Archive for January, 2010

6 Jan

Christmas Round-Up

Posted by Rebecca in Family.

I think we ended up with about 400 photos over the Christmas break, but I culled the 50 most descriptive in the slide show below.

It wasn’t the most conventional holiday, as we missed most scheduled celebrations, but we kept in touch with family across the Midwest via Skype, email and IM, and spent several cozy and calm days at my grandparent’s house, which was a real treat.

We ended up spending at least a bit of time with most everyone. Highlights of the trip included Christmas Eve at Gramma and Grampa’s with Mom, Dave and Katie, a few nights at Bryan’s parent’s house (where Doug made us pizza and ice cream cones), a gathering with my sweet and adorable nephews, their parents and my sister-in-law Jess. We also had lovely celebrations with Dad, Rose and Grandpa D., as well as Katie’s wonderful new boyfriend Tom.

5 Jan

Ringing in the new year

Posted by Rebecca in Friends.

Alisa and Melissa brought their kids to Kansas for New Year’s Eve. It was a great way to celebrate!

3 Jan

Snuggle up, buttercup

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Olivia.

My mom made the girls matching “snuggies” after Ava saw them on TV and had to have one. Now, she can do all sorts of wild things!

These have been handy this weekend—it’s brutally cold here. We have eight or so inches of snow (another three last night), and the temperatures haven’t moved much out of the single digits. What’s it like where you are?

2 Jan

Weekend visitor

Posted by Rebecca in Outdoor life.

We were hugely excited when we found a Flicker at the feeder earlier today. Then, we noticed this guy across the street. He seemed fine, flying off a few moments after I took this picture (from a good distance away).

2 Jan

Holiday dessert

Posted by Rebecca in In the kitchen.

When the December issue of Bon Appétit arrived (my Conde Nast-provided replacement for Gourmet), I said to Bryan of the cover dessert, “I HAVE to make this.”

I ended up making Peppermint Meringue Cake with Chocolate Buttercream three times.

The first time, it felt like it took days—and it did. I spread the work over four days, in preparation for my friend Jen’s surprise 40th birthday party. Next time, I doubled the recipes for the cake, buttercream, meringue and peppermint syrup and made both cakes at the same time.

The best part was that the cake can be held for two days before serving. Perfect if your holiday celebrations are a bit delayed…

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