Holiday Photo Challenge: "Warmth" and ""Winter"

This is what "warmth" looks like to you-

via Angie

via Kelly

via Angie

via Angie

via Angie

via Kelly

This is what "Winter" looks like to you-

via Jason

via Kelly

via Angie

via Angie

via Kelly

via Jason

via Meridith

via Angie

If you want to join in the holiday photo challenge, you can find the list here.  Post them to my angenuity facebook page here and I will share them the following day.

Today's challenge is "resolutions" and tomorrow's challenge is "kiss".

Good luck! 

New Years Eve: 5 appetizers and 5 cocktails you have to try

 5 Appetizers

I love appetizers! In fact, I will usually browse the apps on a menu for dinner options before I ever look at the entrees.  So, when it comes to a special occasion when appetizers take center stage, I get very excited!  I may be stepping out of the box this year and adding some new favorites to my appetizer repertoire.

Here are the five strong contenders-

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Beef and Asparagus Negimaki- oh Martha...you know me so well.  What could be better than beef tenderloin with baby asparagus? I believe this one is a definite.  You can find the recipe here, courtesy of MarthaStewart.com.

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Ever since I tasted these feta and carmelized onion tartlets I bought from Trader Jo's last year, I have been looking for a recipe that could  reproduce everything I loved about them.  I think I may have found it.  I stumbled across Bill Granger's Carmelized Onion Tart with Goat Cheese recipe the other day, and I can tell you that just reading through the ingredients made me hungry.  You can find the recipe here courtesy of The Little Things.  

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To make things interesting...or maybe it's because I have a sincere LOVE for bacon...I HAVE to...not want to...HAVE to make these biscuits.  Brown Sugar Bacon Biscuits...need I say more? Joy The Baker is one of my favorite sites for new twists on old favorites, and I do believe she hit the jackpot on this one.  Biscuits are good any time of day...right?  You can find the recipe here.

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These last two recipes are from Cupcakes and Cashmere. I loved them both too much to not include them on my list.  The first is Beet Pickled Deviled Eggs - I was never a fan of beets until I ate a beet salad at John Besh's restaurant August in New Orleans.  Now it seems as if I search them out.  You can find the recipe here.

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...the second recipe is Bacon Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese and Balsamic Syrup.  I admit they do not look very appetizing, but some of the best things in life don't.  Close your eyes and just say the name of the recipe and you've got me.  I think the sweetness of the dates combined with the saltiness of the bacon and the tanginess (is that even a word?) of the cheese with the final kick of the balsamic syrup sounds absolutely divine. You can find the recipe here. 

5 Cocktails

I have long wished I could be a mixologist in another life.  In fact I have a whole board on Pinterest dedicated to that very wish actually.  Since...I am assuming...this wish will never happen, I will have to be happy with pretending to be one in the privacy of my own home. 

Here are the top five cocktails that I believe, warrant a go this New Years- 

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Almost everyone has had a Cosmo before, but I daresay that most people have not had one like this before.  Talmadge Lowe shared his recipe for Pharmacie's 1966 Cosmo to Design Sponge.  Why this Cosmo is so different is because of raspberry tincture.  If you are asking what raspberry tincture is, you aren't the only one.  Check the recipe out here, and you will get the added bonus of a Cosmo history lesson.  

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I stumbled across this recipe a couple months ago on one of my favorite blogs, A Cup of Jo.  The Rosemary Gin Fizz looks sooooo good...and simple.  I LOVE rosemary...I mean serious love.  I almost bought a house because of the rosemary lining the walkway.  Thankfully Jason doesn't like rosemary as much : )  You can find the recipe here.

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The Frenchy Cocktail...just 3 ingredients- pear vodka, cranberry juice and pineapple juice.  So simple, but sounds soooo good.  You can find the recipe here courtesy of Intoxicology. 

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I have always loved Whiskey Sours, and I have never fooled around with them because they are a classic, and I love them just the way they are...but, my mind has now been changed.  Lauren from The Talking Kitchen shared  this Minty Blood Orange Whiskey Sour recipe and it looks amazing!

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So, I was realizing a trend with my drink selection and decided I needed a cocktail that at least sounded a little more masculine and looked crazy good at the same time...and we have the Dark 'n Stormy.  Intriguing I know : )  Rum, ginger beer and a hint of lime...and you have the Dark 'n Stormy.  I think I like the name as much as I like the drink.  You can see the recipe here courtesy of The Framed Table.

I hope you all have a very, very, very, Happy New Year!!!!  

***Remember... no matter where you go, what you eat, what you drink, who you see or what you do...remember to do it responsibly.  Make it the beginning of a great year, by making it a safe night : ) Love to you and yours!

A Saturday Song...

Do you feel yourself slowing down when the air turns cold?  I have always been aware of my hibernation tendencies, but I can see a difference in everything...including what I am listening to.  Jason says that I am in Lillith Fair mode : )  Maybe so.

I just want to be surrounded by calm.  These days, everything happens so fast...and the rush that is December is almost gone.  I want it all to slow down.  I want to remember all these moments that get tread upon by all the hurried feet.  

So..in hopes of a weekend full of moments I will remember...that my kids will remember...that we will remember...

Here is a song for your Saturday

Have a great weekend : )

The Friday Five...

{ a white elephant gift that the kids absolutely LOVED and the adults thought was HILARIOUS! }

{ When the whole family gets together...we come bearing many treats : )  }

{ watching children talk to Santa...there really is nothing like it }

{ ...riding on the Polar Express was sooooo much fun.  It truly was a magical night for everyone.  }

{ Christmas morning traditions...hot chocolate by the fire while we open our stockings }

What are Your Five?

Holiday Photo Challenge: "Clean-up"

This is what "clean-up" looks like to you-

via Kelly

via Angie

via Kelly

via Angie

via Kelly

If you want to join in the holiday photo challenge, you can find the list here.  Post them to my angenuity facebook page here and I will share them the following day.

Today's challenge is "warmth" and tomorrow's challenge is "winter".

Good luck!

My favorite New Year's Eve party decorations...

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I don't know about you, but I am still tired.  I feel as if I have been going non-stop since Halloween and now there is just one more event to go before the new year begins.  Most years, we celebrate New Year's Eve with friends at home...the kids entertained with a movie or games, while the adults stand in a circle around the kitchen island gorging ourselves on all of the lovely hors d'oeuvres that seem to coincide with a New Year's Eve get-together while lamenting how quickly the holiday season has passed us by.

I have not decorated before...usually because I  am too tired from all of the Christmas activities.  But this year, I am determined to do it differently.  Maybe it will help me face 2013 with a little more enthusiasm than I am feeling right now.

Here are just a few of my favorite inspirations to start the year off right-

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...and for the truly ambitious...a sequined wall to stage some memorable pictures-

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I believe I have some big decision to make...and times a tickin'.  : )

Holiday Photo Challenge: "Unwrapped"

This is what "unwrapped" looks like to you-

via Angie

via Angie

via Angie

via Kelly

via Ava : )

If you want to join in the holiday photo challenge, you can find the list here.  Post them to my angenuity facebook page here and I will share them the following day.

Today's challenge is "clean-up" and tomorrow's challenge is "warmth".

Good luck!