In & Out Birthday...

Happy Monday.
Its a warm 35degrees in Dallas and I am beyond excited because I feel like I can finally bring out the Uggs and not be a fair-weathered winter Texan. I joked with Chad that everyone busted out the Ugg boots and parkas when it dipped below 65 and sunny. Its been a busy last few days and I have several different snippets to share. Here goes, last weekend Husby and I went to see J. Edgar at the iPic. If anyone lives in the DFW area I would suggest running to the iPic in Fairview because it is the movie theatre of my life (and I usually prefer to watch movies from the comfort of my own couch so going to the movies isnt that great for me but I will jump at the chance to go to the iPic). The movie was great and I can't wait for January when the new slate of movies premiere.

Doesn't it look FANTASTIC....

That Friday Chad's first born child turned four. I have only been around for her calmer adult/non-puppy years and I am secretly thankful. In the beginning we didn't have that great of a relationship as she would growl at me and sit on the other side of the room. I was convinced that she was going to use my Louis Vuitton as a chew toy. She spared my handbag and opted for Chad's Burberry reading glasses instead. I tell him that he has raised a Diva dog and she is conscious of the brand names just like anyone else would be, and he secretly agrees. We eventually adjusted to one another and we have become friends. Granted we still have rules like no dogs (Chad says child, I say dog) on the furniture but we decided to splurge because Hagen is so special.  For her birthday dinner she enjoyed a plain hamburger from In&Out. She loved every bite and was so pleased with herself. Her father told her that this was only for special occasions and she wouldn't be getting this very often. She understood and decided to pose for some pictures to thank us.

 Wait for it....

 Wait for it...

Happy Birthday Hagen!

Since I started blogging I have documented my quest for domestic greatness that centers in the kitchen. I have burned pots trying to make macaroni (not possible you say, I have the photo below to prove it) and I have successfully made lumpy kindergarten pretzels all the while having little motivation to do anything in the kitchen that would be of some great significance. I can make break and bake cookies with the best of them and I have a variety of festive plates to display them but there is something about the fact that I generally have no desire to cook anything for myself or for anyone else. We have loads of decorative plates and super cute cutting boards and dazzly accessories galore but sometimes I open the kitchen drawers and have to ask Chad what these "things" are. I am a high functioning "almost adult" that loves laundry, cleaning out the refrigerator, and vaccuming but until recently I have been missing the "let's cook" gusto. For some reason I got an itch a few weeks ago to try and bake some easy recipes from The Plain Chicken. I happened across this blog by total accident and I found several starter recipes that looked so simple that I had to see if it was as easy as it sounded. I am a tad bit picky to put it nicely and I started going through the recipes trying to find ones that I would enjoy to eat. I found several and I took pictures of everything to prove that I did in fact cook something and it wasn't a figment of my imagination.

MKH-G 2009

Burned macaroni pots...tramatic

MKH-G 2011 (the camera has also improved)

Homemade Cheesy bread

Potato Soup

Jim & Nicks Cheesy Biscuits

Cream Cheese Sausage Balls

No cause for alarm as I didn't make all of this calorie infused goodness at the same time. This has been spread out over a few weeks. I also decided that it was time to get into the holiday spirit and figured that I would try and bake some festive sweets. From the small amount of kitchen related tasks I engage in I definitely prefer baking to regular meal cooking (my goal is to cook a full meal in 2012, stay tuned for that post). I found some easy recipes for sugar cookies with edible glitter as I call it (sprinkles to most people) and I was pleased with how they turned out.

Sugar Cookies with Peppermint Hugs

I put them in super festive bags with a glitter Santa to give as treats to my co-workers. 

I also made chocolate covered oreos and chocolate covered Snyders pretzels. I didn't take a picture of them because they were extremely messy but they are beyond easy to put together. I did find these snowman Chinese takeout boxes to go with my Santa treat bags that I took to work. Inside were white chocolate and milk chocolate covered oreos and pretzels. I made just enough to fill six boxes so we wouldn't have any leftovers. Chad and I can be snackers and I didn't want either of us to be tempted. 

They were the perfect size and very fitting for this chilly weather...

I enjoyed putting these treats together and I will be continuing my kitchen conquest after the Holidays.Since Thanksgiving has come and gone I was beyond thrilled to mail out our Christmas cards. I have had these cards stamped, address, and sealed since October. I LOVE sending out Christmas cards (any cards really) and I couldn't wait for the Friday after so I could drop them in the mail. Knowing how excited I was Chad told me that I needed to take a picture so I could eventually blog about (a week or so late but at least its happening). I was so pleased with how they turned out and most of the cards have already reached their rightful recipients. We sent out 100 cards and I can't wait to start thinking about next years. I already have some ideas in mind...

Merry Christmas card mailing day... 

It was early and my eyes are still sleepy but I was so excited.

I think its going to be a new tradition for the day after Thanksgiving

I know this post has been random and somewhat shocking as my basic cooking skills are coming out. Believe me, no one is more shocked than I am. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Happy Tuesday!

LOVE, MKH-G