Monthly Archives: December 2011

Pinterest Pretties

0
Posted by on in Christmas

Tomorrow I start my two week vacation (wahoo!), so needless to say It’s hard to focus at work today.  I’ve been pinning some pretties on Pinterest of things I’d like to do next year for Christmas.  We’ll have a new apartment in a new city so it only makes sense to do some new decorating and baking!  Here are some of my inspiration pins for 2012…

make wool plaid stockings 
Try new yummy cocktails 
Add a Charlie Brown print to our holiday wall art
use a blue and white color scheme
last but not least, make it unique!
So those are some of my ideas for next year.  I don’t usually plan ahead for next year, but I’m burnt out at work and needed to find some inspiration somewhere.  Since I’ll be traveling tomorrow and back in my old stomping grounds until the 26th, here’s wishing you all a happy holiday this year!
-Melissa 

Evite, You Have Been Replaced

0
Posted by on in fun stuff

I used to love Evite, now I just like it. Why, do you ask?  Because I have found Paperless Post. I love the graphics and the designs!  It even delivers your electronic invites with an envelope and everything.  So cute! Quick! Think up a reason to have a party and send out your invites with this.  I think I’ll send one to my parents “inviting” them to pick us up from the Des Moines airport on Wednesday.  ;)

Here ends today’s product plug. Have you found any new online tools/resources lately?

Christmas 2011

0
Posted by on in Christmas

This year I am super late in posting photos of what our apartment looks like with all of the Christmas decorations up.  I decorated our “Christmas corner” (aka a floating bookshelf) early, but the rest has come together over the last two weeks.  Without further adieu, here are our Christmas decorations for 2011…

Our branch tree was the first thing to go up.  Since James insists on a real tree, I have to set this up to tide me over for a few weeks until we can go get one.
This is the shelf of things that couldn’t fit anywhere else. It looks very thought out and intentional though, right? 
Candles, candles and more candles!
Christmas corner! 
Branches and glitter trees.  Loves it.
Everyone needs a ceramic owl. 
Our lovely sleigh candy dish and moose candle holder on the tree table.
Last but not least, here’s the tree! Notice that some of the lights have fallen off the tree during our cats many attempts to climb it.  
We’re definitely rocking the rustic Christmas vibe this year in our casa.  We added a few new things to our Christmas arsenal this year, but for the most part we used our decorations that we stock-piled last year.  Have you decorated for the holidays yet?  Are you a last minute person or do you decorate the day after Thanksgiving? :)  

Chai

0
Posted by on in Kitchen

Chai was my first foo-foo drink that brought my into the world of caffeinated coffee/tea beverages.  As a result, I’m always searching for new chai recipes to try out. This one from The Oregonian has my craving for my beverage of choice. Here’s the recipe for any inquiring minds out there:




Chai Concentrate


Ingredients
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Instructions
Empty condensed milk into a jar or plastic container with tight-fitting lid.  Stir in the sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.  Store in refrigerator.

To use: Brew a cup of strong black tea, such as Assam, then add two heaping teaspoons of concentrate or more to taste.Stir well until concentrate has fully melted.

Can be stored in refrigerator up to 6 months.

PS, hands down best store bought chai is Oregon Chai.  Trust me people, I’ve made it my life’s mission to test  all chai recipes and determine the best.  This is the best. 



(Image: Emily Ho)