That's a Wrap!

We're about to wrap up what has been a truly great year 

for me (and I hope it has been for you as well). I want to say thanks for taking the time to read my blog and show your support. It has been a great joy for me, and I look forward to doing an even better job with it in the New Year. 

There is lots in store for 2014 - including my wedding!!!! - and I am so excited to share it all with you. Until then, I'll be offline relaxing and enjoying the last few days of 2013 with friends and family. 

I wish you and yours all the health, happiness and love for 2014. Until next time... xo.

Welcome to the North Pole!

I love love love the holidays. They're pretty much the only part of winter I enjoy, and I love decorating, but our small apt doesn't really leave room for much decor. So when they announced our office decorating contest, I knew I was going to go all out! (I admit, I am pretty competitive). 

Thanks to some great tips, Pinterest ideas and my amazing fiance, I turned my cubicle into the north pole. This took some time, but was actually fairly easy. Here are the pictures:

Santa's Workshop & the Candy Cane Forrest

Welcome to the North Pole! 

Looking into Santa's Workshop

Even Elves Need Directions 

This project is actually really easy, it's mostly foam board, popsicle sticks, construction paper, and the lights. I love being artistic and crafty, and rarely have a reason to do it, so this really made me happy. Plus, now I get to work from Santa's Workshop all week - and what's better than that?!

Also for more hilarious Christmas spirit, watch this families virtual Christmas card:

The Canned Tomato Conundrum

In my whole food lifestyle overhaul, one of the things I've been trying not to use is canned tomatoes (you can read more here about why), however I've been having issues using fresh.

First I tried to make chili using whole tomatoes instead of canned. I think I used too many tomatoes (issue #1) but the really big problem was they didn't break down and meld like chili usually does. I ended up with a crock pot of meat, cubed tomatoes, a lot of extra liquid and seasoning instead of a wonderful soupy blend of chili.

Monday night, I tried to make tomato sauce in the crock pot from whole tomatoes (using this recipe). It said it cook on high for at least three hours. I did that (at 7 p.m.), and 3 hours later had a crock pot of liquid, cubed tomatoes, and other ingredients. It was like warm bruchetta, not sauce. I kept cooking, and cooking, and at 5:45 a.m. (10 hours and 45 min later) I still had big chunks of tomatoes in that crock pot in a semi-liquidy sauce. I ended up pulsing it in the blender quick and moving on. 

Does anyone have ANY recommendations? Is it the tomatoes I'm using? The ratio? Should they be cut smaller? The crock pot? Any help to answer my canned tomato conundrum is MUCH appreciated!! 

Home is Where the Heart Is

"Thomas Wolfe once said you can't go home again. Well, that's great for old Tom. But he wasn't a chick who made a pact with her friends when she was twelve to get together whenever any one of them needed each other." - Now & Then

I think that we can all agree that Now & Then is a cinematic classic for any girl who grew up in the late 90's, myself included. Anyway, I had this quote on my mind when I was thinking of my blog topic today, because I really don't agree with old Tom. 

We went home to Long Island this week for Thanksgiving. Every time I come home for the holidays it just feels like a big hug. A crazy busy, super fun, big, warm hug. I love it. We had the absolute best time the past 5 days, from our first LI Turkey Trot, to  wedding planning stuff, to going out dancing, to sitting around my Grandma's table on Thanksgiving just laughing and joking and eating.

I feel so happy and rejuvenated going into the rest of this crazy holiday season, and hope all of your holidays were equally as wonderful! Here's a few photos from our wonderful trip - I already can't wait to go back! 

Oyster Bay Turkey Trot

Dancing the Night Away

 

Last Look from the Plane :(

The view of the Sound on our Turkey Trot