The first week of this month, we said goodbye to our first apartment and hello to our first home. Its amazing how much you accumulate in such a short time. We filled a large moving truck and took 8 van/jeep loads full of our things. With the help of Mighty Moose Movers (no lie, that's what they're called, and I highly recommend them) and our family members, we managed to set up shop in short order.
Then, I got sick. I spent seven days flat out on the couch, about to lose my mind since I couldn't do anything in our new house. I spent a fortune at the local pharmacy and have made friends at the nearby clinic. Apparently its funny that I work with kids, since that's the reason why I ended up with daycare diseases : strep throat and pink eye (ew.) Its interesting, I spend my days helping kids learn to take turns and share-yet when it comes to germs, they are more than willing to pass them on!
The third week we spent getting this house in ship shape order BECAUSE we were super ambitious and decided that we would like to host 30 of our close friends at a Christmas Open House. This involved one evening entirely spent buying a new couch for my "vintage room" (post on that someday soon), hauling it in a van, not being able to lift it since it gained 1000lbs on the ride here (I promise you it was the heaviest couch ever), having an angel neighbor stop to help, taking two doors off their hinges, and who knew couches could also grow an inch and therefore not fit but get stuck on an angle in the doorway of the room. In spite of this, the open house went wonderfully!
This wouldn't be a post without pictures of the food I served. Thank you to my mother-in-law who reminded me to take pictures!!
For savory food we served: Sausage and Crackers, Hummus and Pita Chips, Vegetables and Ranch Dip, Nachos and Mexican Dip (recipe to be shared another day), Meatballs in BBQ sauce (see previous post). At the end of the table we also had a chocolate dipping station for fruit or anything you like to eat coated in chocolate!
For dessert we served (clockwise from the candy canes) my new experiment: chocolate saltine toffee bark (in milk chocolate and semisweet flavors), pretzels to dip in chocolate, my aunt made her chocolate drop cookies, sweet and salty popcorn, store bought cream puffs, a friend brought chocolate dipped pretzel sticks with toffee and sprinkles, my mom made dutch cookies, and friends brought a chocolate cookies and cream pizza we chopped into bite sized pieces
Check out this blog I found on pintrest with the recipe for the Saltine Cracker Toffee bark: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/03/saltine-cracker-toffee.html
To drink we had Champagne with cranberries as a garnish in the glass, coffee, teas AND two holiday drinks: spiced apple cider and eggnog!
For the spiced Apple Cider, I bought jug of apple cider at my local grocery store. I heated it up in a pot until it was simmering. Then I added two cinnamon sticks. I also placed 2 tsp of whole cloves and 2 tsp of whole all spice into a coffee filter and tied it at the top to make a little pouch. I let the pouch simmer for about 20 minutes to add flavor, but then took it out so that the spices wouldn't be too strong. Later on when the guests arrived I added whole cranberries and thin slices of oranges to garnish the drink.
For the eggnog, I bought 2% eggnog from our local grocery store, and placed it in a glass bowl over a bowl of ice. Eggnog should always be served chilled and kept cold. Then to add garnish and flavor I grated some fresh nutmeg on top!
To set the mood I decorated the whole place for Christmas, made sure to light candles and Matthew made a Christmas music playlist that was on in the background all night. Everyone seemed to have a good time, the place was filled with boisterous laughter and the holiday drinks ran dry.
I'll save the second half of the month for another time. Just wanted assure you that I'm still alive and well!
Holidays, here I come!!
Ooooohhhh Christine, your auntie thinks the food looked yummy - and what I could see of the house did too :)
ReplyDelete