Have a good weekend and a healthy and happy 2007 everyone! May it be healthy, happy, prosperous, peaceful, filled with good people and lots of laughter!

In Mondays post I mentioned I had a dessert disaster. For a couple of years now I have tried to make the Chocolate Christmas trees I saw on Sweet Dreams. Each time the darn cakes didn't come out right. This year they ended up falling over. I just couldn't believe the recipe failed twice. I watched Gail Gand make it and the recipe seemed easy enough. I think I also have to use two cups as one seems too thin. But my main problem is I just can't seem to make the cups stand up better. But I'll eventually succeed and for now I have a wacky pic from the mishap. I had used to know someone who scoffed at me when I trye different recipes. Especially the time I tried to make sushi. I think it's good to try different foods and recipes. To get out of your comfort zone. How will you ever learn and grow? And the only way to get better is to keep trying. And encourage people that do try different things.



But luckily the coconut snowflake cake I made came out just fine.

During the holidays there are always new foods and drink to try. Niel is always up for tring new things. He came home the other day with a bottle of Sierra Mist Cranberry Lime Splash. Say that a few times. It's a mouthful. Anyway after a few glasses the drink had grown on him. To me it tasted a little bit like an Eastern European drink, a little fizzy and very sweet. But worth the try.

Hope everyone who celebrated Christmas had a great one. Niel and I ate good food, sat at beautiful tables, spent time with friends and family, dealt with dessert disasters, labeling snafus, and a few adult children, saw some movies:The Ringer(Edward Barbanell stole the movie) and My Super Ex Girlfriend(the only saving grace was Rainn Wilson) and watched a new version of an old TV show. And I found a fab dress at a disgustingly great sale. We're keeping our tree and decorations up till the weekend of January 5 which is Three Kings Day and Armenian Christmas. Just to squeak in a few more weeks of the holiday.

But I also received some sad news. A coworker of mine passed away over the weekend. I got the call on Christmas day. Helen was a wonderful lady. Referring to her in past tense is hard. Not to see her face everyday, listening to her stories and gossip, being offered something sweet is terrible. She was the cornerstone for her family and our office. My office is attending funeral today. Helen will never be forgotten and forever missed.

Macy's is known for having beautifully decorated windows during the holidays. This year was no exception. Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas Eve!




Me and the flour had a wrestling match. The flour won.

Another round of sites of New York City taken on my camera phone. Have a great holiday weekend everyone!

Empire State Building lit up with Christmas colors


Will the real Santa please come forward


Entrance to the holiday shops in Union Square. You can see the Empire state building in the background slightly lit up with Chanukah colors.


Lanterns




Lights on a tree


Giant wreathe


Lights in my town


Street performer shoots fire out of his mouth


Cabbages


Nascar comes to Times Square


Chefs take over Union Square

We've been through ten birthdays each together now. Yet it feels like no time at all has gone by, but looking back at pictures I see how much and quickly it really has.

You are still the funny as hell, sweet, quick witted, smart, handsome, thoughtful guy I was lucky enough to have met all those years ago.

Every year I love you more and more. Happy Birthday my sweet.

It's the Christmas edition of Bloggy Parade of Homes brought to us by Shannon. Below are pics of the Christmas decorations we put up this year. What holiday do you celebrate this time of year and how?

Remember during the Summer when I served salad as the main course for dinner? A few weeks ago I did that with sandwiches.

We enjoyed a tomato sandwich with lemony-feta spread (I didn't include the onion or vinegar), shredded pork, croque monsieur, grilled chicken with mozzarella and Cheddar sandwich, and Poh Boys. All tasty!

I gobbled down a few too fast so only three photos.

Even with extra days the weekends still flies by too fast. Drats. But it was a nice one. Thursday I had a nice lunch at Junior's with some coworkers and one of their sister's. The Christmas episode of The Office was so good! Friday night I met up with Niel so we could go to an art exhibit at his brother's school. Before we met I looked at the holiday shops in Union Square, then Niel showed me the light show Target had set up. Very pretty.
Saturday evening we went to a 1st birthday party for friends of my husband's family. The party was very well done. They thought of everything down to the littlest detail. The party favors were ornaments they made themselves. They even had Santa Claus visit the children. They're Disney fanatics like us so they had a two tier Mickey Mouse cake. One tier was Vanilla and the second chocolate. All the food and desserts were home made. They served roast pork, meat balls(my mother in-laws)fried potato balls stuffed with meat, mixed with yellow rice with lentils and olives, potato salad, a green salad, chicken, pigs in a blanket, empanadas, and ziti.
Sunday Squilky who was in town visiting his family came over in the evening to watch football with Niel. I'm glad they're able to remain friends after all these years. Plus got the usual cleaning and errand running done.
This week we have Niel's birthday to look forward to, a cookie exchange with some of my coworkers(I made peppermint bark, chocolate peppermint truffles, and chocolate coconut cookies), I ended up making snicker doodles for Niel's office cookie exchange, will make cookies to any guests we have like Squilky, and three office parties. I love the holidays.

I saw this on Shanny's blog(feel better soon!) and thought I would post it. I hadn't done one of these question type things in a while. And since it's about Christmas and it is the holidays I thought why not! If you like to play along please do.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?? Hot chocolate.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wraps them and puts them under the tree.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? white lights on house, color lights on the tree and in the house.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No

5. When do you put your decorations up? The first weekend in December

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? My mother in laws roast pork.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? The food.

8. When and how did you learn there was no Santa? What do you mean NO SANTA!?!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? I try hard not too.

10. Snow! Love it or Dread it? It's nice the first time then after a while I wish it would go away.

11. Can you ice skate? No:(

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I know it sounds corny but each day is a gift.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? So many things that I can't pick just one. Family, good friends, the Christmas cards, the food, the holiday cartoons and films, the lights, the cookies, the music....

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? I don't have a favorite.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Watching A Christmas Story.

17. What tops your tree? The previous Old Navy Mascot in an angel costume.

18. Which do you prefer: Giving or Receiving? Both!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Too many. I love White Christmas and I'll be Home for Christmas and Hark The Herald Angel Sing. I like Bing Crosby's Christmas songs. But I don't care for him much. Humph.

20. Candy Canes- love em or leave em? I like the fruit ones but the peppermint ones for making bark.

21. Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story - "Daddy's Gonna Kill Ralphie!"


Here is a fun link from Lisanne. Pimp the nutcracker!! Have a good weekend everyone.

I've always been interested in Christmas villages. Miniature perfect towns celebrating Christmas. This year I started collecting a few pieces. Although I won't be showcasing them yet, I still need a few houses and businesses, I would like to show what I have so far.

I mentioned last Monday I would like to make a couple of soft trees, well here they are. They were pretty easy to make and now I can't wait to find new fabric. But it will be a while before I finish the button wreathe. I don't have enough buttons in one color yet.

Although I like miniature foods, I've never really been a fan of brussel sprouts. Though I do like veggies, so I tried a few different recipes for them. But brussel sprouts have not grown on me. I do find it interesting that they grow on sticks. Did you know they were cultivated in Brussels, thus being named brussel sprouts and are part of the wild cabbage family. I always did think they resembled tiny cabbages. Tiny, gross cabbages. Heh heh.







Also today is the 143 birthday of Edward Munch. One of Niel and my favorite painters.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Still feeling that winter is close by even though we have a few days of autumn left. But with the lack of leaves and the Christmas decorations saying "hello" at every turn it feels definitely more wintry. Niel went camping this weekend so I ran some errands and cleaned but also got to have some fun. I baked sugar cookies and I hung out with my friend Jennifer and her sweet little girl for an afternoon. Her daughter is a genius at the ripe old age of two. It was good to see them both.
I also went to hang out with my parents. I made a ginger bread house with my mom. We used the Wilton brand. It's not something either of us have done before. But we had a good time. My mom works hard and doesn't have much time for creative pursuits (except in her cooking), although she is artistic. So I thought the gingerbread house would be fun for her. I knew she'd want to do it alone and I just helped assemble the piping and the house but she decorated it herself. I went to hang out with my dad and we watched Deal or No Deal. After my mom was done she joined us.
At home I watched the holiday specials on the Food Network(Nigella Lawson(my favorite), Paula Deen and Ina Garten.) As well as the reunion special of As Time Goes By. I adore that show. Niel came home sicker then before he left. But I think he had fun. He took a nice hot shower and napped for a bit. After Niel woke up we watched Beer Fest which grew on me by the end. I had forgotten to mention last weekend we had viewed A Prairie Home Companion. It was a quirky movie even though it had a lot of big names. I'll be making more cookies but for Niel's department for this Thursday. I better figure out what to make!