There's No Place like Home for Hanukkah

As I've poured through my dozens of home decorating blogs, I've noticed a huge influx of Christmas decorating posts crop up. How to make a wreath, how to decorate a tree, etc. and Christmas is weeks away!


Where are the tips for us home-decorating-loving Jews? Hanukkah is swiftly approaching on Dec. 11 and I need some inspiration. Here's some great fodder that I dug up around the web:

How make Hanukkah Wine Goblets for your guests

Better Homes & Gardens

This is a great way to spruce up Goodwill glasses!

 

Got a spare Hurricane vase lying around? With some glitter and some glam, instant Hanukkah Dreidel centerpiece.

Glittered Dreidels

Martha Stewart

 

Can't figure out where you stashed your menorah from last year? Martha's on it with this elegant and super easy project.

Menorah of Glasses and Beads

Martha Stewart

 

Use some spray paint to create a Hanukkah-friendly Holiday wreath

Holiday Wreath

Real Simple

Finally, I'm not a huge fan of personalized frames but everyone is allowed a little bit of this kind of stuff around the holidays.

Personalized Hanukkah Frame

Available from Gifts.com

I'll post next week with some scrumptious Hanukkah recipes :)

Our Thanksgiving Marathon

Ah Turkey Day - complete with a cornucopia of flowers. We can just relax- after all - most of the food is catered!

Wait- relax? Not possible! Too much to prepare! This is the scenario Gus and I found ourselves in this Thanksgiving when my very generous and kind Aunt decided we should make copious amounts of food for our guests. 

For today's post I'm going to give you the rundown of everything we made between 2-5pm on Thanksgiving Day plus all the food that was brought in and then I want you to guess how many attendees we were planning for!

Everything in italics is food we made from beginning to end. Those with asterisks involved us heating things up between 2-5pm.

Appetizers:

Cheese Tray

Cream Cheese with Pepper Jelly + Crackers

Cream Cheese with Blackberry Jelly + Crackers

Baked brie

(We apparently like cheese in this family)

Dinner:

Turkey and gravy*

Beef Tenderloin*
Cranberry Sauce
Broccoli, Cheese, and Rice Casserole*

Squash Casserole*

Cornbread Dressing*
Sweet Potato Casserole*
Rolls
Fried Corn

Green beans with almonds

Bacon-wrapped and regular asparagus

Mashed Potatoes

Dessert:

Apple Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

Chocolate Pie (super nom)

Edible arrangement of fruit

Assorted berry bars

Blintzes

Ice Cream

Okay. Now it's your time to guess, based on the amount of food,  how many attendees were we expecting? The entire Native American population, perhaps?

 Eleven. Eleven people total. Yes, I know you're doing the math in your head - that's like a side per person. Oh well, it was delicious and there were surprisingly not all that many leftovers when all is said in done. I am thankful for my family's healthy appetites!

Giving Thanks for Bacon

I haven't quite gotten all my Thanksgiving photos ready for the blog. What you should be excited to know is that Gus and I ran an unexpected Turkey Day marathon of cooking! I hope to share a complete rundown of that craziness this week on LwA. 

In the meantime, I'd like to share with you a little treat we managed to make amidst the chaos - Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus! So easy, you'll wonder why you ever ate your veggie without bacon to begin with. 

Ingredients:
6 stalks of fresh thin stalk asparagus for every bundle you'd like to make (I used 36 total)
1 strip of bacon for every bundle you'd like to make (I used 6 total)
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil (enough for a drizzle of all the bundles)
Toothpicks


Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 400F.
2) Using your preferred method, cook the bacon half-way. I used a cooling rack sitting in a cake pan (so the fat dripped away from the bacon) and let it cook for about 8 minutes in the oven. Don't cook it completely - just half-way.
3) Now it's time to make the bundles. Line a baking sheet with foil.
4) Drizzle olive oil over all of the asparagus stalks. Sprinkle with a light coat (to your taste) of garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
5) Gather six stalks together with your hands. Using one strip of the half-cooked bacon, begin to wrap the stalks together. I usually tuck the top roll under itself to hold things more in place. You can also use a toothpick to keep things really secure.
6) Repeat with all your stalks until you have something that resembles this beauty...

7) Throw the baking sheet in the oven and cook for at least 10 minutes. Once the bacon has crisped up and the asparagus looks about done, you are ready to go. Serve immediately.

8) If you'd like your bundles to go farther, split them in half like I did (though I should have used a toothpick).

Go forth, and give thanks, for the bacon in your life...

and stay posted for more awesomeness du Thanksgiving.

Happy Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I'm currently in NC with my family and my favorite travel companion, Gus. Since we are currently stuffing our faces and then going shopping, I'll be away from my blog until Monday morning, Nov. 30.

Please come back Monday for more Living with Annie and have a great holiday with your friends and family :)

Cartoon originally from here

One-Sentence Dinners: Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork

While in Nashville, my gracious host and dear friend Laura made this meal for us. Hers was this one from AllRecipes. Mine is the same but with some additions, Here, in one sentence, is my take on the recipe:

Combine one pork tenderloin, 1/3 cup french dressing, 1 pkg Lipton Onion Soup Mix, one onion sliced, and one can of whole cranberry sauce and cook in crock pot on low for 8-9 hours.

Ingredients Breakdown:

1 pork tenderloin 

1/3 cup French dressing

1 pkg of Lipton Onion Soup Mix (there's two pkgs in a box)

1 onion sliced

1 small can of Whole Cranberry Sauce

1 tsp of the following spices (optional): Salt, Pepper, Dried Chili Flakes, Paprika, Garlic powder

Directions:
Literally, add it all together and cook it! Amazingly easy. 

What to do with leftovers? 

Make carnitas burritos! Saute up some leftover pork with red onions then add your favorite burritos fixings. Deeeeelicious.

Lots of Beautiful Blog Discoveries

Morning all. In the past few weeks, I've grown the number of DIY and Food Blogs I read exponentially! I've discovered so many gems that I'd like to make sure I spread the wealth and share them with you.


Here's a few to add to your weekly reading that are totally drool-worthy and fabulous!

Miss Mustard Seed's Creative Blog
http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com

A homepage for Miss Mustard Seed Creations, a home decorating and design business based in PA - this Creative Blog totally delivers on fantastic DIY projects and much, much more. She's got Before & After sections, Furniture Feature Fridays, and a regular feature on decorating tips and tricks!



A few recommended posts to get you started:
Furniture Painting Tutorial  
A look at Miss Mustard Seed's Office and all the project it contains 
Furniture Feature Friday Example 


Frugal Home Ideas
http://frugalhomeideas.blogspot.com/

Run by Stef in Dallas, Texas - frugal home ideas is chock full of exactly what it advertises - wonderful and affordable ideas for the home. I especially love how she creates Powerpoint drafts before making over rooms in her home.


Recommended starter posts:
Beadboard Wallpaper in the Bedroom - Incredible Transformation
Crazy Easy Wall Art 
How to make Wainscotting on a Budget - amazing 

Pickles and Cheese
http://picklesandcheeseblog.blogspot.com/

Run by Lisa in North Carolina (my home state, woot woot), Pickles and Cheese is a pretty incredible index of great DIY. Don't miss out on this blog.


These posts in particular:
Goodwill Lamp Re-do 
Decorating the Laundry Room 
Burlap Wall Art 

That's it for now guys. Gotta pack for Thanksgiving travel :)

Living with London

At my relatively young age, I'm lucky enough to say that I lived in London once upon a time. A bit shortlived at 8 weeks, it was nonetheless remarkably impactful on my life. It was for my first film internship where I learned to do script coverage for the first time (an important lesson for my career in film and as a writer) and the way I met Gus over three years ago. Needless to say, my life would be quite different had I not spent a summer across the pond.


In reminiscing about the experience. I've gotten to wondering if there's any unique London items out there for the home. We've all seen the cliche pieces that are mass-produced in every Bed, Bath, and Beyond just like everyone's seen that iconic Breakfast at Tiffany's poster of Audrey Hepburn.


So let's take a look at some more interesting options for celebrating the UK in a chic and sophisticated way.... Click any picture to go directly to the specific store or site.

London Love II Print by ArtSharkDesigns

9x6"

$15.00 plus s/h

Several other cities available including: DC, Los Angeles, Portland, Baltimore, Philly, and more!

Dance London by Shyama

10x10", Archival Print

$25.00 plus s/h

Additional London themed art available

London Bridge Union Jack Pillow by NakedDecor

16x16" Pillow Insert

$39.95 plus s/h

And lastly, even Ikea delivers on unique London-inspired home goods:

Vilshult by IKEA

55x39.25" Mounted Picture, Ready to hang

$59.99