New Years in the Mountains!

See you in 2012! :)

Rolo Nuggets

These little delicious bites are what I made as a dessert/snacky item for Christmas day. They are so simple and were all gone by the end of the night! Finished them up while playing dominoes :)

Here's what you need:

• Bag of mini pretzles, square shape if you can find them
• Bag of half pecans
• Packs of rolos (how ever many packs you buy, that is what the yield will be, 8 to a pack)

Tip: Buy the packs of rolos from the register counter so you don't have to unwrap the individually wrapped ones... much easier!

Next:
I butter toasted my pecan halves because I think that tastes better than raw.

• 1 cup raw pecans
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl toss the raw pecans with melted butter until evenly coated. Spread the pecans in a single layer on a non-stick or lined cookie sheet. Lightly salt to taste, and bake for about 8-10 minutes until aromatic. Stir them every once in a while and taste one to make sure they are right. Don't let them burn! Allow to completely cool before using and keep the oven on for the next step.

Now you:

Lay out your pretzles in a single layer on a lined baking sheet. Place one rolo on each pretzle and melt on 350 degrees for about 5 minutes. Rolos should be shiny, but retain their shape.

Pull them from the oven and quickly squish one buttered pecan half onto each rolo/ pretzle. Be careful not to burn yourself on the hot caramel or pan. If the chocolate cracks, they are not hot enough.

Let finished ones cool on the counter for about 10-15 minutes then put them in the refrigerator for a while. Once cool, transfer them to a container and keep them in the fridge until you are ready to eat. They will keep in a tight container for a few days.

Just remember to take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to eat them so they are soft!

What I Received for Christmas :)

Canon Powershot Purse Camera

Coleman "River Gorge" 6 person Tent

Fossil Ceramic Watch

Typewriter Key Necklace

I feel very lucky and spoiled this year! These are just the gifts from my husband, not even from my other family - he went all out this year! Obviously I'll be sharing the tent... and having a tent means I am ready for the zombie-apocalypse.

Speaking of a zombie-apocalypse, here are the first 5 things on my to do list should one ensue:

1. Get a tent - check!

2. Gather necessary supplies which means guns, bow and arrows, and food.

3. Learn how to shoot said bow and arrows.

4. Find an abandoned, fenced in, farmhouse with well-water and generator and set up a perimeter.

5. Start growing a garden immediately.

This post kind of got off track, but I have been obsessed with the show "The Walking Dead" lately. It is sort of the "Oregon Trail" of the future and if you haven't seen it, I suggest you watch! 

I have been catching up on all sorts of TV shows and re-watching Christmas favorites (Christmas Vacation, Bridget Jones' Diary, Love Actually, Old School... OK, so maybe Old School doesn't count as "Christmas") this break... it has been quite relaxing! Now I am back to work for a couple days and then to the mountains for the New Year! Can't wait to celebrate with good friends and a good bottle. Here's to the start of 2012! :)

Santa's Little Helper

What I Gave for Christmas!

 Angry Bird Pillow

 Pappy Van Winkle 15 year old Bourbon

Sustainable Glassworks - Recycled Wine Bottle Glasses

I love giving gifts to people. Especially if I feel like they will really love it, and I think I did a pretty good job this year! 

The angry birds head pillow was for my nephew. Ok, it was for me too because I also enjoyed throwing it at him intermittently throughout the night, but I think it was a big hit. He is six and loves anything that he can throw, punch, and jump on... and you can do all three to this pillow.

The next couple on here were the big gifts for my husby. The glasses were a no-brainer as he likes the punt in the bottom of the wine bottle in his glass design because it holds the ice cube up out of his bourbon. It is a really genius creation, plus I was buying local so that was a big deal for me too... I wonder if these glasses were made from any of my thousands hundreds of used wine bottles? haha

The bourbon is Steven's favorite. I can't tell if it is because it is so rare (comes out once a year) or if he really likes the taste that much better (I can't tell, because I don't care for Bourbon - almost strictly a vodka, beer, wine girl) but he was very happy and surprised to get it!

There is a small story to go along with the bourbon if you are interested:

I know that Pappy's comes out once a year around November, our Total Wine (like a Walmart for beer, wine, and liquor) would only get a case or two, and that case or two would be gone within the first hour of being delivered. That being said...

I started calling Total Wine every Wednesday (the day they get their shipment in) for over two months until it finally arrived in the store. I was so smug and happy and thought I was just the cleverest/ best wife in the world when I heard these words "It JUST got here, yes I can reserve it for you, if you get here within 30 minutes, you better hurry its not even hitting the shelves."

Good mood ensuing, I called my husband while ON THE WAY to the store and that is how this went...

me: Hey babe, how's it goin'?

SR: Good, I just got to Total Wine. I want to see if they have any Pappy's.

me: [fuming!!!] Oh, that is nice.

So, needless to say, he got there before me, bought two bottles, and he didn't even have a car that day! (mine was in the shop and he borrowed his brothers'), and then he got his additional bottle from me on Christmas.

I did feel like all that hard work and dedication and calling was kind of silly since he was able to just go and get the bottles... but it is the "giving" that is important! Plus, he was happy to have another bottle. :)

Mewwy Christmas! :)

My Niece is Born!

My baby niece Shelby was born today, December 21, 2011! She weighs 7 lbs. - 2 oz. and is 20" long. Baby and Mommy are doing well! :)

I'm Dreeeaming uuuvv an Aaaaqua Christmas...

 

Just thought this picture was cute. No, it is not my house, but I do love that color! :)

A little Thanksgiving Cheer

The best thing about Thanksgiving is the food and family. And out of town family guests mean you have to complete the little projects around the house that you have been avoiding. That meant touch up paint on our door and a new hanging porch light for our house! I love it. :)

This was the first year that I have hosted Thanksgiving as an "adult." I am not a huge fan of turkey, but my coworker swore by this turkey [recipe] and it was actually quite delicious! I don't think I would add all the sugar and salt to the brine (maybe cut it in half?) but all the hard work was definitely worth it.

Now that is a huge dang bay leaf in the brine, an all natural grain-fed turkey, and the finished product!

I must say that my least favorite part was violating that turkey and pulling out some of the insides... not my greatest moment.