EOW No. 9

2019 Christmas Card!

Happy New Year and I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!  We miraculously survived all of the birthdays, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve!  My sister and brother-in-law were in town for the past two weeks, which I spent throwing holiday party after holiday party.  Four total, actually.  All of us in the household, including the dog, are all partied out.  So partied out, in fact, that immediately after the last party, we took down all of our holiday decorations.

One of the best things about the holiday break was the unseasonably warm weather we had the week of Christmas.  It was truly beautiful: sunny and in the 70s.  We opened presents outside on the back patio, much to the chagrin of our Michigan family.  Bryan had a relatively light work schedule, so we were both able to spend a lot of time outside and with my family.  And as if our schedule wasn’t full enough with entertaining, Bryan and I also got some painting done around the house - both professionally and on our own.

We ended the year with everyone happy and healthy, what more can you ask for really?

Over the Christmas holiday, I baked what must have been over 100 sugar cookies - to be iced and decorated during our ugly sweater party.  Sadly, none of the cookies were actually decorated at said party, however all of them were consumed over the following few weeks.  The best and most reliable sugar cookie recipe I found was Alton Brown’s here.  Not only did they come out the most consistently batch after batch, they didn’t melt away into an indistinguishable shape in the oven.

One of my favourite Christmas gifts this year I received from my sister and her husband: Alison Roman’s newest cookbook Nothing Fancy.  I’ve already tried her cauliflower and onion gratin recipe and have bookmarked at least half a dozen recipes that I plan on making.  In keeping with the theme of hosting a ton of parties, her recipes are centered around manageable, impressive yet unfussy (her words, not mine) meals to serve guests.  The older I get, the more I’ve realized that I appreciate a good cookbook.  Hot tip - check it out from your local library first.  If you realize that you actually like it, you can purchase it later.

Dumpling assembly line from the birthday / New Year's party

I hope you had a wonderful holiday vacation / break from work.  I’m excited about what new opportunities the new year could bring and look forward to sharing 2020 with you all.