Popcorn Days

Good Eats Wednesday


The good thing about blogging about food... everyone knows I love things for the kitchen! Even though it's a few weeks after Christmas, still going to share all things I received that will make the food portion of the blog that much better, like this adorable red popcorn popper by American Era with a butter warmer on top.

Other great kitchen gifts...

A Cuisinart 9-cup Food Processor.
A non-stick Calphalon pan.
Deluxe Popcorn Maker.
A lasagna trio pan.
Homemade blackberry jam and tomato raspberry jam from my Dad's garden.
Spices, vinegars, and sugars.
Gourmet Sea Salt & Pepper.
A gorgeous bamboo salt mill and walnut pepper mill.
The beautiful rolling pin and pie dish I bought myself!
Simply from Scratch book by Alicia Bessette.
A cannoli necklace from Bakery Bling on Etsy I won on a giveaway from NYC, Style & a Little Cannoli blog.


Here are some of my non-kitchen items: a diamond necklace and earring set from my grandmother, travel organizer, massagers, MyChelle skin care set, giftcards, and a Firewood candle by Henri Bendels = best scent ever!

Thanks to everyone for making it a special holiday!

xo,

nicolette

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Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a very...

From Beaufort, South Carolina.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Possibly My Favorite Day of the Year


My sweetheart and I flew to South Carolina yesterday to spend Christmas with his family. I am having such a nice time, but he unfortunately has the flu. We were that couple yesterday on the plane. I felt so sorry for him. But he still had a sense of humor and caught this photo of an older gentlemen who was kind of enough to get so close and personal in my seat for a couple of minutes!

After a quick flight, his mother greeted us and we drove to Beaufort from Savannah and had crabcakes from Barbara Jean's (written up by Southern Living for their crabcakes.) Delicioso!

I'm so thankful to have Christmas Eve off for the first time in a few years. It truly is one of my favorite days of the year. I finally get to stop this fast-paced month of December and enjoy all the little things Christmas is about...

Here is my Tiffany ornament on the  tree!

Listening to the FAO Schwartz Bear read Twas' the Night Before Christmas!

& reading My Life in France by Julia Child,

my sweetie got it for me for Christmas!

Lots of snacking of course!

Snuggling with puppies in Christmas sweaters...

& wearing Christmas socks!

Anticipating lots of good homecooked food for our gathering tonight...

& awaiting Santa & Rudolph's visit tonight!

Hope you have a joyous & relaxing Christmas Eve

filled with great festivities!

 

Our Winter Solstice

Lunar Eclipse

Last night, I had a big agenda with loads to get done, which I did, but when the man in my life sent me a picture message from the grocery store with Pillsbury sugar cookies in his cart, I couldn't help but seize that rare moment of him begging me to bake with him, (as rare as a lunar eclipse on a Winter Solstice)! So I instructed him step-by-step along the way, and though it took a total of about 15 minutes, it was a nice little Christmas memory for us to keep.

Also, I set my alarm for 2:40am last night to see the lunar eclipse! Ouch that was hard... but I figured, because it is such a rare occasion, and I read that in many places cloudy skies may prevent many from being able to witness it. But as the conditions lined up perfectly in South Florida for a clear crisp night, I put my contacts back in at 2:45am and tiptoed outside with my camera. I had thought prior to going to sleep that since I only live a mile from the beach, that I might drive over and steal a few pics with the tripod. Well, I was not that ambitious and secretly glad the moon was in the opposite direction of the beach at that hour, so I wouldn't kick myself in the butt in the morning for not going. I couldn't even muster up the energy to drag the tripod from the condo to our parking lot. But I did try to steady the camera on the rail and attempt to hold my breath to get these shaky shots...

And from earlier in the evening...

Did you get to enjoy the moon last night?

Santa's Helper

My Little Elf

I'm loving my little elf this year.

wish these could have been captured with the better camera.

but had to move fast, she does not like wearing that hat!

had to take advantage of the sleepy mood.

Got any cute pics of the pets in the Christmas gear?

P.s. For all you animal lovers out there,

I mentioned last week I had the option of choosing a charity for a donation of $1,000...

I choose The Humane Society.

Hershey's Centennial Classics

In the Kitchen


Last month, I posted about rediscovering my old Hershey's Centennial Classics cookbook, and shared a brownie recipe. I also made fudge recently from a recipe in this book, and it was AMAZING. Growing up, I used to live 30 minutes away from the Hershey's factory near Oakdale, California! Can you imagine?! We always used to take field trips and out-of-towners to visit. Driving up to the factory, you'd smell the aroma of hot chocolate seeping through the vents in the car, and the darling lamposts designed like little Hershey's kisses greeted you as you drove into the factory! But the best part was seeing the pools of melted chocolate in the factory, and getting the free samples afterward. My favorite souvenir from their gift shop was the chocolate scented pencils!

For some more holiday cheer, check out some of my posts from last year:

Reindeer Farm in Finland.
Germany's Christmas Markets.
My first trip to the Big Apple to see the holiday displays.
Gingerbread Citizens.

xoxo,

nicolette

Post Office Rendezvous

Holiday Rants...

Last night, I wrapped gifts, prepped the baked goods, and organized for the dreaded post office today. What a joy that was! I recalled blogging about last year's wonderful post office holiday's experience, and therefore tried to make everything easier this year. Opting for priority mail even though still early, I opted for this route since parcel post has taken over a month in the past. No such luck with being proactive.

It's always fun to fluster about with hands full of boxes, and sliding even more boxes with your feet in a long line, then finally reaching the counter in a stressed daze until you hear the total and it snaps you coldy back to reality. It was a delight to hear my little box to the UK was going to cost $45, almost 3x as much as the value, and after spending that amount already for the other packages. Thanks, but no thanks USPS, it's now apparent why the rumors are afloat about your financial troubles, because you want to charge a barrel of oil for each package, thereby killing the holiday spirit for the small number of us who still believe in sending packages. So, I'm thinking next year it may be more economical to hire a charted plane to ship presents or abandon my traditionalist ways, and rethink this so-called CyberMonday with free shipping option. Bummer, at least my office enjoyed the baked goods.

Are you a believer in gifts or gift cards?

Happy Friday!

Countdown to Christmas


What a week! It has been my busiest work week of the entire year, and my head is about to burst... but here are 3 Little Joys of my Day...

Wearing boots, leggings, scarf & a pea coat in South Florida today...

in a land where socks don't exist for 360 days of the year

and flip flops are as much of a staple as bread and water. 

A free M&M cookie from Panera.

A little Christmas shopping for the ladies in my life... and I must say how I'm excited about the gifts I got. As a blogger, shopping for gifts is torture because I want to share everything I got, but then it would ruin the surpise for my lovely ladies. But I will say I scored big time at the sales at Anthropologie!

Have a very Happy Weekend!

The Office Holiday Party

Tis the Season

I've got my office holiday dinner tonight!

Until tomorrow...

xoxo,

nicolette

Ornaments

From Our Tree


Little did you know I took these pics of the tree, oh about 2 weeks ago! But I made myself wait until after Thanksgiving before I posted them...

My annual ornament last year, a little baker handcrafted in Germany.

Isn't he sooo cute?

My handmade reindeer (out of clothes pins) from when I was a little girl, he's even missing an eye! Surrounded by the ornaments my step-mom used to give me from Hallmark every year. I made Dad ship my musty dusty box to me last year for my first year with my special collection.

My love got his little handcrafted German ornament last year too, a pretzel man, because everytime we went to the mall, he would have to get a Wetzel's Pretzel! (He will be so embarrassed I posted that- because he likes to make everyone think he has a perfect diet. ;)

My grandmother's hand crocheted ornaments. They make this tree very special and add such a beautiful touch.

On my Europe trip last year, I decided to get an ornament from each country as my souvenir.

From Paris with Love.

Chatty Chipmunk from Hallmark.

& Grandma's adorable crocheted Santa!

Tis the season!