earrings : loungefly

cape : modcloth remixed

tee : modcloth

skirt : fossil

tights : hue

shoes : fossil remixed

necklace : forever 21

purse : vahalla brooklyn larch bag remixed

Jason and I made a delicious dinner for Christmas, and the one recipe I really wanted to share with you was the awesome au gratin potatoes that we made. The idea for these is born from some other recipes I have tried, my love for anything goat cheese related, and fresh herbs. What came out was a delicious, creamy, and cheesy dish that everyone will love.

What You'll Need :

Mandoline or some awesome slicing abilities

13 x 9 baking dish
3-4 Qt Saucepot
Mesh Sieve
Cheese Shredder
Large Measuring cup or Bowl
Knife & Cutting Board
3 Lbs Potatoes (I think Red are best - we used a mix of red and baby yellow)
1/2 Cup Shallots
3 Cloves Garlic

2 Sprigs Rosemary

2 Sprigs Thyme

4 Tablespoons Butter

2 1/2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream

About 8 Ounces of Goat Gouda or similar cheese
Seasoned Salt
White Pepper

Here are some photos from our little Christmas...

Happy Holidays from my little family!

Even before I moved to the Harrisburg area, Jason had wanted to go to Hershey, PA and be able to create his own candy bar. This was long before we were even thinking about full time jobs.  Anyhow, we thought it would be a cute trip to take. Well, now I live maybe ten minutes from Hershey, so when Jason came in town, we decided to do a date night and go create our own candy bars!

The entrance to chocolate world

We had to wear little hair nets - and gloves because of my nail polish & rings

The robot placing our bars

Jason designing his custom label

Jason in his beard net!

We got a s'mores cupcake - it looks a lot better than it tasted. I'd like to believe it was amazing.

My favorite!

hair clip : goody via target

cape : forever 21

sweater : modcloth

dress : harvest season dress from modcloth

belt : forever 21

tights : target

shoes : fossil tamika bootie remixed

bag : vahalla brooklyn larch bag remixed

necklace : crave jewelry design remixed

Our holiday luncheon at work was Friday. This is really the first holiday event I've taken part in at a company, so I thought I should look a little festive, plus, I don't really think I can wear my awesome sequin skirt to work all the time. We ate lunch together and got out of work early! Great for going shopping before my husband, Jason, and my other dog and two guinea pigs came in.

i'm no professional, but i do love my christmas tree nails.

main polish : massini in silver lining

green of tree : revlon in posh

tree trunk : essie in case study

red : nyc color in big apple

sweater : target 

sequin skirt : gap 

tights : target 

necklace : fossil 

flats : modcloth remixed

coat (on bike) : ann taylor

Teemo and I attended the Reindog Parade in Mount Adams back home in Cincinnati this past weekend. My friends Becki from Folk & Feather and Megan came with me - and Becki took a majority of these photos.

Teemo was dressed as an adorable reindog. 

Teemo watching over some dogs walking into the parade's registration area

What a super adorable bulldog!

This awesome dog had the greatest trick ever!

Not the best outfit photo, but it'll do.

hat : handemade

cape : forever 21 remixed

sweater : ann taylor loft

dress : h&m

tights : merona from target

shoes : loeffler randall for target remixed

I love garlic. I don't know when this started. Growing up, I was a picky eater. Like annoyingly so. But as I got older, and for some reason as Jason and I started dating longer and developing our tastes more, I started to eat more and more things. I'm sure as a kid handing me slimy garlic cloves would have freaked me out a bit, but I love them now.

This recipe is simple. It's easy to throw in the oven when you get home and work out while it is in the oven (I do mat pilates, sit ups, and pushups) and then you end up with a lovely tasty dish to be served with some nice french bread in the end. I made onion soup this day though! (Instead of exercising! Oops.)

What you'll need:
1 Bulb of Garlic
About a tablespoon of olive oil
Seasoned Salt & Pepper (My husband and I use white pepper - we're obsessed)
Bay leaf

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Get some foil and a bulb of garlic.

 

Take all of the really papery skin off of your bulb of garlic.

Then cut the top off like shown

Drizzle with olive oil

Sprinkle with salt and pepper

Wrap up and throw in the oven for 50 minutes!

Then, take it out, and serve with French bread. It's really easy, requires almost no time, and you can make as many bulbs as you like. Living alone, I like one.

 

It also helps to have a helper - always. Teemo is always sitting at my feet, staring up at me just like this, hoping for a little bite of something. But no garlic for dogs - it's toxic to them!

I love this time of year. I love layers, I love all the glitter and sparkles, and I love all the fun events (Reindog parade, some neat events around the world) and how much fun I have finding gifts for people - well some are really difficult actually. But I always like doing photos this time of year - it's inspiring for me - lot's of decorations and things to photograph. Except that it gets dark at 4:30pm here, making life a little difficult. Which is why I am thankful for the 50mm.

 

Jason and I have some little decorations, and each year we buy each other an ornament for the tree. This is my ornament I got for this year.

 

I chose this outfit to match well for this photo - trying to make my legs look like little elf legs to Teemo's reindog. He's oh too adorable in this little get up. And I hope you think I'm kind of adorable in mine too.

 

sweater : xhilaration via target
dress : sparkle and fade via urban outfitters
belt : aerie
tights : hue
flats : j crew
necklace : gift