Adventures in Cooking

Since Thursday I think I've well made up for my lack of cooking the past year.

Thursday I made Nanny's homemade apple cake. Read about it more in a previous post here.


This led to making homemade applesauce for the first time. (did you know it turns brown??)


Saturday morning I made 5 lbs of potatoes for mashed potatoes. Yes, 5 lbs. It made A LOT of potatoes. And they are GOOOOOD.


Since we got home today, I've cooked and/or prepared tons of food for Harper: mangos, green beans, broccoli, carrots, pears and peaches. We're set for a while! Since the peeling my own mangos thing didn't go so well, I opted for frozen which worked out really well. Harper looooved them even said "mmmMMM" with no prompting then swiftly smacked her lips together and opened up for more. I also got frozen green beans and broccoli and am really happy with how everything has turned out.


I realize that preparing baby food does not technically count as "cooking". But, hey - I'm standing at a stove, boiling water, using a collander, blending things, using pots.. It counts in my book. And Harper loves it, so that's all that matters!

I got to dust off my mixer for the potatoes. Love to get to do that!

No, the mangos were not green, but I forgot to take a picture of those. The green are the green beans which churned up surprisingly easy and smooth.

A Few of My Favorite Things

I don't think I have an excessive amount of Christmas decorations. Last year I went a bit nuts since it was our first Christmas in our new house and we were having the family Christmas party here - I felt like nothing was "enough" and I was constantly rearranging things. But this year, I've really only put out a few select things and have gone pretty minimal. And I love it!! I don't feel overwhelmed or claustrophobic by Christmas and it's worked out great with Harper becoming more mobile. In honor of my minimalist Christmas, I'm dedicating a post to a few of my favorite things and sharing stories about each.

This lit grapevine reindeer was one of my few "had to have" items we purchased last year. I'm not really a fan of lawn art, but a tasteful display by the door suits my fancy just fine.

This nativity scene deserves its own post, but I'll try to just give you the edited version. I have started a mini collection of Willow Tree figurines and fell in love with the nativity scene. Jon found most of the set last year and bought it for me - after we agreed we wouldn't buy each other anything. I insisted he take it back because I knew how expensive it was, and it was something I could easily collect over time. We went to visit my mom in Las Vegas before Christmas last year and she offered to give me HER Willow Tree nativity scene - the whole thing!! She had no place to put it, so it was going to remain in boxes, and since she knew I wanted one, I made sure to squeeze the set in with all our luggage to bring home. Jon actually had purchased one extra piece to the set that she didn't have, so we took back the new duplicates (along with another set I had been given - yes, I got 3 total combinations of sets last year), and voila!! It goes so perfectly in our art niche that I'm considering leaving it up all year.

These were Hallmark's bags last year and Jon used them to wrap my nativity scene in. I loved it so much, I saved the bags and had him wrap up a different box this year so I could look at it.

This silly tree was made by my Grandma (I think) and it's one of those things I can't throw away.


I'm not a fan of displaying Santa, so this is the only thing you'll find. Another item from my childhood that I enjoy looking at. They're tea light holders and are just a fun folksy display.

These were gifts from my mom last year and I'm an absolute love with them. They're two scenes from The Grinch and are even animated. Too perfect.

Last year I was on a mission to fine a fake mistletoe ball, but had zero success, so I ended up finally buying real mistletoe to hang from our perfect spot on the chandelier by the front door. I found this ball at the after-Christmas sale at Target for 60% off and couldn't wait to hang it this year.

One of a few ornaments from our tree growing up that I've kept. Jon's family has the same one, which just gives me the warm fuzzies.

One of Jon's gifts from me last year. Kind of speaks for itself, doesn't it? If you can tell what it is!