2009 Christmas Menu

I've finalized the Christmas menu for this year. Click on the links for recipes.

Aromatic Christmas Ham
Sweet Potato Casserole
Garlic Roasted Green Beans with Shallots and Hazelnuts
Chestnut Chocolate Pots

Check back here for updated posts on progress.

Bon Appétit!!!

Oh, the silent majesty of a winter's morn...

So I'm quite excited about my first Christmas with Chris. In lieu of actual family plans on Christmas Day, we get to spend the day together and I am damn sure going to make it the best day ever.

Aiding me in that endeavor will be Nigella Lawson and her fabulous cookbook, Nigella Christmas.

I haven't quite pinned down the sides for our fabulous Christmas meal, but the centerpiece will be the Aromatic Christmas Ham. It will be the first ham I've ever prepared and I'm getting pretty stoked about it. I can't decide if cooking it or eating it will be better.

Ever absent, ever near

I seriously have to be one of the worst bloggers on Earth. I'm like a bad boyfriend. I always leave you hanging. Alas, my life has been quite busy as of late. The past months have been a whirlwind of activity with numerous trips and weddings. When I last left you, it was the beginning of October. I was about to embark on the old annual camping trip, promising an update. Yeah, I didn't do that. Minus one point for me. (Yes, just one point. It's my blog, and hence, I am the overseer of the point system).

Anyways, even though the camping trip went really well despite how frigid it was and I would really love to tell you about it, I'm not really one for living in the past. I'm actually quite excited about the future now. It's almost the end of the year and there are all these LISTS to create and review. I love lists. They give life a sense of order in a world of chaos.

And, naturally, since it's the end of the year, I'm thinking about how I want to make 2010 better.

The year of '09 was quite successful in that I landed a swell guy and cut a handful of poisonous ones from my life. Quite easier said than done, but the result has been pure bliss and a refreshed outlook on love and life that I probably wouldn't have had otherwise. So, that brings me to resolution number one, which is more of a continuance from last year's accomplishment: Only include people in my life that deserve to be there, who make me a better person, and who love me as much as I love them.

And while I'm on the track of only including people in my life that are good for me, I should probably consider expanding that idea to encompass only including THINGS in my life that are good for me. Read: healthy food and exercise.

Being in a relationship certainly can wreak havoc on your BMI, especially if the only contents of your loved one's fridge includes soda, beer, meat and cheese and their standard dinner consists of "freezer treats." I'm a foodie by nature and I come from a family of eaters. My mom is a cook, so of course I like to take a stab (ha) at preparing delicacies in the kitchen. Whoever said good food is made with lots of love and lots of butter wasn't kidding. But, if I want to live to see age 30, I might as well get back to my old ways of eating healthy, organic, mostly meat-free fare and hitting the gym a couple of times a week.

So ... so long, Coca-Cola, brownies and the convenience store in the downstairs lobby. It's been real. I'll miss you guys, but you're not really doing anything for me. It's not me, it's you. Let's just make this a clean break. Really, I'm better off.

Love, Brandy

I'm a Non-Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!!

Some of you may remember my earlier post about the possibility that my boyfriend would drag me into the wilderness at some point in our relationship. Well, the time has arrived. This weekend, I will be heading into Arkansas to attend Chris' annual family camping trip.

Enough with the jeers. I realize that the thought of me camping might be a bit comical. Yes, I realize that I once took approximately seven outfits on a camping trip just to be sure I had plenty of options. I also realize I was only nine. I also realize this might have been the last camping trip I have been on.

But, I was a regular camper at Camp Pin Oak (at least three summers in a row) and I'm pretty sure that if my much younger self can handle nature, the older, wiser version of me can hack it.

Do I feel bad that I have to Google a list of items to take on a camping trip? No. Am I embarrassed that it hadn't even occurred to me to take a flashlight? Slightly. Do I plan on kicking this camping trip's ass? Absolutely. I've already got major plans for our sleeping arrangements in the tent, which include foam mattress pad, 600 thread count sheets, and a down comforter.

Obsession of the moment

I am on-the-edge-of-my-seat excited for The September Issue, a documentary following Vogue editor Anna Wintour and her staff as they put together the September 2007 issue, which is generally lauded as "The Bible" of fashion. Why am I so fascinated and excited for this film to come to St. Louis? Well, I am minorly in awe of Anna Wintour and how she runs her magazine. As a person, she fascinates me ... probably because she's never really let that many people know much about her. She's famous for being a total ice queen and from the preview, she sort of lives up to that reputation. But seriously -- if you had to sit through interviews where people asked you straight to your face if you were a bitch, you'd probably be a tad icy too.

I have a lot of respect for her as a professional woman. She demands a lot of attention and respect in her career which -- let's be honest -- is what we all want. And, even though she has about a million critics and probably has about a million ideas about what defines beauty that are completely opposite my own, you have to credit her for being able to handle it all with complete and total poise.

But what I'm really hoping to get out of this movie is a one-time-chance to see her crack the Botox and smile or laugh a little. Or, on second thought, it might be more fun to see her make someone cry.

Verano en fotografia

Just call me Brandy Van Winkle

Yeah yeah, I know. It's been a while. I've been neglectful. Certainly not because I don't love you ... whoever you are. I do. Really ... I just needed some time to myself. It's not you, it's me.

Now that that awkward moment has passed, let's move on, shall we?

I've recently become inspired to start writing again. I'm not entirely sure I'm the most enthralling subject matter, but as I have no other ideas at present time, it will have to do.

What the hell have I been up to? Oh, loads. I can't write it all in this blog post. You'll die of boredom, but I sure can sum it up in a handy dandy top ten list of things I've done since my last post:

10. You see that beautiful, sad little puppy below? I no longer belong to her. She had to find a new family - one that could be home enough to prevent her extreme separation anxiety. I mean, I know I'm cool, Mills, but I'm not THAT cool. It was a hard breakup, but we had to make it happen. On a brighter note, Holly Golightly (queen bee/Persian cat of Barker Manor) is elated that she has the whole nest to herself again.

9. I saw a baby being born. Live. Yep. 'Nuff said. I will say that all you mommies out there are effing troopers and I salute you. Seriously. Especially my cousin. I think the hardest part was trying not to laugh out loud when she told the nurse she could go fuck herself. It was a special moment.

8. I've successfully started reading for pleasure again. I've plundered my way through four books in the past two weeks and I have no inclination to slow down. I bought 10 books from Hastings courtesy of a gift card from my dad and some family friends and I'm making those books my bitch.

7. Attended my high school reunion. A decade later, I managed to attend an event that I was totally dreading and ended up really enjoying. Findings: Some people really do change for the better. Some people blissfully stay just the same. And some people you can probably stand to delete off your Facebook.

6. Successfully fooled some good friends of Chris' into thinking we were actually married. And I didn't even try. Apparently, it was the constant picking on each other that gave them that idea.

5. Attended a wedding at Starbucks. Yup. It was as awesome as it sounds. Awesome wedding, awesome couple, awesome coffee.

4. Lost an evil stepmother. She and Lady Tremaine should get together, have drinks, and swap stories.

3. Paid off my car. This requires no explanation, but I certainly will accept your congratulations.

2. Attended the bachelorette party of one of my oldest and dearest friends and didn't have to introduce Pedialyte into the equation. I consider this to be a shining moment in my adulthood. I know when to say when.

1. Turned 28. That's two years away from 30. This gets a person to thinking about what they want out of life and how they want to continue living it. There are certainly some adjustments I want to make. There are things I'd like to continue doing and things I'd like to start doing. But that's all for another post.