An obsession, a rant and a coined term

Last year, I hadn't yet taken my knitting classes at Ephemera (which, by the way, might have been the single best present ever - thanks Hubs!), but I was obsessed with big, bulky yarns. They looked so pretty all twisted up and just waiting to become something that I couldn't resist - I had to create. (Did I just sound artsy? That's what I was going for. Cue the beret, dim lights and smoldering eyes of a brooding artiste.)

Naturally, having no known knitting ability and an intense desire to BUY YARN (I'm so. so. so hip.), I went on a yarn-wrapping tirade. If it didn't move, it got wrapped in yarn. It sounds insane, and it was for a few days - a mad flurry of hot glue wisps and strands of Thick and Quick flying around me while I tried hopelessly to keep the cat away from my masterpieces.

So anyway, it turned out quite nice (pour a little out for my homey, the basement drywall, featured in that post) and I even got a nod from the most famous green living blogger ever to come out of the great state commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Danny Seo.

This year, the yarn-wrapped decor is making a comeback on our stylish faux-tle (that's a faux mantle, y'all. Couldn't you tell?).

 Pardon our mail pile and hid.e.ous light fixture. A sleek new drum pendant is my present to myself once we finish the basement, so just chillax.

It only holds 15 pounds, but the yarn trees are styrofoam underneath that skillfull wrapping and we've got a few Christmas-morning hanging spots for when these little stockings are chock full of goodies.

Notice also the nativity, lantern of lights and 12-bottle wine rack stuffed to the brim with sweet, sweet Charles Shaw.

Note: I know there are only four stockings and yet five souls residing in our humble home. I'm trying to knit the new cat a sock, but know this: Knitting your First Sock less than a month before Christmas and with the knowledge that it will be Highly Visible as a major part of your Holiday Decor is NOT recommended.

Unless you, too, are the owner of a big ol' wine rack stocked full of three buck chuck. Then, it might be bearable. I take zero responsibility for your actions and/or fits of yarn rage when you get to the heel. Heels are not easy, people. Heels make grown women weep openly.

The End.

Competitive Christmas

Now, gentle reader, you know I'm all for quiet holidays - knitting by the fire, soaking in family funtimes, buying local and handmade gifts, roasting geese, wearing slippers, and making every Christmas cookie from Hubs', my and our German neighbor's family traditions (from scratch, of course) - but this year, a new less-cuddly tradition is afoot in our home.

It involves beating the pants off all our neighbors.

We're entering the neighborhood Christmas light contest! Sqa-wheeeeel!

Our muse.

image

The top prize last year was a decently-sized gift certificate to Ace Hardware, so our little minds have been hard at work these past few days, conjuring up lighting designs that will dazzle passers-by young and old.

Judging isn't until December 10, so we're planning on spending the better part of this weekend filling the yard with animatronic deer and festooning the crap our of every limb of every tree we own.

The contest is judged on creativity, colorfulness and classiness and let me tell you, it is a fine line between classy and creative when it comes to exterior illumination. We, are of course, erring on the side of creative (that is to say, a leee-tle trailerish) and hoping our enthusiasm and pizazz (I said it) will win over the hearts of our lovely and esteemed judges (of which, I am one*).

So, want to come over on December 10, don some Dickens-style garb and wassail away with me? That, my friends, would win fo' sho'. I mean, how classy, right? Dickens! Dickens equals class! I'm sure of it.

*Just one of the many perks of designing the 'hood's newsletter every quarter. I don't think I'll be allowed to vote for my own house, just to keep things "fair" and "unbiased." Harumph. 

Thankful thankful

Happy Thanksgiving, all! I'm celebrating this year by running a little cross country race and hanging out with Hubs' family (we switch off going to his folks' and mine each year). I hope your day is full of superfuntimes, lots of stuffing, a little premature Bing Crsoby, and overly dramatic graces before meals.

What are you thankful for this year? Here's my list:

• That our family is healthy. We made it another year without losing any major body parts (not counting that one time), so that's always nice. 
• I think this is one thing we all always say we are thankful for, but only in the past few years, after meeting people through my jobs at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and American Heart Association, have I really learned how lucky we truly are for this. My co-worker made this video about a family who isn't so lucky. It's incredibly moving.
• That Hubs and I both got to move into jobs that allow us to learn, do what we love and in very different ways - change the world we live in.
• That Trip and Niles get along and are cat-brothers and not cat-nemeses.
• That our house is still standing. Because it was touch and go at times.

Those are the biggies. I'm also thankful I discovered how to make caramel sauce, learned to knit, figured out how to can veggies, that Southwest is eventually coming to Des Moines, and that I signed up for Shoe Dazzle. Sometimes, it's important to celebrate the little things.

I'm also thankful (and amazed) that you all read this little ol' blog every week. Thanks for your comments and support! Without you guys, I wouldn't be able to put on airs at family functions and remind everyone how internet famous I am. So, thank  you and have a very lovely Thanksgiving!

Hot to trot!

We did it in 30 minutes!

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Annual dilemma

We sent our first official adult Christmas cards last year and I can tell now that it's going to be something I both look forward to and dread every year. I love scrolling through all the designs online (like these from Shutterfly, who's running a cool blogger promotion right now - just sign up and do a little post like this and get 50 free holiday cards - wahoo for frugalistas such as myself!), but choosing one? And choosing which photos of us to plaster on there? That's torture.

I mean. There are SO MANY good looking pictures of us to choose from. How can I ever narrow it down, right?

Last year was easy - we used wedding pictures, of course. But this year, I'm stuck. Luckily, I found a few options (here, here and here!) that can accommodate quite a few shots. I'm thinking I'll do a little photo montage of our year - from surviving a ridiculous winter (I think we got something like 40 feet of snow?) to building a deck together to celebrating our first anniversary.

What do you look for in the perfect Christmas card photo? Is it cats in sweaters? Because I can totally make that happen, too.

The One Plate Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving is a time for tradition, a time for family. Well, in the Bigger, Better, Best neck of the woods, we tend to enjoy getting creative with traditions (except for the scared ones, like quoting every line of Christmas Vacation, pancakes on Saturdays and listening to the Muppets and John Denver whilst decking the halls) and we are the only ones of our particular DNA structure within a five hour radius.

And so, we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving a little early, with pals, and by creating a one-dish meal that captured everything Thanksgiving. Literally.

Remember when we did something similar with Oktoberfest? Well, the "Let's make this holiday into a pizza" bug bit again and this time, we were hellbent on getting an entire Thanksgiving feast onto a pie.

Of course, we had to start with a turkey. Hubs went for a whole bird, just a little 10-pounder, and salt brined with with lemon peel and lots of herbs.

 It was hands down, the best turkey I've ever had (sorry, Dad).

We mixed our regular pizza crust with a cornbread mix that was flavored with sage and other herbs to give it a stuffing-ish taste.

After the crust baked on its own for a few minutes, we spread a thin layer of mashed potatoes on it.

Then came a cranberry sauce, flavored with a Thai chile and spicy cinnamon as well as fried green beans and onions.

I lost the wishbone and any discernible chin-in-profile.

 We also made up a gravy to top the pizza with.

 And here is what we ended up with:

 It was delicious and really tasted like a full Thanksgiving meal with every bite.

Your family might revolt if this was real Thanksgiving, but for a couple of culinarily curious kids the week before the big day, this was totally radical. Dude.

Other Napa adventures

Our two days in Napa were so relaxing. We scored a great deal on our hotel thanks to my sister's connections and so we got to hang out with swans on our way to breakfast each morning. Nothing starts the day off right more than swan-gazing.

We spent one day rolling around the valley in a bus with a few other folks (you know, they type that wears sweaters and knows everything about everything.) on a wine tasting tour. While we didn't stop at the ritziest places, they were indeed tasty and gorgeous and generous with their pours.

Black Stallion

Hagafen

At our lunch winery, V Sattui, we (predictably) got a loaf of bread, two cheeses, some salami and a bottle of Chardonnay for a little mid-day snack. No leftovers were had (predictably).

Our last stop of the day was Rubicon Winery, which was really pretty but plagued with a snot-tastic wait staff, who also knew everything about everything. I guess the educational system in California is like, really good.

We ended the tour at Chandon, where one of our tour mates got a little sloppy and hit on the poor tasting gal. He failed miserably and we enjoyed truffled popcorn and the show. So much for knowing everything about picking up ladies.

Of course, after a day of winery gallivanting, we needed a good dinner. Driving around downtown the day before, we saw that Moriomoto (of Iron Chef fame! Squeal!) had a restaurant here. We snagged reservations and fell in love.

We ordered a platter for two that included a nice combo of rolls and ngiri. It was all chef's choice, so we got adventurous with eel, roe and some new-to-us fish.

It was totally amazing and every single item on the platter was so fresh and bright, I couldn't even stand it.

We were stuffed afterward, but decided to order a dessert of a ginger cake, caramel sauce, chocolate cream and a banana milkshake. Oh holy heavens. It left me speechless and fat and even writing about it now makes me crave a little bit of the ginger cake and a healthy smear of smooth chocolate cream.

They even gave us a little anniversary shout out in chocolate! Of course, as soon as we left, my button popped off my jeans. No joke. I'm only telling you so that I am motivated to workout tonight.

The next day, we had to head out of town, but before we did, we had to hit up Bouchon Bakery in Yountville. We sampled a croissant and pistachio macaroon (the macaroon that made me get macaroons. Yes, this craze is justified.). Even the Diet Cokes we got were in fancy glass bottles. Oo la la. How very French.

I love Napa. I could live there. I could die there. They have flowers like this in November! What's not to love?

*We also stopped into Bottega for lunch, but it was highly disappointing. The food was great, but we were seated next to wholesale plate dealers peddling their wares to the chef and the waitress ignored us, making our little pit stop last well over two hours.