Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Happy 7th day of Christmas 

& New Year's Eve!

Z & I celebrated a quiet, cozy

holiday that included a couple of church services,

savory artichoke, olive, & onion pizza,

& homemade pasta and creamy basil tomato sauce

with shrimp & scallops for Z.

We also went with some of Z's students

to the famous Casa Bonita,

which was definitely an experience

we will not soon forget.

Now Z is off to the Orange Bowl

with some good friends, 

so we had to eat our New Year's

black-eyed peas & braised greens

before he left.

Happy New Year everyone!

It's beginning to look..

a lot like a white Christmas.

Over the last couple of days

over 14 inches of snow fell here, 

and there are massive drifts all around,

over 2ft on our deck!

Inside the house, though, 

things are all decorated & cozy.

I love our little tree...

it's tiny, but we didn't

have room for a large tree.

I think it's adorable.

oooh..holiday bokeh time.

Almost all of our Advent chocolates

have been consumed...

Christmas is almost here!

Thankfully the sun is out with clear skies today, 

so the snowy mountains are amazing!

Family photo

Just another photo I like

from the recent visit

with Z's family.

We took a day trip to Estes Park

and I snapped this shot of the 4 of them.

It makes me happy.

Party like Bernie

Oh my, I have been a terrible blogger...

how is it already almost Christmas?!

These last few weeks have been filled

with juggling work, crocheting & making gifts, 

cleaning, throwing a little get-together, 

decorating our tiny Christmas tree, 

interviewing (more later), 

& shopping.

Whew!

Also, I had a little issue with my

camera that's made it difficult to 

actually take photos of all these

goings-on.

I did use Z's iPhone to get a few shots

of the open house we had for 

Z's students.

Of note:

1. Our tree is so small that Z's head completely blocks it out

in this photo.

2. It's obvious that we know how to party...

Z is reading to everyone.

 They were all so tired from exams that

they were happy to sit, drink warm cider, 

and eat some holiday treats...

oh, and of course there was the 

first annual Christmas viewing 

of clips from

Weekend at Bernie's II

& the subsequent demonstration

of the hit dance craze, 

The Bernie.

Yes, holiday cheer & tradition abounded.

Anatomy of a sunset

Yesterday Z & I took advantage of some warmer weather

by getting outside. I took a lovely hike, and as I waited

for him to return from his long run, 

I chronicled the sunset's progression on his iPhone.

It was simply stunning.

And this morning...SNOW!

House Tour: Downstairs

I'm probably a little overdue for a tour

of our townhouse since we've lived here since August, 

but our recent Thanksgiving guests

meant that we finally got around to hanging up

more artwork & doing a top-to-bottom

cleaning, so I thought it the perfect time to

share some photos.

Here is what you see immediately upon entering.

The front door opens to the living room, 

with a small hallway leading to the

kitchen, tiny eating area, back deck, 

and a couple of storage closets.

Our small, bright kitchen is nice, 

but I do miss having a gas range.

Back in the living room, this is the view

from the front door.

And coming back to the living room from the kitchen area.

I love how the high ceiling opens up the space!

Looking at the space from the bottom of the stairs.

The ample wall space & crazy angles

are wonderful for displaying the eclectic pieces

we've picked up along the way.

Fun fact: Mr. Wilson likes to use that mirror

on the landing

to look up the staircase instead of turning his head. :)

And finally, here's the view of the living room

from the top of the stairs.

Currently the upstairs is functional

with its two bedrooms, bath, and laundry closet, 

but not at all styled.

I've got some DIY projects planned for those areas, 

so hopefully they will come together sooner rather than later.

I will post about my progress as I go!

This is dedicated...

to the one I love.

Happy Birthday

 my love.

Photo credit: Andy Noise

Thanksgiving 2011 OR Diary of a Turkey Virgin

This Thanksgiving was a day of firsts:

our first Thanksgiving in Colorado, 

our first visitors (Z's parents & brother from NC), 

our first time hosting the meal, 

and my first time cooking a turkey.

As a long-time vegetarian 

I was a little nervous about cooking a 

Thanksgiving turkey, 

but as a food/cooking enthusiast, 

I felt up to the challenge.

I decided not to take any chances with a frozen turkey

and ordered a fresh one from our local market.

Then I searched online for recipes.

After reading that brining is the best way to avoid

dry meat, I settled on a recipe from

The Pioneer Woman.

Hard to go wrong with her

(unless you are on a diet).

So the brine was made and the turkey guts pulled out

(I didn't use them in the gravy, so I just tossed them out), 

but then there was the little problem of 

finding a brining bag.

I could not find them in any grocery stores.

A couple of specialty food stores had them, 

but they were outrageously priced, 

so I had to be resourceful.

I bought some Ziploc XL bags (10 gallons)

poured in my brine & my 11 lb turkey, 

then fit it all into my biggest stockpot, cinched it

with a chip bag clip & let it soak overnight.

Thankfully it fit perfectly, so I didn't have to turn it!

I also made the cranberry sauce &

chocolate caramel tart ahead.

Thanksgiving morning, 

with the turkey thoroughly rinsed & the potatoes cubed, 

we headed over to watch Z run in the Turkey Trot.

It was a glorious 65 degrees & sunny, 

which was great for the spectators but too warm for the runners.

A very Parris Thanksgiving.

Back at home, we had to get down to business.

Z & his brother baked a pumpkin pie from scratch

while I got the turkey going and worked on the 

fontina & parmesan potato casserole.

Here's the turkey part-way through.

Unfortunately since I was keeping so busy

basting the turkey, making the casserole, 

brown sugar shortbread, brussels sprouts, & raspberry tea, 

I didn't have much time to take pictures, 

but believe me, that bird was golden brown in the end.

The set up was a little crazy, too. 

We don't have any real eating area in our place, 

so the plan was to set up two tables

and all 9 chairs that we own in the living room & 

use the side table as a buffet.

It actually worked well, but since everyone was gathered 

in the living room watching football we didn't get to set it up

until right before we ate, so again I failed to take any good photos.

This gives you an idea, but it actually looked much cozier & pretty.

Some friends of ours brought some delicious sweet potato casserole, 

2 types of dressing, and Z's cousin brought the rolls.

I really enjoyed cooking everything, and aside from

an issue with the gravy (really hard to season something properly

when you can't taste it...oh well) I thought I did pretty well...

for a turkey virgin.

Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful, too!

Sneak Peek

I've been keeping my crochet hook 

very busy lately with some new projects!

Another crocodile ruffle neck cozy.

(My first commissioned piece!)

A long (4-5ft) stripey scarf

And some fun, candy-inspired hats

I've also got some crocheted home decor items, 

baby & kids hats, and even some baby cardigans

in the works!

p.s. It is really difficult to model & photograph at the same time :)

Giveaway winner!

 I plugged all the entries into a random number

generator and lucky number 13 is our winner.

So congrats to Ledford Land!

Thanks to everyone who entered, 

and check back soon for another giveaway...

I had so much fun, I'm already 

planning the next one!

Crochet giveaway!

(giveaway now closed)

That's right, it's my first blog giveaway, 

and I'm pretty excited about it!

Recently I had the good fortune to win 

two different blog giveaways, 

and I decided that I wanted to host one myself.

When I realized that this was going to be my

blog's 300th post, 

I thought it would be the perfect time to

give readers the chance to win

one of my handmade crocheted neck warmers.

I love this little neck warmer. It'll perk you up & keep you

warm on those gray winter days without the bulk of a full scarf.

It features crocodile stitch ruffles & a shiny blue button

for an adjustable fit.

Simply leave me a note in the comments to enter.

Be sure to include an email address (if not already in your profile)

 so I can contact you if you win!

The winner will be selected on Monday, November 21st.

Good luck! 

Sports Weekend continued

Not only did we attend the Buffs' basketball game on Friday, 

but we also made it to the football game the following day.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day...

except for the wind.

We're talking gusts around 70 mph.

Thankfully the stadium protected us from

being hit by tree branches

but there was still plenty of dirty & leaves

blowing around, 

and the strong wind cut right through our layers.

The good news: a Buff win...

finally.

It's always fun to see the students so excited, 

especially after such a disappointing season for them...

we just had to stay to see them rush the field

to celebrate the win with the team.

But then we made our way back home as quickly as possible

to thaw out in blankets with piping hot tomato soup & sandwiches.

Yum.