My New Favorite

I don't know if you know about these spiral bobby-pins, but you should. They are amazing!!


You just pull your hair into a messy bun (or super sleek bun if that's your thing) on the back or side (or top or front- I guess) of your head and screw them right into the bun, one from the top and one from the bottom. They hold like magic and require no pony tail holders!! Couldn't be easier! Best thing is you only need two! (unless you wanted to make little buns all over your head then you would need two per bun but that would be weird- don't do that)
I found mine at Target after seeing them in a magazine but think they sell them at drug stores too.
Cheers to hair success!

Tamale Land

My kitchen became the land of tamales today. And it was good.


Corn Husks, whole and shredded





I soaked the husks while I made the masa and the filling


Masa dough


Veggie filling with zucchini, pablanos, diced tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, green onions, chili powder, cumin, and cheddar cheese



Then I made the tamales! A soaked corn husk, a layer of masa, and a layer of the veggie filling then roll them tight and tie them off!





I doubled my recipe so that I could freeze some and have quick dinners. The doubled recipe made three and a half dozen.
All that's left do do is steam them and eat them!! I can't wait!

I think this might be a good dinner to try at the beach if anyone wants to give it a shot!

Ahh, beach... If only...

The Snow Returns

And we are cozy indoors with Curb Your Enthusiasm and a new project.
Lemoncello!
It's going to take a couple weeks but it will be so yummy when it's done!








It's beautiful inside even if it's frightful out!



Oh, and Lu is visiting again!


Not dead.

Martha's New Best Friend

They just chatted and walked along together for a while.

We had an outting to the zoo today. Some of the animals were indoors because there is still quite a bit of snow on the ground, but we saw most of the ones the girls had asked about.






























Also you must make sweet potato biscuits! They are delightful!











If you want this recipe and can't read it, let me know and I'll type it out! Yum!

Our Special Day

Tiffanie had the day off today but wanted the chance to spend some one on one time with Adele, so Martha and I had a special day on our own!
It was super snowy this morning but it was beautiful! You could see every individual flake!



We made our way on the train to the Boston Commons so that we could go ice skating at the frog pond!
I hadn't been yet so I was as excited as M to give it a try!









On three year old terms it was a very successful skating trip! One time around the rink, an excited "That was fun! Now let's go!" and we were off to our next adventure!
Which was... Gnomeo & Juliette in 3D! We walked over to the theatre and got some popcorn before our movie which was super cute.
After the movie I let her choose what kind of lunch (yes this was all before lunch time) we should have. She chose pizza.
After pizza we walked back to the train and who do you think we found? Tiffanie and Adele! They had fun on their date too!

I love adventures and I rarely get to spend a whole day only seeing the world through a three year old's eyes! Plus she kept jumping up and down and giving me hugs... Success!

Breakfast for Lunch

We were going to go to Marblehead yesterday but we didn't wake up until lunch time so I just made biscuits instead. We're not lazy. I promise. I can't remember the last time I slept that late.
But Marblehead is going to be visited soon. I already know that we will move there and live there and love it there... We just have to visit first.
Anyway: Breakfast!

 Homemade buttermilk biscuits with Lemon & Pink Grapefruit Marmalade

Hope you all had a happy weekend! We are bracing ourselves for a few inches of snow tonight and tomorrow... so I don't want to hear from anyone experiencing any weather over 75 degrees for a few days. I might be bitter.
Christi, I don't know if you saw my message, but I need your address!

The Sweet Symphony of Snowmelt

The temperature hit 60 today!! And the snow melted a bit!
Yay!



This is a small river trickling down the street in case you can't figure out what this terrible picture is of.

Marmalade

So I've made a pretty big discovery. Marmalade isn't my favorite.
I like it. The flavor is good. I think I just happen to like jam better.
Whew. Now that I have that off my chest... I've finished my second batch of marmalade!
It's yummy! Very grapefruity!



Lemon & Pink Grapefruit Marmalade

Beat the Winter Blues

And other fun things were celebrated at Nolan & Elizabeth's place last night.


No more snow flakes!!!
There was even promise of a snow man burning but it didn't get that rowdy.






Mix master Bryan made cocktails to order all night and they were so yummy! He mixed French Gimlets, Whiskey Smashes, and Mojitos!
Happy Sunday! Off to brunch...
(then home again to work on my next batch of marmalade!!!)

An Early Valentine

My sweetie took me to dinner last night at a delightfully upscale southern restaurant called Hungry Mother. We had boiled peanuts, catfish pate, barbecue shrimp with grits, collard greens, etc, etc. So yummy!


Today he built me (us) a bookshelf!! The books were overtaking our nook and a shelf has been hunted for over a year with no positive headway so Bryan just made one! (I love that he can do that!) It certainly does the job and looks quite nice to boot!

Keepin it Real

I fell down for the second time in two days on my way home tonight. All the freaking ice covering every walkable surface is really troubling.
Then I got on the train and a fellow standing behind me had a ridiculously enormous gym bag which was grazing my rear end. He of course had no clue his bag was violating me so I just contorted my body and pulled in my bum, which in turn poked out my belly and I continued reading my book in this slightly uncomfortable stance as there was really nowhere else to go on the overly full train car. When suddenly the lady sitting in front of me looks up and asks me if I was pregnant (presumably because she was going to give up her seat- but still). Rather than freak out about the man's bag which was all up in my business and freak out at the lady for asking such a stupid question to someone who was wearing four layers and two coats... I just said "NO." fairly emphatically and continued reading my book.
I finally made it home and thawed out over a glass of wine and toast with marmalade at our downstairs neighbor's house.
Spring must be close at hand because my sanity was thoroughly questioned today and it shouldn't have to take much more of this nonsense.

Ta Da!

Strawberry Blood-Orange Marmalade with Rosemary!

How fun! I will definitely be making more preserves. It's very rewarding!

My First Try

I'm trying my hand at preserving today. I'm making my first batch of marmalade! I got a new (to me) kitchen scale this morning at the Cambridge Antique Market after two weeks of looking online and reading reviews I finally settled on an old school mechanical scale. It tares and weighs up to 25 pounds in one ounce increments!

My first marmalade is a 'Strawberry- Blood Orange Marmalade with Rosemary.' It will take two days to make and will be best if eaten within a year!

Check back tomorrow for finished product--- I hope!