Sick - blah.

For Christmas this year Gordon gave me his cold - ugh. I HATE being sick. That being said, Christmas itself was fabulous. Great family, great gifts, great food, great fun! :)

Christmas Baking

The Christmas "cookies" are done! And, now it's time for a nap!

Brown Sugar Drop Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Kisses

Sugar Cookies

Merry Cherry Cheesecake

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Cinnamon Roll Heaven!

G and I made cinnamon rolls from scratch today. Omg - delicious!!! Here's a photo:


The recipe makes almost 50 cinnamon rolls equaling five full pie pans! So, needless to say, my family will be receiving their very own pan of ooey gooey deliciousness this week just in time for Christmas! Bonus - the apartment smells AMAZING!

P.S. Thanks to the Millers for this wonderful cookbook - The Pioneer Woman Cooks. It's a must-have!

Time to cook!

It's a Comstock family tradition to make Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve. Here's what we're tackling this year:

• Brown sugar drop cookies
• Peanut butter cookies with chocolate kisses
• Sugar cookies
• Merry cherry cheesecake bars
• Chocolate peanut butter bars
  

For Christmas Eve dinner Gordon and I started a new tradition - taco night! So we'll be having a little Mexican fiesta on December 24th - complete with homemade guacamole, pico de gallo and black beans and rice.

And this year, we are in charge of Christmas dinner - so excited! Here's our menu:

Appetizers -

• Shrimp and cocktail sauce (Thanks Dad)
• Charcuterie plate (Inspired by one of our favorite restaurants, Good Luck)
• Veggies and dip (Thanks Megs)
• Bread bowl and baked dip (Thanks Megs)
  

Dinner -

• Holiday salad (Thanks for the recipe Thetas!)
• Potato pave (Ad Hoc)
• Sausage stuffing (Jamie's Food Revolution)
• Roast beef with horseradish cream (Ad Hoc)
• Honey glazed carrots (Mastering the Art of French Cooking)
  

Dessert -

• Homemade ice cream (Ad Hoc)
• Homemade whipped cream
• Christmas cookies (see above)
  

And for breakfast Christmas morning: Cinnamon rolls! (The Pioneer Woman)

Let the cooking/baking begin! :)

O Christmas Tree - Part II

We finally trimmed our tree this weekend. Yay Christmas!

Tab & Jack's Holiday Open House

Our good friends Tab and Jack hosted a Holiday Open House last night. It was so much fun! Here are a few photo highlights from the night - enjoy!

XC Skiing

With Gordon finally home it was time to get back to our favorite winter sport - xc skiing! So on Saturday we met The Sieburgs at Park Avenue Bike Shop around noon to rent skis for Karl and me (Gordon and Mary have their own). And then off we went to Mendon Ponds Park for our first ski of the season. We did the "easy" trail called the Quaker Pond Trail Loop which was 2.7 miles around a big pond. It was a lot of fun and Mary and I didn't fall once - so proud of us! The boys on the other hand, well hahaha! We're all excited to go back again and try a different trail - can't wait! P.S. What a workout :)

Couldn't be happier!

Gordon is home! And, I seriously could not be happier. I forgot how good it feels to have him around/there and how incredibly silly we are together (SO.MUCH.FUN.). I have the best hubs! Going to enjoy this next month and savor every moment we have together!

O Christmas Tree

With the help of my dad I got our Christmas tree today. It's all ready for lights, ornaments and presents as soon as Gordon gets home on Wednesday! Can't wait to start celebrating the season and my most favorite time of year with him by my side.

Wannabe

Ina Garten, I seriously love you and your cooking. This love only increased after watching your Holiday special, Barefoot in London. It aired today at 1pm. For those of you that missed it, it repeats on Monday at 7pm and Wednesday at 5pm. For my foodie friends, watch this - you won't be disappointed! :)

For Bacon Lovers

While browsing FredFlare.com, I came across the most perfect wrapping paper to use to wrap Gordon's Christmas gifts. Yes, that's right, bacon wrapping paper! My hubs LOVES bacon and this is just too much fun to pass up!

One last thing...

Gordon comes home on Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited.

On our agenda:

• Cook/Bake
• Christmas shop
• Cook/Bake
• Trim our Christmas tree
• Cook/Bake
• XC ski
• Cook/Bake
• See family and friends
• Cook/Bake
• Oh yea, and eat!!!

5 days and counting :)

Gel Manicure

So when my BFF Caroline got engaged, I decided to get her a manicure as part of her "yay engagement" gift! I had seen on my favorite spa's Facebook page, Spa At The Del Monte, that they were now offering a new manicure called the resilience manicure that supposedly lasts for two whole weeks, no chips or scratches! I figured Caroline and I just had to try this! So I booked us our appointments and we went on Wednesday night. As it turns out, the resilience manicure, is simply a gel manicure and it is seriously AMAZING! I know it's only been two days, but they're so shiny, no scratches, no chips, no smudges. Tonight after the gym, my sister looked at my nails and said, "Wow, they look amazing," without me even saying anything! I think I am officially hooked on the gel manicure. I'll keep you posted on how long it truly lasts and holds up - but, so far so good!

NYC/LI

This is a LONG one. Sorry!

I left for NYC/LI on the 7:15am flight on Thursday, December 2nd. Kristie from my office picked me up from JFK that morning and we headed into our city office. We did some work and then met with our newest client. After our meeting, we headed back to the HJMT Long Island office to finish out the day. It was really great to be able to see all of my co-workers. I really missed them!

The next day was the HJMT Holiday Party. It was a big surprise. We had no idea what we were doing. All Hilary told us was to bring a bathing suit, towel, flip flops, wool sweater, socks, hat, gloves and scarf. All day long we made guesses as to what we were doing that afternoon/evening. At 2:45pm Hilary ran into all of our offices and said we had to be downstairs at 3pm sharp! We all frantically packed up, grabbed our stuff and Secret Santa gifts and went downstairs. Outside we were greeted by a limo - surprise #1!

In the limo we all asked Hil questions and took more guesses at where we were going next. She was really good and didn't give away a thing! We ended up at Spa Castle in Queens - surprise #2. It is an amazing spa facility. We got mani/pedis, foot massages and spent hours in the saunas and massage pools. Following Spa Castle we went to Tequila Sunrise for tequila and Mexican food - surprise #3. At dinner we exchanged gifts (thanks KG for the Julie & Julia DVD and my Food Network Magazine subscription - surprise #4!). And then the limo took us home. It was a wonderful holiday party - thanks Hil!

The next day I traveled on the LIRR into Manhattan and spent the day with my favorite Thetas and their men! Read about our day of cooking fun here! After that, I headed to my dear college roomie's apartment and had some much needed catch-up time. It really was the best Saturday! I didn't want it to end.

On Sunday I spent the day shopping with no luck. And then I got to visit Kristie's baby, Jack. He gets more adorable every time I see him. Next time he'll be walking - I can't wait!

The work week started again that Monday, business as usual. That night I had dinner with The Alexy's! It was so much fun. Lori and her family are the best!

On Tuesday it was all about getting ready for the live viewing party for our client who appeared on The Millionaire Matchmaker. It was a crazy night and lots of fun.

And then it was time to head home. I caught the 9:30am flight from JFK back to Rochester on Wednesday morning. It was a great visit to NYC/LI and I can't wait to go back for New Year's/mini vacation with Gordon. In the meantime, home sweet home!

Anguilla, Here I Come!

Laura and Brian - May 7, 2011!

My dear cousin Laura is getting married next May in Anguilla! And, she has asked my sister and me to be her bridesmaids!!! I am so excited! We got their wedding invitation in the mail today and we have our room and flights booked. The festivities will be taking place at the CuisinArt Resort & Spa. I cannot wait! Anguilla, here I come!

P.S. Gordon won't be able to attend because of school - aren't you jealous hubs?! ;)

Thanksgiving/Gordon's Visit Home

While Gordon was home, besides the bad timing, (my Grandma passing away and him getting sick) we did manage to have a good visit together! Two really fun things were:

Double date night with The Jordan's at Dinosaur BBQ - great food, even better company!

And, the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot. Hey, I didn't chicken out and next year I'll do better!

I also had a lot to be thankful for this past Thanksgiving...A wonderful husband. A supportive and loving family. Beyond amazing friendships. A satisfying job. And, my health! Thanksgiving came and went, but I promise, I continue to count my blessings day in and day out.

Catch up!

Why do I always feel like I'm playing catch up with this blog!? I'm sorry for being distracted/busy, and I know it's not a good excuse. I even have an index card filled with blog topics that I carry with me to scribble down new ideas when I'm out and about so I don't forget - see I'm trying! But, for some reason that index card doesn't get pulled out of my purse often enough and hence, the lack of blog entries. So, on this lazy Friday night while watching Julie & Julia (Thanks KG!) I am going to get some much needed writing done. Here we go! :)