A year in reflection

2009, you have been good to me. You're the first full year of the mister and I being back together and happier than ever. You've blessed me with a whole year of no automobile troubles. You've held not just one, but two most fabulous vacations; Europe and San Francisco. You've kept me and my loved ones mostly healthy and major illness-free. You taught me how to make bentos, decorate cakes and sew! You got me started back on the road to physical fitness, and helped me realize the importance of exercise in my life. You taught me to appreciate the simple things, like learning how to snowshoe, the smile of my new nephew, flying kites on a windy day, and picking summer berries with good friends on a beautiful afternoon. You made some major things happen here around our home, including a new deck and garden and a sparkling clean basement. So 2009, I am a bit sad to see you go. While I am hopeful that 2010 will be just as wonderful, it won't be the same. So thanks 2009, for being so good to me.

These bums are looking forward to spring so they can escape outside again

More homemade goodness

Tonight I'm highlighting a few other projects I've worked on this Holiday season. First up, Brad had asked me forever ago to make a cover for our hot water bottle/heating pad. The plastic casing can get pretty hot against your skin without some cloth as a buffer. It's something I've been meaning to do forever, and I finally got around to it as part of his Christmas gift!

New hot water bottle cover

I went with a very soft chenille fabric and stretch stitching (not my favorite stitching technique). I also added a velcro strip to the back to keep the cover secure on the bottle. I think it turned out pretty well, and Brad seems pleased. Hopefully this one won't get too destroyed so I won't have to make any more!
Next up, I've had the idea for a while to make some cute flower headbands. The basic idea was in a few sewing books I had been reading, and the peony template I found online. The concept of the headband came together pretty quickly, and I'll admit, this project was super easy. It's a bit time-intensive scissors-wise, but once the pieces are cut, all you need is a bit of tacky glue and a needle and thread. Knowing how to make french knots helps as well. :-)

Peony headband

Hurray for giving homemade gifts!

Stocked

In case you ever wondered, this is what a shit-ton of homemade chicken and turkey stock looks like.There are 54 cups; 432 oz, or 3.375 gallons of the stuff, to be exact. Soup anyone???

Happy Christmas!

Just checking in to report that the annual drunken Zawacki Christmas Eve was as always, a huge success. But before drunken Christmas Eve, you've got to start off with some non-drunken Family Christmas Eve, so we did just that. We were joined at our house by Brad's parents, his two uncles, and his Gramms. We went the simple route for dinner, and Brad and I tried our hand at Zuni Chicken.

Christmas Eve dinner

Verdict? Zuni chicken rocked our world. The meat itself could have been a bit more seasoned (more herbs + seasoning beneath the skin?) but the tenderness of these babies was spot on. And oh so cheap! It's still hard for me to believe you can buy a whole chicken at Trader Joes for $4.50. Why don't I eat more chicken!?? To go along with our meal, we had plenty of tasty appetizers prior and even more tasty desserts after. Brad requested another blueberry pie, so I made that. I also made a tasty treat this year called Sparkling cranberries. Basically cranberries rolled in a sugar syrup and then coated in sugar, but they were oh so tasty, and incredibly festive.

Makings of blueberry pieSparkling up some cranberriesRows of pretty cranberries.

After our guests were on their way home, we got into the thick of it. First up, was our annual shrimp and cocktail sauce with champagne. It never gets old!

Christmas Eve Delights

Then is was on the gift opening. Yep, we open our gifts on Christmas Eve. I'm too impatient to wait until Christmas morning! It's going to be a real bummer if we have kids someday and have to wait for Santa to come.

A Zawacki Christmas

In typical Brad fashion, he surprised me with things I would never expect, and things I always love. Best gift this year? A whole CASE of cholula. Seriously, I've never been so excited. I tried to gift my mister some love too, and surprised him with not only a game he's been coveting for a while (Ticket to Ride - Europe) but the 1912 expansion pack as well. Expect board games galore around here for the next few months of snow! Finally, we couldn't let Christmas pass by without sharing the love with our kitties. Cleo got a new laser pointer, Roo (who Brad has been calling "tunes" lately) got a new bird toy, and both got some snowflake catnip pouches. Who knew those little pouches would be the hit of the evening, and Cleo proceeded to get herself all high not once, not twice, but FIVE separate times last night. Those crazy felines.

Who needs diamonds? I've got CholulaGifting GamesCleo finds and fights the nipRoo looks for buried treasure

Santa seems to have been very good to the Zawacki's this year, so here's to hoping your Christmas was everything you've been wishing for and more!

Gifty Goods

Last year I don't think I ever got around to posting about a few of the gifts I was excited to give. So this year, I plan to correct that. My gifts for my young nieces and nephews this year were themed and partly homemade. I got some help from Seth's girlfriend Lisa; who is a great artist and made my vision come alive! (Please support her work here). The plan was to get the kids a "car ride activity kit" full of things they could do in the car for long drives up north. I saw the actual boxes at the Ann Arbor Art Fair once, and since Lisa came with me this year for it, she said she'd definitely be able to make something like it. She searched and searched for a suitable supplier of the wooden boxes, and thankfully one was found just in time for her to create these works of genius and ship them off to me. Supplemented by my homemade crayon rolls, a coloring book, some books, and a few themed toys; I hope the kids will enjoy. I know I enjoyed putting the concept together!

All three crayon rolls pre- and post-rollGus's car theme box.Sylvie's Firefighter extravaganzaChase's airplane themed fun

Done and done

Holiday cards 2009 completed? Check. Christmas gift list 2009 purchased and/or made (mostly)? Check. Lights and festive merriment around the house? Check. Christmas, I have tamed you. I own you. :-)Now I'm off to watch some silly movies on-demand (wooooo Home Alone!) while sipping tea and gobbling cookies in front of my tree. Up this weekend? Prepping my list of 2010 goals, the first of seven Holiday gatherings, and more cookie making while watching The Sound of Music. Yeah Holidays!

Cookie Time

Last night was my annual Holiday cookie exchange. It's quickly become something I really enjoy. Especially since I've been reading the Ann Arbor based The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman. The book is about a group of 12 women who have been getting together and exchanging 13 dozen cookies each for decades. The story details the changes in their relationships and lives throughout all those years. While I'm not sure my exchange will have that sort of staying power (or strict rules) that the book does, I do so enjoy getting everyone together for festive appetizers, drinks and cookie merriment. While I unfortunately don't have many pictures of my guests this year (it's tough to be the hostest with the mostest AND capture all the moments digitally), I DID manage to take a few pictures of our munchie spread and the cookie tables.

Appetizers banquetCookies, CookiesAnd more Cookies!

Santa's little helper (yes, YOU Stephles), came to the rescue as always, and she did manage to capture a few good moments.

Silly ladies love partiesMrs. Claus and her little helper

Now about those cookies. I've been asked by a few of you for the recipe for the molasses cookies I made. So without further ado:

Chewy Molasses-Spice Cookies (modified from Martha Stewart)

2 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, just softened
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses (I used Brer rabbit mild brand I found @ Hillers)
1/2 cup demerara sugar for sanding

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a shallow bowl, place 1/2 cup demerara sugar (set aside).
2. With an electric mixer, beat butter and white sugar until combined. Beat in egg and then molasses until combined. Reduce speed to low, gradually mix in dry ingredients; just until a dough forms.
3. Pinch off and roll dough into balls, each equal to 1 Tbsp. Roll balls in reserved demerara sugar.
4. Arrange balls on baking sheets lined with a Silpat, about 3 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time until edges of cookies are just firm. 10 to 15 minutes. (Cookies can be baked two sheets at a time, but they will not crackle uniformly). Cool 1 minute on baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Store in airtight container for up to four days.

Mmmmm. I was a major cookie monster, and ate SIX of these babies as they were coming out of the oven (side note; recipe as prepared supposedly makes 36 cookies. I made mine much smaller, and it yield about 54 cookies).
That was the cookie party in a nutshell. Thanks to all my ladies for making the drive out to my house and attending. Your presence at my home during this time of year is all the present I'll ever need. Also, I'd like to give a very hearty hug and thanks to Kristal, who was deathly ill at home with bronchitis, and STILL made her husband bring over a few goodies and her tray of cookies prior to the start of the party. That's dedication! My mother-in-law Patty was also Johnny on the spot, and I don't think I could have pulled off a lot of this party's success without her. Thanks again! So now that the cookie party is behind me, I can finally get around to writing all my holiday cards. Whew!

Some Holiday sparkle

A big congratulations go out to my brother Eric and his girlfriend Janeen who got engaged last night!

Janeen's shiny new sparkler

They're the cutest little Brady bunch crew, and I wish them all the happiness in the world. I'm so excited to have Janeen as an official sister!

Doing it up...Bronner's style

The Holidays come and go so quickly it always seems. Every year I make a promise to myself to slow down just a little bit and enjoy the season. Every season still seems to come and go before I can blink and count to ten. This year, I've tried a few new tricks to slow things down. First up, I started decorating the day after Thanksgiving. Nothing too extreme to start, but slow and steady to get things done. I put up the tree one day, Brad hung the lights two days later, and by the fourth day, I finally got around to hanging the ribbon, bows, and ornaments. I make subtle improvements every year, but this baby will always be my first real tree in my first real home.

O'Christmas Tree, O'Christmas tree

Another sneaky trick I pulled this year was taking a day off in the middle of the week, and heading up to Bronner's in Frankenmuth. I spent a couple hours immersing myself in the lights, the music, and the vast amounts of all-year round Christmas cheer. Oddly enough, being in that giant warehouse of commercial goods actually helps me to remember what the season's really all about. I left feeling spirited, calm, and a little excited about spreading a few of my finds around the house.

Deck the Halls

As I sit here tonight sipping my tea and nibbling my candy cane Joe Joe's (which are quickly growing on me, btw), I'm starting to enjoy the season at my own pace. So much so, that I'm ready to spread a little cheer of my own next week at my annual Cookie exchange. So stay tuned!

"It's the holiday season...

With the whoop-de-do and hickory dock, and don't forget to hang up your sock." Today starts December, my most favorite month of the year. I have so much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to this month. Bring it December!

Seasonal mini's

I've received a couple of things from the mini fairies lately. First up, a place for all of my ribbons, holiday and otherwise, given to me by the lovely Kristal. What can I say? My bestie knows me too well.

Ribbons, ribbons galore!

I also walked out to the mailbox today to find my first greeting card of the season! It was a card from Germany from my friends Erin & Florian, and in it was enclosed an authentic MINI advent calendar! How could Erin have known that I've been obsessive about advent calendars this year? I'm still laughing about the fact that I have to open each of the windows with a pair of tweezers too.

Mini Germany advent calendar

Surprises make a lady feel so loved. Thanks darlings!

Brussel sprouts and blueberry pie

My thanksgiving in images:

Lovely brussel sprouts ready for bakingA blueberry pie ready to bake as wellA very naked, very large, 22 lb turkey

Dinner is served buffet styleNow THAT's a meal

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I hope you had a lovely long weekend and were surrounded by loved ones that you were thankful for.

This is your brain,

And this is your brain on 2am drinks at Pizza House. I don't know how it managed to happen, but Nick convinced me to stay out until almost 3am. Ordinarily not a big deal, but on the evening before I had to wake up at 7am to head off on a scrapbooking weekend? A little rough. Good Times people, good times.

Carly drinks maize and blue tequilaNick can't leave his phone alone long enough to eat pizzaBrad drinks beersOur waiter is annoyed by silly drunks at 2am

I managed to make it happen though, and was off on my scrapbooking weekend on-time, and only marginally hung over. Because who would want to miss this craziness???

Scrapbook convention craziness

Sewing: a crayon roll

Last night's sewing class made me sad when I realized that there's only one more class remaining! I had no idea the time would fly this quickly, and I've really had a lot of fun. I won't totally miss schlepping all my sewing accouterments all the way to Ypsi every Monday evening, but I will miss getting to see everyone else's projects, discussing technique with other classmates, and receiving on-demand attention from a master seamstress.This week though, I was super proud of myself when I started and finished a project in about an hour and half. I thought it might take me a lot longer, but was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it moved. In fact, I actually had the remaining 1/2 hour of class with nothing to do because I didn't bring additional fabric for a second project to work on. My current project was a crayon roll for my niece as part of her Christmas gift. I'm having an artist friend (thanks Lisa!) make my niece and nephew "travel kits" for car rides up north. The kit is basically a 10" x 12" x 6" wooden box that has a removable top that doubles as both a chalkboard and a dry erase board. The box will be filled with a crayon roll, a handmade coloring book, and a few other travel games and toys. My niece is in serious love with fire engines, so her box will appropriately have a fire engine on top, and of course, I had to make her crayon roll to match.

front side of crayon rollback side of crayon rollFilled and ready to go

The project was really quick, really easy, really cute, and most importantly, it used very little fabric and therefore, was super cheap. This is a great project to use up those extra scraps lying around the house! (Just don't tell anyone I put the ribbon tie on the wrong side!! I hope Sylvie ends up being left-handed...)