the bucket had a good 18 hours to freeze.  Speaking of, there is still some left, I will go have some now.

So, we consider this Thanksgiving, our first to host, a success. Everyone was very well behaved and the food was tremendous. After 12 years of traveling for the holiday, it was nice to be at home. 

after a long day of hosting



We've got some catching up to do

The good news is that we have been lucky to have a full house and lots of visitors since we moved in.  In other news, it has been truly insane! I have been trying to take lots of pictures so that I have a reference point on things to catch you up on.

There are a few things little stories, mostly related to food and recipes I need to pass on, but they will have to wait. We will start with the arrival of my mom and Walter the Saturday before T-Giving. They came to our house and Jeff showed off his grilling skills (on his new grill- more on that later), and we watch the LSU game.

Then they headed to colonial Williamsburg, about 60 miles from our house in Richmond, where they chose to spend the week before Thanksgiving. Jeff and I met them in Williamsburg on Sunday to spend the afternoon. The drive there was gorgeous. The fall leaves were still in full effect. The day was sunny and 60 degrees, really beautiful.

Once we arrived in Williamsburg, we picked up Mom and Walter and headed to Jamestown.  In case you didn't know, Jamestown, Yorktown and Willliamsburg make up the Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia. It is the first permanent English settlement in the USA. There was alot of history there and we were reminded (repeatedly by our tour guide) as we enter the Turkey Day holiday, that this settlement began 13 years before the Pilgrams hit Plymouth Rock. Pretty cool.

posing with Pocahontas, a local celeb

the church in the background is still functional and was having a service while we were there

While were leaving this area where the original settlement was, we were driving around the island to the where the Glass House to watch the glass blowers work. Then out of no where, 3 deer ran across the road. They stopped and posed and let me take a few pictures. 

 After the excitement of the deer, we headed to the glass blower's house. You can see that super cute dude of mine, posing (as directed) in front of the house. I think this is a really good picture. Just so you know, I am about to enroll in a photography class so the quality of these pictures is about to go way up!

aint he precious!

Mom and Walter

We watched the glass blowers work for a little while. They said they make about 8 pieces per hour. Every hour they change and start to make a new piece since it would be boring to make the same thing all day.

 What a nice day. We learned a lot and it was very beautiful. Look at these leaves!

I cant wait to start my photography class so that I can take more pretty pictures like these (but better!).

Pretty Grown-up Lady Tablescape

 Happy Thanksgiving!

Just an update. We are at the halfway point in the day. So far, all is going well. First thing this morning, I kicked Jeff out of the house. Nicely. By suggesting that he could go for a run before he started the full day of cooking.  That gave me about an hour of uninterupted time to get some stuff done. See, there is a common theme of too many chiefs and not enough Indians around here.

The first thing I wanted to do before any of our guests arrived (Mom, Walter, MIL, FIL, & baby Greenwald & Drew, + 4 dogs), was start my Cinnamon Ice Cream and set the tables. I wanted start the ice cream before the dude took over the kitchen. I wanted to do the tables while the house was empty to make sure my vision was carried out. There was only 1 chief that could pull this off: ME!

this is the adult table

These beautiful linens came from Classic Party Rentals. Angela totally hooked me up with the table clothes, napkins and chair sashes. I really wanted to go all out and make it special since this is our first opportunity to host.  I got the idea from CPR to add these nice little silk flowers to fancy it up a bit. My mom bought me these pretty napkin rings.  You like?

 Bruce and Rona (FIL + MIL) sent this beautiful centerpiece. I love it! It is the perfect finishing touch to the tables. Thanks!

 Since we only have 5 plates and 4 forks for everyday(hint for those of you who cant think of what to buy off the registry), Bruce and Rona were so nice to bring these fancy ones. They were kind enough to pass down their wedding china to Jeff and I. It is beautiful, blue and gold accents on white. The silver was Jeffs Great Grandmothers. It is so nice to be able to set our first Thanksgiving table with family heirlooms.

view from above

The Kids Table
The parents will sit at the adult table and the kids (me, the dude, baby brother + Drew) will be at the round table. Normally it is our patio table but we brought it in and fancied it up a bit.

from above

chabby chic centerpiece

The other table had such a nice center piece that I threw this together out of some stuff lying around the house.

The sashes on these chairs arent as fancy but you use what you've got. At least I do.  Let me get back to that cinnamon ice cream. Last I checked, it wasnt freezing so well.

Its really a "Dude Thing"

This house we moved into is kind of on a Y-shaped intersection. Our backyard connects to three other lots.Each of the lots have fences but our lot did not have a fence. Thankfully, the backyard was about 80% fenced in when we got here and the landlord allowed us to (DIY) fence in the rest of the backyard.

Charlie could not wait! Jeff went and got the materials needed for the fence the first weekend we were here. He wasnt able to get started since the phone and cable companies had to come out and mark where the lines were underground before you could dig. So another week went by and Charlie sat by the back door and looked out longingly, dreaming of the day he could lounge in the dirt all day instead of inside on his super nice bed.

Weekend #2, Jeff and one of his buds from work spent a super manly Saturday afternoon putting up the fence. They were really pleased and impressed with themselves. I should have taken a picture but I didn't.  You can see here that Charlie is really LOVING his new backyard. He stays out there all day and refuses to come inside. I have to drag him in to eat. 

hanging with this bird. this is my happy face.

The super annoying thing is that about a million times everyday, Charlie comes to the glass back door and stares in at me. We are clearly having a break down in communication here because I think this means he would like to come inside. So I walk over to the door and open it and he runs off. Seriously, he waits there until I open the door. I think this might be game and I don't know how to play. Maybe Im supposed to chase him or come outside and play.

When he is not lying in a pile of leaves, Charlie enjoys sitting on the steps of the deck. This seems to be his spot to contemplate things.

Meanwhile, Jasmine doesn't know what to do with this situation. She is terribly uneasy with Charlie not being in the house and at her disposal for her to torture him at her convenience. However, she does not care for spending much  time in the great outdoors. She goes out when she needs to then comes back in to her spot. The women in this house are pretty direct and communicate what the want loud and clear. For example, when Lady Jasmine comes to the back door (as seen below), this means she would like to come in.

Please let me in!

Once she is safely back in her mansion, the Lady finds a snuggly place to nap.

Ruth Reichel: Garlic and Sapphires

When Sugarbaby (pet name for my dude) turned the big 25, I got him the newest Gourmet cookbook and the new Ruth Reichl book: Garlic and Sapphires.

Ruth Reichl was a writer and the editor in chief of (Jeff's favorite) Gourmet Magazine for 10 years, until its shocking closing in 2009. It was a sad, sad day in my house.

I am so glad that I (for selfish reasons) got Jeff a subscription to the magazine as a gift for something. I benefit alot from these gifts, which is why I keep on giving.  It is true what they say, "It is better to (strategically give than to receive).

He really enjoyed the read and I am happy to report that it also brought some new recipes into our life. I was reminded of this today when Jeff read the post about him making cookies and me not remembering what we had for dinner before that. He reminded me that it was the Sort of Thai Noodles, which came from this book.

I have never made this recipe, and probably never will, but I heard it is super easy. I can report from my own personal hands on experience, that it is delicious. You can find the recipe here, complete with nutritional info, which I didnt bother actually reading, but you are welcome to it.

Marriage Material

Look at this dude! He is handsome. He is tan. He is baking. He is the total package. So I agreed to marry him.

Throughout our courtship, Jeff made cookies from scratch pretty regularly. He always seemed to have the ingredients lying around and could just whip up a batch at any moment. This is a good skill/quality to have in a man if you ask me.

The first weekend that we were in the new house, I think it was Halloween and I was pouting a bit since we didnt have friends, or plans or parties to go on my favorite freaking holiday. It was just very bad timing. We had just moved in things were really unsettled. I cant remember what we had for dinner that night, something easy and not that memorable I guess.

As I sat on the couch, exhausted, Jeff and Andy decided to bake some cookies. How cute of them, I think they were trying to lift my spirits. Spirit lifting can usually be accomplished with chocolate, in my experience.  This was the (yet to be named KitchenAid) mixer's first undertaking. Instead of the usual way of mixing them by hand with a spoon, even though we have always had a hand mixer, we pulled out the big guns.

Now, Jeff's signature move is one that he and Andy say they learned from Jeff's mom. Halfway thru the bake time, you take out the cookie sheet and slam it on the counter. Apparently this creates some kind of heavenly cookie magic. Since we decided to break out the Oneida Pizza Stone (thanks Aunty Sandy) to bake these cookies on.  

Im not sure if it was the pizza stone or the mixer or the combo of both, but these were the BEST COOKIES EVER. Words cannot describe. They were perfect. Just follow the recipe on the Toll House chips bag. But Im convinced the grown up mixer and pizza stone took it to the next level. And Im never going back.

What is in a name?

I have had a long term obsession with naming things. I tend to form relationships with certain things that I use alot or happen to get alot of joy out of.  I haven't been naming things lately, but I'm making an effort to get back to those things that fun girls do.  Or things I did when I was fun.

Nell and I both name things, I think we always have. She says she thinks she got this from me. I cannot remember where this came from or why it was started, but I am back to assigning proper names to everything. I am also famous for referring to almost anything as "The_____".  For example, we need to go to the Target, the Whole Foods, the Trader Joe's, the Home Depot, list goes on. I don't know where this came from either.  This one is for you J. Swayze: our first cars were "the Prizm" and "the Scoop"! How is that for a flashback.

To reminisce on the good old days, we had Tima (sounds like Tina). Tima was my car, the Altima. I got her  in 2003, when I was in beauty school. She drove me all the way to Los Angeles in 2004. We had some adventures on the West Coast: L.A., San Diego, Mexico (crossing the border both ways is really scary), Palm Springs, San Fran, Vegas (a few times), The Grand Canyon (twice), and more. She brought me home in 2008, made many trips to Florida beaches before and after California, and then to Dallas in 2009. Sadly in March of 2010 on a cold and snowy day, I almost killed us both. Thankfully, after camping out for awhile in ICU, I went home but Tima was never seen again.  Sometimes, I swear I see her and even look for her California plates. Its like I'm convinced she just left me and is really living a new life with a new family somewhere else. Its sad really. I think that was the end of my naming things for awhile. We are now 8 months past my near death experience and I am picking up the pieces and moving on, trying to get back to my old self. She was fun, it would be nice to have her back.


Tima and I leaving Baton Rouge 9/04. Santa Monica bound.

Most recently I named  my Roomba. I had a hard time and had to turn to facebook to get some ideas. My mom's cousin, Norma, had asked "what was the robot maid's name on the Jetson's?". Rosie! I thought that would be a good name for her and she is a robot. Then my pal Susan had strongly voted for Rosario Salazar. Rosario was Karen Walker's maid on Will & Grace, a favorite show of mine. That is how the Roomba got her name: Rosario or Rosie for short. I think it fits and has multiple classic tv references. 

My next project is to name my KitchenAid mixer, our engagement gift from my dad and stepmom.  This was a big deal for me. My memories of my MawMaw Lena (dad's mom), pretty much all involved the kitchen and often that mixer.  Seeing it on the my counter makes me feel like I am a grown up and it also reminds me of happy memories baking cakes with MawMaw.  I am happy to have my very own mixer and hope that where ever MawMaw's special mixer went, that it is being taken care of and treated like the pride and joy it was to her.


aint she purty!

Nell named her mixer Tiffany (great name!).  What will mine be called? Maybe after I get a chance to use her more, she will speak to me. I am 8 months into a new car and she has no name. Im thinking that she needs time for her personality to shine thru.

More on that

I recently publicly professed my LOVE for the Roomba, no really, in case you didnt catch my drift-- I LOVE my Roomba (Rosario or Rosie for short). Since I got a few questions about the how tos, I figured it required a follow up post.

At this very moment, Im sure you are thinking "Wow, that chick is SO fascinating." How ever does she manage this super glamorous lifestyle where she works full time (and then some) running a hair/makeup business and still have time to report on her exciting household adventures? Just so you know, I am amazed myself.

So pour yourself a cocktail and I will catch you up on the how tos of Rosario here. First there she is on her dock.

 Everyday at 1pm she scoots away from her base and wanders about the house. What I love the most is that she goes right under the bed, couch, coffee table, etc. She also manages to  move from hardwood to our carpeted bedroom gracefully. She even scoots into the closet.

I guess there are several models but mine runs everyday at the programmed time and moves herself from room to room. She goes until she bumps into something and then goes the other direction, so some areas are covered multiple times, but that is ok. It is still a mystery on what determines when she is done and decides to go back to her base. Is is when she is tired and has had enough? Does she go back when she is tired/low on battery? She doesn't seem to go for a specific amount of time everyday, it seems to vary. Since I don't insist on having all the answers (that's really more of a dude thing), I will just let that continue to be one of life's little mysteries.

Whenever she decides that she is done, she goes back to home base to take a nap.

At some point, maybe everyday or every other day, you will need to empty the little tray that holds her collections. Its is not much since she is running daily. To clean the tray (no bags here!), you can just push this little black button (see above) and it will pop right out (see below).

This what it looks like at my house (I'm shameless). Rosario runs in the laundry room, hallway, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen/dining area and the living room. This is the daily amount of Charlie hair that I am glad I no longer have to sweep up. Thankfully, the cooler temperatures are reducing the amount of shedding.

Dump this and then swing that little red tray out (see below). It looks kind of like your dryer lint thingy. I never can remember to empty that thing.

If you LOVE a clean floor as much as I do, you need a Roomba.  Now I know what you are thinking, "I don't want to empty the tray!", or "How will I remember to do it everyday?"

Don't worry, I have ALL the answers. #1. Don't empty the tray, that is a dude's job (at my house). #2. A dude will do it. Remember, according to them, they can do everything and they claim to do it better than you. Now we all know that is completely false but we can give them this one. 

Now its time for a refill.

Four Cheeses are Better than One

We had a handful of visitors swing by our place in Dallas. Just a handful (Andy, Bea, Jill, Eric, Bruce, Rona, am I forgetting anyone else?) in a whole year.  When we moved to Richmond I thought we would never see anyone. Boy was I wrong (and glad to be). Andy -the best man- came the day after we moved in. We werent the slightest bit settled but he helped us get a little closer to getting there.

Kristen- maid of honor- came down from D.C. last weekend. We already had it on the books for her to visit but luckily we had a holiday and she took 1 day off so we got to visit for 4.5 days! Since I am nesting, I am all about comfort food. And what is better than tomato soup and grilled cheese.....I cant think of a thing.

You can probably guess what tools where used in the making of this magical goodness; the crockpot, the griddler and the ice cream maker!

Here is the recipe for the the soup. Kristen and I went out to grab our ingredients. I wasnt fully committed to what kind of cheese I wanted to use so I chatted up the cheese lady at Kroger. Not my friend from Whole Food but the lady at Kroger is totally cool in my book too. She said her favorite grilled cheese was mozzarella, provolone, cheddar and goat cheese. YUM! I already had goat cheese so I grabbed the other 3 and headed home.

Since I had been slaving over the soup all day. I left it to Jeff to make the sandwiches: grilled cheese on rye. I figured he would have a good time with the Griddler since that was more of a man thing, like a grill you get to use inside? (thanks shower hostesses!)

Maybe I was just tired after I had whipped up this soup and this unbelievable ice cream!  I mentioned before that Kristen had bought me that great book for ice cream and other frozen treats.

It was a really hard decision since I plan to eat everything in this book eventually. Here is how it goes:

2 cups half and half

1/4 cocoa powder

1/2 sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 smooth peanut butter

Whisk the half and half, cocoa powder, sugar and salt in a large sauce pan. Heat, whisking frequently until it comes to a full rolling boil (it will start to foam up). Remove from heat and whisk  in the peanut butter stirring until completely blended. Chill thoroughly, then finish the process in your ice cream maker.

In the last 5 minutes, I added broken up pieces of Reese's peanut butter cups and topped it all off with hot fudge goodness. Ah, this is the good life.

I decided it would be best to keep the ice cream maker bowl in the freezer at all times so that I can just grab it when I need it for emergencies. Seriously, who has the time to wait for it to freeze every time you want to use it. Keep it ready for immediate use is the only way to go. 

Next we will have my Mom + stepdad followed by MIL+FIL, a one day drive by featuring BIL. Its going to be a packed house for T-giving. 8 people + 4 dogs. I accidentally watched Meet the Fockers (again) last week, not a good idea since our parents are meeting for the first time. Say a little prayer for me, Ill let you know how it goes.