adam and New Years EVE!

I'm always ready and willing to support Local businesses, and Another Great thing from Tennessee is Diana Warner and her Eve Earrings.

From my home town of Knoxville, Diana has become a Big City Girl and has taken her Jewelry design and production to NYC, but lucky for us she hasn't quite moved to Big City prices! I've bought some of her more simple pieces at Trunk Shows at home, but I might be ready to move to some of her more intricate designs!

Arent these just the Perfect Sparkles for a New Years Eve Night?!?

Another Merry Christmas!

Tonight I got to celebrate Christmas again at with a Trip to my all time favorite Knoxville Restaurant, Chesapeake's.

Lucky for me living in New Orleans now, I love seafood, which is why Chesapeake's was always my favorite restaurant as a child. I usually start off with a bowl of Crab Bisque followed by their fantastic Crab Cakes...being that my tummy is still a little uneasy after my Merry Christmas Illness...I limited myself to their huge lump crabmeat Crab Cakes...Fantastic!

Gold Rush!

I have a big foot...like a really big foot...I honestly wish my parents would have considered some of that Chinese Foot Binding on me as a child, then I might possibly be able to wear and shop for shoes like regular people do. Finding shoes in a Size 11 and sometimes 12 is nearly impossible.



I have had a Lust/Need Relationship with these Tory Burch Reva Flats for about a year, and last night, I officially hit the Place Order Button! I had been back and forth between the Metallic Gold and the Distressed Gold and decided to go with the Distressed... Now I can't wait to get back to New Orleans to see if they are waiting to greet me!

Never a Simple Task...

I tend to get asked to help with some of the oddest tasks, but today takes the cake.

There was nothing I wanted to do more than escape from my house of illness for a few moments (Zach and My Mother are now sick with the same bug I had on Christmas)...So I met two of my best friends from high school, Sarah and Rissa, for lunch at our regular location, Silver Spoon. 3 hours and probably a gallon of Orange~Spice Tea later, our Catch-Up Lunch and Reunion De-Briefing came to an end.

As we were parting ways, Rissa mentioned that she needed to run into the Hallmark store just around the corner...dreading heading home, I joined. As we were walking over she mentioned she needed to grab some Thank You Notes. For clarification I asked, "Oh for Christmas Presents?" Why would I think it would be this simple? Why? Of Course it wasn't Thank You notes for Christmas Presents...She needed to get notes to write her "Cadaver Appreciation Letter"!

For reference, Rissa is in her first year at UT's Medical School in Memphis. Apparently in first year Anatomy class students get Cadavers, and her holiday assignment is to write a letter thanking the family of her...body...for their...generous gift? We proceeded to spend at least 30 minutes over analyzing every type of stationary as to which would send the desired sentiment. We immediately eliminated the Skeleton Halloween Stationary, despite being on sale, for obvious reasons...

On a happier note, I was really impressed with Hallmark's new selection of gift wrap and bags, that were super cute and looked like they were inspired by Kate Spade or Lilly Pulitzer! How adorable?

Celebrating 5 Years...

Some people look back onto their High School days and cringe, but unlike most kids, I LOVED High School. I loved everything about my High School. I loved everyone who went to my High School, My Classes, My Teachers, EVERYTHING. I am aware that this is odd. In fact, I literally went through a mini depression after I graduated from high school because I was so torn up about leaving behind High School and everything that had become oh so familiar to me.



Clearly this depression subsided as my College Days Set in, but the Webb School of Knoxville will always hold a special place in my heart! After all, some of my closest friends, including Zach would have probably never entered my life if it weren't for Webb!



Well last night was Our (Yes Zach and I were in the same High School Class...but far from High School Sweethearts!) 5 Year High School Reunion...5 Years! I can hardly believe it has been that long, but when I think about everything that has happened to me in the last 5 years, it seems like eons ago...

While the Reunion wasn't nearly as well attended as I had expected (there were probably 40 of the 93, 2004 graduates attending) I had a great time seeing my old classmates and catching up on where we all are today! After our reunion held at Knoxville's Club LeConte we headed over to Market Square for Dinner and Drinks! Unfortunately we had to leave earlier than we had wanted because Zach started to feel sick...turns out he and my mom got the same virus I had on Christmas Night...Clearly this Very Merry Christmas is continuing...

Sweet Streetcar!

While the Christmas Holiday is technically over, I still wanted to share with you this Gingerbread Street Car that was in the lobby of the Harrah's Hotel in Downtown New Orleans! This Sweet construction was nearly 5 feet tall and at least 10 feet long!

Not Exactly a Storybook Ending...

Christmas this year started out great! Before heading westward, my family opened our presents here in Knoxville, and I got just about everything I had asked for! Navy Suede Ballet Flats, Stationary with my new married name, and the Kate Spade purse I've been lusting for! In addition to new dress shirts for Me and for Zach, he also got a Grill, which will be perfect for cooking on at our little Apartment back in New Orleans!


Our Tour De Tennessee took us next to Franklin for a night with my grandmother, before heading to Brighton for my family's annual Christmas Eve Party!

As always, the party was perfect, filled with Fun, Family and great Food. It maybe a long drive, and we may not stay for long, but it is never quite Christmas without the Huffman Christmas Eve Party...75 of my closest relatives all crammed into my Aunt Molly's old house. I love listening to the little ones as Santa's arrival becomes eminent! Equally entertaining are the stories, jokes and political debates of the adults as the night wears on and the alcohol slowly dwindles!

On Christmas Morning I awoke to what would be the closest thing to a White Christmas that I have had in quite some time...Yes this dusting of snow was hardly more than a heavy frost, but it was white enough for me!


After a quick breakfast at my Aunt Nora Ruth's house we were back on the road to Knoxville again, with only a quick stop at a Truck Stop for lunch! (Don't judge, it was good, and on Christmas Day its pretty slim pickins in terms of what is open...) When we arrived back in Knoxville it was time for Christmas Dinner at the Christiansen's house! Now I'm not sure whether it was the truck stop fried okra, all this traveling catching up with me, or a bug picked up from somewhere, but half way through Christiansen Christmas I became violently ill and have been for two days now... Not exactly the perfect ending to my Christmas story...Hopefully I will have rebounded in time for our High School Reunion on Sunday!

Merry Christmas!

We are fixing to head out to West Tennessee for Christmas Eve, but I wanted to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas! I'll be back to blogging in a few days!


The above picture was taken a couple nights ago at the F&M Christmas Party...with their Black Santa...I never miss an opportunity to be photoed with Santa!

I'll be Home For Christmas...

We've got quite a bit of travel planned for the next few days...Trying to kill as many birds with one trip as we possibly can! Luckily for us we have nearly two weeks to make our journey since working for the Girl Scouts I get a Christmas Break just like Zach does for School!

Tonight we will be heading home to Knoxville, but only for long enough to turn around and leave to go to Nashville and then on to West Tennessee for my Family's Christmas Eve Party... then back to Knoxville for Zach's Family's Christmas! We will be stationed in Knoxville just long enough to catch up with some of our favorites and attend our 5 year High School Reunion before heading to the ATL for an indefinite period of time to catch up with friends and then back to our own lives in New Orleans!

I love that we have so much time to spend with friends and family but I hate how indefinite all our plans are...it makes it nearly impossible to pack...Where will we be for New Years? Atlanta or back in New Orleans? Will we be in the ATL for a quick bite to eat with friends, or for a couple days? And what are we going to do with Little Hobo during all our travels? I'm not looking forward to 9 hours in the car with him on our way home tonight!

Happy Holidays!

Cork and Canvas!

Tonight I was able to embrace my inner Alcoholic and Artist...With Corks and Canvas!



For those of you who have not been religiously following our blog, I wrote earlier in the year about Sip and Paint, but when Corks and Canvas opened up just a few blocks from the Uptown on Magazine Street...it became the clear front runner for my first Wine and Painting Experience...Well lets be honest, not my first Wine and Painting Experience, but my first Wine and Painting Outing!

Jill and I, armed with a big bottle of White Wine, Pita Chips and Hummus headed in for our first Cork and Canvas! Tonight's Lesson...Starry Night, one of my All time favorite paintings!

Corks and Canvas provides everything you need to create your perfect painting...canvases, paint, brushes, aprons and a skilled instructor to help you out even if your own skills are lacking! After two hours of instruction and encouragement, our Masterpieces were done!

Corks and Canvas is the perfect Date Night with a Girlfriend and a bottle of wine. However I was also shocked at the number of men that where there and enjoying themselves...Next time maybe I'll bring Zach! They even have a private room in the back where you can have a painting party...How perfect for a group of Gal Pals catching up or even a Sorority Sisterhood Event! Its light atmosphere allows for loads of gossip, conversation, and laughs! Jill and I are already plotting our Next Painting!

Sweet n Salty!

Chocolate Covered Pretzels are one of my weaknesses...the perfect balance of Sweet and Salty! But they also make perfect Holiday gifts and desserts, especially since they are SUPER easy to make. The only Ingredients you need are Almond Bark, Pretzel "Rods" and Toppings of Choice!


Walmart sells this stuff called "Almond Bark" in the Baking Aisle...right by the chocolate chips etc. Almond Bark tastes nothing like Almonds but instead comes in two flavors, Chocolate and Vanilla, either of which can be flavored in anyway you might want (I never bother, I add the extra flavor with the toppings!)


Don't try to melt the whole package at once...I usually find it easy to melt half, use it up and then melt the other half...but thats just me...To prevent scorching the chocolate, only microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time...It should only take 2 minutes to fully melt.

Once your Chocolate is melted it's time to start dipping. I prefer to use the Pretzel Rods broken in half...that way they are more bite sized as well as being much easier to dip! Simply dip the pretzel into the Melted chocolate, twist to make sure it is completely covered, then let dry on cookie sheets or pizza pans covered in foil or wax paper!


Before the chocolate dries it is time to add the toppings! You don't have to immediately add the toppings, I usually dip like ten pretzels then add the toppings...anything from Sprinkles, Crushed Candy Canes or Thin Mint Cookies (Hey I work for the Girl Scouts...) to drizzling any of the assorted chocolate chips that are now available (cherry, mint, peanut butter) whatever you want to make your pretzels your own!

Pinecone situation

I promise I'm a Smart girl...but sometimes my common sense is lacking...

One of my favorite as well as Cheapest and Easiest Christmas decorations is simply spray painted Pines Cones...One of my Troop Leaders had done a Pine Cone craft and had a few extras that she gave me for my own project. I bought both a can of Gold and Bronze spray paint and headed out onto the porch to give these simple Cones a little bling...All went well except for ruining my manicure (not to self, Acrylic nails will start to melt with Spray Paint...) and I left my pine cones outside to dry...


Well true to form down here these days (December 2009 has the wettest month in the History of Louisiana!) it rained...and the next morning when I went to go get my Pine Cones...they were closed up tight!



I laid the pine cones out and attempted to let them air dry, but the process was moving far to slow for me...So I decided to Microwave them, (Don't Judge...)! I learned the hard way that metal+Microwave does not end well (My freshman year of College, I microwaved a poptart...in its wrapper...and almost set my dorm on fire...) Sure enough, my pine cones opened back up, and left our apartment with a lovely Christmas Tree smell but when I opened the microwave door...there was a little smoke situation...and charred pine cones...SO note to self Metallic Spray Paint has metallic characteristics in terms of microwave-ability!



Once the smoke subsided added the pine cones to a silver bowl and gold toned Christmas ornaments for the perfect holiday centerpiece!

Hobo's Merry Little Christmas...

Ever since the Christmas tree came into the house...a certian little Hobo has seen it as his very own source of amusement...


It is funny becasue he has taken to hiding behind the tree, curled up on the tree skirt,


and Constantly playing with the low hanging ornaments...many of which after he has pulled off, have been relocated to higher branches!


Despite my own amusement with Hobo...I really hope I don't come home from work and the whole tree be in the floor!

Some Like it Hot...

I had to go to the Bayou yesterday to pick up a few Registrations, do a Leader Orientation and meet with my Service Unit Cookie Lady...All stuff that had to be done, but wasn't all that time consuming...I hate driving down there just to do a few errands, but since we are so close to Christmas Break and I wont be returning til January, I was off to the Bayou regardless...

Luckily I was able to convince Zach to come along with me...In addition to showing him all around Morgan City, and taking him to Rita Mae's for Lunch, I decided to go and explore Avery Island with him, only a short drive from Morgan City. Surrounded by sprawling nothingness Avery Island is like a gem on the horizon...but isn't actually an island. In fact the "island" is nothing more than a protruding salt dome...kind of like a volcano, minus all the hot boiling lava, and instead filled with salt! Crazy huh? In fact, the Avery Island Salt Mines, which stretch nearly 2,000 feet below the surface and the oldest salt mines in the US! Salt mining maybe the oldest commercial enterprise on the "island" but far from the most famous, because in 1868 Edmund McIlhenny married one of the Avery family girls and started a little hot sauce business on the island...Tabasco!


Now I know that people down here use alot of hot sauce...but I never knew that Tabasco was born and breed Louisiana! Originally all of the pepper plants were grown locally however today they import the peppers from Central America, but all the production still happens right down in the Bayou!


Anyways, Zach and I spent about an hour tooling around the Tabasco complex, seeing the bottling and all of the barrels of aging pepper pulp (the ground peppers age for 3 years before adding vinegar and bottling!) in addition to sampling every Tabasco product imaginable...they have your traditional Tabasco Sauce and 5 other flavors, Tabasco Marinades, Tabasco Salsa, Tabasco Ketchup, Tabasco Pickles, Chips, Chocolate and even Ice Cream! Initially I thought the Tabasco Frozen Yogurt would be repulsive, but it actually wasn't so bad, the sweet and spicy kinda balanced one another out...I mean if my choice was Mint Chocolate Chip or Tabasco, I'd clearly choose the Mint...but it wasn't bad, and neither was our detour to Avery Island!

Where in the World??

The best way to commemorate a vacation is to bring home a souvenir. Zach always buys a key chain where ever he goes...Which personally I think is a waste...On the other hand I buy a silver charm for my charm bracelet...that I never wear...probably equally as wasteful... Recently however, my mother got me started on collecting Christmas tree ornaments!

At my Holiday Bridal Shower last winter my mom gave me a collection of ornaments depicting sights Zach and I have visited over the years...The Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame from our Study Abroad in France, the Parthenon from our Honeymoon, etc.

She got all of the Ornaments from Bronners Christmas Wonderland that has an intense collection of Christmas Ornament in addition to these European Monuments! What a Great way to commemorate a trip and all the memories had!

License To Wed!

After Exam #3 Zach was ready to take a break from studying, and I was more than welcome to oblige! We generally watch alot of Law and Order...Like to the point that sometimes I get nervous walking into the apartment late at night because it starts reminding me of scenes from SVU: Lone girl coming home from work late...high heel gets stuck on crack in the pavement...the sound of her footsteps as she walks upstairs to her apartment...fidgeting with the key in the locks...walks into her dark living room, cat meows only moments before creepy stalker enters the scene...

Yah...welcome to my vaguely paranoid life, Thank God I got married, can you imagine my level of Paranoia if I really was all by myself?

Anyways, We took a break from our Tivo-ed Law and Order Marathon to watch the movie "License to Wed", a romantic comedy that follows John Krasinski (Jim from the Office) and Mandy Moore, a newly engaged couple embarking on Premarital counseling with their priest, Robin Williams.

Despite getting really horrible reviews, I thought the movie was great, it was just the light comic relief we needed from Law and Order and Studying! But aside from levity the movie had some really great lessons, and addressed issues that I honestly feel any Soon-to-be-Wed couple should address...Topics like Family Dynamics, Physicality, Communication and Conflict Resolution!

To get married in Zach's Church we too had Premarital Counseling to go through. Initially I thought it was a bunch of BS. It got me aggravated, emotional that just like in the movie made me question whether we should even be getting married...But honestly I feel like the counseling was worthwhile. It prepared us for the initial issues of us moving in together, and boy were there issues (were still fighting the put the toilet seat down battle). Even more I feel like it will help us hurdle future obstacles!

Perfect Sausage Casserole!

On cold rainy nights like we've been having rather frequently down here, there is nothing I want more than something warm and cheesy...which is probably why I've made my favorite sausage casserole several times...And Like most things I cook...it is SOOO Easy!





Ingredients

1 pound of Sausage (I prefer Hot just because the contrast of the cream cheese and Spice is great!)

1 Bar of Cream Cheese

2 Cans of Uncooked Crescent Rolls







Brown the Sausage in a skillet, when finished turn the heat to Low and add the bar of softened Cream Cheese. As the Cream Cheese melts, mix it into the sausage. In a Greased Baking dish, completely cover the bottom with one can of the Crescent rolls, be sure to "seam" up any holes. Add the Sausage and cream cheese mixture, and cover with the second can of crescent rolls. Bake according to the baking directions on the crescent rolls, but probably 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the top of the casserole is golden brown!





Enjoy!

A Few Little Changes!

Quite the Before and After!



So I have clearly made a few little changes to the look of the Blog! I was getting a little tired of the old background, and was wanting a fresh new look for the New Year... Like a Blog Cut and Color! Plus, I think the type is maybe easier to read? Also note that I have added my recent twitter updates just above the ads! Let me know what you think!

Tree-rific!

We have officially finished decorating our Chirstmas Tree! We did decide to go with a fake tree, but at least we wont have to deal with undecorating it before we go home for the holidays in just a little over a week! Its amazing how much the tree has gotten me into the Christmas Spirit!

Have a Merry Who Dat Christmas!

Everyone in New Orleans is going to be having a Merry Who Dat Christmas this year now that the Saints are Officially 13-0!

12-Oooh!

Saints Mania in New Orleans continues to grow as the 12 and Oohhh Saints continue to defy expectations!

Saints Fans, all New Orleans Locals and even the Area TV stations are showing their Saints pride! I even get Black and Gold Dress out Days to work in honor of the Saints!

Hopefully their winning streak will be extended to 13-Oooh tomorrow after their match-up against the Atlanta Falcons!