A Few of My Favorite Things: Christmas

Things We Love Kate Spade // Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. by Sam Wasson // Oscar de la Renta pajama set // Xhilaration Boots // Adele '21' vinyl // Amy Winehouse 'Back to Black' vinyl

Hello everyone! I decided that with the holiday I would take a long weekend away from the blog to relax and spend some time with the family. I hope that your Christmas was amazing and that you enjoyed dining with family and received the holiday haul that you were expecting under the tree! I know that Christmas is about way more than the gifts, but you can't blame a girl for being excited about what she has received! Santa certainly paid attention to what was on my wishlist this year. Above are some of the items that I found under the tree on Christmas. Not pictured is probably my favorite gifts being a quarter-zip Pitt sweatshirt (admittedly I need more gear because I don't have school spirit!) a Marilyn Monroe gold replica stamp and the vintage Gucci handbag that my mother and I spotted on our outings to the local antique store. Can a girl ask for a better holiday? I should think not!

This year was also the year of the scarf; I received two from my aunt and uncle. Also my grandmother took the time to knit scarves and winter hats for the whole family--the woman's dedication surpasses mine by miles! 

I hope that you were just as thrilled with Christmas as I was and are enjoying the last few days of 2014. Get to thinking about those resolutions!

<3 Ashley

What is your favorite gift from this Christmas?

Being a Part-time Family Historian

So this past semester I have spent a lot of my downtime on the internet (no...not on Facebook...all the time) doing research on my family. It took one episode of "Who Do You Think You Are" where celebrities go through research to learn more about their families and where they came from. Since the semester has ended and I am back at home, I have been able to spend even more time scouring the world wide web for information about where I come from. I did not think I would find much--we all think are families are pretty standard and run-of-the-mill, right?

I'm still waiting to break into the 19th century on my dad's side of the family since Italian and Norwegian records are not so accessible and that side of the family is relatively new to the United States. My mother's side of the family is a completely different story. I have learned so much more than I thought I would, and it's all through my grandmother's line. I have discovered this gem by the name of Desolate Baker who has quite the interesting story; lots of sex, man! I have also discovered that also in this portion of my family tree, two of his great-grandchildren married each other...so there's that. In the past few days though, I have discovered some even more exciting individuals. On one hand there is Mr. George Hudson who fought in the Revolutionary War and was a scout for George Washington during the Christmas 1776 attack on the British. Even further back his line I discovered that one of my relatives was brother to Henry Hudson III, the explorer after whom the Hudson River and Bay are named. You'd be amazed with what you are able to find online!

<3 Ashley

Have you found any interesting individuals in your family?

Christmas Movies

I am not talking about classics like How the Grinch Stole Christmas or A Christmas Story. These movies are by no means popular. I am talking about: home movies. Our Christmas videos (the last great recordings of the '90s) are something that I like to revisit every once in awhile; I am a sucker for family memories. However, seeing myself in these videos is semi-embarrassing at times and I can understand better why my family enjoys laughing at me. I was an...interesting child.

I think in the earliest Christmas video I received an animatronic cow that walked and mooed. Cute gift, right? To a normal kid maybe; it was not so cute in my young opinion. In the video, when they turn the cow on, little me is visibly terrified of the the thing. I go from smiling and happy to hilariously wide-eyed in terror and running to someone on the other side of the room. That cow was most certainly going to hurt me! Haha!

<3 Ashley

What hilarious Christmas memories do you have? Do you like looking back to home movies once in awhile?

Sunday Brunch: Crustless Veggie Quiche

Sunday brunch is coming to you late today because, well...brunch came to us a little late today. I actually went out for breakfast this morning with my family who was visiting this weekend, and Michelle had a friend from home here as well. This is was the weekend to have visitors too! It was Light Up Night here in Pittsburgh, the Penguins played some hockey (they did lose in the shoot-out unfortunately!) and our Pitt Panthers finally pulled out a win for our last home game against Syracuse. With the determination to make brunch happen still, we elected to have brunch for dinner. After the sweetness that was the stuffed French toast last weekend we opted for savory this time around with a crustless veggie quiche.

Ingredients:
- 3 egg white
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 c skim milk
- salt & pepper
- veggies of your choosing
- spinach
- mozzarella cheese
- parmesan cheese

Step by Step:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Cook veggies (we used onion, garlic, mushroom, tomato) on the stove until tender
- In a medium bowl mix eggs, egg white, milk, salt and pepper
- Spray a pie plate and arrange veggie layer. Arrange spinach layer Sprinkle mozzarella cheese then pour egg mixture over top. Sprinkle top with parmesan.
-  Bake for 45 minutes.

As I look back on my blog content thus far, I see a lot of food. Is there anything else you guys would like to see me talk about? Not that food is a bad thing!

<3 Ashley

Are you a quiche fan? Did you have a good weekend?

Get Stuffed: Cranberry Sauce

Image: here

We are exactly one week out from Thanksgiving and if you haven't planned your menu yet--you're a fearless last minute person, I like you--I am here to be of assistance! Granted, my family has opted to eat out this year because everyone agrees that while our dinners are usually kick a** cleaning up after is the absolute worst after you've eaten four plates of everything. However, I will be sharing some of my favorite Thanksgiving food recipes because there are some great ones out there that I have tried and absolutely must share.

Two years ago, when I came home for the first time after starting college, I demanded that the cranberry sauce not come from a can. I know I'm not the only one who thinks you taste more of the can than the sauce. I volunteered to find a recipe and make some homemade cranberry sauce. I did it and everybody loved it!

Ingredients:
- 1 bag (12 oz) cranberries
- 1 c cranberry juice
- 1 c pure maple syrup
- 3 tbsp orange juice (or zest!)

Step by Step:
- Wash cranberries and then dump in medium sauce pan
- Pour in the 1 cup of juice and the maple syrup
- Add orange juice. Stir.
- Turn stove on high heat and bring mixture to a boil
- Once it's boiling turn the heat down to medium low. Continue cooking for 10 minutes or until juice is thick. Turn off and store in refrigerator until dinner time!

<3 Ashley

Sounds yummy right? What's your favorite Thanksgiving side dish?