Sunday Best v.264

Diamonds are Forever by Kurt Pio

This weekend seemed to fly by! We hosted friends for a Star Wars night, I tackled wallpaper removal in the guest room, and Ashleigh and I went to see a play. As is my tradition, I'll be tweeting the Golden Globes @amberfi tonight. 

• Russian Tea was always a tradition where I'm from. We didn't make it in my house, but I remember all my friends having some at their homes.
• A burger bucket list.
• The history of red lipstick.
• Proof David Bowie is cooler than you.
• Kevin Hart, Ice Cube and Conan go on a drive.
• If you've watched it, you know Making a Murderer is all about hairstyles.
• Excited for this miniseries about Queen Elizabeth II!
• Incredibly well-written, but haunting, story about a little girl's drowning and how it could have been prevented.
• 52 places to visit in 2016.
• A new fun co-worker game: The Hungry Games.

Double-Fried Belgian French Fries

I'm sure you all have great health goals for 2016, and I of course, want to continue my journey toward eating healthier and being more active. But on New Year's Eve, I wanted to make steak frites as I did a few years ago, and I wanted to make frites the Belgian way: double-fried.

Making fries at home can be as easy or as complicated as you make it, but when you're going for restaurant-style Belgian frites, two kitchen gadgets will make it easier: a mandolin slicer and a deep fryer (I borrowed Ashleigh's).

First, I sliced two russet potatoes on the mandolin slicer really skinny using the fries attachment. Then, I soaked them in water for an hour, drained them and patted them down to remove any extra starch.

Meanwhile, I heated an entire bottle of vegetable oil to 375 degrees in the deep fryer. This takes a few minutes, but you'll know when it's ready because your kitchen will smell like a McDonald's.

In small batches, I fried the fries once for about 3 minutes, then set them aside to work on the next batch. Then, I repeated the process to double-fry them. This gets them perfectly crispy without being overcooked and hard. Once finished, sprinkle with sea salt and maybe an eensy bit of garlic powder if you like.

We ate them with steaks marinated in this sauce and every bite was delicious.

Since it was New Year's, we enjoyed glasses of prosecco, mine spiked with limoncello.

It was a wonderful New Year's, and the fries were perfect. But now I have a deep fryer in my house, and I'm trying to resist the urge to fry everything!

Sunday Best v.263

In all the hubbub, I forgot to share this picture of our visit with Santa at Christmas Town! My parents weren't super into Santa, so I didn't have a tradition of trekking to the mall to see him each year. Needless to say, I can't imagine a better Santa pic!

• Inspiring pictures of artists' drawings after practice.
• I found Obama's appearances on Comedians in Cars super delightful.
• The best time to buy plane tickets in 2016.
• Images of space from a lost GoPro weather balloon.
• Letters to Santa, found a century later.
• In case you didn't know, a man invented vibrators because he was tired of giving medical orgasms.
• The best beauty products according to Buzzfeed readers. BRB, I gotta update my Amazon wish list!
• Looking for new books to read? Try this list or this list or this list.
• Always good: weather bloopers.
• This girl thinks Space Voldemort is the good guy in Star Wars.
• How to slim belly fat, according to the NYT: exercise, but not sit-ups.
• This self-taught teenager sews historical gowns! Amazing.
• Seriously had no idea it was this easy to make DIY candles.
• The best of 2015 pop culture.

Holiday Wine Club Recap

Wine Club finished out 2015 in classic fashion, starting with our annual Holiday party, hosted by Erica.

 Her house looked so perfect, I said Lauren looked like a Christmas ad!

In addition to prime rib, green beans and a mashed potato bar, Erica set out this adorable cheese tree...er, tray...and it was so picture-perfect.

She also made and decorated brownies and rice krispie treats, which I seriously couldn't stop shoveling into my gullet. 

With a fire raging on the television, we started our annual Wine Club white elephant. We bring only fabulous gifts we all would want, so this year, the gifts up for grabs included movie tickets, scarves, earrings, ornaments, a card game and more.

Ashleigh takes the first present (which happened to be mine).

Our holiday party always features a line-up of sparkling wines. By some Christmas miracle, none of us were hungover messes the next day!

We met up again at my house on Dec. 30 to have our annual holiday movie PJ party. This year, we watched none other than....

The Holiday!

 Since the characters in the movie switch houses in California and England, I figured we'd have cuisine inspired by the two locations. Bad blogger I am, I completely forgot to document my process at all. That must mean I actually finally know what I'm doing!

I served up a California tex-mex taco ring made with cheddar-topped crescent rolls filled with chicken, pico de gallo, crumbling queso and sour cream, guacamole and salsa on the side. For dessert, I made British-inspired Earl Grey mini bundt cakes, covered in a limoncello glaze and sparkling sugar.

 But, if I do say so myself, the piece de resistance is my popcorn, made in my beloved Whirly Pop stovetop cooker. I made two variations: sea salt honey butter...

...and Rosemary Garlic. I'm proud to say both bowls were literally licked clean.

This marked our sixth year of Wine Club holiday festivities and I can say with certainty, it is the best thing in my adult life.

Five Days, Three States, Neverending Congestion

 No better way to kick off the new year with new starts than to recap the past week, right? My dearest Ashleigh has been nagging me to blog more and what can I say? She's exactly right. I had this week off from work and have filled it with luxurious lollygagging, Nyquil-induced napping in hopes of finally shaking my shaggy congestion and a lot of cooking. Decidedly, not a lot of blogging, which makes even me sad because this is the closest thing I have to a record of my life!

Last week, we packed up our packages and set off on one of our ridiculous, overstuffed but joyful holiday journeys in which we tried to see every single loved one we could squeeze in.

 We started our journey in my hometown, where I again stayed at The Inn at Wise, and my hometown pals gathered for our annual Ludachristmas get-together. We ate at The Pub and then retired to our hotel room for some rousing games of Cards Against Humanity and our gift exchange. No party would be complete without our posed photo shoot, this time on the balcony overlooking Main Street.

We're ready for our CW drama.

 The next morning, we were off to Kentucky, where we had a great day with my mom watching Christmas movies good and bad (Jingle All the Way was a laffer), noshed on delicious ham-and-cheese and turkey-and-cheese sliders and spinach dip and meatballs, exchanged gifts and played our annual terrible White Elephant, in which I won broken sunglasses AND a $5 bill. My favorite gift? These glasses that turn Christmas lights into snowflakes! So cool.

 For a few years now, we've gotten British-style crackers and worn our paper crowns. So fun!

 I love nothing more than Land O Lakes hot cocoa and my mom set up a hot cocoa bar!!! It was most excellent. The s'mores flavor is legit.

 As we were leaving, we caught the ring glow around the moon and it seemed magical for Christmas Eve. I've always felt like the sky is extra significant on Christmas, when I imagine the wise men guided by the North Star. It helps me feel connected.

 On Christmas Day, we headed to the border of Tennessee to see my dad and his family and watch their dog Poppit mess with their dancing Snoopy doll. Always delightful!

From there, we headed up I-81, making a stop to see my grandma, who is as funny and sweet as ever. I'm so happy I was able to see her, and wish I was able to do it more often.

 Not to be deterred, we kept at it until we arrived in Silver Spring, Maryland just in time for dinner with Sean's family. Sean's Aunt Elizabeth served up the most delicious nontraditional Christmas meal I think I've ever had, with cheesy orzo, roasted carrots and cousin Thijs's homemade crabcakes with remoulade and tarragon sauces whipped up by cousin Emily. It was truly scrumptious, and we had fun talking at dinner about all of our current favorite topics: Serial and Hamilton.

On Saturday, we exchanged gifts with Sean's family and tried to solve the world's problems at dinner. We haven't quite resolved all of them yet, but at least we tried as hard as a Model UN might have. Afterward, a few of us went to see the movie "Brooklyn," about an Irish immigrant girl adjusting to life in America in the 1950s. We LOVED it. The theater was packed and we ended up in the front row; thankfully, the theater had reclining seats, but I told Katie when it was over that it's the first time I've left a movie with bedhead. When I cried, my tears went sideways. LOL. 

 On Sunday, we were able to do something we haven't achieved in years, which was to get together a bunch of our college newspaper staff! We were finally able to meet our friends' children and they were so adorable and hilarious.

Things that bond you forever: designing a newspaper while watching the sunrise, midnight dance parties and drunk antics at college newspaper conferences. It was so nice to be together, and a perfect end note to our whirlwind holiday travel.

I received some wonderful gifts, and I'd daresay the most surprising and wonderful was a Kindle Paperwhite from Sean, who was tired of watching me aim my phone flashlight at my old Kindle in the dark. Very sweet. Thank you to all who spoiled us with wonderful treasures and sweets!

The Holiday Season 2015

Do you remember when you were a kid, or even in college, and Christmas just felt like a blanket you could curl up under? Seemingly endless days spent watching movies, baking cookies, snacking on popcorn tins, shaking my presents under the tree. And then you grow up, and it's basically a monthlong blur of scrambling to put up decorations, shop, wrap, and go to parties. Nary a holiday film has been watched!

Nonetheless, we have had some good holiday fun and a little bit of trauma. For the first time in my life, I have a house to decorate and it was almost too much pressure to decide what our holiday style would be! I knew Sean would not be super keen to be spending hours on a ladder, hooking icicle lights along the gutters. I wanted classy, but unique. 

After peeking around at what's available, we decided to get garlands for the columns on our porch, two little lit-up trees in my porch planters and -- the piece de resistance -- a Moravian star. Apparently, easier said than done.

One of the tricky hiccups making our dreams hard to realize is that there is no outdoor electric plug on the front of the house, so we could run approximately one extension cord from the garage for the Moravian Star.

That meant it would be really helpful if I could find battery-powered garlands. I found some on Target's website during the big Black Friday shopping weekend and was delighted to save something like 44% on three garlands. AND to make everything better and easier, I could select the "pick up in store" option and avoid waiting for them to ship. Much easier said than done. I ended up selecting the wrong Target location, had to drive 30 minutes out of the way, wait about 40 minutes in the pick-up line and then was informed they didn't have the garlands. Come again?! So, be forewarned that the "pick up in store" option doesn't actually guarantee the items will be in the store when you get there. Womp womp.

I finally was able to find battery-powered 9-foot garlands with a timer setting from Sears online, but by that point, I was fed up with life. I bought little mini 3-foot fake trees that I literally just stuck in the potting soil in my planters and decorated with bows and ornaments from the Dollar Tree. They have battery-operated lights, too.

I bought a classy boxwood wreath at Home Depot and added a plaid bow from Michael's and a glittery "love" ornament from A. Dodson's. Fun story: I thought this was a faux wreath until it started to get weirdly stinky and I realized it might be real. Or it's a really stinky plastic wreath. One or the other.

One of the joys of having a house this year is that, for the first time in about six years, we were able to get a full-size real tree! It smells amazing and looks so pretty.

On our mantle, I put up a glittery white garland I bought years ago when I lived alone, and was excited to put out bottle brush trees I bought on clearance after the holidays last year.

It makes me sad the holiday season is almost over and I'll have to take all of this down!

Otherwise life has been busy! We went to three parties last week, including my 80s-themed work party (shown above), and Ashleigh and I had a wonderful Friday date night at Christmas Town.

The beautiful "12 Days of Christmas" tree in France.

We had so much fun, and even sprang a very worthy $20 to pose for photos with Santa.

This week will be exhausting, but I'm excited to see every one and enjoy some time with family. Happy holidays to you and yours!

Sunday Best v.262

More adorable behind-the-scenes pics here.

Have you seen the new Star Wars yet? I LOVED IT. We've been so busy this holiday season...busier than I can ever remember with parties and get-togethers and concerts and beyond. I definitely need to do a big post about our holiday decor, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, here's some good links to check out from the past week or so:

• The girl who made up "on fleek" hasn't made any money for it.
• Open Table's top 100 restaurants for 2015.
• Stormtroopers tackle holiday decorating.
• Christmas in the 70's vs. Christmas today. (I was an 80's baby, and Christmas was just like the 70s version).
• A hilarious and dead-on version of Star Wars if told by Ken Burns.
• I will miss The Soup, even if I never had time to watch anymore.
• Prince's awesome cover of Creep.
• ICYMI: Instagram Husband.
• I'm a girl and this funny explanation of the hymen blew my mind.
• Tickle your ears with the 10 Best Podcasts of 2015.
• Could this be the real face of Jesus?
• An oral history of The League.
• The history of Tina and Amy as best friends.
• AND Tina and Amy appear on Broad City as nuns.
• The winners of the comedy wildlife photography competition.
• This hilarious piece perfectly sums up shopping for men.
• A smart mom declares why she doesn't care where her kids go to college.

Christmas Wrapping 2015

 It's become a grand tradition around these parts to unveil my annual wrapping color scheme. It all began in 2006, when I decided I hate most holiday wrapping paper and wanted to just choose a few coordinating rolls I could technically use all year and be done with it. But over time, it's proven to be both a surprisingly relaxing (seriously) and creatively challenging endeavor. So, without further ado: Christmas Wrapping 2015.

Two big changes for this year: first of all, this is about as traditionally Christmas I've ever done and second, every single roll came from Target. Once I found the first one that inspired me, I couldn't find any other good plaids or patterns anywhere else! I decided to do a loose theme of plaids, checks and houndstooth prints with solid copper paper as an accent.

 I bought ribbons at Michael's and Target. I'm obsessed with the striped grosgrain, but the gingham is also giving me life.

I originally thought I'd try to REALLY challenge myself and do a nontraditional red and green. That's kind of my white whale of holiday wrapping because it's very hard to find any rolls that fit the bill. But someday I'll do it. Someday.

For a refresher, take a whirl through the wayback machine to look at past wrapping schemes: 2006-2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Scenes From Thanksgiving 2015

Thanksgiving itself was a whirlwind; Sean had to work the day before and the day after, so we did a quick round trip to his parents' house. I'm guessing we had fun, because I mostly forgot to take any pictures of anything! My mother-in-law made a turkey of only legs (this is a thing you can buy, apparently!), delicious ham and with my sister-in-law, a great side dish of sweet potatoes and apples.

I made roasted brussels sprouts and we enjoyed pecan pie and apple pie topped with cousin Emily's hand-whipped cream. So good!

The Kennedys have a very dinner party-style Thanksgiving that starts with cheese and champagne, for which I am grateful.

And we always start with a salad. Not very traditional, but I love it. Elizabeth made this salad with sliced pears, walnuts and blue cheese.

We had fun leading up to the main event watching Friends' Thanksgiving episodes on Netflix and now I'm totally down the Friends rabbit hole. I can recite most episodes, but I didn't remember the last two seasons very well, so now I'm working on that.

Although I definitely did indulge in a little Black Friday shopping, I saved most of my energy for Small Business Saturday. I don't have to tell you that Small Business Saturday feeds a boost into your local economy; the community members who own and work at these stores also spend their money around the area, pay taxes, send their kids to local schools and patronize local restaurants. If they have more money, we all benefit. /rant.

If you're in the Hampton Roads area and would like to support some local small shops, here were my stops in Norfolk on Saturday: 

• Samla: Fresh florals, home goods, beauty items, jewelry and accessories, and stationary.
• Table Seven: An entire store devoted to tabletop antiques and hostess gear. My dream store!
• Bridget's: I've never walked out of Bridget's empty-handed. It's an amazing gift shop with art items, stationary, accessories, baby gifts, an AWESOME jewelry selection and all the most adorable knicknacks you never knew you needed.
• A. Dodson's: A local institution among gift shops, A. Dodson's has three locations. I especially love to pop in at the holidays when their selection of decor and ornaments is full of German glass glitter-covered I-have-to-have-its.
• Le Marche: These importers of fine French gifts and furniture also have the best ornament game in town. I can never resist picking up some super unique ornament when I'm there; they even had ornaments of blue crabs in cages!
• Kitsch: Kitsch is a local art and craft consignment store that showcases the very best Virginia has to offer. I especially love the felt flowers, stuffed Day of the Dead mobiles and great prints from artists across the state.