December 24, 2015

Happy Holidays!

Sneaking in 2.5 seconds of introvert time because I wanted to take a moment to say HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!! If you’re celebrating, I hope you have a good one! I’m currently eating my way through our batch of Baked Artichoke Squares. I’m also gearing up to make Beef Tenderloin with Hasselback Potatoes & a ton of mushrooms. My mom brought her Curry Zucchini Soup, her famous salad and we have cookies for daaaaaaaaaaays for dessert. My brother is in town from NYC with his wife and we’re having a blast. Now I just need to get another bourbon drink in me and FOCUS.

Hope your weekend is filled with laughter, good food and good chats.

Thanks for being in my life! You mean the world to me.

xoxo

– Tracy

around the home, Inspiration

December 22, 2015

Champagne & Doughnuts NYE Party

As we wind down the year, I think we should go out with a bang, don’t you? I mean, we should totally be introspective and figure out our intentions/resolutions for 2016, but we should also eat doughnuts with champagne while doing so. I teamed up with Pier 1 again to show you how I transitioned some of my Christmas decorations into a simple/elegant NYE party.

recipes

December 21, 2015

Turkey Cranberry Meatballs

You guys ready for the Christmas holiday? I still have a ton to do. One of the most important things on my plate is finalizing what we’re having for Christmas dinner (I’m hosting!). I came up with this Turkey Cranberry Meatball recipe as a way to use cranberry sauce leftovers we had in the fridge. I loved how they turned out and I wanted to share them with you!

These turkey meatballs have cranberry sauce, kale & sage throughout. For the breadcrumb base, I took two slices of toasted Dave’s Killer Bread (in Good Seed)(non GMO & Organic!) and ground them up in my mini food processor. It’s a simple way to make breadcrumbs if you find yourself in a pinch.

We take the baked meatballs, poke little cocktail sticks through them and serve them with additional cranberry sauce. It’s like bite-sized Thanksgiving bites! I went through the batch super fast in my household. Instant hit!

my everyday life, Photography

December 19, 2015

My Everyday Life: Week 51

Here’s what My Everyday Life- Week 51 looked like:

My friend Lisa & I went to Petaluma + Sonoma for a night.

We ate at The Girl and the Fig for dinner.

My drink looked like Pac-Man.

We spent the day on an adventure.

It was the perfect way to unwind before the big holiday.

Playing cards by the fire at El Dorado.

A morning of pampering at the Fairmont.

Inspired by design.

Next time we’ll go to Sack’s when it’s open!

Leaf pile.

Stopping on the side of the road for treasures.

Rain.

Checking out all the antique stores.

Brunch at Topsy’s Kitchen was amazing.

I want this.

I FOUND IT.

December 18, 2015

I love lists Friday!

Welcome to I Love Lists, Friday! Let’s surf the internet together:

I’d like to order a 30 inch apple pie, please.
Crullers are my favorite doughnut. Well that and apple fritters.
10 Food Trends for 2016
Crazy Themed Road Trips through the US
Gingerbread House FAILS.
Star Wars Cast Then + Now
Tumbleweeds FOR DAYS.
I have this jacket on pre-order. I can’t freaking wait for January!
Mast Brothers Drama!
I love all this art work!
My new YouTube obsession is Vivianna Does Makeup
Emily writes about Blogs & Advertising
Cooper would LOVE these marshmallows.
Whoa, Macaulay. WHOA.
I don’t believe this. They haven’t seen me put together a desk from IKEA!
I just learned the term YUCCIE.
This cardigan, a good book & a hot toddy.
My friend Lisa made the most amazing calendar.
I’m anxious to try this cinnamon hazelnut butter
I want everything on this bartender gift guide list.
Drake on Cake is my favorite thing on the internet this week.
This dessert looks OUT OF CONTROL amazing.

This made me laugh:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/883032

recipes

December 17, 2015

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

Sweet & Savory is my love language. Mix sweets with pretzels and I’m all yours. Don’t get me started on Take 5 Bars. They’re one of my gateway drugs. I had a hard time deciding if I wanted a sweet or savory snack yesterday so I chose both with these Chocolate Dipped Pretzels. I melted 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave and proceeded to dunk pretzel halves into the chocolate. Since I was thinking about Cooper and what would make him excited about his afternoon snack, I added sprinkles. Excuse me while I put one on top of a spoonful of peanut butter….

To see more of my Thursday Snack Ideas, follow my Pinterest Board!

recipes

December 16, 2015

Coconut Blondies

Life is all about managing expectations. After many years of doing this whole Christmas thing, I can say with confidence that things are bound to go wrong. Last year I had a whole slew of packages stolen from our mailbox and spent hours on the phone with Amazon. This year, I rushed our holiday cards to our house, paying extra for the service and they came to our house looking perfect, except that our cards were from The Hudson Family, instead of the Benjamin Family. The situation got itself worked out. Cards come later this week and I have to rework my calendar & my expectations. It’s cool though, we have it covered. I knew something would go wrong, but my reaction to these things has changed.

I’m all about making the holidays easier. I don’t have time to pull butter out to let it soften to room temperature. I don’t have the patience to scoop out cookies on a baking sheet. But I DO love being in the kitchen baking during the holidays and I DO have the time for one bowl recipes that require melted butter, no mixer and bit of oven time. I can totally make time to cut blondies into squares and eat a few while I’m at it….

These Coconut Blondies are quite exceptional and they really don’t take much time to execute. If you’re a fan of German Chocolate Cake, these blondies will satisfy you. They’re a cross between a cookie, a bar, a macaroon and they’re so buttery they almost taste like baklava. When your cards come late and when your packages get stolen, at least you can make some blondies. Life is sweet, you just have to make it that way.