Christmas in Pennsylvania

We spent Christmas in Pennsylvania, just like we always do. It is a frantic schedule full of family, and fun. We love every minute of it...and we love returning home to relax!

Here is a bit of what we had on our schedule:

Birthday Dinner with Mark's parents on the 22nd

Snowman Making in my parent's front yard

basically, we built the biggest snowman ever!

Christmas Eve at the Angelos House with my mom's side of the family - and ALL of the cousins!

here are my sisters and me
with our cousins Meghan and Emma

Christmas Day + Movie tradition: after much debate we went to see Avatar (not Sherlock Holmes - my brother Michael always gets his way!)

On the 26th, we visit Mark's extended family all over Pennsylvania: Schwenksville, Royersford, Harleysville, Hatfield, Lansdale and finally dinner with cousins in Wayne! It is a lot of milage, but worth it to see all of the family! We literally drove everywhere...well, Mark literally drove everywhere. I got to sit back and enjoy the views of beautiful Pennsylvania.

Oreo Truffles

Tonight I decided to make Oreo Truffles. I got the recipe from my friend's blog: Christen's Kitchen.

This recipe was super easy and quick! Only a few ingredients and lots of time to address other household items while the truffles chilled, cooled, or set. Even better, they are delicious, rich, and make a wonderful winter hostess gift.

If you want to make these delicious chocolate goodies, check out the recipe here: Oreo Truffles

Be sure to let me know what you think!

PS The recipe is also in my delicious recipe file.

Black Bean Soup

This weekend the weather forcasters are calling for snow up and down the East Coast. I avoided the instinct to rush to the store only to be stuck in traffic, lines, and anxious DC transplants who have never seen snow before. I took stock of what was in my cubbord and decided that a big pot of zesty black bean soup was in order. Here is my favorite recipe: (adopted from CookThink)

vegetable oil
1/2 of a red onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups low-sodium broth
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Prep the ingredients.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
When it is hot and shimmering, add the onion, carrot, celery and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft but not brown, 8-10 minutes.
Stir in the garlic, cumin and red pepper flakes and cook the mixture for a minute or so, until the garlic becomes aromatic.
Add the beans and stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the beans are soft, 10-15 minutes.
Ladle half the soup into a blender and purée, then stir the purée back into the soup - this thickens it up nicely!
Take the soup off the heat and stir in the yogurt and cilantro.
Serve with totilla chips and other fun fiesta foods!


Yum Yum Yummy! Enjoy!

Uncle Jim Visits from Germany

My mom's older brother, Jim, was in DC for a few weeks in December for training. It was great to see him during his stay. This is the first time I have had the chance to hang out with my Uncle in over a year since he now lives in Germany. In addition, any time I have spent with him growing up was always with a house full of other family members. It was great to learn more about my uncle, his interests, and gain a greater appreciation for his extremely dry sense of humor. One of the nights he visted, we ate dinner at Famous Luigis in NW DC. The dinner was fantastic!

Happy Birthday Dad

This year, my dad celebrated a major milestone. We celebrated by taking him to a family portrait session (pictures coming soon!) and throwing a surprise party! Michael and Lindsay Smith, the incredible husband and wife duo behind TheSmiths photography. I grew up with Lindsay, so it was awesome to have her do our photography.

It was hysterical trying to keep dad occupied. He totally suspected something was up. Every time we changed location for the pictures, up the stairs, outside for a shot in the snow, back inside, he looked all around, as if expecting everyone to just out and scream surprise. Then on the way home, my siblings had to stop for gas, which was perfect and threw him off his tracks even more. While we out at the photo shoot, Mom's closest friends gathered together to set up the party and welcome the guests.

The weather created a precarious situation as a storm swept in and covered the road with snow and ice...but it left a pretty scene and added to the celebratory drama. The pictures above are from my favorite tree in my parent's front yard (and our car made a cameo appearance).

At the end of the night, my dad was thrilled to have some of his closest friends from the past few years, to college, as well as his buddies from elementary school all by his side to share memories and offer a bit of a roast. The gag gifts included old and embarassing photos, his own shoes, pounds of candy, and a hich school basketball poster feature the one and only! I couldn't have imagined it any better...

The Dutch Barn

On Veteran's Day, a few weeks ago, Mark and I drove out to the Eastern Shore. Why? To get new tires on our car. It was pouring rain, they forgot to schedule our appointment, and the day seemed to just keep getting worse. It a fit of restlesness, I treked about a mile down the road to a gem of a shop called The Dutch Barn. I avoided puddles and splashed from trucks passing me and eventually burst through the door to find some equisit furniture. I had a blast wandering the three building where they house their goods, imagining where I would put what and how to incorporate it into the home I have yet to buy. Here are some of the pieces that caught my eye:

This hutch has just enough character to make me want to bring it home. I can't imagine it in a city apartment, but it looks perfect for a place on the shore.

This Amish made table is close to the kitchen table Mark and I searching for (we don't know if the image in our head actually exists). We would like it to be a little less of a honey color, a bit darker and have simple taper legs. But this table was certainly beautiful.

I could not get over the detail of the grain of this chest. It looks similar to tiger maple, but the tone is deep and rich. It is absolutely stunning. I would struggle to lock it up in a bedroom - it looks like it should be on display.

As soon as I saw this round library table I pictured in a front entry with a big bowl of tulips! What a nice piece of furniture to greet guests upon their arrival. Check out the details in the top below:

So...I am hoping to visit the Dutch Barn again soon. I will certainly find more treasures that make me dream, and just maybe they will have the table Mark and I have been searching for!