holiday prep

christmas is almost here, are you excited? feeling ready? T and i are currently working on getting everything prepped for family coming over. cranberry sangria is mixing in the fridge, the turkey is being brined, the veggies have been washed and cut, cinnamon roll dough is rising, and all the presents are finally wrapped. i'm on a roll working through my to-do's, and am feeling surprisingly calm!

this will be my last post until after the new year. so, here's to hoping your holiday season is filled with loved ones, festive cheer, and great food.

wine tasting

for several months now, my friend cat has held mini wine tastings at our house. what first started as a fun way for us to get together and talk about new varietals, has become one of our favorite ways to catch up. between cat and i, we pair up my dishes with her wines leading to some amazing combinations.

cat and i first became friends working at a local wine bar while finding our love for our favorite fermented grapes. it's been some time since we've worked together and quenched our thirst for knowledge. so, these get togethers have been a sweet trip down memory lane. 

[cat's new decanter]

our first tasting had rachael ray's pesto-stuffed chicken with angel hair pasta, and a few different varietals cat felt would match well. the entire night was wonderful, start to finish, and my stomach and heart were full. 

[yum]

next tasting, we had southwest chicken chili with crusty bread for dipping, and a sampling of sherries. T and i didn't know what to expect since we both didn't have any experience with sherry. truth be told, the only thing i knew about sherry was that you could cook with it, and '60s housewives drank it. but, it was so flavorful (a somewhat almond + vanilla flavor that can vary between a lighter, or richer quality)! after the first taster, T and i became instant fans. 

[so much sherry]

[favorite pick of the wines we had later]

then, last weekend's tasting was lasagna with garlic bread, and a sampling of madeiras. flavor-wise, madeira is like sherry, but similar in style to a port without being as sweet. T and i were already on board to learn about a new grape, but fell in love with it. plus, it has a cool history to boot.  

later that night, we cozied up by the fire and gal paled it up. i'm pretty sure the pups think she's their girlfriend now ;)

[going over notes from the wine bible]

[yum]

can't wait until our next dinner and tasting!

a pop of red

i hope everyone had a lovely weekend. i'd just finished a long few weeks at work so this weekend was filled with loads of rest and much needed self-care. to say it was blissful would be an understatement. i'm finally feeling refreshed, recharged, and ready to prep for christmas! 

also, this may be one of my favorite sweaters i've ever found. the pattern is similar to a moroccan wedding blanket, but is amazingly soft and cuddle-worthy. 

awesome and awkward

[autumn shades]

awesome:

• i came across the insta profile, ellen bennett, and have fallen in love with her pig, oliver. oliver's favorite thing to do is to get tucked in while laying on the couch...that's right, he's a pig, in a blanket. isn't that adorable?
• T and i are gearing up for christmas and new year's which includes hosting christmas eve dinner for T's family (yay!), and one of my soul sisters is coming to stay with us to greet 2017 in style (yass!). i am so, so excited for the sweet memories to come in our home. 
• speaking of christmas, T's parents and our nephew are going to be staying at our place for the holiday. and for some time now, our nephew has been very worried santa won't know where he is. then, i overheard the cutest conversation on the phone between him and T the other night. T told him he made sure to let santa know he'd be here and not to worry. T's mom said his eyes got huge, and when he got off the phone, he ran to his dad to tell him what uncle told him :)

awkward:

• last friday, T and i were out with friends for a little holiday dinner where we had quite possibly the worst waiter, ever. and this coming from someone who used to wait tables and bartend, so i always give the upmost benefit of the doubt. but, not only was this guy extremely rude, he made sure to scoff at our orders (and state why it wasn't a good choice), tell us he didn't place them at all, and looked extremely annoyed anytime we tried to be nice and thank him. if i didn't know better, i would've thought he was kidding at being so awful! it was bad enough to the point that it became comical to our gang by the end of the night.
• while my aunt theresa was in town, we had T's parents and my nephew over for soul food. it was my nephew's first time having greens, and he was very skeptical about the look of them, let alone the idea of eating them. to get him to try them, we'd told him they'd make him big and strong, and that he could fly (he's been big into superhero powers lately, especially flying). it nearly worked until he panicked and said, "i don't want to fly, it's too high!" with tears welling up in his eyes. ...oops.

['frozen' tree installation]

[the most sparkly jacket, ever]

[hey einstein!]

[affogato, yes please]

life, according to my iphone

[all the colors; beautiful reflections]

what a week its been. it feels like it was somehow longer, and more tiresome than most. thankfully, T and i have holiday dinner and drinks with friends tonight, a new savory dish to try out saturday, and christmas cookies to bake in the in between time. it's lining up to be the perfect recharge from such a trying workweek.

enjoy!

[wine tasting]

[sir pouts most of the time; an update to a childhood classic]

[pretty details; musical views]

[brunch with family; good morning chuck!]

[fire starters; pretty tiling]

[happy hour (camp edition and flight edition)]

[rainy drives; my garden helper]

[hunky baldy; garden tours and double pours]

[curious pup; manzaritas for a dinner party]

[colorful office views; home spa soak]

[childhood memories in the form of this stew; sneaky drawings]

[weekend babysitting; afternoon sun]

[foggy mornings back home; funky bar hopping]

[celebrating new beginnings for a friend; husband's bolognese]

[happy 1 year to local lather; cozy homecomings]

o christmas tree

last weekend, T and i ventured out to our favorite tree farm with m+j to get into the holiday spirit. the day was grey, rainy, and cold, but thankfully we had the farm's delicious hot cocoa to keep us warm. i don't know why, but somehow the crappy weather actually made it even more fun to hunt for our tree. 

[tree contrasts]

[some of the best hot cocoa]

[the wing tree] 

after searching through each tree pasture, we narrowed down what type of tree we liked before finally settling on this year's tree. sadly, T got poked in the eye while trying to cut it down, but it did inspired this tree's name - isaac...get it?!

[the webb tree]

after settling up with the sweet ladies at the farm, we headed back to m+j's to watch ou beat osu with friends. the game, and the company, was amazing. then, it was back home to decorate isaac, crank up the christmas tunes, and christmas-ify our darling cottage!

[solo, always posing]

cositas

[a friendly block party]

the first weekend in december is here, and you know what that means? our house is officially in christmas mode. i can't wait to start decorating the house, and play all the holiday tunes while sipping hot cocoa. 

have a great one!

[girls date with all the delicious german food]

[T calls this my album cover]

[salad for dinner at the georges']

[buttercream clouds]

[browned butter banana bread]