Fa-la-la-la-la La-la la la

Happy Monday Bloggies!!!

So, I am here today to share so many pictures from the holiday party! It was a huge success. Granted, more than half the people invited didn't RSVP or show up, DAVE, but the people who did are amazing and it was the perfect party just for them being there. Our friends are the best ever, and they brought with them so much Christmas/Hanukkah spirit and cookies that it made me get all watery-eyed.

Also, the sweaters ROCKED. I mean, honestly, I could not have imagined in all my wildest dreams of Christmas tricks and peppermint sticks that the sweaters would be so crafty and lovely and all-around amazing. But let me not try and describe it in words. Pictures are needed.

Katie and Mallory. I don't know if you can tell, but Katie's tree LIGHTS UP. Seriously, I think we all knew who would win the contest when she walked in.

Katie. I'm not sure she was expecting this photo?

 

Me and my Mommy!! She made so much delicious food, and then just as soon as she was there, she left to go to another holiday party. She is such the social butterfly. Also, all the food she made was the first to go. I totally gave her credit for it.

 

Does this snowflake make me look fat?

The crafters. Notice the yule log on the TV in the background. It's the little details.

Me and my Brian under the kissing ball. He even wore the reindeer antlers I bought us!

 

Kristin and I under the same kissing ball. There are about 20 photos of us in various poses under it, but I thought this one really captured our love for each other.

 

Me and my cousin Lisa! I think you can really see the resemblance in this one. Also, I think I may have been cleaning my teeth when this was taken? Brian wasn't the most patient of photographers.

 

I love this one!!!!! Mal might get mad at me for posting it, but I'm willing to take that chance.

 

BFFs! 11 years of love right there. And Kristin, photobombing :)



The four of us are pretty fond of each other. And the food.

 

This is obviously already framed and hanging above my mantel. Thanks BRIAN for photobombing it.

 

That's handmade awesome sauce right there.

 

 Me and my cousin Zach! I'm pretty sure he missed his work party for this, and it was a very fancy one because he is a super important trader at Deutsche Bank.

 Brian is such the ladies man :)

 

Let me break this down for you: a nativity scene with Darth Vader as the angel, Tommy Pickles as Baby Jesus, Power Rangers as Mary and Joseph, and Smurfs as the three Wise Men. I think that says it all.

 

A very classic Christmas scene on this one. We were all concerned, because let's just say that Kristin operates on a different wave length than the rest of us. "Thinking outside of the box" doesn't really describe her creative process.

 

Katie and her light up sweater, complete with snowman pocket and elbow patches, and reindeer shoulder pads.

 

My sweater was a snowman in a winter wonderland setting, with color- coordinated snowflakes.

 

That's a whole lotta creativity right there.

 

It was just an amazing night. We loved seeing our friends and family, and sharing fun stories with everyone. I think the moment that confirmed it was a success was when people I do not even know starting "liking" and commenting on the pictures Katie was posting on facebook in the middle of the party. Not gonna lie, I felt sort of famous in that moment.

 

Mallory and I agreed at the end of it that we would have to start planning NOWNOWNOW if we even hope next year to top Katie's sweater. Perhaps I could pull off a depiction of Santa's sleigh, with moving reindeer? Or am I just posting that to throw Katie off the scent? We will have to wait and see.

 

This Foodie Friday I will post the recipe for the most popular dish at the party.

 

 

 

 

Love,

Shana

 

 

 

 



Oh Target, You Tempting Mistress

Top o' the Mornin' to Ya Bloggies!!

How is everyone? I hope the answer is, "Fantastic!"

So, I am yet again going to post about my party this weekend. I am just SO EXCITED, I cannot even tell you. I have so much new, shiny stuff to use, and all of our friends will be here(well, most of them, HERB), and it just really promises to be a magical evening for all.

So, the sweaters. I know you are DYING to know about the sweaters, and the craftiness, and the magic of what mine will be. Well, sorry, it's a secret. Only Mallory knows. She and I went shopping yesterday for our sweater supplies, and let me just say this: we were gone all day. Seriously, like seven hours worth of sweater supply shopping.

However, as Brian might point out(thanks, BRIAN), I did ransack Target, and not just for sweater-making. I went nuts on the decor aisle. Mallory witnessed the carnage. This is pretty much how the trip to Target went:

Me: I am only here to shop for sweater stuff....these napkins are adorable. I need them.

Mal: Ohhhhh, these snowflake ones are pretty, too. You need them.

Me: And there's matching plates! I need them.

Mal: And a matching tablecloth! You need it.

Me: A "Happy Hanukkah" sign! I need it.

Mal: And dreidels! And gelt! You need them.

Me: And candles and stockings! I need them.

Mal: I think you just pretty much need the entire holiday section.

Me: Pretty much. Where is a clerk? Wrap it up.

It was on like Donkey Kong yesterday, because I knew I needed decor and party favors and plates and napkins and forks and spoons and knives, oh my! But I just hadn't realized HOW MUCH I needed until yesterday. So, the store is stocked. My guest room looks like a party-supply room. Which Brian keeps reminding me is also his office. Which I keep reminding him has nothing to do with my stockpile of tinsel so HANDS OFF.

But back to the sweaters. Mallory and I both got everything we needed to make ours, and Friday she will be coming back over to craft with me! I will just say that Mal's sweater might just be the most adorable thing ever. If she weren't my BFF, I might have to wait until she finished making it and then smother her and steal her sweater. Oh, what? Did I just type that?

Anywho, it's just really very exciting to plan this party and build the anticipation of the grand holiday sweater contest and I cannot wait to share photos with you all! I promise that as soon as Monday hits I will at least have some of the pictures edited and ready to go.

Also, I will do my best not to forget about Foodie Fridays tomorrow. I am going to go plan it now so I have my notes ready bright and early.

Wrapped in tinsel,
Shana

Get Your Sweater On

Good Afternoon Bloggies!

SO, Christmas sweaters. I am planning on making some. As you may know, this weekend is the Inaugural London Holiday Party, and the theme this year is ugly holiday sweaters. So, naturally, I couldn't just go out and BUY one. That would be too simple. I am making my own. But the great thing is, now it has turned into a contest. Everyone coming is making their own!

I am currently in a text convo with my BFF Mal regarding said holiday sweaters since we are going to have a craft day tomorrow to bust these suckers out and dominate this contest. Mal, by the way, always sends the funniest texts EVER. A sampling of various texts over the past few weeks:

Mal: (picture of sweater leggings) You must get some!

Me: What are they???? They look glorious. Are they leggings?

Mal: They are sweater leggings. So, sweattings?? They have improved my life by 100%.

______

Me: Let's go dancing this weekend. Girls' night!

Mal: That is exactly what I need to erase the memory of my horrible date last night. Shana, he had a Fergie tattoo. Wtf? What do you even say to that?

Me: Well, what did you say?

Mal: I didn't, I just got up and left.

_______

Mal: I'm thinking my sweater for the party will have a Baby Jesus theme.


Oh, she keeps me in stitches. So, tomorrow, Mallory and I will be hitting the stores to find some sweaters, and some crafty items to hot glue onto them. I'm thinking a tree theme for mine, with bells and ornaments? Too predictable? I'm really interested to see how she pulls off the Baby Jesus theme. Perhaps with a baby doll and some tissue paper?

My Mom always laughs at me and Brian and our friends. She says we are all like big children that somehow manage to be responsible and have our own homes and jobs and pay our bills and do all the things adults need to do, but outside of that we are all pretty much 12 at heart. And I agree! I have never understood people who reach adulthood and suddenly think the fun is over and they are never allowed to indulge in child-like wonder and hilarity ever again.

I think the best part of being an adult is that you can really be a kid when you want because there is no one there to tell you not to, like when you were a child. I can spoil my dinner all I want with cookies! I can wear reindeer pajamas all day if I want, and even to the grocery store if the mood should strike. I can take myself to see the Lion King 3D every day for an entire month if I choose. My friends and I can have sleepovers and stay up as late as we want and eat an entire gallon of ice cream and be loud and watch movies with R ratings...not that we would ever do that, *cough, cough*, because, you know, it's not healthy to eat that much ice cream and we obviously need our sleep to go to work the next day. And we would never watch the official documentary on the Back Street Boys or anything if we DID have such a sleepover. No, that would never happen. We are dignified and watch serious, foreign films with subtitles *cough, cough*.

I promise to post pictures of all the holiday sweaters and the party and possibly some reindeer pajama pics. :) I also promise to post my wedding pictures which I have been talking about for almost a month now, but I am still waiting on them and I am starting to itch and bite my nails to nothing because I want them NOWNOWNOWNOWNOW...but again, I am a LADY and an ADULT and will practice patience.

What? No, that doesn't sound like me at all. I will instead leave hinting, nagging comments on my photographer's facebook page until he gets sick of me and sends me the photos.

In his defense, he did have to photo shop two HUGE pizza slices off of me, since that is what I chose to eat two days before my wedding at Vinny Van Go-Go's in Savannah, GA. I wasn't exactly "watching" what I ate in the weeks leading up to my wedding. Well, that's not true. I watched my food intake. I watched it go from my plate, to my fork, to my mouth. And then I watched myself repeat the process like 40 billion times.

Until then, is it just me? Do you have any child-like habits or activities that you like to do now that you are an adult? I want to know!

Love,
Shana

Food Fridays on Monday Because We All Need a Bright Spot Now and Again

Happy Monday Bloggies!!

Ok, so, like I TOTALLY forgot about Food Fridays this past Friday, but it actually works out really well because I went to an AMAZING restaurant on Saturday night which I will now review for you. I feel the fates were on my side with this one, because as we ALL KNOW, Mondays can be drab, and depressing, and sometimes just downright MEAN, so now you all have something interesting(I hope) and funny(please GOD) to read this Monday morning! You. Are. Welcome.

Also, I should let you know that this weekend is mine and Brian's Inaugural Londons' Holiday Party( see, Inaugural BRIAN, not first annual), and so I am all kinds of hyped up because this will be our first big party at our home since we got married and got all of our fancy serving ware and dishes and crystal, blah blah blah. So obviously this means the food must be amazing and must blow peoples' minds because as a married woman I am expected to have mastered the art of cuisine so as to be a good wife and also a good hostess. Not that I am not an amazing cook already, because I am, if I do say so myself. I just have had so much going on lately that I have not cooked EVERY night, like I used to, and am also trying out some new recipes for this party, so those two things combined equals me perhaps not feeling completely confident that everything will go as smoothly as I hope. But my Mom will be here, and let me tell you something about Momma Joanna: she makes miracles happen. My Mother has the ability to turn a ruined recipe, or missing ingredient, or insufficient amount of anything into the most amazing food you have ever put in your mouth. Maybe one day she will pass on the Jedi tricks to me.

Anywhos, what I am saying is that I will try not to wander and get off course with this post. But one last thing! This weekend, I went and printed pictures I had taken in Amsterdam and Chicago, and framed them in fancy frames with mattes and everything, and they look AMAZING. Like, so amazing that I cannot believe I took them and I framed them. So amazing that I should probably be a famous photographer. Just saying. I will post pictures after I hang them on our walls(not so easy, I tend to make tons of mistakes with nails and hammers when I try DIY...which only confirms to me that I am a true Jew at heart and sometimes need help when it comes to handy things).

SO, restaurant! Recipe!

The Purple Olive
A1A South, Saint Augustine, Florida
What to get: Rack of Lamb with port wine reduction

Let me just start by saying I love lamb. If you take me to a restaurant with lamb, chances are that's what I will get. I want to try it everywhere, because it is just so delicious and has this taste that you can't get from beef or pork or anything else other than lamb...lamb lamb lamby yumminess. So, this restaurant is pretty unique in that they have a two-sided menu that lets you either put your own meal together, or choose from the Chef's Selections that are basically the same things from "make your own" but put together in the way the chef thinks they are best. As a cook, I ordered from Chef's Selections because I understand that sometimes you have to trust how someone thinks a meal should be eaten, and go with it. I'm glad I did because the lamb was cooked perfectly. It was red and pink and juicy and tender and hot and crispy on the outside, and just so melt-in-your-mouth delicious on the inside. YUM. The sauce was so luscious and thick, and just sweet enough and spicy enough to add balance, with this pesto on top that had pistachios and mint and garlic, and OMG, I am drooling just thinking about it. Brian had the filet, and it was HUGE. He got the potato and vidalia onion gratin with it, and it just smelled amazing. Usually, he lets me try what he orders(mainly because he always orders my second choice so that I can try two things I want), but this time, I wasn't allowed one bite. So, I know it was one of the best meals he ever had. To risk one of my food meltdowns in a public establishment is serious business. But anyways, the FOOD. They have about 10 different sauces you can get on your meat selection, and so many unique sides to try that it makes it hard to choose. Also, I got a caesar salad with my meal, and it was grilled. Grilled salad people.. Sounds gross, so good. It was charred but not wilted, and had this smoky flavor that just made the tangy bitterness of the dressing pop and dance on my tongue. The cheese melted a little from the heat and it just enhanced the taste of the whole dish. I highly recommend it. Also, they have diver scallops, ALL THE TIME. That's hard to do. I did not get them this time, but I definitely will next time, because YUM. Who doesn't love a fresh scallop?

Recipe:

Curry Chicken Empanadas

What you need:

1lb boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp curry powder(any kind you want, I like a mild yellow curry)
1 tbsp Garam Masala (the grocery store has a great one in the spice aisle, no need for a specialty store)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup golden raisins(or more if you like, but start with this)
3 tubes Grands Biscuits(flaky original) - I use these because I am horrible at making dough, and these work really well for making these quickly. But feel free to use your own dough recipe.
3 cups flour
1 egg plus 1 tsp water, beaten.

Preheat oven to 350. Cut chicken breasts into 1/2 inch cubes.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 6-7 minutes, or until cooked through. Add yogurt, curry powder, garam masala, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and taste. Add more curry or garam masala if you like until you get the spice level you want. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes over medium-low heat. Add raisins, stir, and set aside and let it cool.

On a flat surface, sprinkle about 1/2 to 1 cup flour. Open one tube of biscuits at a time. Peel off one biscuit at a time, and using a rolling pin, roll the biscuit until it is flat and a little more than double the diameter. Spoon a rounded tablespoon of chicken mixture onto the middle of the biscuit. Brush a light layer of egg wash around the edge of the biscuit, and fold the biscuit over to make a half-moon shape. Crimp the edge with a fork, and place on a non-stick baking sheet. Repeat until all the chicken mixture is used.

Bake for approx 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and slightly puffed. Serve warm.

Just so you know, I will be serving these at my Holiday Party, so get excited if you are invited and reading this!!! If you are not invited, then perhaps you should think about why that is. If it's not because I don't know you personally, and therefore, could not invite you because I wouldn't know how to invite you in the first place...then you have some reflecting to do. OR, you are invited and just haven't viewed the Evite yet, JOSHUA.

Either way, I hope you enjoy them.

Love,
Shana