Deck the Halls. You heard me - deck those halls!

Thought you might like to see some pics of our festive Christmas tree.

We decided to do something different this year - a bit more contemporary, but it looks quite traditional to me now!



We got new ribbon (olive/lime green with silver glitter swirls) and some new ornaments (glass - yikes! gold and silver with beautiful decorations, so that part is new and fancy!

We've also broken down and added lots of our old glass ornaments, too. They're also quite be-u-ti-ful (read this in the voice of Miss Piggy).

Popcorn treat that smells so sweet

Two weeks, two tries, and several successful popcorn balls. I realized recently that when we vowed to experiment to the point of perfection with popcorn ball recipes, it meant I would actually have to start trying. Discovering how easy they are has only made me sad we didn't get into them sooner.
Surprisingly, Dad has made for an excellent kitchen companion. We used the Jell-o recipe on Allrecipes. It's quite easy, but we increased the amount of popcorn called for on the second round we made. The aren't quite so sweet when there is more popcorn to spread the sauce around. We also tried some lightly salted air popped corn in place of microwave bags and the result was very desirable! Now it's your turn!

Pita Pita

Mmmmm. I made these gyros for a dinner party Sunday night, and they were a hit. I'm not sure the raw garlic and onions were a great choice for such a gathering, but fortunally we all ate it so the offensive odors were shared by all :)

I would suggest sauteeing the garlic or opting for garlic powder in the tsasiki sauce, but otherwise I wouldn't change a thing. The chicken marinade is to die for, and the pitas were delish- just don't roll too thin or overcook. I think I did both. They were still lovely, just a little hard. Stop reading, and start cooking.

We gobbled it up before I could snap a picture. Sorry Charlie.

Wisdom from BH and G

We are so much smarter than we give ourselves credit. I just read an article in Better Homes and Gardens (so you know it's good) that basically tells me that we are certified geniuses. Turns out all that time we thought tennis was just a really fun game we were "whittling our middle; improving strength and flexibility; improving balance, agility, and overall coordination; and getting ourselves into great shape." While that may not be exact quote -pronouns and tenses needed to be changed- the message was clear: tennis is a great way to get into healthy. I know that tennis was a part of our general health plan, but who knew that we picked "one of the most calorie-scorching activities out there?"

If you got the November 2009 copy, be sure to check out the article on page 238. After months of being away from it, the article got me pumped to get my tennis on again. Now to find a partner...

Two Things I'm Loving Right Now

In no particular order:

#1 The Middle- ABC Wednesday comedy starring Patricia Heaton , Neil Flynn (the janitor from Scrubs) and their three kids. I stumbled upon this last week, and loved it. Actually I wasn't sure if it was good or just the best thing on at the moment, but now I know. It's great.
(I just read that the youngest actor's name is Atticus. It was meant to be)

#2 My Kitchen Cafe- great cooking blog. Found it yesterday, and I've already made two things. The kids loved the bourbon chicken. It was a bit spicy, and Macey still had thirds!

Healthy, delicious, quick-ish, good writing and great pics. What more could I want?


I'm off to clean the house. Or make cookies. Which will I pick?????

Memories

Why it was probably a good idea I left Pittsburgh.