That's a Wrap!

I highly doubt that I have ever disliked Christmas wrapping, but this year in particular I am in LOVE with wrapping up Christmas presents! I took it upon myself to make and decorate all of my wrapping papers and bows. Between stamping, drawing, painting, be-glittering, and paper folding I have managed to wrap all my Christmas gifts in festive and unique ways. And want to know the best part? You can, too!

To do some very basic homemade Christmas paper, all you need are some old paper shopping bags, some Christmasy stamps, ink, markers, and old magazines.

*Note: You just need something to decorate the paper so just stamps and ink or stamps and markers or just markers would suffice.*

Cut open your paper bag so that it can lay flat. You will obviously be decorating the blank (inside) side of the  bag. Go to town drawing Christmasy things like trees or snowflakes. Or begin stamping. I think it looks better and less-cluttered if you keep it simple. Space out your stamps/drawings, keep the colors to a minimum, and when in doubt do less. 

When you are satisfied with your paper's decor allow it to dry if need be. Then wrap up your gift. I like to save old ribbons from packages and previous gifts for just such occasions. For some of my gifts I used old ribbons and twine. For others I folded/made my own bows out of old magazines. If you would like a tutorial on how to make your own bows, click here, or to make a more classic bow out of magazines, click here.

I love these ribbons and bows! They are unique, fun, and so cheap. How can anyone beat that?

If you're looking for an even more green, earth-friendly wrapping idea, use fabric scraps. My family has taken to doing this for birthdays. We find various sizes and patterns in my mom's numerous fabric bins and wrap up our gifts with them. Tape doesn't always work so well with this type of wrapping, but a well-placed ribbon does the trick!

One last easy and fun thing to do, make gift tags. That way you can distinguish between which gift belongs to which person. Lots of places sell sticker versions of these, but you can easily make your own! I used origami to make my tags. The Christmas tree version is the easiest and my favorite!

Then you can just punch a hole in them and secure them to your package with a bit of ribbon, and you're set! Or, in the case of the snowflake, you can use a bit of tape to attach it to the package. Double-sided tape is my favorite kind of tape to use while Christmas wrapping! 

The above picture is the wrapping for my dad's gift. I reused an smaller paper bag and stamped it with red ink and a chunky, foam stamp. Fold over the top, punch a couple holes, add a ribbon and VOILA! 

This bag is for my sister, Cori. I wanted large Christmas trees on her bag, but I only had a tiny tree stamp. That's when I decided to draw on whimsical Christmas trees with funky stars. I then used puff paint to dot on little ornaments (or maybe they're Christmas lights). I outlined the stars with a glue pen and sprinkled on my favorite things ever--GLITTER! Although it is not shown in this picture, the top of the bag got folded down and a gift tag and ribbon were added to complete the bag. 

This wrapping paper was probably my favorite for its elegance and simplicity. I used a red ink and the tiny tree stamp I mentioned early. Then, since I didn't have any green ink pads, I used a Crayola marker to color the green onto the stamp and stamped that way! It's slightly more involved but less messy than an ink pad. I finished this gift off with a simple bit of twine and the origami Christmas tree gift tag that I made. Classic.

Here is a slight variation on the green and red Christmas tree wrapping. I still used the red ink pad, but since I didn't have any white ink I watered down a little bit of white paint and brushed it onto the stamp. Then, although you cannot see it very well in this photo, I used my glue pen and glitter to outline some of the trees as well as add tiny glittery stars to the tops of some of them. You can also see that I added one of my handmade bows. Oh, what fun!

This one was a simple free-hand. I drew on snowflakes with a few different blue permanent markers and then added teeny glittery stars for an added measure of fun! (Are you sensing the glitter trend? I can't get enough of it!)

This is by far the funkiest wrapping paper I made. My sister Molly is a glamour girl and so I wanted something fun and sassy for her wrapping paper. I happened to have a lip stamp (I have a bizarre collection of stamps) and so I made it Christmas-themed by alternating the red and green for a festive take on lips. I was tempted to write "Holiday Smoochies" all over it, but decided that would be taking it to the level of tacky and withheld. 

You cannot get more simple than this. All I did was add a big ribbon! However, I think it still looks great. You can do this for any season or occasion! That is one of the things I love about brown paper. It is rough but artsy and elegant. It is clean, thick, and durable. Plus, if you add a bow you are good to go for any type of gift-giving function!

I am very happy with the way this particular wrapping paper turned out. It was a bit more work intensive because I used Crayola markers to color on the stamp again and I had to do the color of the light plus the green boughs. But I picked a color and covered the paper and then switched to my next color, and I ended up with a cheery bit of holiday wrapping! Hooray! 

Well, that is all I currently have on the wrapping front! I still have Andy's family to wrap for so we'll have to see what that turns out because I am slowly running out of ideas (and holiday stamps!). But regardless, today  was a success and it makes me even more excited to give away these gifts!

Happy Holiday Wrapping!

Kate

Thanksgiving Results

Thanksgiving was an odd day this year. Being a new mom and newly engaged we decided to spend the holiday on our own as a family, just the three of us. This marked the first Thanksgiving that I was not with my parents and sisters. It also meant no football games or Thanksgiving Day Parade. It meant no obnoxious people or relatives. So, our day was quiet. We woke up and went for a run as a family in the ghost town of Ripon, Wisconsin. Then we got home and slowly worked on prepping our meal and began cooking our meal. In between cooking and listening to Christmas music (FINALLY!), Andy and I snuck in a game of Monopoly, which has always been one of my favorites. I got Andy hooked on it, too.


Overall, the food was delicious, and we ate well that night. The green beans were a little under-seasoned, but for a girl who isn't a green bean fan, I thought they were alright. Naturally, all that cooking means a lot of cleaning.

Our kitchen mid-day

But we kept up with it all and did multiple loads of dishes throughout the day. I'm a big believer in cleaning as you go (Andy seems to believe otherwise).


The cranberries were beyond tart! I knew that was the point, but I couldn't get past a few small bites. Andy, on the other hand, loved them. Alex, after making a few disgusted faces, enjoyed them, too. 

Cointreau Cranberry Relish

The stuffing was quite tasty but not how I expected it to taste. The Cooking Light recipe that we used had you make your own cornbread, but in an attempt to make things easier, we used a basic box mix. However, I think the box made more than what the recipe would have so the stuffing was heavy on the cornbread. Now extra cornbread is not exactly bad, but it overpowered the jalapeno and chorizo's spiciness just a little too much. I was hoping for a little bit more of a zip! So, my advice would be to stick with the recipe and nix the shortcut. I will say, Alex was a huge fan. He ate most of the leftovers, too.

My plate of deliciousness

            

The sweet potato gnocchi was great! Andy did a fantastic job with it. He put crushed red peppers on a plate and poured oil over it and let it soak for several hours so that the oil took on the taste of peppers. He sauteed the gnocchi in the hot pepper oil and then cooked them with pecans in maple syrup and bourbon. So we had two dishes that played with the balance between sweet and spicy. However, the gnocchi was the clear winner.    

Sweet Potato Gnocchi Pre-Baking

                                            

That day I also prepped homemade spiced cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Friday morning. The recipe came from Cooking Light. I have included the link here. They were pretty easy to make on a technicality scale, but they were a little involved. You have to let the dough rest several times. It actually worked well to make them on Thanksgiving because I could cook other dishes while waiting for the cinnamon roll dough to rise. Once I had them all rolled up, I parbaked the rolls and then kept them in the fridge until Friday morning. Then on Friday while I let them finish baking in the oven, I made the glaze to pour over them. Yum!

Par-Baked Spiced Cinnamon Rolls

All in all, a nice turn out of food and a sweet day spent with my family, and gave me the break I needed to remember why I am so lucky and to be truly thankful for all of my blessings.

Happy Holidays!

-Kate

Gettin' Through It

Today has been a frustrating so far...bills, angry babies, working boyfriends, not enough sleep. This is what is getting me through it.

Hang in there
-Kate

Sign of the Times

Lately, my only interest in blogging has been to discuss either food or Christmas. It's silly of me but it made me wonder for a second why those were the two things at the forefront of my mind. Then after a second of idiotic wondering I realized that the food portion stems from the fact that Thanksgiving is a mere 2 (and kind of a half) days away. And we all know why Christmas is on my mind--because I am minorly (okay majorly) obsessed and in love with the Christmas season. I guess my preoccupations are just a sign of the times.

So, in the spirit of Christmas and food loving I will post some favorites from both categories because I just can't seem to get enough of either! (This issue may require medical attention!)

For the food lover in all of us: If you click here you will find yourself on a page for Cooking Light's Spicy Caramel Brownies which look positively sinful and totally delicious! I haven't actually made them yet, but they are on my "To-Bake" list over the course of December. By the way, have I mentioned how excited I am  for the end of the semester and therefore the upcoming winter break. We get over a month off from classes and the best part is that since we are in the transition between semesters they can't assign any homework. Therefore I will have virtually an entire month free from assigned readings, papers, and projects. Now I still have a child so that is where most of my free time will go, but the thought of no school for a month fills me with joy!

And now for the Christmas portion of my post! I spent a lot of my downtime about a week or so ago watching "The Holiday." I watched it fully through about 4 times and then watched parts of it here and there while doing homework or surfing the Internet. This week, however, I have shifted my viewing frenzy to a different movie. "Love Actually" is my new film of choice, and what a great one it is. In fact, I "Love Actually Bombed" a friends Facebook wall last night with various pictures and quotes from the movie. I will share a clip of my favorite part of the movie with you: Hugh Grant dancing to Pointer Sisters "Jump For My Love." Well, it's actually one of two favorite parts. I also love the scene at the end where Jamie (Colin Firth) proposes to Aurelia. 

And on that note, I hope you all have a great start to your week!

-Kate

Let's Not Forget About Thanksgiving

As excited as I am for the Christmas season and all the joy and merriment that comes with it, I can't just forget about Thanksgiving. I have mixed feelings about Thanksgiving as a whole. I like it because it denotes the proximity to Christmas. I hate it because I usually only end up eating corn and rolls (such is the life of a picky eater). I love it because it's close to my birthday (and sometimes on my birthday). I hate it because it usually means spending the day with people that I find somewhat annoying. This year though Andy and I put off the task of figuring out how to divvy up the holidays between our families by declaring that we were going to spend the actual day as our own little family of three in our apartment. This means that Andy and I are making our very first Thanksgiving meal, and we couldn't be more excited! Seriously, this is a cook/baker/foodie's dream holiday! And as we consider ourselves as a couple to be a combination of those things we are truly looking forward to Thanksgiving.

Given that we are poor college students/new parents we have a limited budget and a shared disgust for turkey so we are ditching the Thanksgiving standards and giving them a unique twist. Our menu is primarily vegetarian because it's cheaper and we are not real big meat lovers. I thought it might be fun to share our menu here with links to the recipes we are going to be making so as to hopefully inspire others in their holiday cooking!

The Amell-Fehrenbach Family Thanksgiving Meal:

Cointreau Cranberry Relish ala Ted Allen: Click here






Corn bread, Chorizo, and Jalapeno Dressing (our exception to the vegetarian standard) from Cooking Light: Click here. We are just buying a cornbread mix to simplify Thursday's cooking process, but it should be exceedingly yummy!

Green Beans with Garlic Butter. This one is going to be made from Andy's own head, but I think it'll be quite easy. He's just going to saute the green beans in some homemade garlic butter to give them a bit of flavor. Plus, who doesn't need a little more garlic in their life?


Salad. We'll be doing a nice salad with fresh greens. We've really been a fan of this artisan lettuce that comes in a plastic container at the grocery store. It turns out that buying that and a head of romaine and tossing in a big bowl is way cheaper than buying all the bagged salads at the store. Plus if you have an OXO salad spinner, like us, your job is made that much easier (I love our salad spinner!).

Sweet Potato Gnocchi brought to you by Sunset.com: Click here. We are going to forego the mushrooms and spinach and make our own sauce to put over it. Andy is envisioning something spicy to complement the sweetness of the potatoes. Perhaps something with chipotle and honey? We'll see how it turns out!






Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake from Cooking Light: Click here. I am really excited about this dessert! Just reading the ingredient list makes me drool!











A Bishop, David Wondrich's version will be our after dinner drink of choice. Click here and scroll down past the instructions for a hot whiskey to get to the bishop recipe. As a side note, we're pairing some red and white wines with the meal itself!


I'll be sure to write back about how it all turned out! In the meantime, I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday and a delicious Thanksgiving!

Deliciously Yours,

-Kate

Yummy Things To Make

SUGAR COOKIES

One of my favorite Christmasy things to do is throw on some good Christmas tunes and bake and decorate Christmas cookies. When it comes to decorating Christmas cookies at my parents' house we always have at least 4 colors of frosting, a bazillion sprinkles, and red hots (little cinnamon candies)! Over the years we've gotten pretty creative in our cookie designs. My sisters like to swirl the frosting so it looks like the cookie has been dunked in tie-dye. But my dad is always the one who gets super into it. He will sit at our kitchen table with his tongue sticking out in concentration while he frosts away! His cookies usually look the best, too. 

In the spirit of Christmas and sharing, I thought I'd share our sugar cookie recipe with you. It is a recipe we got from my grandma and it is the only sugar cookie recipe I have ever known or used. I hope you enjoy!

Happy Baking!

-Kate

Sugar Cookies:

Ingredients:

2 cups white sugar

1 cup lard or shortening

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

8 cups white, all-purpose flour (or more)

Instructions:

1.) Mix sugar and shortening together

2.) Add eggs. Beat.

3.) Add vanilla. Mix.
4.) Sift salt, baking soda, baking powder, and a few cups of flour together.

5.) Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, alternating with the milk. A little flour, a little milk, a little flour, a little milk, etc. 

6.) Continue to add flour until at a good doughy consistency. 

7.) Roll out dough, cut with cookie cutters and place on baking sheet.

8.) Bake at 350^ for 8-10 minutes.

Frosting:

Ingredients:
butter

powdered sugar

milk

peppermint extract (optional)

food coloring

Instructions:

1.) Melt a tablespoon of butter and mix a little powered sugar in a mug with a little milk. Adjust with either more milk or sugar until you have a good frosting consistency. 

2.) Add a small drop or two of peppermint extract to frosting if you like it to have a hint of mint. (This is something my family has always done to our frosting. It's delicious!)

3.) Add food coloring to get desired color.

4.) Make more in various mugs or bowls with various colors.

1

Silver Bells...Deck the Halls...I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

I don't think I can explain just how badly I want it to officially be Christmastime! By officially I mean Thanksgiving Day. I try really hard not to listen to Christmas music or put up Christmas decorations until Thanksgiving Day. Some might say you should wait until the day after Thanksgiving, but honestly, Thanksgiving is about as long as I can make it. If I had to go another die I might die of sadness. So here is some holiday cheer and joy! Below are some of my favorite things about Christmas!

Cheers!
-Kate

1.) I love Christmas music. You know how we often wish our lives had soundtracks? For me, when it comes to Christmastime and music my life does have one. The music that makes you warm and fuzzy and all cozy and nostalgic? That's how I feel at Christmas and that's the same feeling Christmas music gives me! Some of my favorites are Michael Buble's album, "Christmas." I will also always have a love for Michael W. Smith's Christmas album titled "Christmastime." Track number 8, "Christmas Waltz" is my favorite!

2.) I love Christmas lights on buildings and houses! It turns our ordinary, boring homes and buildings into something magical at night. But may I say, I am more for the classly decor and the "less is more" mindset. All the tacky plastic figures and the explosion of lights is just too much for me. The one soft spot in my heart for that is a plastic Santa figure that was always in my grandparent's house as a child. Then we got one for my dad who has a soft spot for that old Santa, too. 

3.) FOOD! We always seem to find a way to work food into our traditions, especially holiday ones. What other time of year is it appropriate to give people gifts of just cookies? Plus, have you ever given or received more food than you do over the course of the Christmas holiday. Put on a Santa hat, turn on some Christmas jams and suddenly even my mom, who doesn't often like to bake, wants to make Christmas cookies!

4.) Christmas movies make my heart happy. Here are some of my top favs: White Christmas, The Holiday, The Grinch (Jim Carey version), Love Actually, The Family Stone, Christmas with the Kranks, While You Were Sleeping

5.) Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches! They truly are lovely, and I think I love just about everything about them. I love going to pick one out with my family and carrying it back home. I love decorating it with lights and ornaments. I love turning all the lights out and sitting in front of the lit up tree. I love the smell of sap and pine needles. I love sleeping under it on Christmas Eve, a tradition I hope to continue with Andy and Alex this year! I think the only thing I don't love about Christmas trees are all the pine needles that need to be swept up. Plus crawling on your belly to pour more water in the base is never fun either. 

6.) Last, but not least, SNOW! People are always getting down on snow. I know that once it gets to be February we all just want it to be spring, but can't we enjoy the snow for a little while? I know it's cold and wet, but it's also so beautiful and picturesque! I love the big, fluffy flakes that fall gently in a swirling motion and it makes you feel like you're in a snow globe. Oooo! And when the trees get all frosty and sparkly--pure beauty and joy!