Fall/Winter Catch-up

January 13, 2016

Fall/Winter Catch-up

Hi friends, it's been a little while again. I have so many recipes to share -- now it's Christmas busy-ness and craft-binging that's to blame. I'm going to start with a photo update, since there's lots I can talk about!

First of all, there was a halloween party! I made a veggie lasagna, and NES made a Doritos casserole! I also made pumpkin dip, and popcorn mix like in past years. This year's theme was 1980's prom, and it was so fun! My 80s themed dessert this year was neon trifle! I made blue velvet cake (from a mix. There was already a lot going on!) and pink pudding (pudding mix with food color) and cool whip. It was totally neon.

Oh, and earlier in the day, I ran my first Halloween 5k! It was really fun! It was also my first team 5k. Fun times.

JDR and EM brought us to an awesome new ice cream place. That's banana bread ice cream right there. Yum.

I also love, love, love their floors.

There was also much reading of papers and coffee and hot cocoa or tea. Lots of tea.

Mom came to meet me at school one day, and after some wandering, we got caramel apples for dinner. Mmmmm.

Also, apple crepes!

We also went on a semi-foodie adventure to Maine for DJL's baby shower! It was an awesome, relaxing weekend, and lots of fun!

On the way, we tried out some new doughnuts! Betcha can't guess whose is whose based on flavors: bacon maple and chai glazed!

We found a new place for lunch, too! (This is a big deal!) I had broccoli cheddar soup, and it was amazing. And there was fresh bread!

Hooray for baby showers and the newest baby E!

And Sally of Sally's Baking Addiction fame came to sign her cookbooks!!!! It was super exciting, as she was one of the first food bloggers I consistently followed. It was so exciting. (I even got up the courage to ask a question!)

NES and I also found an awesome Korean place beforehand -- the bibimbap was almost as good as TK's!

I got to meet Wall-E!

And the Thanksgiving eve haircut!

Thanksgiving!

Also, coloring book!

We also hung out with JAB, RNB, EAB, AS and CS for a weekend. EAB is quite the little charmer and we all spent a lot of time cooing over him!

We also played some games!

Fro-yo with all the toppings! For the win!

NES and I also managed to sneak out on a Saturday morning and got an adorable little tree!

On a whim one way unseasonably warm December day, NES and I got desserts downtown and ate them down by the river. I had a white chocolate peppermint mousse tart and it was AH-mazing.

Cosplay for Star Wars opening day!!!

We also went on a sleigh ride (well, wagon, since it still hadn't snowed) with GWS, PLS and ZNS, and we got to meet this awesome pig named Dozer who basically thinks he's a horse! Also, randomly enough, one of the food carts that used to be at school is now at this farm. Totally random.

I made some flourless chocolate fudge cookies for NES's coworkers. I added the filled peppermint baking morsels I found to half of them -- so good. They were definitely not the prettiest cookies, and they were odd to work with, since the "dough" was about like a liquidy brownie batter, but they tasted good. That being said, they were a little sweeter than your average flour cookie.

Christmas nachos!

I also kept up my tradition of making Finnish coffee bread for Christmas gifts! This year I made a recipe and a half, and it made me four loaves and a tiny little one that NES and I ate fresh!

The awesomest mug ever that NES got me for Christmas!

Dad and I made our gingerbread house (even if it was a bit late . . . )

I tried to make an Oreo icebox cake for New Year's Eve. As you can see, it worked at first. But where you see that paper actually divided the cake in half, since I did half mint and half vanilla. By the time it made it in the fridge and we checked on it later, it had fallen over. Whomp whomp. Ah well. It still tasted good, even in a bowl!

I got NES an exclusively vanilla cookbook for Christmas, and made vanilla chip cookies for New Year's day! I forgot to take step-by-step photos to post, so maybe next time, I'll post it!

The cutest football baby you ever did see.

Also, Christmas moose! That is all.

And then there were the awesome mugs that HFK made for us!!! Aren't they cool?

And then there's the work at the cafe downtown. Hooray fellowship applications.

We had a little "memory party" with friends after New Years. I made some snickerdoodle ice cream! NES got an ice cream maker for his birthday, and we made our first batches for Christmas. I think I'm hooked. I've made three batches in 2 weeks.