2016 - Year in Review

Another year in Texas!!!!  I am still loving this state, more than I can say.  A Montana Girl I will always be, but . . . . gotta love Texas too.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this year and all that it brought.  Some not so good, but most crazy wonderful.  Here's the recap -

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is upon and since Mister and I rarely spend New Years Eve preparing or participating in the whole "party" scene, it's a great day to do other activities as the crowds are just not there.   We are just going to have a fun day together on the last day of 2016.  Am I sad or glad to see it go?  Well, in all honestly, I'm kinda glad.  This year has definitely had it's rough spots and I'm looking forward to some new experiences next year.  Fingers are crossed anyway.

The Dallas Museum of Art opens at 11 a.m. and since that's our first destination, I guess I should get dressed and ready to go.

The reason for the trip is that there are two exhibits we have not yet been able to immerse ourselves in and don't want to miss.  The first is "Divine Felines:  Cats of Ancient Egypt" and the second is "Art and Nature in the Middle Ages."  Both are absolutely wonderful and as we slowly work our way through them, we discover numerous items to peak our curiosity and gets me questioning.  Yep, that's me -- always wondering.

We also check out a wonderful batik exhibit (that's an entry all by itself so click HERE) and then are surprised with "Shaken, Stirred, Styled:  The Art of the Cocktail."  As we enter, Mister spots one of the collections and points them out.  What fun.  We own that set too.

Flowers from My Love

Just because - or maybe I'm sorry . . .

Merry Christmas!!

I ended yesterday's post wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and I'll start this one the same way.  I truly hope your hearts and filled with love and peace -- at least for today.  Hold each other close and make memories that can never be taken from you.  That's my plan.

After sleeping in a bit, I realize that if I want to finish my lefse before going to Abilene, I need to get up and get busy.  By 8 I am in the kitchen working away and my sweet man comes out to help thus enabling us to be finished in a little over an hour.  We settle in for some fresh lefse and tea for breakfast and then spend a little time opening packages and sharing in the fun of Christmas morning.  He has spoiled me once again and I am so lucky to have this man in my life.  This kids have sent some amazing treats and we just know there are many wonderful memories ahead of us.  This year is going to just be such fun.

Channeling my Cousin Cheri - Lefse Making

It's 5:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve and I have suddenly decided to make Lefse.  Now, keep in mind, I have not done this in YEARS.  Perhaps 30 or so as my daughter, Jen, remembers doing it with me once when she was young.  I was taught how to make it when still living in Bigfork and my cousin Cheri was visiting in Polson.  We spent one entire day making them and while I still remember the mechanics of it -- it has indeed been a while.  My children grew up eating lefse on Christmas Eve, but it was rarely made by me.  Up north you can buy it in the grocery store during the holidays.  I have yet to see it here in Texas.  That means, I need to get back to the basics and thought perhaps you'd like to take this journey with me today.

The first thing I do is make sure I have enough potatoes on hand.  I like Yukon Golds and therefore that is what I have, but they are not the starchiest potato and I remember that the starchier the better for lefse.  Oh well, these will work - they just may require a bit more flour along the way.  I'm never real big on measuring when cooking but ALWAYS when baking or working with a dough.  It's a bit of my own OCD.  I want 1 pound and, well, that's pretty dang close.  We are good to go.

Christmas Eve - Hmmmm

Well it arrived.  Even with all my procrastinating and wishing the month would just disappear, Christmas Eve is here.  This is such a tough day for me each year and I always think perhaps the following one will be easier than the last but it doesn't work that way.  Being a northerner and having 70 degrees doesn't help.  I miss family.  Period.  I miss making the days magical.  I miss little ones filled with delight.  I miss cooking for 25 people and making pies and caroling.  It's hard.  My sweetheart tries to make it better for me, but his family really doesn't "do" things the way I used to.  Ugh.  Okay -- enough.  It's time to get out of bed and face the day.

Mister says to get dressed and we are off walking to get coffee.  It did rain a bit last night and there is dew on the trees.  It's lovely and as close to an icicle as I'm going to get.  Trying to capture it with a camera is challenging though.

Nope, not my yard, but loving the droplets for sure.  Now, onto the coffee shop where we hang out for a couple of hours working the crossword and just visiting.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies for Mister

It's Christmas Eve and I am doing everything I can to keep busy.  Next up are some Oatmeal Raisin Cookies for my sweet Mister.  They are his favorite cookies by far.  He has located a new recipe to try and I'll share it here with ya'll.  It is from the Gracie Mansion in New York.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper (I used a silicone baking mat); set aside.

In a large bowl, using a spatula, cream together 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter - room temperature, 1 cup packed brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  I didn't have quite enough dark brown sugar so I had to add a wee bit of light brown to fill the cup.  It'll be okay and dark brown sugar goes onto the grocery list.  The mixture will become almost pasty.

Next, add 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/4 cup water; mix until well combined.

OMG --- Vivid Autumn Beauty

Each day that the sun peeks out offers me a chance to truly embrace the beauty that is around me.  The cooler, rainy days are certainly helping the trees to give every last drop of color to us this year.  So absolutely gorgeous.

Christmas Decorating is Happening - A Peek

Just a little peek of what is happening at our home

Sunshine in Autumn

With all the dreary days of late, we finally have some sunshine and a chance to photograph the beautiful color surrounding our home.  Love, love, love this time of year.  These are the colors that make my heart happy.

A First Time for Everything

I can hear Mister out in the kitchen concocting something so I'm off for a peek.  He is making us martinis.  I've never had a traditional martini and thus, a new experience will happen.  Oh -- yes, I like them and this is only a prep picture -- there wasn't any ice in them when they were made.  Mister was just chillin' the glasses.

Thanksgiving Sunday

Our house empties out at 7:00 a.m.   Completely.  Even Mister and I walk out the door and down to the coffee shop.  As we enjoy our drinks, we are taking some quiet time to just sit and work a crossword puzzle.  Three hours later, we start the walk back home and while I work on the blog for a bit, we enjoy the first eggnog of the season.  Yum.

Around 4, Mister asks if I would like to go and get a beer from the Black Friday treats at Lakewood Growler.  He certainly doesn't have to ask twice.  We grab dinner from leftovers, eat, and head out.  What a great day together and we really didn't do much at all.  Recovery days are so nice.

Thanksgiving Fun

It's a veritable sea of bodies around my house this morning.  Jen's family arrived last night and while quietly setting up to work on breakfast, I can't help but smile at the sight in front of me.  Boys, boys everywhere and a lone girl back in the office.  Yes, I gave them all sheets and blankets or quilts along with offering pillows.  This is what makes them happy.  So be it.

A Day in the Kitchen - with Brown and Serve Roll recipe.

I have an entire day in the kitchen planned and a TON of things to accomplish as well.  I remember the last time I made ChexMix thatI managed to get so very much done during the 15 minute intervals that I decided to log it this time.  Mainly to prove to myself that I waste a ton of time each day and secondly to prove to those who say they don't have enough time to do homemade things --- yep you do.  Honest.  I am up to the challenge.

It is 8:00 a.m. and after starting the laundry and straightening a couple of rooms, I am prepping 2 batches of ChexMix.  Mister would say I have my mise en place finished.  Each batch is in a large bowl with a small bowl nearby containing the spices.  I have the butter and worcestershire on the cupboard near the stove.  The butter for the first batch goes into the oven for a melt.

As soon as it has melted, I add the worcestershire and seasonings to the butter and stir it all in.  Then the cereal/nut/pretzel/bagel chip mixture is added as well.

Into the oven it goes for the first 15 minute interval.  It is 8:30.

Roasted Cranberry Sauce - Mister's Favorite

So, I didn't grow up in a cranberry household.  What exactly does that mean? Well, I truly don't remember cranberries playing a very important (if any) role during holiday meals.  Honest.  As a result, when I became a homemaker I didn't incorporate them into the holidays either.  After my oldest daughter married, her husband asked for jellied cranberry sauce from a can for Thanksgiving and I was okay with that.  Seriously -- open can - serve.  Pretty dang easy.  Then Mister came along.  He loves cranberry sauce and searched for a really good recipe once I was around and we were actually preparing holiday meals.  He found success in a Saveur Magazine from October, 2008.

As it is just a couple of days until Thanksgiving, tonight is the night he is making the sauce.  Would you like to peek in and find the same delight he has over the years?  Come along then.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Yep, that's a hot oven.  Using a peeler, remove peel from 1 orange, taking off as little of the white pith as possible.  Cut peel into very thin strips about 1 1/2" long.  Squeeze juice from the orange; strain and reserve 1 tbsp. juice.

In a bowl, combine peel, 1 lb. fresh or thawed cranberries, 1 cup sugar (we use raw), 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. kosher salt, 4 green cardamom pods (we used 6 and crushed them with a knife), 4 whole cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks (he breaks them up), and 1 small jalapeno, stemmed and thinly sliced.

Fall Break - Day Four

Good morning.  Mister is already up and off to get a cinnamon roll downstairs.  Well, at least that is my thought as I get into the shower.  It turns out that he was cleaning out the car and loading his suitcase instead.  Once I am ready to go, it's off for those treats and a little breakfast downstairs.  We are not at all sure just what the plan is for today except to continue east and wander through areas we have not yet explored.  After leaving Snyder, we come to Roby, TX which is not a stopping spot for us but we are reading the history of it as we drive through.  It's a crazy story and one you will certainly enjoy.  Here is a link to the Texas Monthly article we read.

Shortly after Roby, we make a decision to go further  north in order to avoid driving a road already travelled.  You can read about the previous trip in this Texas Day Tripping post.  Anson, TX gives a moment to stretch our legs a bit with a stop for a little antiquing.  You can read about that by clicking on this Antiquing Post.

Since we have rerouted, our next is Stamford, TX where we are greeted by some interesting sculptures/art pieces.  Spidercar?

Fall Break - Day Three

After resting in Carlsbad, NM last night, we are up bright and early for a fun day at Carlsbad Caverns.  Even though I lived in New Mexico as a child, I have never been here and am super stoked.  After checking in (it's Veteran's Day so no charge), Mister leaves a donation equal to what we would have paid and we opt to do the Natural Entrance.  Let's go.

After a little safety talk, the first thing we encounter is this sign.  I absolutely love the caution at the bottom.  Come on knees --- you can do it.  As for the strenuous hike and exhaustion . . . . it's all downhill.  Are we being overly cautious here?

Just a wee bit further down the trail, we come to the amphitheater where it is possible to watch the Mexican Freetail bats take flight at dusk during the spring/summer months.  Since it is November, they have gone south for the winter thus, depriving us of that opportunity.  Since we have, however, watched them several times from the Congress bridge in Austin, I do not feel too sad over it.  With that being said, it would definitely be cool to see them come from inside this cave.  Check it out.  Somewhere down there is the opening.

Fall Break - Day Two

Well hello there.  We are in Las Cruces, NM (also known as the City of Crosses) and after having a wonderful night's sleep are ready to see what this part of the world has to offer us.  We have opted to check out the older part of the city which is called "Mesilla".  Come along and hopefully we will all learn something new along the way.

It turns out that Billy The Kid is pretty dang famous around these parts.  The village of Mesilla contains the building in which the Capitol of Arizona and New Mexico were housed.  At a later point in time it was the courthouse in which Billy was tried and sentenced to hang.  Wow.  I love that it is still here.

Fall Break - Day One

It's been awhile since Mister and I ran away for a few days.  We've been talking about it and are finally just getting in the car and heading west.  It's Election Day and for the first time I can remember, I would really rather be away from everyone tonight.  I don't see anything wonderful happening no matter which party wins and I foresee hate coming from the losers.  Period.  It's best just to not be here or anywhere other than out in the country where only the birds and other creatures can yell.  Perhaps we will find some calm there.  We leave home around 4pm and obviously hit traffic big time.  I thought everyone would be out voting.  Ugh.  Our destination for tonight is somewhere near Abilene and as we drive, I give Jen a call, but she is still on the road returning from San Antonio with the high school band.  I guess we keep going.  After stopping for gas and a bite to eat, we enter Big Spring and I give my friend, Kelly (in Midland) a call and plan to meet up in the morning for coffee and a visit.  Time for sleep.  We have 5 hours under our belt and that is a good start on crossing Texas.  This is a dang big state, you know.  (Fancy motel stop - yep keeping it classy.)

Korean Kimchi - A Primer by Mister

Kimchi anyone? I've been wanting to try this Korean kimchi kit since getting it as a gift. Lets see how this goes.

Mis en place:

Chile pepper flakes (gochugaru)
Korean fish sauce (aekjeot)

Autumn Soup!!!! Comfort Food At It's Best

It's November.  I know you likely already knew that but for me that means it is finally Autumn in Texas.  The trees will turn colors this month and the temperature will drop.  My absolute favorite season is upon us.  What better way to start the month off than with a nice pot of Autumn Soup.

I found this recipe when my children were quite small and it has been a stand-by ever since.   The ingredients are always on hand and it takes mere minutes to prep.  Shall we get started?

You will need one cup of chopped onion, 1 cup cut-up carrots, and 1 cup of diced celery.  Also 1 cup cubed pared potatoes.

Autumn in Utah - Round 2 - Day 5 and Travel Home

It is basically my last day here as I am traveling tomorrow and we are going to spend it at Cornbelly's.  Everyone gets up early and after dropping Ava with Grandma for the day (she's coming down with a cold), we are determined to arrive by the time it opens, thinking there won't be as many people there as it is a school day.  We did NOT count on the BUSSES that have arrived.  Oh well.  The place is huge and it's time for fun.

Autumn in Utah - Round 2 - Days 3 & 4

It's another gorgeous day in Provo.  I'm up, dressed and ready for a new adventure.  Once the girls are fed and dressed, I take over to give Cassie a chance to shower and get ready.

The agenda for today includes a trip to the Witches Festival at Gardner Village.  We went here last year and had such a good time that it's a repeat.

Autumn in Utah - Round 2 - Days 1 & 2

Yes!  I am heading back to Utah for some fun and games with Miss O, Miss A, and Cassie.  Color me excited.  And speaking of color, I have some time at the airport this morning to watch the sunrise.  I'll admit, it took me a bit of time to find a spot in which I could view it and the sun was already partially up, but it was worth the effort.  An uneventful flight (aren't they the best kind?) to Salt Lake and I'm soon in the car with my girls.

Even Ava has opened her eyes to say hello.  Talk about cute.  Ophelia is full of things to say and I love the eagerness to see me.  I have missed her a ton.

Jen is 40 - Off to Abilene

My daughter is 40 today.  How on earth did that happen?  Oh goodness, if I didn't feel old before, I certainly do now.  She's a very lively and busy 40 though and I'm so proud of who she is and all that she does.  She is an amazing mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend.  I learn from her constantly and am so glad I do.  She has been with me through thick and thin over the years and I would never ever dream of a life without her in it.  She truly does make me a better person and always has.  As a result, we are in the car headed for Abilene to celebrate her day.  I have no idea what the plans are since hubby is in charge, but off we go anyway.  Louis arrives shortly after us, with ice cream cakes in hand.

Time With Mister - Davis Street Espresso, Zoo, Arboretum, and More

A beautiful fall Saturday means that we can not only attend the members breakfast at the zoo but also make a stop in Bishop Arts for some coffee.  Yes, we are up THAT early.  Davis Street Espresso is where we are off to and it's been awhile since we had their yummy drinks.

I love this little place and since we are here so early, we are even in before the hipster crowd that hangs out here.  That makes this even better if possible.

Making Sangria

It's a kitchen day and I'm in the mood for Sangria.  If I am completely honest, I have been wanting to do this for several weeks now and just keep eating the supplies and buying more.  The cycle must stop today.

Step one:  Chop up some fruit.  I am using a peach, several apples, and an orange.  Then slice some lemons.  I have a pitcher that has a "mixing" pump in it so I place these slices below the plate.  I don't want to eat them just yet.  Then I put all the fruit in ABOVE the mixing plate so we can get to it and include it in our glasses.  Wine soaked fruit is just oh so yummy.

A Night at Jimmy's

Mister has made a reservation for us at Jimmy's for one of their wine dinners.   Tonight is the night and I'm looking forward to it.  Let's get going.

We arrive a bit early in order to get some pasta and groceries.  After shopping, it's time for the dinner to begin.  We enter the back room and find out seats.  It's a packed house, as always.  The winery being featured tonight is Maculan Winemakers from Breganze, Italy and Angela Maculan is our hostess.  I love that Jimmy's always brings in the winemaker or family members to speak with us about their region of Italy and tell stories from there, both about the wine and the culture.

Our first course is a wonderful shrimp scampi.  All of the food at these dinners is made "in house" by the family that runs Jimmy's.  It never fails to impress and I don't want to listen and learn about the white wines we are tasting with it, I just want to dig in.  Oh, capers, it has capers.  I love those little delights.

Monarchs Are Back

It's Monarch season again and our lovely butterfly bush out front is attracting them.  Too bad they won't hold still much today AND I'm really getting tired of holding a quilt up to have it's picture taken while Mister focuses on the butterflies.

Bob is 21

My nephew, Bob, is 21 and we are all gathering around for a birthday celebration.  He shares the day with his father and we are able to do two Happy Birthdays at once.

It's E Fratelli for lunch and family all around.  Mister and I stopped last night for a fun gift.  A person only turns 21 once so we hit up the liquor store and gave him lots of variety in tiny bottles.  Yep, we ARE that aunt and uncle.  Such fun.

Anniversary Dinner

It's our anniversary week and tonight we are off to Rise for dinner.  It is a lovely french restaurant here in Dallas that specializes in souffles.  My mouth can't wait.

First things first though --- Mister orders a scrumptious bottle of wine to toast to 6 years of two redheads not killing each other.  Just kidding.  He is just as amazing to me now as he was then.

We are opting to enjoy a FULL meal so that means sharing certain courses.  The first course is a marshmallow soup.  No, it doesn't really have marshmallows in it but is a yummy butternut soup with cheese puffs that resemble marshmallows.  Simply delish and along with our soup we have fresh from the oven bread to dunk or coat with fresh butter.  Oooh yeah.