Our Christmas Treats!

We left the cherries whole and added a little extra cinnamon! So easy and delicious!

Cherry, Almond and Cinnamon Granola
Show:
Barefoot Contessa
Episode:
Holiday Surprise

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut

2 cups sliced almonds

1 1/2 cups dried cherries, chopped

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup good honey

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Toss the oats, coconut, almonds, and cherries together in a large bowl. Pour the vegetable oil and honey over the oat mixture. Add the cinnamon, and stir with a wooden spoon until all the oats and nuts are coated with the liquids. Pour onto a sheet pan. Bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring occasionally. Store the cooled granola in an airtight container.

An update on the pup

I just can't resist. She's too cute and such a little devil!

Clearly mom is beat after a LONG day at work!

Sorry it's been a while

The culmination of all of my hard work at the office was Tuesday, and it was an enormous success. Now I find myself sleepy, worn out and needing to do a TON of Christmas shopping. Life has been eventful, and it's beed great and uplifting to come home each day to a new ornament:

Room and Board

I love this light pendant from Room and Board.

But, what I'm currently in the market for are lanterns. I'm trying to add a little spice and twinkle to our living room, and I'm thinking of hanging a number of different lanterns, at varying heights over the TV/ entertainment corner (a la West Elm).

Know any good places to look?

Norma Lynn Hood

I'm sure you all saw this post on Oh Joy!, but I loved it so much that I had to include something about Norma Lynn as well.

I've never had the desire to learn crochet, but these delicious treats definitely made me want to pick up the needle and teach myself. YummO!

Ornament Swap

Hooray! I got my first ornament in the mail over the weekend:

And, despite frequent trips outside with the puppy, I finished my ornaments and am ready to ship them this week! Phew!

Introducing ....

Winifred (Winnie) Cheramie Walz!

We picked her about about three hours ago in the Poconos (about a three hour drive from Philly). She's a bearded collie, and she's just eight weeks old. She was one of nine, so she was a little scared coming into our house today, but she's quickly adapting! I'm in love already!!

(Forgive my frizz and paleness, but my sweater's cute, right? My husband bought it for me yesterday!)

A vendor recommendation

Philly/Jersey/NYC gals, listen up! My make-up and hair artist for my wedding - Daneene Smith - was fantastic, and I want to all to know about her. Her prices were great, she was super fun and chill to work with, and boy is she skilled! Check out her website and see for yourself! Here are a few of my shots (sorry they are small! I'm working on getting some larger images.)

Christmas Wish List #7

From Pottery Barn, the ultimate craft organizer. And creative ones, it's on sale too for just $139 (you save $50).

Christmas Wish List #6

Did someone say cashmere?

Buy me at Banana Republic! I'm cute, inexpensive and tres chic!

Steph Carson

I love Cincinatti-based wedding photographer Steph Carson. While her blog is fantastic, it's her new web page that I am currently enthralled with. You've gotta like a bride with her remote control.

Tag, you're it!

This is my first Internet tagging, and I am more than happy to play along. I was tagged by a new fabulous discovery Elizabeth Ann Designs. Check it out!

The rules of tagging are as follows:
1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog. (see above!)
2. Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

And now for the "sharing":

1. I'm an awful singer. I actually used to be quite good ... star of the high school musicals, member of the elite madrigals, sang at the Kennedy Center, etc. But, I got mono from my high school sweetheart, got VERY sick and had a serious (awful, disgusting) throat infection which permanently damaged my vocal cords. No joke! So, in my head I can still sing, but unfortunately for all of those around me, that is not reality.

2. I love olive juice. Really. With or without accompanying olives or alcohol.

3. In college I started a radio show called "Eve Outloud" which exclusively played women's music. The show is - 6 years later - still on the air. As a result, I am completely obsessed with female artists: Ani Difranco, Deb Talan, Feist, Cyndi Lauper, Imogen Heap, you name it! My wealth of knowledge in this area is staggering. (And nauseating to many!)

4. I just had to retire "Big V" - my beautiful black volvo sedan. She had 300,000 miles on her (almost!). I couldn't bring myself to go to the car shop with my husband for fear I would cry. We are now a one car family (but we're getting a dog!...cause THAT makes a lot of sense.)

5. Every year, Santa put our Christmas Tree up for us as a surprise after we'd gone to sleep on Christmas Eve. When we'd come down the next morning we were not only thrilled to see the pile of presents, but the tree was a surprise each year as well! I definitely plan on doing this for my children, and appreciate the many sleepless nights my parents had as a result of this tradition.

6. I have two framed pictures of Martha Stewart on my desk now. It's a sick obsession.

7. I love to bake and the only reason I'm not a pastry chef is because my mother told me as a child that I would just continue to get fat, and I've had a weight complex ever since. Ah, childhood neurosis.

Now it's my turn to tag ... I hope you all haven't been hit by this bug before!

• Black. White. Bliss.
• Bridal Bar Blog
• California Girl
• These Little Moments
• Philadelphia Wedding Photographers
• Exit, pursued by a Bear
• Wedding Fanatic

A new addition!

I'll post more about this soon, but as of next week we'll have a new addition to our family! We're still mulling over names, but here's a sneak peak of the little pup. I'm off now to craft some Christmas ornaments for my swamp after a day of painting non stop in preparation for the little one!

Watch this if you need a happy cry

Mail order deliciousness

There's nothing like coming home on a dark wintry night and finding a Christmas package on your doorstop. I used to love when my parents received the Harry and David's towers from colleagues. I got to go through one box at a time, discovering a new little treat with each package.

This year, I'm thinking of sending something a little more gourmet. And thanks to Cooks Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen, I've gotten some great recommendations!

Baked Shop (NYC) Try Baked Shop's brownies!

Butters Brownies How about the Date Box ($77), which includes 1 dozen assorted brownies, a vial of rose oil, tank and panty set and more. Oh la la!

More yummy finds for holiday surprises will be posted soon!

Christmas Wish List #5

I found the most incredible thing tonight while killing time at Barnes and Noble. This is perfect for anyone who doesn't have time or space for a tree. It is SO cute - and afordable! (Just $14.95)

Christmas Wish List #4

I am in love with these prints and I'm bookmarking them for the day when I need to decorate a nursery. I think they'd make a perfect gift for an expectant mother. They run about $15/piece, and the entire alphabet is $345. Courtesy of StrawberryLuna.

Christmas Wish List #3

Another book! This one would be great for the men in your family. I'm thinking of picking it up for my trivia buff. This tome of the trivial throws plenty of common conventions under the bus — such as the fact that camels store fat, not water, in their humps.

The book isn't available from Amazon, but try eCampus, and you might have luck!

Random post of thanksgiving

I am grateful for many things this year, not least of which is that we make it (to my parent's) home - despite hours of traffic - in one piece! I hope that everyone traveling today did so safely and without incident.

I love coming home and reminiscing, looking at old (classic!) pictures, and laughing and enjoying life with my husband and my family.

I am thankful for my husband. He's such a cutie (and he's my best friend).

I am also very thankful for the following:

Champagne - sometimes I wonder if I could survive without it :) Hmm, that sounds bad.

My best friends. It is amazing to have friends that have simply become your family. I hope that all of you are as blessed with wonderful, loving friends.

And, I'm also grateful for the many FABULOUS blogs that I read on a daily basis (on the left), in addition to my new finds:

Brown Sugar Design

Lily and Tulip

The Scoop - by Orange Beautiful

Maple Sugar

Oprah's Favorite Things...

Is it alright if I steal a few of my favorites from Oprah's list!?

I would like the Dell Inspiron 1420 please!

And these fabulous slouchy UGG boots, in black.

Oh, what the hell, I'll take this too! (Approximate value: $3,799)

Oops!

So, I know it looks awful, but I'm so excited to work on the layout tonight. Keep staying tuned! I promise creative results!

In the meantime, a photo from my weekend in NYC (more to come). We enjoyed an amazing - and fattening - morning at Payard on Lexington...my favorite place to start a weekend in the city. I took a picture of the croquembouche (my dream wedding cake) in the window. My camera doesn't due it justice (because of the window and reflections), but it was beautiful!

Tweaking

Thank you, in advance, for your patience. I'm trying, once again, to maximize the design and make this blog truly appealing. So many blogger-ettes serve as inspiration to me, and I am constantly feeling the urge to push the envelope, reinvent and revolutionize ... unfortunately, my technical skills are lacking, and it's actually quite funny. I'm tweaking to make improvements. Stay tuned...

Merci Beaucoup

Wahoo! Just three months after our wedding, I am thrilled to announce that every single one of my thank you cards is done and in the mail! I used InDesign to design the "Thank You" card, converted it to a PDF, uploaded to VisaPrint and voila! 50 cards later and like $40, I was ready to start writing.

If you're currently struggling through making every card unique (as I was oh so recently), be sure to check out the latest post on Style Me Pretty!

Adding to the list!

Christmas Wish List #2 (in no particular order)

Choice Cuts



"Food is about agriculture, about ecology, about man's relationship with nature ... about nation-building, cultural struggles, friends and enemies ... and at times, even about sex." Thus Mark Kurlansky, author of the award-winning Cod and Salt, introduces Choice Cuts, his anthology of food writing throughout history. Kurlansky has cast his net very wide and presents a legion of food writers on every possible culinary subject.

The usual suspects are here, sometimes in triplicate: Brilliat Savarin on gourmets, female food-love, and how to gain weight; M.F.K. Fisher on bachelor cooking, the dislike of cabbage, and dinner at France's famed Monsieur Paul's in the 1940s; Elizabeth David on the folly of the garlic press, the glories of toast, and English pizza. But Kurlansky's trail starts much earlier with Plato on cooking (food as a branch of medicine, a notion shared by many modern advertisers), Heroditus on Egyptian dining, and, resoundingly, Mencius, a student of Confucius who, in the third century B.C., implored Chinese leaders to observe saner food and environmental policies.

There is a great deal to digest here, but readers can take small bites at their leisure. Enjoyed in this way, the book provides an endlessly fascinating glimpse of humankind's second--or is it the first?--greatest pleasure. --Arthur Boehm --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Making my list... checking it twice

Christmas Wish List #1 (in no particular order!)

I love this "Critter" bracelet that is on sale ($79.99) at JCrew. This is the first item I'm putting on my list, which I'm quickly discovering will be a long one this year. I'm feeling a little needy/greedy!