Showing posts with label traditions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label traditions. Show all posts

12/17/2013

Monthly Updates :: 9 Months

The little Man is 9 months old!  The year is winding down and the little Man is growing up.



We're also over at The Wise Baby today with a list of our favorite holiday traditions.  Growing up, our holiday traditions were one of the things I was most excited for during the holidays.  And I love the idea of the little Man passing along the traditions we start with him to his kids one day. 

12/18/2012

Cup of Cheer

We hosted our annual ugly sweater/secret Santa/beer & cookie exchange earlier this month, which is always so much fun and so great to see all our friends.  This year we featured a "Cup of Cheer" hot cocoa bar.  The toppings included: large marshmallows dipped in chocolate, white and dark chocolate stirrers, cinnamon, whipped cream, Bailey's Irish Cream, mini marshmallows, Ghirardelli's peppermint bark, with candy canes & Pirouette cookies as stirrers.  The hot cocoa mix was handmade, it was featured on last week's Tasty Thursday, & on CNB's daily dose, and I purchased those adorable clear mugs on Amazon.  My wining combination: 2 tablespoons of hot cocoa mix, a white chocolate stirrer, whip cream, and a dash of cinnamon. 

12/06/2012

Tasty Thursday: Holiday Edition

We have our annual ugly sweater/secret Santa/cookie & beer exchange this weekend.  I was thinking of making these Nutella Truffles for the cookie exchange.  Technically, they aren't a cookie but they look so amazingly delicious, I don't think anyone will mind.

INGREDIENTS:
10 ounces semi chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (or chocolate morsels)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Nutella
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons Frangelico liqueur
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped (see notes)

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a double boiler over barely simmering water, combine chocolate, butter, heavy cream and Nutella. Heat until chocolate is melted. Stir until you have a smooth mixture.
2. Remove from chocolate mixture from heat and allow it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Whisk in vanilla and Frangelico. Pour mixture into a shallow dish (example: 8x8 pyrex dish) and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 2 hours. If you refrigerate longer than two hours, the mixture will be too hard to work with. If this occurs, allow the mixture to sit at room temperature until they are pliable enough to work with.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a small scoop (2 teaspoons) or a melon baller, scoop out chocolate mixture, roll into one inch balls, and place on prepared baking sheet. Continue with remaining chocolate mixture. Roll balls in chopped hazelnuts. Refrigerate truffles until ready to serve.

12/05/2012

DIY :: Holiday Advent Calender

I love making our own advent calender every year.  Last year's version was a pop out calender.  This year we decided to try something different.  This advent tree calender was easy to pull together, and looks great on the mantel, all it needs is a star on top of the tree.


Materials:
Foam board
Ribbon
Hot glue gun
Clothes pins
Circle punch
Calender print out (see below)


Directions:
1. Layout your ribbon tree on the foam board, and secure with a glue gun.
2. Arrange your clothes pins in the desired pattern, and secure with a glue gun.
3. Use the circle punch to cut out the calender, and attach to the clothes pins.
4. Decorate your tree.  We hung a few ornaments, but a star would be perfect on top of the tree. 
5. Add lil gifts and attach using the clothes pins.  Don't forget a bowl of your favorite chocolates.

11/28/2011

DIY :: Advent Calender

This Thanksgiving we gifted our friends & family with Advent calenders for their own holiday countdown.  This easy DIY project was easily achieved with these 3 steps.  Cut out the 3 sides to each day with an x-acto blade, adhere both sheets on thick card stock, and frame out the front.  Jazz up your calender by creating a candy cane stand to display your calender and of course a big bowl of chocolate.


11/21/2011

Holiday Cards

One of our favorite holiday traditions is sending holiday cards.  The mister and I have a history of taking silly pictures and sending hand made cards to our loved ones.   Last year we were dressed up in reindeer and Santa head gear, this year's photo will probably be taken at a Christmas tree lot.  We usually post a mini update on the back to keep everyone in the loop.  This year ours will read:
the Mister
started his third year of residency ~ tore his ACL, MCL, LCL, meniscus ~ went to Hawaii, Omaha, NYC ~  had surgery to repair the above mentioned injury ~ turned 28
 
Praveen
still working in healthcare strategy ~ went to NYC, Omaha, Hawaii ~ is turning 29, eek ~ took care of her adult child during both of his recoveries ~ learned to surf ~ still working on her event design company- the{little}details
 
Murphy
still the cat of the house ~ thinks he runs the place

We love displaying them at our holiday parties by  laying them out in a collage format on our dining table and placing a glass top over them.  It's a fun way to get our guest to gather over the dining table, other than food!  This year we are thinking of getting one of these lovely cards from Tiny Print's Holiday Collection
{Fantasy Snowflake}
{Spread Cheer}
{Rhythmic Adornment}
{Banner of Dreams}