Lefting Over: T-Day Ramblings

What do you do with your holiday leftovers? Be it Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or any other day you have turkey and stuffing and lots and lots of other food? We (my family) usually have a TON of leftover turkey, and just like in everyday life, I'm always the one to take home leftovers. This year, however, we had Thanksgiving at my mom's house and we had a ton of family there for a couple days, so in addition to actual Thanksgiving dinner, everyone was snacking on leftovers and lunching on leftovers. Which left not so much left over by the time I was venturing home. Usually we make turkey soup (and apparently I'm the only one in my family that cares to do this), but this year *someone* threw out the turkey carcass so it couldn't be soup-de-fied. (Side eye to you, Mom.) So this year we had a couple new leftover ideas I thought I'd share with you fine people.

The first was the basic turkey sandwich, but my mom mixed up pieces of turkey with gravy so we had hot open-faced sandwiches (including mashed potatoes and stuffing). I also highly recommend dabbing a little cranberry sauce on top. Trust me, it's good.

Next up was the Thanksgiving Shepherd's Pie. I found an idea for this online a week before Thanksgiving, and I must say it's a new favorite. This is my first try at any kind of shepherd's pie because *someone* never gave me their delicious shepherd's pie recipe (Sorry, MIL, but you have to get side eye too on this! Lol.). This uses all kinds of leftovers! I layered peas, cut up sweet potatoes, turkey/gravy mixture, stuffing, then topped with mashed potatoes. Tim told me it wouldn't be shepherd's pie without cheese on top, so I added some swiss I had in the freezer, too (and, ok, I'll admit I had to cook up some peas to add because we didn't have any leftover veggies). Popped it in the oven on 350 degrees for 30 minutes (or until cheese starts to brown). YUM.


As good as that was, I have to say this next one was my favorite:
Sweet Potato Pierogies

This was my first shot at pierogi (pierogies is apparently NOT the plural form, FYI), and I have to say, it wasn’t pretty, but it WAS delicious, so whatever. I’m not up for a food plating contest or anything. I was sitting around my house yesterday trying to figure out what to do with the 4 sweet potatoes we had left. I was going to just have mashed sweet potatoes on the side of some frozen pierogies, but Tim was like “That’s too much potato, can we add some chicken to it?” The last part of that question I ignored, because what you probably don’t realize is that what he wants me to do is pull grilled chicken out of the freezer, dice it up, and just mix it in with the potatoes. Not like he wants me to roast up some delicious chicken or anything.

Anyway, I focused on the “too much potato” part, because, yeah, it was true. And then I went to one of my FAVORITE websites, Gojee.com and typed in sweet potatoes. This website is so cool because there are spots to type in what you crave, what you have, and even to connect your grocery rewards card to the website so it can see what you bought and figure something out for dinner that way. So I typed sweet potatoes into the "I have" area and one of the first recipes to pop up was this one, which is what I adapted for our dinner last night. And let me tell you – YUM times 10!

The recipe even made so many that we’ll at least get one more dinner out of it (I froze the remainder before boiling them). I also obviously had more than two sweet potatoes, so now have at least another batch of pierogi filling that I need to figure out what to do with. Do I wait until I make more pierogi or is there something else I can do with it? I can’t quite figure it out. Other than just sticking a spoon in and eating it. Which I may or may not have done last night. Sweet potatoes + cream cheese = heaven. In case you were wondering.

Last, but not least, I made pumpkin muffins. I’ve done this the past few years, but I feel like it needs to be included with the rest of the leftovers. Does anyone ever use a whole can of pumpkin for pumpkin pie?? I never do! Why don’t they make smaller cans or something? To be fair, maybe it’s because I make pumpkin cheesecake every year, so maybe it uses less pumpkin? I don’t know, I haven’t made a straight up pumpkin pie in years because the cheesecake is just.that.good. Anyway, I even made two pies this year and still didn’t finish the can, then made pumpkin muffins and STILL didn’t finish the can, so I froze the rest. Maybe I’ll figure out something to make with it in my spare time. You know, like, when I’m actually home on a weekend or something. Oh wait, that’s right, I’m not... until 2012.

I also finally perfected the onion chop! As in, the right way to chop an onion. I had read how to do it on a blog, but it was written by someone like me who says things like “cut it down the middle but not down the middle, you know what I mean” and I totally didn’t know what she meant.

So I saw the method in a magazine, with pictures, and finally figured it out. Basically you chop off the end that’s not the root, then make slices into the onion going towards the root, but not cutting all the way through, so it stays intact, then turn the onion back on its’ side and slice down. Ouila, chopped onion! Easy. (Surely I can't be the only one who never knew this before??)

Anyone got any other unique leftover recipes? I have a "leftover" section in one of my recipe folders that could use some filling.

-C
xxx

Gobble

So turkey day is upon us once again, folks. How can it be so?? How can December be here NEXT WEEK?! Crazy talk.

I know stores and people everywhere are skipping Thanksgiving altogether. I mean, as in thinking of Thanksgiving only as an afterthought to Christmas. Like, "We have to get through Thanksgiving before we get to Christmas." Not not having Thanksgiving dinner. That would also be crazy talk.

As soon as Halloween was over BOOM it was Christmas in all the stores. There aren't any turkeys hanging from the ceilings, because I guess not everyone decorates for Thanksgiving. HA. I mean, everyone in my family does, but I assume there are people out there who don't for... whatever reason. I, for one, do NOT skip Thanksgiving. I treat all holidays equally! I don't have multiple bins of Thanksgiving decs or anything, like my 10 (or more... I don't really know...) bins I have dedicated just to Christmas. I only *technically* have one bin for T-day stuff, but some of my Halloween decorations pull double-duty for both holidays. My rule of thumb is pumpkins can stay out if they don't have a face. I think it's a pretty good rule.

Anyway, I can't wait to have my own house and hold my own Thanksgiving someday, where I will probably THEN acquire enough straight up T-day decs for at least 2-3 bins. Don't tell Tim.

When I do... I will decorate with lots of pretty things... *cue dream sequence and harp music*

Let's start with the entrance. "Welcome, friends!"
To my home filled with 8,000 pumpkins.

found on Pinterest

via Family Circle

Have I mentioned I don't like carving pumpkins? I suppose that could present a problem there. For the past couple of years I've bought "cinderella" or white pumpkins. Pumpkins that look good and classy just sitting there. No carving. No mess. No potential stabbing of oneself. Maybe I can get Tim to do it (HA, yeah ok).

via Martha Stewart, aka the Bible.

Also from the Bible.

I really just like the turkey placecards here.

via this site

found on Pinterest

via Style Me Pretty

Uh, this totally solves my problem of never remembering which side which utensils go on! Awesome.

As you can see, my dream sequence doesn't really have any kid friendly decorations. I plan on keeping it that way for as long as possible.

via Frog Prince Paperie

Ummm no. Not happening.

But maybe. JUST MAYBE. this.

via livinglocurto.com

-C
xxx

Random Ramblings of the Week 11/21

I used to think that a carpetbagger was just anyone that carried around a bag made of material that looked like carpets. Like so:

via google image search

Why was I even thinking about carpetbaggers on more than one occasion? Because Meamaw and I used to watch Gone With the Wind a lot. And when we weren't watching it, we were looking to buy the dolls. The dolls that I wish I still had and weren't sold at a yard sale... *cough* *cough*

Speaking of GWTW, I recently realized that this photo:

Hughes Fioretti Photography

reminds me an awful lot of this photo:

via google image search

and I know Meamaw would have said as much, and that makes me love it even more.

Know what the best thing is about the weather getting colder? Hot showers.

Have I ever told you how amazing salad cream is?


Too bad it's not sold in the US. HOWEVER my pantry is currently stocked due to some lovely English folks I know! I think we have at least 10 bottles in our pantry. I seriously can't believe we don't have it here. It's made by Heinz, for christ's sake. You know, makes ketchup, cocktail sauce, vinegar, etc.?? And it's delicious! And a close cousin to mayonnaise (no, it's not like Miracle Whip), so it's gotta be fattening, and the US is all over foods that make us fat. So... I don't get it. Well, at least I know I can get my fix from my connections in England. The rest of you are SOL.

I've been having some strange dreams lately. And of course I remember them when I wake up, but can't remember them now. The one thing I remember from last night is that my car died. Sooo... here's hoping that doesn't really come true.

Have I told you that my dreams come true sometimes? It's like I'm psychic... or something. When I was little I was having a really hard time figuring out how to tie my shoes. I'd get really frustrated, because apparently it's hard to learn to tie your shoes. Then one night I had a dream that I could tie my shoes, and it was so easy. The next day I woke up and could tie my shoes. Freaky, I know. I also had a dream once that my mom got cancer and died really quickly after being diagnosed. I realized afterwards that I hadn't actually seen my mom's face in the dream, and that it very well could have been my Meamaw. Not even a month after I'd had this dream she was in the hospital where they found out she had colon cancer and died not long after. One was a good dream, the other obviously the opposite. My point is, sometimes my dreams come true and I hope my car doesn't decide to die on me anytime soon. I really don't want to buy a new car while we live in Manayunk with no driveway! Hopefully it can hold out until we move (fingers crossed that will be next summer).

Oh, I remembered something else from my dream last night. My friend Cassie no longer just had the two cats I knew about, but now she had 4. She and her fiance also belonged to what they were calling the "kennel club" (which refers more to dogs than cats to me, but whatevs), and the other members didn't get the memo that they weren't going to be hosting it in their apartment while I was visiting. This meant like 30 cats roaming around the place. Um. I'm not really sure which I'd rather not come true - the cat stampede or the car death.

via google image search

So who's doing some Black Friday shopping this week? Anyone going out Thursday at midnight? Because apparently that's the thing this year. Nordstrom’s has come out saying they're going to be "traditional" and just open at 6am on Friday like normal. Apparently "traditional" is a diss to those opening on Thursday. Obviously they just don't want to pay their employees holiday overtime. Not that I blame them, but nice try on the excuse. I'm pretty sure your friends opening on Thursday won't be hurt (from a sales perspective) by being "untraditional".

Happy early turkey day to all! Except those in the UK. Then it's just happy random Thursday in November.

-C
xxx

SMBHD - Makes Me Open My Christmas Presents Early

via google image search

:(

I have never been one to open presents early. Christmas or birthday. I guess when I was really young I was probably all over opening a present on Christmas Eve, but as I got older, I didn't even really care to because I wanted to save all my presents for Christmas Day. My brother would always go for the largest gift on Christmas Eve (knowing it would be whatever game system he asked for), while I would pick a small one. We would try to tell him maybe he should save the large gift for the next day, but he would never listen, and lo and behold, would end up pouting when he was done opening his presents the next day when I was still going. He always thought I got more than him. He truly just couldn't see the genius in not opening your big, probably most expensive, gift the night before.

Once when I was probably like 9 or 10, I decided I wanted to look for my Christmas presents. I just *had* to find where my mom had hid them, because I desperately wanted to know if I had gotten the rollerblades I'd asked for. Well, I found them. I distinctly remember when I found them, too. I remember the feeling that I had ruined my own Christmas when I opened that box and saw them in there. I don't remember if I told my mom that Christmas, I don't think I did, though. I probably tried to forget I'd found them and trick myself into being surprised on Christmas day. I never looked for a Christmas or birthday present again. I guess I like it to be a surprise.

Every year I make an Amazon list of things I'd like. But every year I include more than enough on there not because I expect to get it all, but hoping that I can somehow not know what I'll be getting. It actually works sometimes. I've asked Cassie specifically for one thing a few times and have completely forgotten by the time Christmas rolls around. Notice that I like to trick my own brain, and that it works. Lol.

This year I decided I really wanted an e-reader. I went into several stores to try out my options: ipad, nook, kindle, basic tablets. I wanted it to take on my commute to work, so ipad was out for two reasons: 1 - size/weight 2 - price (because if it were to get stolen, I'd be less heartbroken losing something that was $200 than something $600). The bus/train is relatively safe, but I didn't want to make myself more of a target than need be. I also didn't need it to have software for creating presentations or documents. I just wanted an ereader, but I wanted it in color and I wanted to be able to go on the web with it, so I can read blogs and stuff. I checked out the other options but wasn't impressed. Then one day the Kindle Fire was announced, and I freaked! I emailed my BH like 10 times asking for him to buy it for me for Christmas. (He had been asking me what I wanted.) I knew the Fire was being released on November 15th, but told him I wanted to wait until my mom's Christmas to open it (I wanted to be able to use it on our flight to England, so wanted it before we got there). Which, as I've mentioned, is the weekend of December 10th. He told me he wasn't wrapping it, since I already knew what it was, but when he'd say that I'd just pout and figured he'd give in eventually and wrap it.

The Fire was actually released a day early, on Monday of this week. It was delivered to my work (where we get all packages delivered) on Tuesday. I didn't open it, but I knew what it was because I'd seen the early release announcements. I took it home and my BH asked if I wanted it. I hemmed and hawwed and "nooooo"'d and "wellll"'d... and tried to walk away from his question, because I did want it... but yet I didn't! It wasn't Christmas yet! But it was my fancy new toy so of course I wanted to play with it! I wish he would've just taken it out of the room and wrapped it, because I wouldn't have unwrapped it and that would have been the end of it. But noooo he opened the box, unwrapped it from the packaging, and literally handed it to me. :(


So, my big Christmas present is in my possession already. There's no going back now. And now I'm going to have to have yet another two presents before Christmas because I asked my mom for the cover and screen protector and I feel like I can't take it out of the house without those. Even if I don't take it out of the house, I feel like I need those things. I like to keep my things nice, always have, and am terrified I'm going to drop it or accidentally scratch the screen with a fingernail or something, so now... sigh... I'm asking for these other two Christmas presents next weekend. (Thanks Mom!)
.
..
...
....
I do love it, though!!

It has wi-fi and connects super easily and quickly. The keyboard is great, and I've had no problems with it being "buggy", "thinking" for too long, or force-closing yet (I read on Amazon some people have had these problems, but I haven't had any). It comes pre-registered to your name, which some people find scary, but when you go through the set up process you have to enter your information and passwords all over the place, so I don't see any privacy issue if someone else happened to get your Kindle in the mail. The colors are great, and I love being able to read a magazine and play games on there. Anyway, I was asked for a review of it, so there you go. Bottom line is I love it. It's smaller, and a little heavier than I thought it would be, but I didn't measure it out beforehand (I don't measure... ever) and wasn't able to see it in the store since it hadn't actually been released yet. It's the same size as the other Kindles, just a bit heavier. Doesn't matter to me, though! It's definitely lighter than the ipad and my laptop! And it does everything I thought it would and expected it to do.

I've never had an ereader, so all you ereader users will think I'm late to the game, but I love reading books on there. To all you anti-ereaders and pro-real books readers, sorry, but I do enjoy that I can see when I'm 22% finished with a book. A real book can't tell me that. :) Plus, I can actually read in bed when Tim turns the light off! The Fire also comes with a free one month trial of Amazon Prime, which includes a free month's access to the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, so at the moment I'm reading The Hunger Games for free. And I can't stop reading it! I wish I had my cover so I could bring it out of the house!

Also, this one's for you MIL, one of the first things I did was download Angry Birds. It came with Words With Friends already on it, but we'll see if I get back into that anytime soon. I think I'd rather just read!

The reason I wanted an ereader this year and not earlier years is because I was determined to finish all of the books I already had in my house. When my gramma died when I was in college I couldn't stand to see all of her books given away. Even though 97% of them were romance novels, I still felt like I should take some and read them, because they were books. Romance novels couldn't be all that bad... I mean, they're not, but I'm definitely over reading them now. I've had more than my fair share! Anyway, that's why I had so many books in my house. And still do. Clearly I failed in my mission to read them all before getting an ereader. Oops. Anybody want some romance novels??

So... damn you BH for giving me my present early... but thanks for the awesome present. How did you ever know?!

-C
xxx

Random Ramblings of the Week 11/14

Soo... holy crizzap. (That's crap times like 20, in case you were wondering.)

I just realized I'm pretty much not going to be home for a weekend, after this weekend, until, oh, December 31st. That's only sort of a lie because there will be one weekend just before we leave for England (we leave on a Sunday, so the weekend leading up to that), but obviously that time is going to be spent packing! Wow. Where the frick did 2011 go?? Also, crap. I need to finish my Christmas shopping!! I've been Christmas shopping since, like, August, but I'm still not done. Tim makes fun of me, but I think of Christmas presents year-round! If you see something and it makes you think of someone, I say buy it and give it to them at Christmas! Otherwise, come November you're stuck racking your brain trying to figure out what to get everyone, when you could have at least picked up a few small things along the way. AMIRIGHT? Plus, they may be on sale. Plus, I'm totally down with returning things 6 months after the fact. Store credit? Sure!

I am doing pretty well on the present front, due to my year-round shopping, but it just hit me yesterday that I need to order stuff, like, now. Considering that A - I'm seeing Cassie next weekend (NEXT WEEKEND IS THANKSGIVING - CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!), and if I don't give her her presents then, I'll have to cart them down on a train the weekend after when we go visit her (yes, we're going to DC the weekend after Thanksgiving). That doesn't sound like fun to me. Especially considering they are considerably heavy. B - Since this year we're doing Christmas in England, we're doing Christmas with my mom the weekend of December 10th (Ma - are you even gonna have your tree up by then??), soooo I need to finish shopping for her STAT. And also anyone else in my fam I'm sending presents to. C - We're leaving for England December 18th, so any last minute shopping for the in-laws and hubby will be done in England - which kind of freaks me out because, well, I don't know why really. I guess I'd just like to have it all done by then in case I can't find anything over there? HA - Do you have any idea what I'm like when I go shopping when I'm in England? I'm like, "This is toy money, I'm going to buy everything!" And then I end up with a 3 foot Union Jack pillow in my suitcase. But anyway, it would make me feel better if I had it all done before I left.

PS - I don't count week days as shopping days because I'm pretty much a slave to whatever stores are in downtown Philly since that's where I work and I refuse to move my car in the evenings, lest I lose my parking spot. So weekends are the only time counted for anything really.

Also, I have no idea how we've been so busy for the past couple months, but yet I have friends I haven't seen in months?? How does that happen?? I was trying to think of when I could see people who have been texting me "When are we getting together?" "Happy hour, soon??" and other such things I apparently have been ignoring (Not on purpose, I swear! I usually find these texts like 3 days after the fact for some reason. I think it's because I like to clear my text notifications and assume it's my twitter feed and not actual texts because that's usually all I get.). So I was trying to think of when I could see said people and it brings up another "Crap!" because, oh, next week is Thanksgiving so that's pretty much out, then I'm in DC for work most of the next week, then possibly New York, then NJ, then... ok, you get the picture. I'm really having a hard time finding time to see my friends. Seriously, where did this year go? Will 2012 please be a little bit slower?? The answer is no because I already know in the cards is a trip to Kansas (City, MO), a camping trip in the spring, and at least one wedding, but POSSIBLY two... or three, and *hopefully* moving. So... yeah. I'm complaining to no avail. I realize this.

SO - last weekend, I made bread. Apologies to those in my family who got together and bought me a bread maker as my wedding gift, because, yes, it took me a whole year to finally take it out of the box and use it. In my defense (a few points here): It never went into the pantry, or anywhere I was actually putting it away. I always wanted to use it and was SOOOO excited when I got it. So it has literally been in the corner of my kitchen for a year. I opened it at one point and read the directions and recipes that were included. Does that count for anything?? Also, I know I talk a lot about being busy, but for real, it's been a busy year. It's not like I sit at home every weekend going "I don't want to use my bread maker." It's more like I'd look at it longingly and wish for time to learn how to use it and enjoy it. My final point will be that it is ungodly hot and humid in Philadelphia from, like, April to October, so I wasn't using anything that produced an unnecessary amount of heat during these months. BUT - now I made bread. And it was super easy, and it turned out delish, and now I want to make it all the time. I should probably figure out how to make healthy breads or something so we don't gain 50 lbs. because of my now bread obsession.

I'm super excited because I found the solution to my pants (TROUSERS, SUSIE!) problem. But I can't tell you what it is yet because it involves something I got someone else for Christmas. I know a couple of you out there are actually interested in this!!

Do you use Pinterest? I...AM...OBSESSED. Along with everyone else who uses it, of course. I mean, I seriously could spend days on there just pinning stuff. (Is there a career involving pinning for a living??) However, I do have a small part of me that fears someday Pinterest will die and I will lose all of my pins. I really, REALLY hope that never happens. The whole point of pinning stuff there is so you don't have to save links in your email or print everything out all the time! Where the HECK was this website when I was planning my wedding? I had like a 30 page print out of just wedding ideas. I could've just pinned them and A - not wasted so much paper and B - not carried around a stack of 30 pages for a year.

For those who don't know (I'm looking at you, Mom), Pinterest is a website where you basically just "pin" ideas, photos, recipes, whatever, to online "boards" so you can come back and look at them when you need them. So, for example, like you would do with pictures from a magazine, pinning them to a bulletin board. Pretty much the same thing except when you pin the pictures, you also pin the original link so if it's a recipe, you see the photo on your "board" and if you click on it, you will be directed to the original link where the recipe is located. Then others around the web see your pins (it's random, they kind of recommend things for you based on what you pin and who you follow), and if they like them they will "repin" them.

If you have a year to waste and want to see my boards, they're here. If you're already on there, follow me so I can follow you back!

Fun fact: My most repinned Pin is the duct tape whip tutorial! Ha! By the way, it turned out pretty awesome. Even Tim and his friend said so. They were like "Whoa, you just made that just now... with duct tape?" Or something along those lines. There was awe involved. Although Tim wanted to throw it out after Halloween. Psshh. As if.

It'll probably get stuck to everything in my Halloween box and I'll regret it. But for now, I'm saving it.

My friend Bonnie started a blog. You should probably follow her. She doesn't bog you down with long rants like I do. Just pretty pictures.

-C
xxx

Random Ramblings of the Week 10/31

Halloween was fun. It even lasted two whole weeks for us! But Tim, aka party pooper, wouldn’t let me wear two different costumes. :( I say “wouldn’t let me” because he refused to wear two costumes and I told him without me he’d be nothing! Nothing! No, really, he would’ve been nothing for Halloween without me. Or so people would’ve thought. He'd be a man in a tux with a whip. (Oh yeah, the duct tape whip turned out great!) So what were we? I opted for me to be a circus performer/showgirl and him to be a ringmaster (a la Water For Elephants).

I was mistaken for Shawn Johnson.

A lot.

via google image search

I suppose I could've been mistaken for worse.

I guess it wasn’t a total fail, but I wasn’t super pleased with the outcome. Probably mainly because I had to wear white tights, and was told that they were very unflattering…

It was so freaking cold the day/night we were going out for Halloween this year. Really, snowtober? Not necessary. I love snow and all, but stop trying to jip (gip? gyp?) me out of fall Mother Nature. I guess I shouldn’t really complain considering we only ended up with super slippery roads with ice and slush on them… and my mom (2 hours North) got at least 18 inches of snow and lost her power for about 10 hours. So… yeah. I guess I should feel lucky.

I don't really want to go into the whole story, but Sunday morning we woke up to a broken window on our front door. It wasn't a burglar. We spent Sunday fixing it. Not how we wanted to spend our Sunday morning, but it is what it is.

In case you live in a cave and haven’t heard by now, and care in any way, Kim Kardashian filed for divorce this week. Her wedding was a TWO PART special on E! just a few weeks ago, and people are speculating that the whole marriage was a publicity stunt. I have to think that it’s not, because what kind of person would broadcast HER ($10 million) WEDDING (albeit, her 2^nd), and not be completely and utterly embarrassed to file for divorce 72 days later? I would be MORTIFIED. Shoot, I have a $300 wedding video I’ve shown a handful of people, and I’d be embarrassed to have shown that if I were her, let alone televise it to millions of people! Tim said to me the other night, “Hey, we lasted longer than Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries!” When I gave him a look he told me he thought that was romantic...?? Funny, yes, romantic, no. There's your SMBHD for this week. Lol.

I have this weird problem with our building’s cafeteria. I get so indecisive when I get there. I’m indecisive all the time, so this is like times 10 I guess. There are wayyy too many options. Sometimes I just decide to hit the salad bar, but apparently I’m inept at picking ingredients that taste good together?? I guess I pick things I like, without thinking what they'll taste like together, and then I’m like oh crap none of this goes together at all. And it’s not like I can put it back. Then I slap the wrong dressing on and have the worst salad ever. I think this is why I rarely go to our cafeteria.

Does anyone know what to do with Pumpkin Butter, besides putting it on toast or any kind of bread? I read a LOT of food blogs, and I swear in the past couple months I've seen people talking about Pumpkin Butter all over the place, and when I finally get a jar I have no idea what to do with it. I stare at it like something will come to mind, and I've got nothin'. "Use instead of regular butter ON things." is all I see. So if you've got anything else for me, I'm all ears.

I just made the observation that in a year I have gone from reading a million wedding blogs to reading a million food blogs. I think it's because I really didn't discover the blog world until I, myself, was getting married (and subsequently started my own blog), that even when I found food blogs I never had the time to read them because I obviously needed to spend all my blog reading time on looking at pretty wedding stuff. Don't get me wrong, I still read wedding blogs, but now I don't just read any wedding blog I come across, I only read my favorites. And food blogs. Obvi.

WELCOME NOVEMBER!! aka hibernation month.

-C
xxx