Christmas

I think this one pictures summed up Christmas this year.
Can you tell who all the attention was on? :)



















It was great having family around this year. I just wish they could have stayed longer :)

We all got more gifts than expected. Aubree ended up with a ton! I was careful not to over buy for her but once you put every body's gifts together she has a room full of new toys!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and remembered the reason for the season admist the chaos. Here's to 2010!

A Holiday MUST!

I'm no food photographer, but it doesn't take a fancy picture to make these look delicious!

















Chocolate Covered Cherries (also known to some as Cherry Cordials)

1/4c butter
2c powdered sugar
1T milk
1/2t vanilla
1/8t almond extract
3 dozen maraschino cherries

Thoroughly cream butter with sugar and milk. Blend in vanilla and almond extract. If mixture is too sticky additional powdered sugar may be added. Mold a small amount around a cherry being careful to completely cover. Placed on wax paper covered tray & set aside (I refrigerate).

Coating: 2c (12oz package) Hershey's Chocolate Chips
2T shortening

Completely melt chips and shortening in top of double boiler over hot, not boiling water. Cool stirring occasionally until coating is lukewarm & slightly thickened (98degrees). Dip cherries. Allow coating to become firm at room temperature. Check bottoms. Seal with additional chocolate if necessary. Do not refrigerate. Takes at least 2 days to form cordial.


Brooke's side notes: Anytime the powdered sugar mixture is becoming too sticky I throw it in the fridge for a minute. Be careful not to get your chocolate too hot. Your body temperature is about 98.6 so the chocolate shouldn't even feel real warm to the touch. I buy the cherries with the stems. It's sooooo much easier to dip them if you have something to hold on to. If you want a totally different candy, you can choose to refrigerate these. It isn't traditional chocolate covered cherries but it's still darn good!

And it's up!

Moonrise at the Rodez

Once upon a time I was watching this t.v. show on HGTV called Color Splash. The designer, David Bromstad, was making over a formal living room into a library. The episode was titled Dramatic Den Makeover. Anyway, the whole point was this one piece of art the homeowners had. It was the inspiration for the room and when I saw it I immediately fell in love. I missed the name of the artist who painted it so I've been on a wild goose chase ever since. I'll spare you the details of my search but alas I have discovered the piece:















Moonrise at the Rodez by Victor Shvaiko

My new mission is to bring myself to pay the price asked for this piece, forget about it, or find a cheap copy of it. So, keep your eyes peels as will I and let me know if you ever see this beauty in person.

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving and Merry (Early) Christmas

Well, it's been over a month since my last post and a lot has happened!
For starters, we're in California now! We're done moving in but still putting the finishing touches on everything which has kept me busy. Over the next month I plan to (try to) keep my blog updated. So stay tuned!