Dinner a la me

The other night I made dinner for my hubs.

Don't get too excited, I really didn't have the energy to be that creative. 

Here's what I made:

Brussel Spouts

I typically parboil my brussels first so that they cook all the way through and a little faster. Then, I roasted them in some chopped garlic, oil and sea salt.

I also fried up some bacon and toasted the chopped walnuts in the bacon grease(yes, I know, not exactly healthy, shame on me!)

Then, I tossed them all together, YUMMERS!

I also made boiled potatoes, boring I know. 

For dessert, Ghiradelli brownies! Yes Please!

Beautiful sear on my steak, thanks to the hubs. Usually I grill, but it was displaced, as in not right outside my back door.

 Here's the finished product. Grilled steak, boiled potatoes and roasted brussels with bacon and walnuts- I think that was the most exciting part of the dinner. 

Later this week I'm going to dabble in grilling a rack of lamb. If anyone has any tips....and or recipes....send them my way!

Oh a hunting we will go

Here we go, on our adventure. I suppose venturing out into the forest would be much more adventurous, but never-the-less the Christmas Tree Farm is good enough for us city dwellers.

We decided that we would go and cut down our tree. I, of course researched what was the best type of tree to cut down, which one would last the longest and of course smell amazing.  It seems like firs have the best scent and that a concolor fir would last the longest. Unfortunately when we got to the tree farm they stated that they only had about 12 of those trees left. So, instead I decided  to trek down another tree.  We ended up with a balsam fir, after much hunting for the "perfect" tree.  We aren't very tall people and with a step stool I can just barely reach the top. 

 

Pulling while Gary saws away.

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y

We went with our good friends, John and Jenna, our trees were not far away from each other.  We did however both underestimate how wide our trees were. Out in nature they look so small.....

Family photo opportunity prior to cutting it down.

It took Gary and John awhile to saw down those trees.  I think the saws that they provided have been dulled by the many uses. 

Gary and John working diligently to cut down their tree. 

I had to buy a lot more ornaments at my favorite arts and crafts store, Michael's. We, of course has none except, our special ornaments. Gary and I have gone to NYC every Christmas and have since 2002.  We usually buy a special ornament from Sax or Bergdorf - it's about the only thing that we can afford there, but it's now part of our tradition....can you tell that I love traditions?! Gary has also begun to buy me a special Hallmark ornament each year, which I dearly treasure.  So, almost a week after buying our tree it is finally officially complete!

Ta-da!

Apparently the animals also enjoy the beauty of the tree, or maybe the just feel like they are outside. Thankfully, no one has tried to climb it and or pee on it.

It's the most wonderful time...

In case you weren't aware, I am a big fan of the Christmas season.  I love the lights and the red and green colors and.....now I finally have a house house, so to speak which I can decorate to my hearts content.  Well without going overboard.  I love that the city is being decorated for Christmas. It in no way can compare to NYC, but, as Patrick Stump says, "This City, is my City."

This picture is from Union Station. They have 3 huge wreaths hanging up out front. I love how many lights adorn it.  

Here are our decorations. :-) We have stairs! Which means I get to decorate the banister with my lit garland. I can't decide whether or not I want to put up Christmas stockings, will it be too much?

 We have lots of windows, well 5 in the front and I've always wanted to hang wreaths on the windows. I made the bows all by my self, no pre-made ribbons. Let's just hope that they stay together. I also wired on the little decorations.  I didn't create them, but my good ol' friend Michael's did:-)

Michaels and I have become good friends(the arts and crafts store).     We don't have a dining room table yet, so I can't buy table cloths or center pieces, yet...don't worry, it will come.  My one friend has inspired me to be a little more crafty this season and do some DIY projects.  I originally purchased wooden letters (N-O-E-L), which I would paint and then hang on ribbons, but I couldn't figure out a place to display them, so instead I bought some canvas and some acrylic paint and voila! I'm excited to paint more! It is kind of therapeutic.

We also have a little Christmas tree that used to be our only Christmas tree, but this year we'll get the real deal. My mother decorated it all up, she's super crafty. 

And....of course I can't decorate without my poinsettia.

We have a front porch too. I got a whole bunch of Christmas tree branches from the hardware store and started to make my own garlands.  I'm waiting for my mother to come to help me out a little more. Hopefully she can work her artistic magic.  I also have a TON of lights that I purchased from Target to use on the porch.  AND.....Sunday we are going to start a new tradition and cut down our first Christmas tree. I've been doing my research.  We're going with our good friends, Jenna and John. I'll post pictures of our adventure.