A golden panda birthday!

So my birthday is still technically five days away, but when you have a post-Christmas birthday you sort of get used to celebrating on days other than the actual day, such as bringing b-day treats to school before the holiday break.  Or the worst case scenario:  being forgotten in the holiday shuffle.  But not this year!

My colleagues pulled through and in an amazing way!  There were gifts, breakfast bagels, and oh my, the cube decor!  Louis snagged me away for a lunchtime errand yesterday (which I was pretty close to bailing on since "Christmas in the cube" had taken up some time just that morning), and I came back to this...

I rounded that corner, saw a LOT of black balloons and was a bit stunned (and also thinking, WTH?  I am NOT over the hill!).  But of course there was a theme.  Golden panda birthday!!!

Of course!

Check out my bow-tied laptop, mouse, stapler, phone, etc.  It was a little distracting to get much work done yesterday, but I batted away the balloons and worked away at my to-do list.

But had to stop every so often and stare at these cuties!

Panda bear lights!

If the theme doesn't make sense, then you don't know me well enough to know that:  1) I love pandas and 2) Monday is my golden birthday and for as long as I have known what a golden birthday is I have pretty much been expecting the day to be a big freaking deal.

So, thank you dear colleagues; DMV, my fab cubemate and co-b-day committee member; and my husband for tracking down what are apparently hard-to-find panda lights.  I was shocked, truly never saw this coming, and thoroughly enjoyed working out of my panda cave the rest of the afternoon. 

Here's to lucky # 27!

Counting down...

Even amidst the snow, the crazy shoppers, and the pile of presents in our living room, it still doesn't quite feel like Christmas, and I know why.  Usually by now I'd be home, among what I call the "Christmas crazy", doing my part on whatever needed to still be done:  wrap, bake, clean.  Instead, I'm here in Minnesota through Christmas Eve and Louis and I hit the road "south" on Christmas morning.  Three years I've been with Louis and we finally get a Christmas together this year!

No crazy here, only calm.  Here was the sight of our tree and loot on Monday night before presents started to be gifted away.  Apparently "big" was the theme this year.

Only a matter of hours before more of it starts to disappear.  That upside-down snowman package is mine from Louis and I have ZERO clue on what it is.

On the baking front, first, good news:  our mouse problem is no more!  That little guy is history (and I'm sorry, but it had to be done), which means I have reclaimed my baking drawer.  Whew.  We are keeping vigil for signs of others, but so far so good.  Anyway, I have 3 types of cookies baked, with 2 to go and one other surprise treat.  I have a million cookies and I'm not done baking.  What have I done?

I decided that I'd prevent baking fatigue with an all-day session and have spread it out over the course of the past few weeknights.  And since I'm technically now done with work for the year (but my nagging inbox says otherwise), I've got tomorrow to finish my baking.  And Louis will still be at work so it's a guarantee the Christmas music will be cranked!

Dear, mouse in the house:

I know it's cold outside and there is a lot of snow on the ground, but still, you are not welcome to live in our home.  No one invited you in, and you've really overstayed your visit.

We thought this would serve as your official eviction notice:

I know you thought it was toasty and warm in there (and really, buddy, I know the cool 55 degree house temperature during the day seems tropical to you, but there are other much warmer houses out there for you to invade).  And how do you think I feel about the aesthetically unappealing hole in my oven?!  And having to relocate my pots and pans?

So we took away your hiding place and this is how you treat us?  By leaving your trace in, of all drawers, my baking drawer?!

[Note:  this, and all of the contents inside, have been fully disinfected so as not to scare those who will be eating my holiday baked goods.]

You've gone too far with this and the silverware drawer.  I have nowhere to relocate those items, so simply put:  YOU HAVE TO LEAVE.

Please leave...or else.  ["Or else" in this situation=traps.  Your ultimate demise!]
Sincerely,
Jen

Did someone say Christmas cookie?

Now that the holiday shopping list is winding down (certainly not done, but getting there) and the to-do list at work is dwindling (not fast enough, though), it's time to move on to another list...


The holiday baking ingredient list!  And by holiday baking, I mean cookies, strictly cookies.  I'm guessing I love cookies so much because they are connected to Christmas.  And as much as I like Christmas AND cookies, I like 'em best together.


Growing up I often helped my mom bake the same four cookies each year:  chocolate chip (for Santa, but really, for my dad), peanut butter blossoms, sugar (grandma's favorite), and chocolate meltaways.  I've since taken over the baking and the one I have yet to master are the meltaways.  I blame it all on the fact that they take 40 minutes per sheet to bake and I am impatient when it comes to tasting desserts!


Without further ado, I present to you the holiday cookie list of 2010 (or, photos from other bakers of cookies I shall soon make):

From top to bottom: 

1) Triple chocolate molten mint cookies

2) Crispy, chewy chocolate chip cookies

3) Peanut butter blossoms

4) ABC (Already Been Chewed) cookie cutters, which will be used on (not-pictured) sugar cookies--these were a gift from friend Elana last year and I still haven't gotten around to using them.  Truth be told, this ginger doesn't really care for ginger all that much, so sugar cookies it is (which I only like one way:  iced!).

There is one more cookie recipe I'll be trying my hand at this year (top secret!) as well as an edible gift, but I can't picture those now, can I?

The co-op won't know what hit it when I blitz the baking aisle this weekend!  I'm thinking the baking shall commence Wednesday evening (kicking off the start of vacation), go all day Thursday, and possibly into Christmas Eve.  Can't wait!

Curious about my baking list?  I neurotically broke it down into categories.  While I heart shopping at our usually non-busy co-op, last weekend's pre-blizzard excursion/near meltdown has me a little anxious for a return trip...

I love that chocolate totally dominates this list.  Just a small hint at what is in store!

Chocolate
8 ounces, weight (up To 9 Oz.) Good Semisweet Chocolate
17 ounces, weight (up To 9 Oz.) Good Bittersweet Chocolate
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
8 ounces, weight Meltable Milk Chocolate6 cups semisweet chocolate chips 1 cup coarsely chopped chocolate mint candies (such as Andes mints or mint M&Ms)
48 chocolate kisses

Flours
13  cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Dairy
14 large eggs
2 cups milk
5 cups unsalted butter

Misc.
parchment paper
3 cups creamy Peanut Butter
1 can (14 Oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk

Extracts
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
11 teaspoons vanilla extract

Sugars
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
4 cup packed brown sugar
6 cups granulated sugar

I think I really need to give myself one of these as an early present:

What about the tree?

First, I know what you're thinking:  three posts in one night?  Or maybe you are wondering about that panda bear that was tossed on the floor?  No, what you are really thinking is:  ohmygosh, with all that snow, how is Jen and Louis' wedding tree?

Fret not, my friends.  We've got it covered.  Literally.  I'll admit, I didn't give this much thought, other than, "hope it lives through the winter".  If that's a metaphor back to our marriage, well, Louis hopes to live through the winter, too (and that I'm always much nicer when I'm not cold).

Anyway....remember that NOVEMBER storm we had?  The one I thought was so, so awful?  Well, we thought of our tree when we were at Menard's earlier that week (not that we go to Menard's...all the time).

We picked up one of these bad boys!  (The Styrofoam "winter hut", NOT Louis!)

Oh, lovely green grass.  I miss you already!

Look!  Her leaves had finally changed, too!  But she wasn't prepared for snow, so we had to break it to her the hard way...

Bye, tree!

Just to make sure the ol' hibernation hut stayed put, we anchored it down (before knowing it would be fully grounded with a billion inches of snow).

With the rock we stole took obtained from the North Shore on the last part of our honeymoon.  Louis doesn't know this, but I nabbed this particular rock because I thought it looked like a cookie.

Fare well, little tree.  We'll see you in April...I hope!

Crime in the home!

Enough snow for a lifetime

Ha!  I just read my last post where I called 4-6 inches a "mega" storm.  Puh-lease!  Add on top of that 17 more inches...and a lot of shoveling, cabin fever for days, and one crushed Metrodome (guess Mother Nature feels the same way I do about the Vikings).

I'll document with some photos for my family down south, what with their mere "dusting" of two inches, I know they're pining for more. :)  Sending some your way, Dad!  Just...not until after our visit.  I certainly don't need any more, except I hear tonight through tomorrow will bring another 2-4 inches.  And we will shovel it where???

It's the wagon wheels that get me...they are more than half covered in snow.

This was only the beginning.

 First measure, around noon:  11 inches.

And last measure, about 3:30pm, calling it a day (4 hours of shoveling x 2 people!):  17 inches.

That awful, awful driveway.  In the summer we thought, "our own driveway?  no alley?" and "wow, this is such a wide street!"  Great in the summer.  In the winter, driveway=more to shovel and wide street=way more snow for the plow to push into already-shoveled driveway.

And finally a photo of the wreath I've been promising, complete with blizzarding snow action.

Just for fun, by the numbers, blizzard 2010 looked something like this:

-3 days of shoveling

-2 snow shovels

-1 mile round trip walk IN the blizzard to buy another at the hardware store

-14 total hours of shoveling (fine, only 5 of those are mine)

-1 snow day.  That's right.  An adult snow day!  Which totally made up for a weekend wasted on shoveling and washing wet, snowy clothes.

So besides shoveling, some online shopping, holiday gift crafting, and cookie planning is in the works.  The evenings are filled with publisher-making, glass-etching, hot glue-gunning activities, none of which can be revealed as they are gifts for the 5 people who read this blog.  All in good time (and if I remember to take photos before wrapping them).

In other news, my countdown continues.  The 2010 calendar days at work are numbered, so numbered that it seems some PTO hours might fall into the "lose it" of the "use it or lose it" category.  Noooo!!!  How did I let this happen?  So in addition to the epic battle of fitting two full-time positions into a 40-hour week, I'm adding a 3rd job:  figure out how to squeeze out every possible second of remaining vacation time.  I've got grand plans for these hours and they involve loads of time in the kitchen with my favorite partner, KitchenAid.

Winter wonderland

Since the last post some of what I/we have done:

Attended a home energy workshop where I learned that we (ahem, Louis) keep our heat about 3-4 degrees cooler than the average Minnesota home.  Bet we save more on our heating bills though, suckers!

We also got hit with a mega snowstorm (4-6 inches total, I'm guessing?).  Shoveling our driveway sure was fun!  Most St. Paul neighborhoods have alleys, but I do recall thinking our new driveway and extra-wide street were great in the summer.  Now...well, my right arm may be in for a winter workout.  Our next-door neighbor informed us that he measured his once.  Our driveway is over 150 feet long, people!  Needless to say, our piles of snow might melt off sometime by April.

I got a haircut.  Has nothing to do with our home.  Except for the fact that I have less hair that will fall out on the floors?  This is what an hour and forty five-minute haircut looks like (yes, OVER an hour!):

We also trapped ourselves in our own driveway.  Enter:  car with dying battery and one-lane driveway plus bad jumper cables.  Don't worry, we eventually got it started. 

We went to a craft sale and a letterpress studio opening.

We are almost done watching Home Alone (my favorite holiday flick, followed closely by Christmas Vacation).

I finally got the lights outside working!  One set wouldn't light up, and wouldn't you know it, had nothing to do with that set, but the one it was connected to (of course I discovered this only after un-stringing).  With some quick thinking and an extra set, we were good to go.  And Louis, my grinch, approves!

He snapped this photo for me (in his pajamas--he made it clear he wanted the Internet world to know the sacrifices he makes for me).  I'll have to get more photos soon.

This is what I was capable of without a ladder, and with snow on the ground here since mid-November (and promising to not overdo it this first year).  I can definitely see some bulbs on the gutter next year.  We are one of three houses on our block with lights.  C'mon, neighbors!  [Those snow piles are nothing compared to the back, just if you started to think I was a whiner...]

And with that, I'm back to more Christmas crafting!

There shall be garland

It really only took 2 days, more like a day, for me to cave.  Without a mantel* to string garland across, I had to come up with a way to get it on the stairs.

And then it hit me.  Thank you 3M and your Command hooks with sticky backs that can easily be removed.  So with an idea in mind I hit the holiday department once more.  I came out with garland, a set of white lights, 2 berry picks, and 3 poinsettia clips (what is it with me and those flowers this year?).

Since I struggled on my own getting everything together, no action shots were taken.  But here's the final product!

Coming in at under $14, it will do. :)  I need a bit more work to get it to hang just right, but for now, it makes me happy.  And I promise, it looks way better in person with the twinkling lights just barely lighting up the staircase. 

And the whole corner.  I really hate that monstrosity of a chair.  If it weren't so huge and comfortable...sigh.

Much better than before, right?

Happy December!  The official countdown to Christmas, vacation, and my b-day is ON!

*Oh, and the mantel:  there were three, THREE, at the Cottage House this past weekend, but none of them were just right.  The woman at the checkout looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if they'd have more, sorta like, "Lady, there are three mantels in here and none of them work for you?" 

The first one I looooved:  just the arch-shaped bone structure, painted white, beautiful ornate detailing, but too big.  Like 3x what would look right where I want to put it.  And the other two were complete faux fireplaces (like fakey fire inside and all), one was brick (ick!), and the other I liked, but it was a bit too much all together...and too short.  The search continues!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Well, I think I'm done decorating.  I could probably keep going, but I'd have to buy more decorations and knick-knacks, especially seasonal ones, are so not my thing.  Plus I married someone who shows about as much excitement for Christmas as does one going to the dentist.

But lo and behold, Christmas meets House on Hubbard!

The full shot of the dining room. 

 What?  Another lantern?  I couldn't!  This green tablecloth was a gift last year and it pairs nicely with the shiny poinsettia runner.

Antique-looking gift box filled with the mini ornaments from our tree last year.

 Edible decorations that may or may not last through the month week and another poinsettia runner.  Hark!  I need an actual poinsettia!

All the Christmas knick-knacks I'll ever need (got that, Mom?). ;)

Fiber-optic Santa.  No offense to the dude, but I think he's my least favorite thing to decorate with.

 This I love!  My mom said this was an old ice bucket.  I love that it looks sort of like a drum.  I filled it with two 8-packs of $1 ornaments for a grand total of $2.14 for this lovely coffee table topper.

And now the tree.  We've decided not to get a real tree, or even a bigger fake tree because a tree=money pit.  $ for the tree, then the lights, the ornaments, etc.  Maybe we'll snag some of this stuff on after-Christmas sales and be ready to go in 2011!  So out came the baby tree that I picked up last year (at of all places, Walgreen's), and only after being sad come the first full week of December that we were tree-less.

I heart the Dr. Seuss-like polka-dot and striped ornaments, as well as a few of our start-up collection.

 My mom gave Louis an ornament this past weekend.  None other than a light up, Hallelujah-singing Griswold house.  I asked Louis to put it on the tree.  And now it's our tree-topper.  At least I got him to participate?

Okay, I really wanted to drape some garland on this staircase, but I'm stumped on how I would get it to stay.  Thank you to the previous owners for leaving the nails in place for our stocking hangers.

 I snatched that nice big snowman stocking this past weekend at The Cottage House holiday kick-off sale for a mere $8.  It was the only thing I bought as I could easily pass up all the other knick-knacks (am I getting my point across?).

 This cute little guy is my favorite decoration.  That smile.  Gets me every time!  I'll totally name him by season's end.

And the last little bit by the front door.  My grandma had bought me this snowman...his legs extend and bend as evidenced from his bow knees.

So that's all...minus a few towels and potholders in the kitchen and a Nativity set we received for our wedding...where to put it?  Of course, our decor will amass over the years, but when the holidays are over we have to store all of this stuff...

We did a bit of outside decorating yesterday, too, but as luck would have it, one of the light sets tested fine, but then didn't work once all was said and done.  Seeing how it rained allll day today and now will be coated with fresh snow, who knows when I'll get out there and fix it, but pictures will follow suit. 

For now, I need to think up adorable snowman names...

Thanksgiving Vacation!

Thanks to a predicted snow/ice storm set to hit late-morning this past Wednesday, Louis and I gave ourselves the entire day off to hit the road down south before the bad weather hit.  That's right, 5 glorious days of vacation!

We hit the road for Iowa and arrived by early afternoon.  We relaxed and caught up with my family, soaked up all the blue sky and green grass (aka:  no snow here...yet!), and many other activities...

We watched movies and our favorite show in their movie theater family room.

Claire is practically life-size!  Oh Modern Family, we love you (and apparently, so does Dad!  How many times did you watch the Halloween episode this weekend?) :)

Thanksgiving dinner took place at...12:30, slightly better than last year's 11am reservation.  We dined with the finest at the country club and I carbo-loaded on potatoes, rice, sage stuffing, and other whiteish colored foods.

We nixed the Black Friday madness and instead headed out to the Christmas tree farm!  My parents recalled we last bought a real tree when I was 7, going on 8.  I vaguely remember, which is probably good since they said we'd spend all day searching for the "perfect" tree.  No trees this year--the goal was wreaths.

Whoa!  Check out all these choices!  I narrowed it to four and Louis helped select "the one":  a traditional red plaid bow and a big red bell.  Photos to come once it's hanging.

Why yes, my little sister is almost as tall (taller?!) than me.  Only by those bears ears, though!

After lunch at the winery (yep, that's right) and a brief rest back at home, we headed out once more.  Our destination this time:  the annual Festival of Trees in downtown Davenport.  The FOT has been around for as long as I can remember (and since I went there on a preschool field trip, it's likely been around since my existence or before).  It's swelled to include many categories, but always includes decorated trees, homemade stockings, Gingerbread Village, high school artwork, etc.

First up, checking out my sister Molly's artwork.  She is so talented, and it was nice of her to paint this lovely portrait of her favorite older sister. :)

Onto Gingerbread Village to check out the girl's creations.  Last year they both won ribbons.  This year they were clearly robbed.

Molly's "Hippopotamus Christmas".  Look at that cute blue hippo stuck in the chimney.  Louis says this is probably what happened to all those "real pandas" I put on my Christmas list for years.  :(

And Hannah's "Not my Gumdrop Button".  I love that he's on a faux baking sheet!

My favorite category this year were the fireplace mantels since I've made it my goal to get a fireplace mantel for our living room.  Fingers crossed I find one in time for holiday decorating this year.

Little House on the Prairie

 Modern

 I made a mental note that I could make my own version of what I found in the wreath category.

I loved the farmhouse scene of this decorated "room".

And new this year was decorated cakes!  These were professional quality and definitely something I could see on a Sunday Sweets edition of cake wrecks!



And finally, my favorite tree.  There were probably close to 100 trees, but this Dr. Seuss-themed was definitely my favorite.

We rounded out the weekend with other antics and photo ops.  I finally got my panda!  Except Hannah didn't really want her brother-in-law to steal her hat.

We hit the road back to the snowy north today and I've already set to work putting up some of our holiday decorations.  I guess all of this Christmas stuff over Thanksgiving break got to me!  Here's a sneak peek of what I've been up to:



One day left of vacation!  Tomorrow is supposed to be 40 degrees, so I'm thinking outside decorations?  We've also missed the first two of three days of the Cottage House's Christmas preview sale, so that's on slate for tomorrow, too.