Christmas at the Browns

I know everyone is saying this, but I really cannot believe that Christmas is in three weeks and the year is almost over. Christmas is my favorite time of the year, not only because of presents, and I love all the decorations. I have gotten so many great ideas from Pinterest and was very excited to decorate.

On Thursday, our friend and interior designer Jennifer came to town to help us decorate. I love having her around because she helps validate my decisions and points me in the right direction when it comes to decorating. We decided to have her help because I am hosting the dessert portion of a progressive dinner and Christmas is big business in small towns. This dinner also gave us the motivation to redo our guest bathroom, which I will post pictures of once we get our new shower curtain.

Here are a couple pictures of Jennifer's work. She is amazing and we lucky to have found her.


Our tree


The mantle


A fun wreath


Greenery in front of the television


And on the dining room table


French door decorations



Merry Christmas from the Browns!

Thanksgiving recap

We had such a fab Thanksgiving! My whole family came, which was lots of fun. This also meant that we did not have to travel, which was a real treat. Our small town doesn't have tons going for it, so we are usually the ones that get to travel for holidays, but not this year.

The best part of Thanksgiving, besides family, is the food and we had LOTS of it! I made a breakfast casserole and then my mom, sister, and I got busy in the kitchen. It was definitely more of my mom and sister getting busy and me wandering in and out. We had a turkey (of course!), mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole, macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce, and green bean bundles for dinner. Everything was good and best of all we had lots of leftovers. I'll give you one guess what we've been eating at the Brown house. For dessert, I made a butter cake and my mom made a pumpkin pie and a pumpkin cheesecake.

The spread


My very beige plate

We were blessed that our family got to come to town for Thanksgiving and definitely gave lots of thanks for all the blessings in our lives!

Recipe round-up

Here are a few of the new recipes we've been whipping up in the Brown kitchen!


Crockpot Potato Soup
We gave this a solid A. It was so easy to make and there weren't very many ingredients required, which is always nice. I topped my soup with sour cream, bacon and cheese. It served four and still had some leftover and it tasted good the next day.

Mississippi Sin Dip
I made this to take over to a friend's house for a day of college football games. I think everyone would give it an A+. I have to say that this is another super easy recipe and the presentation is very impressive. I will definitely be making this again!




French Chicken Broccoli Supreme
We gave this a B. It involves making a roux, which I do not enjoy. However I learned that the secret it to keep whisking. Anyway, it was pretty tasty and I would probably make it again.



Hasselback Garlic Cheesy Bread
I made this to go with lasagna while my parents where in town. Instead of making the bread from scratch, I bought a loaf of french bread. It was a huge time saver and turned out pretty good. I would give it an A. I would like to try it again and make the bread from scratch, but that sounds very intimidating.



Breakfast Casserole
This was another recipe that I made while my family was in town for Thanksgiving and it is definitely one of my new favorite breakfast recipes. I give it an A++! It was so good and super easy. I already had all of the ingredients in my fridge and it took about 5 to 10 minutes to prepare. I also loved how simple it was and plan to make it again very soon.



Rolo Pretzel Bites
I don't make a lot of sweets because I would much rather waste calories on carbs than chocolate. I decided to try this recipe because I liked the salty/sweet combination and because it took less than 15 minutes start to finish. I would give them an A. They are super easy and I would recommend them if you need to whip up a quick dessert for a holiday party.

Santa Fe

Last month we decided to take a weekend trip to Santa Fe with some of our friends. We decided to leave early so we could have our date night in there.



Santa Fe is about a five hour drive from where we live, but seems like it is in a whole different country. I'm not going to say New Mexico is my favorite state, but I love Santa Fe. They have the best restaurants and it is always nice to get away.

I would post the pictures I took of our date night, but I got a new phone and all my pictures were on my old one. Fail. We ate dinner at the Galisteo Bistro & Wine Bar. It was super cozy and you could see in the kitchen, which was interesting. My one take away was that the chef didn't really do much. My kind of job. Just kidding. I had the seafood pasta romesco. It was okay. Sometimes I am very disappointed in my food choices, but I get easily overwhelmed.

After dinner we went to the Marble Brewery on the plaza. I once again made poor choices and ordered a supper hoppy beer. This wouldn't have been a big deal, but in Santa Fe there is apparently a new three drink limit. I'm not saying I wanted to get bombed, but if I am walking everywhere, let me drink (especially if a Tech game is on).

Our friends met up with once they got to town and of course we had to foray out to the casino on the rez. I do not like to gamble. I would rather shop, but our friends really really like to gamble and I am a supportive friend.

Meghan and I at the hotel

The next day we shopped and watched the Tech game, which was a beating. For dinner we decided to go to Rio Chama, which is where Meghan and Jake got married. We got quarantined to our own room, which was probably a good thing. The food was fab, as always, and they have the neatest cigar room, or VIP Lounge, if you are me.

Dinner at the restaurant where Meghan and Jake had their reception

The Browns (I look a little sketch but I blame lighting)

We had some much fun and were very thankful that it wasn't snowing. That happened to us last year and it was the pits. I think we have decided that next time we go to Santa Fe, it will be in the summer.

Pumpkin spice muffins

I wanted to share a super easy, super delicious recipe I recently discovered. A friend made them for ladies' night out and I had to try them for myself. There are three ingredients, so it could not be easier.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins


All you need is: A box of yellow cake mix, a can of pumpkin, a teaspoon of pumpkin spice and icing (Optional. It's just as good without.)

Mix all the ingredients, expcept for icing, together. Just a word to the wise, it will be very thick! Just keep mixing until it is well blended. Fill cupcake liners in a cupcake pan until they are at least 2/3 full. Bake according to the box.

The finished product!

My friend left off the icing, which I thought was such a great idea. If you are watching what you eat, you can skip the icing. If you aren't, you can add as little or as much icing as you like and the icing doesn't get hard from being left on. I have made a version of these in the past using devil's food cake and they had 5 Weight Watchers Plus Points so I bet these are close. They are delish and good for you. Defintely a win-win!

Viva Espana!

The Browns love a good vacation and I usually start planning our next vacations before we go on the ones we have planned. Case in point, we are going to New York next month and I am already looking at next year.

We try to do one big vacation and a couple of small trips every year. Last year it was Paris and before that it was Dublin. After much debate, we decided that 2012 is the year to go to Spain!

I am so excited and have already started making plans. As of now, we'll be going to Barcelona, Madrid and Sevilla. I am pushing for two weeks, but I think it will be more like 10 days including travel. Neither of us have ever been but know lots of people who have. If you have any suggestions, please let me know! I really think my calling in life was to be a travel agent or Samantha Brown. I better start brushing up on my Spanish!

And here are some fun Spain pictures I found on Pinterest to jazz up this post.

Barcelona

Madrid

Sevilla

Last day

Tomorrow is my last day being a full-time employee at the hospital. That was the big news that I alluded to in a previous post. I am excited, sad, a little anxious, and a whole lot more. I wonder if I am going to be happy or bored or both. I really hope I can stay busy. I have school to keep me semi-occupied and I plan taking some more classes at a community college. One day, I will done with school. Daniel hopes that day is soon. I'm sad to be leaving my work friends, but I am still going to be working a couple shifts a month. I really feel like this is the right decision for my family and can't wait to see what's next. First on my agenda, more crafts! And maybe learning Busta Rhymes' rap during "Look At Me Now". I don't know. I don't know if there'll be enough time.