Parisian Love

As if I didn't love Paris enough already, I think I love it even more after watching this google.com commercial - City of Light and love!


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Practical Wishing

Now that I have my own house, a mortgage, my Christmas list is seeming more practical that splurge-worthy like years past. I mean who doesn't love new clothes, or shoes, or gift cards...

One thing I need this year though - though it seems all too practical and un-Christmasy, are these magnetic spice containers. They stick right to your fridge, how perfect and accessible is that? For lack of a good organization system, I'm been stashing my spices in a J.Crew bag above my refrigerator...classy, huh?

Thankful For...

With the business of this holiday weekend, I'm a little behind on my Thanksgiving post, but better late than never right?

This year, I'm thankful for...
* my wonderful, amazing family...that they're happy, healthy, and mostly close by
* my kind, generous, thoughtful boyfriend who has always makes me feel special
* my job, I feel very lucky to be employed in this economy
* my class, 24 little 7 & 8-year olds that keep me excited and wanting to go to work everyday
* my new home, the fact that I have a home of my own
* my friends...who keep my life full of laughter and good times

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

How Cute is This Kindle?

I know this video has been circulating blog land for a while now, but it's new to me as I just saw the TV commercial in the flesh yesterday. While it would never inspire me to purchase a kindle, I love the creativity!

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Seasons Greetings

My kind of holiday card...

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Dessert Last Night

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I treated myself to a batch of these pumpkin cupcakes yesterday (albeit mine had store bought cream cheese frosting). Delicious, a perfect holiday treat!

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The Best Holiday Cards EVER!

These are AMAZING! Scratch and sniff holiday cards in all your favorite scents - gingerbread fresh from the oven, minty candy canes, and pine needles and winter snow. Happy Holidays!

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via littlethings

New Moon Recap

Okay friends, I must admit, I might almost be swayed to Team Jacob after watching the latest episode of the Twilight saga: New Moon. Considering New Moon was my least favorite book, it did make for quite an exciting and eventful movie.

Mind you, Edward is absent for much of this movie, thus Bella turns her attention and affection to young-ling Jacob. Now, Jacob (a.k.a. actor Taylor Lautner) definitely beefed up for this movie, which was a little hysterical in that he and his wolf pack pretty much saunter around shirtless in jean shorts for the majority of the movie. Another thing - he is so wonderful and thoughtful to Bella throughout the movie, who in response in such a tease! I truly felt bad for Jacob as it's obvious Bella is an Edward-girl for life.

Ultimately, the one thing keeping me on Team Edward (don't forget Taylor Lautner is a baby at 17...jail bait). Go see it, it's excellent!

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It's the Weekend!

It's the weekend, hooray! Super excited to see New Moon with my girls - who are you voting for - Team Edward or Team Jacob?

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Ode to Stinky Cheese

I adore cheese. Gruyere, gouda, or gorgonzola... I love it all! I was very intrigued to read about Joanna's experience with Langres, a French cow’s milk cheese best served by pouring Champagne over the top. Doesn't that sound exciting?? Until Joanna's post, this was a French cheese I didn't have on my radar.

Hoping that the next time I have something to celebrate, I'll break out the bubbly...and the Langres for good measure!

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Top of My Wish List

I am crushing on this Coach bag, thinking it might just be #1 on my wish list this year...

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Study Abroad or Bust

My youngest sister is applying to many a study abroad program for next semester. She just heard back that she got into 2 New Zealand programs, Otoro and Auckland. Still waiting on Sydney and a few others... Can't wait to see what she decides!

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Red Cups

While I typically would rather support the java underdog, I find Starbucks' red cups irresistible. Gingerbread, peppermint, and egg nog lattes - oh my! Well actually, nonfat gingerbread lattes and peppermint mochas are my drinks du jour, and since the season of red cups is short lived, 'tis the season to indulge!

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Wine Your Turkey

Ever heard of marinating a turkey in wine? Ever a fan of the sweet wine Riesling, I was surprised to hear it could be used on a turkey! This year Martha's mixing it up with Maple Roasted Turkey with Riesling Gravy. What do you think? Would you make this for your Thanksgiving? What is your fave Thanksgiving dish?

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Friends Thanksgiving

Our 3rd annual Friends Thanksgiving was a roaring success. This year we even had 28 people in attendance! This holiday party started 3 years ago, stemming from the fact that a good percentage of my friends are not from the Seattle area. With a few from Canada, one from England, and the rest scattered around the US, many of our friends are "transplants" to the Seattle area.

This potluck-style party brings everyone together to celebrate our friend "family." It's such a fun tradition, everyone brings something to the table, we had everything from ham to turkey to mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, gingerbread, all the fixings! I'm very thankful for my friends!

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Busy Weekend Bee

This weekend I'll be a busy, busy bee. With an engagement party Friday night, followed by a Friends-Thanksgiving celebration Saturday night, and finally seeing a Sunday matinee of The Christmas Carol, I'll be spent! And of course (let's not forget) writing report cards in my spare time...Phew, hope I have time to work out or at least get a yoga class in! We'll see...

Happy weekend!

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New Moon Rising

Who's excited?? Just one more week, can't wait for New Moon!

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Defying Gravity

For all you Wicked fans out there, did you hear "Defying Gravity" on Glee last night? It was AWESOME! I am continually impressed by the vocal talents of the cast. Have a listen, you won't be disappointed.

Edible Heaven

I've been channeling my inner-French girl by reading Joanna of Cup of Jo's latest blog experiment - Experience Parisienne. Her latest quest at finding all things Parisian - a pain au chocolat taste test. This is my version of edible heaven...

Pain au chocolat is literally my favorite pastry, more than all the tarts and brioches and canapes in all the world! I just love the flaky outside, soft inside of a croissant which is only improved by the hidden layer of chocolate inside - it is simply unbeatable in my mind! Next time I'm in NYC, I'm definitely stopping in to Balthazar - the winning pain au chocolat of Joanna's taste test. Yum!

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Holiday Scents

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas at my house. Eager to kick off the upcoming holiday season I stopped into Bath & Body Works and picked up their scrumptious holiday scent - Winter. The scent is a lovely blend of crisp pine trees, apples and cinnamon, and a little bit of cloves thrown in for good measure. The best part is winter comes in the $5.00 mini candles, the perfect size to enjoy the season.

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Dinner Last Night

It's raining, it's pouring, I wish I was snoring....what better to cap off a gloomy, gray day than breakfast for dinner! Of course, I can't take all the credit, I owe a lot of my sweet meal to Trader Joe's pumpkin pancake mix. I of course added my own personal touches, on batch #2 I threw in a handful of chocolate chips, and in lieu of syrup I topped my stack with apple butter. Dinner never tasted so sweet!

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Can I Go Back to Bed?

Forgive my lack of posts, I'm seriously dragging today. I feel about like this, tired, exhausted, wanting to just crawl back into bead and pull the covers over my head. This is what it feels like when your energy runs out...

Hoping to recharge by tomorrow...

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Movie Madness

Holiday movie season is about to commence. Last weekend was A Christmas Carol, and just around the corner is New Moon, The Blind Side, and this movie that looks like a fun, flirty, romantic comedy - It's Complicated. Looks like I've got a few movie dates in my future! What movies are you looking forward to?

Happy Friday

This weekend I'll be watching a little football, getting a jump start on writing my Christmas list, and relaxing with friends. Have a lovely weekend!

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Dressing Green

Go green like Ginnifer Goodwin! At a recent event she wore a dress made of recycled hospital scrubs. Who knew this unorthodox material could be such an exquisite gown? The best part, this dress was made by students from the Academy of Art students. Way to support budding talent and a good cause!

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Dinner Last Night: Spaghetti Squash with Jalapeño Cream

I made this little fall dish for dinner last night - Spaghetti Squash with Jalapeno Cream. Having never worked with spaghetti squash before I was quite surprised how spaghetti-like it is! Once cooked, it's stringy and noodle-like in appearance and dense in texture. This turned out pretty well, albeit a little runny. I think I might opt for half and half in lieu or regular milk next time for a richer, quintessential comfort food meal.

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To Sleeve or Not to Sleeve

To sleeve or not to sleeve - that is the question. According to stylists, Ivanka Trump may be bringing back the sleeved wedding dress. When Miss Trump contacted Vera Wang to design her wedding gown, she requested sleeves to suit her Orthodox ceremony. Wang then channeled icons past who had donned sleeves for their weddings, and modeled Ivanka's gown after Grace Kelly's, invoking the traditional and elegant "lace and royal factor."

I have to say, I kind of like the look. With my friends all buzzing with engagements, dress shopping, and wedding planning, I think in the end "unique," translates to "memorable." Kudos to Ivanka for stepping outside the trend box, who knows she might have even started a trend herself!

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Thanksgiving Dinner 3 Ways

Trying to spice up your Thanksgiving routine - well check out this article. New York Magazine rallied together 3 opposites; a French classicist, a molecular gastronomist, and a Slow Food duo from Brooklyn to reinterpret cooking America's most traditional meal.

The Challenge: Everyone had use these required ingredients: oysters, turkey, brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin - all while spending less than $150.00. I'm impressed, and now I have some inventive recipes for Thanksgiving 2009!

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Travel Blues

I'm finding myself coming down with a case of travel fever. Maybe it's my withdrawals from my summer vacation in Europe, or maybe I've just watched one too many episodes of the Amazing Race...

Currently I'm lusting over travels to Ireland, Japan, and Argentina. I seem to constantly have a revolving list of must-see destinations rotating in my head like a CD-disc changer. My list is longer than I'll probably financially be able to justify, but I figure it never hurts to dream, right?

A Little Bit of Ethiopia

I realized I forgot to blog about a unique dining experience I had a few weeks ago. My mom and I, in an effort to be adventurous, tried out an Ethiopian restaurant, Habesha in downtown Seattle. With both of us being new to Ethiopian food, I wasn't sure what to expect. While I'd heard of "injera," spongy bread that's used as the primary eating utensil, I'd never tried it myself.

The "injera" is quite a tool, it's spongy, absorbent, and incredibly durable. It soaks up stews and liquid without breaking or softening like most breads would. It serves as the utensils in lieu of a spoon or fork. Well, eating with our hands was something that took a little getting used to. At one point my mom looked around scanning the tables for a stray fork, the same way she does after forfeiting a dining battle to chopsticks.

We ordered a spicy halibut fish dish, and a chicken, vegetable and potato dish seasoned with tumeric. Both were tasty, an interesting and unique blend of spices, but good! It was a fun dining experience, and I'd definitely recommend trying Ethiopian if you haven't had the privilege.

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