Thanksgiving 2013

I can't believe I haven't posted anything since spring 2013! Somehow I skipped an entire season! Although I must say that this summer was exceptionally epic & I didn't have much time for blogging. Anyway, today is Thanksgiving and my mom & I worked together to make a really fun & cute wreath for my front door. :)

We got a hula-hoop & Christmas tree ornaments for just a few dollars. The most expensive individual item was probably the enormous bow at $5. I chose hot pink, blue, & green because I wanted to keep the wreath looking young & fun this year!

I tied the ornaments around the hula-hoop individually, then wrapped a piece of hot pink ribbon around the entire frame of the wreath to hide the strings holding the ornaments. Then we just tied the bow on at the top! It really only took about 30-40 minutes. 

Even Carter-Finley took a minute to admire the new decor. 

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours! :)

Candy Cupcake Cutesies

It is officially SPRINGTIME! My mother made the cutest spring-esque candy cupcakes this weekend! Here are some photos: 

Chocolate cupcakes plus a little icing and food coloring for "grass"

butterfly

so cute!

flowers!

cupcake bouquet

Who Runs The World? Girls.

Last Sunday I ran my first-ever 8K race -- with Chelsey! The St. Patty's 8K in D.C. was honestly not as bad as I thought it would be, and we both finished with our best times yet! It was a gorgeous day, the temperature was perfection, and I had the best playlist ready to go, mixing everything from Beyoncé to Vampire Weekend to The Rolling Stones, and there was just nothing quite as wonderful as crossing the finish line to OutKast's B.O.B. 

After the race we were a bit disheveled and delirious, but that didn't stop us from taking pics! We felt awesome.

We spent the rest of the day laying around watching movies like Argo (what a great movie! no wonder it won Best Picture) and Dirty Dancing (one of my all-time favies!). Chewy had no qualms about this. 

While on the topic of sportyish things, let's just quickly mention that I attended my first-ever professional hockey game 2 weeks ago. Go Canes!

Here is my cute little cohort at our work team-builder event just living the suite life. We had a blast watching the game, socializing, and trying to prevent randos from stealing our $200 cookies.

Lastly, in honor of International Women's Day this past Friday, it's only appropriate to end this post with Beyoncé's Run The World (Girls) video! CANNOT WAIT TO SEE HER PERFORM LIVE ON JULY 27th WITH EMMA!

beijos,
MK

New Year - 2013

Happy New Year!

For the first post in 2013 I want to share two [amazing] recipes we made over the holidays! 

So-papilla Cheesecake

2 cans Pillsbury crescent rolls
2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick butter, real butter not margarine

       15 minutes prep time
         30 minutes bake time

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Unroll and press 1 can crescent rolls into the bottom of your baking dish. Press the seams together.

2. Blend the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Spread mixture over top of dough. 

3. Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and place it on top of the cream cheese mixture. Press seams together. Melt the stick of butter, and pour it over the top layer of dough. Mix the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and cinnamon together.

4. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture generously over the top. If you don't think that's enough cinnamon sugar, add more! Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool, slice & enjoy!

This dessert is great because it doesn't take very long to make, and it is absolutely delicious!

Sources:

I got this dessert dish from my company's CEO's wife. She made it for our company lunch one Friday and I had to have the recipe! Kendal shared this website with me, which is where she found the recipe, and it's definitely worth checking out because it has great pics! 

Mama's Eggnog

If you're like me, you love enjoying a cup of eggnog by the fire when it's cold outside! Ben found Paula Deen's recipe on foodnetwork.com and we were very excited to try it. This page has the recipe and a video that walks you through how to make it, but below I've posted just the recipe:

• 6 eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 4 pints milk [I love whole milk :)]
• 1/2 pint Bourbon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• Nutmeg

1. In a bowl beat the egg yolks with the 1/2 cup of sugar until thick. 

2. In another bowl beat the egg whites with 1/4 cup of sugar until thick. 

3. In a third bowl beat the cream until thick. 

4. Add the cream to the yolks, fold in the egg whites, and add the milk, Bourbon, vanilla, and a pinch of nutmeg, if desired. Chill in freezer before serving.

5. Serve eggnog in a large punch bowl.

When we made this recipe, I found that it needed more than just a pinch of nutmeg for it to taste complete. The nutmeg is actually a really important ingredient, and it plays a critical role in bringing this eggnog to life!

If anyone tries these let me know what you think!

xoxo,

mk