Last night Erin and I had a really fun dinner with clients at Beauty & Essex. The food was delicious (we tried bone marrow!), the drinks were festive, and best part is they have champagne in the bathroom! A little weird but really cool! Here are some pics from last night…
(my new burgundy tights!)
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
xo-j
This has been one of, if not the, all time most stressful week at work…but thank heaven we have gone to print and this issue is over with! Now I can get back to enjoying life…until we print again in 2 weeks ha!
With all the mania this week, there have been some things that have helped make it better…
(our tree is up and beautiful)
(candy cane kisses are back…and I think they are a suitable breakfast)
(obsession with brussel sprouts, 3 ft teddy my client sent me, my fav red dress perfect for holidays)
(our stockings! not exactly a fireplace but it’ll do!)
(this sweet babe snuggled under my sweater)
(that the mustache month is almost over and I’ll have my cute bf back!)
xo-j
A little bit ago I decided to make a wreath for my parents and one for Jay’s sister. I figured I would share how since they were so simple, came out wonderful, and made a great homemade gift!
Above is the one I made for Julie with a simple wire wreath and yarn. I tightly wove the red yarn around the entire frame and pinned on some ornaments and look how pretty! The other one for my Mom took a bit more patience…
What you need:
Ornaments in varied sizes (at least 50, I got 100 at the dollar store for $10!)
Wire ornament hangers
Wire wreath
Simply hook 2, 3, or 4 (vary this) ornaments on a hook fastening the first one so the others don’t fall off.
Now wrap the ornament wire around the frame. I started at the bottom and worked my way to the top since they will slide down.
Once you have worked your way around, there will be some empty spots. Take smaller ornaments and pin them in the holes to make the wreath look full…Below is the final wreath!
I added a little holly sprig on the side!
There are some great tutorials on how to make the ornament wreath online as well. I love it and am so happy that my parents will have it for years to come :).
xo-j
I know it’s a bit after Thanksgiving, but if anything being home reminds me of all the things I’m thankful for…
I’m thankful for…
…my family…
…this little guy…
…having a wonderful home to go visit…
…and home looks like this…
…that it’s holiday season and I feel like I deserve to eat every kind of junk there is…and mom’s cooking too…
…and of course that it’s finally Christmas season and Jay and I are having our first Christmas living together…
(a million decorating and pictures of us to come)
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and long weekend!
Last week I made carrot cake for our friendsgiving and another one for Jay’s office Thanksgiving. Turns out they were doing a contest and my cake won!! Yes…we won a carving knife, and not a trip to the Bahamas…but still, it won!!
I wanted to share the recipe to this amazing cake (thanks Mom for always sharing your recipes and being the best non-professional cook ever)…
CARROT CAKE
What you need:
For Cake:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla
1 – 8 1/4 oz can of crushed pineapple (drained)
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped nuts (optional…but totally adds to it)
DIRECTIONS
preheat to 350
First sift the first four dry ingredients together (I don’t have a sifter, I just fluff it around a bit with a fork)
(like my picture shadow in that?!)
In a separate bowl beat the eggs. Then beat the sugar, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla into the eggs…
Once that is ready to go mix the egg mixture and dry ingredients together…
Now grate up those carrots! This is by far the worst part but it pays off! Once the carrots are grated mix the carrots, pineapple, and nuts into the egg/flour mixture..
Beautiful!
Pour into a lightly greased pan (I used baking Pam) and bake for 55 minutes.
Time for the FROSTING!
What you need:
1 – 8 oz cream cheese softened
1/4 lb butter softened
1/2 to 1 lb powdered sugar (depending on taste)
1 tsp vanilla
Go ahead and leave out the cream cheese and butter while the cake cooks so it can soften. Wait patiently…drink wine…yum…
Ok now your cake is baked…let it cool!
Mix up your frosting while the cake is cooling. Mix the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together. Gradually stir in the powdered sugar. This is the best part because you get to stop and taste check. I only use about a 1/2 lb of the powdered sugar, but if you are a sweet tooth you may want more…
Then frost!
Now you are all done and ready to enjoy the best cake you will ever have…
I would have taken a picture of it cut open to eat, but by the time we got to friendsgiving we ate it all too fast!
Everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
xo- J
This weekend we had a Friendsgiving over at Jay’s Sister’s house. We had a great time…and I ate way, way, way, too much…I ate so much I didn’t even take any pictures!
I did however make this wreath for Julie…I’ll do a DIY post at some point this week 🙂
In other news…
…my orchid is still blooming and has been for the past 7 months…I don’t know what I’m doing right this time! Maybe after you kill so many plants the universe finally lets you get one right.
…Rondo continues to be the cutest puppy on the planet…seriously…
…and Jay and I continue to be total weirdos…we like it this way.
Hope everyone is off to a great start on this short holiday week!
Anyone who knows me, knows that I can’t make it more than 2 hours without eating. I might not always eat a lot, but I am constantly munching. Right now the New York Public Library has a special exhibit on New Yorkers and Lunch! My friend Erin (my best lunch partner) and I went to the exhibit the other day. Here are some pictures and facts we learned from the visit…
In the 20’s lunch only cost 10 cents, that included a full meal, drink, and snack!
Wonder bread was the first sliced bread for sandwiches and made in NYC in 1921! Before hand tradition was women and children would have thin slices and men larger crustier ones. Wonder bread was the first time that everyone had the same serving size.
There was a Charles Dickens exhibit too…
A great way to enjoy our lunch break, in more ways than one!
In other news, the Rockefeller Christmas tree is up and ready to be decorated and lit…yay! This tree also came from the town where my Dad works, so it’s kind of big news around home.
I hope everyone has a great weekend! We have a “friendsgiving” on Sunday which should be a lot of fun. Any great recipe ideas for me?
xo – j
Well, Movember is here! This means normally good looking men all over have transformed into total mustached creeps! This year Jay has joined up with his team at work to raise money for prostate cancer by getting donations for growing a burly (ew!) mustache. Last night we had a bit of a photo shoot…it started trying to get a picture of him and Rondo…it just got weird from there…
Please donate anything you can to this great cause by clicking here.
(yes, we tried to make it as absurd as possible…ha)
Thank you all so much!
xo -j
Pictures from the past couple days/week from my phone (Jay’s too)…
(still a bit of fall left in the city)
(sunbather)
(power out in my office monday…only the radio city glow giving us light)
(that’s all for now folks 😉 )
The problem with a puppy is you can’t say “come on just smile at the camera for me please”…well you can, and I tried, but it doesn’t work. This ^ is the result of countless attempts of a picture together on Friday…oh well!
(rondo in his winter coat / unreal pizza from Friday night)
This weekend was nice and lax. We went to the movies (NiteHawk if you’re ever in the area go! Awesome food and such a fun atmosphere!), saw some friends, played with the little guy, and enjoyed time at home together. I also made some lentil soup to have for lunch this week…
LENTIL SOUP RECIPE
This is one of my favorites. My Mom always made it and it’s just delicious. It may look ugly, but don’t judge…the taste is unmatched!
What you will need:
In the spirit of honesty, I used a can of diced tomatoes, 2 cups stock/5 cups water, a weird amount of black pepper, and some pickle juice on the top…yup…
First get those lentils going on the stove with the water/stock…they need to come to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes with the lid on.
Next chop up the onion, carrots, celery, tomatoes (or open the can 😉 ) and put them all in a frying pan with a couple tbs of olive oil…
Let that cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add all your spices (thyme, basil, oregano, garlic, s&p)…
Mix the veg & spices together and let cook for another 5 minutes, then remove from heat until your beans are ready…
Once your beans are done, mix the vegetables and beans together. Then add the lemon juice and brown sugar…mix this all up, put the lid on, and let it simmer for at least 15 minutes (the longer the better, but make sure to stir).
Then top with some vinegar, or in my case pickle juice (about a tbs), and enjoy! It may not look beautiful but my goodness it is delicious…
The perfect winter meal!
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!
x0-j
forEVR and always 