Friday, December 31, 2010

Boog-Mas

This holiday season was slightly wacky for me. It consisted of unexpected travel, new challenges, and a shortage of time, all of which landed at the end of an extremely tumultuous four month period. Can you say "Happy New Year"?

Even with the craziness, I was looking forward to ending 2010 in my home state of Minnesota. Actual Christmas was spent "working" out of the country, but we decided to celebrate our own Christmas when I was back on December 28th which also happens to be Bryndal's second birthday. Hence, Boog-Mas was created.

See the resemblance?
The Boog


SXM, ATL, and MSP all helped cheer on the holiday atmosphere by providing Christmas music in the concourses and tinsel, garland and bows still decked the halls of every gate I passed. TSA was even...dare I say it?...jolly!

My travels were re-routed due to the massive snow thunderstorm which hit the Northeast.
Hoboken, NY - Dec 2010 (photo: Molly Stuart)


Back home, the tree is still evergreen and lit, and Minnesota manages to keep up with the White Christmas competition ala frosted trees and snow banks perfect for fort building. It's time for family and food.

The honorary B was showered with new toys
 and lots of attention.
It's tiring being doted on!

I saw these treats showcased on the blog Red Vines for Breakfast. They literally took about 7 minutes to assemble and although the sugar quotient is off the charts, they make a crowd pleasing holiday snack (in moderation). Recipe HERE. I think they should be renamed Oreo Crack.
Swirled and ready to be chilled.

Cracking the crack.

Keep chilled.

Of course, the recipe only called for 10 Oreos. This means plenty of leftover Oreos which in turn means Oreos must be hidden.
Secret Stash

I'm also trying to achieve the perfect ginger snap, which seems to elude me year after year. I've tried THIS recipe and THIS recipe. Any suggestions? I'm looking for a snappy, caramel colored, and immensely spicy version.

A trip to MN is not complete without a little bit of the Mall of America (I had no idea there were so many forms of Viking apparel that people aren't embarrassed to wear in public), Target aisle roaming (I'm loving THIS body wash-so fruity!), and lots of Caribou Coffee runs. I was gifted these mitts/coffee sleeves for Boog-Mas. How cute and how useful!
Knit Glove Coffee Sleeve - Caribou Coffee

Since I came directly from the Caribbean, I only had sandals, swimsuits, and shells to shield me from the cold. Luckily, post Christmas is a great time to make purchases and The Gap's 50% off all sale items promotion gained me these easy pieces:
Shoulder-zip Sweater - The Gap

Always Skinny Cords - The Gap
I have a fabulous sparkly skirt sulking at home in NYC that was supposed to be my New Year's Eve attire. Since it didn't make it to the big night, I suppose I need a good celebratory reason to wear it in 2011. Here's hoping!

Tonight will be a gathering with our dearest family friends for some lasagna, prosecco, and laughs.

Going to try and make these easy and savory Chic Cheese Sticks feature on THIS blog which will tie in perfectly with our Italiano themed New Year's Eve.
Photo & Recipe courtesy of The Broke and Chic Project

I'm fairly certain that some games will be played. Taboo, Cranium, and Trivial Pursuit seem to be annual favorites. What are some of your favorite gathering games?

All of the Sorensens were obviously on Santa's Nice List this year judging by the goodies that were given.
I'm beyond thrilled to start playing with my new toy:

With my new boost of power and storage, I'm going to finally be able to access and send many promised photos and hopefully start whittling down the 3436 emails in my inbox.

Let the game of Catch Up begin! A domani!

All-Stars All Right By Me

Just when I thought I couldn't love the Top Chef series any more, Bravo upped my adoration by premiering Season 8, Top Chef All-Stars:

The contestants are all at an inspiring level of skill and creativity, the personalities are familiar and well-matched (good job, producers), and some of my favorite judges are accounted for in every episode (Hello, Gail and "Tony"!).
Plus, after a circus-like Las Vegas season of ridiculous challenges and a forgettable Season 7, I find the episodes to be appropriate, exciting and slightly more fair, and you can tell the chefs feel the same way. An all around good time is had by all.

Also, check out the various Top Chef blogs. Bourdain's is particularly scathing/hilarious/insightful and I was just laughing out loud so much reading it that my Mom had to ask twice, "what is so funny"?

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmastime is Here

I'm a big fan of Design Sponge's Living In series. It translates the style elements in film to objects of all shapes and sizes and design ideas that can be incorporated into your own reality.

One of my favorites to date is the Living In: A Charlie Brown Christmas:


Who wouldn't want a little snowy Peanuts gang cheer as part of their holiday?

I wish when I sang that my mouth did this:
Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Work Shmerk

I will be away for a few days working and traveling. But, don't feel too bad for me because it may have something to do with this:

Or it may not. I can't really tell. I promise to be less cryptic and confusing in 2011.
Speaking of 2011, there are some fun things to come to this wee blog of mine. We're talking photo shop, giveaways (so make sure to click that "follow" button!), a bit more personal & juicy items, other blogs, lots of lists, some new ventures, tons of tips, guest bloggers, and more non-googled pictures. It's going to be swell.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Cheeky Mitts and Much-Needed Longjohns

This past weekend I was here:

with them:
L to R: Bill Carmichael, Brian Golub, Kelly Rypkema, Scott Nicholas, and moi.

performing to benefit this:
Vergennes Opera House

And it was lovely.

And cold.

Suddenly I remembered the importance of long johns.
I've been told that there are some festive striped ones from H&M that I'm going to seek out today but I'm also considering getting some heavy duty options.
Afterall, I'm still going to Minnesota before 2011 where this happened:


So I feel they will be put to good use, no?

And why don't we add some cute mittens to the wintry mix:
Madewell - Ski Lodge Mittens


ASOS - Pom Pom Mittens

Coach - Knit Mittens


Target - Muk Luks Tweed Mittens

All of this below zero talk is making my fingers wish I had an above pair of mittens on now, though I would have some trouble typing the rest of this post. Dilemma.

Monday, December 13, 2010

New Ork

(Wow, that was a long scroll down. Manhattan is long.)

I shouted a big Hooray! when I discovered today that the urban and wordy Ork Posters has just launched a Minneapolis version. I want it:

Supposedly, St. Paul will be released in early Spring to keep her twin company.

I may run out of wall space!

P.S. Read about designer & founder Jenny Beorkrem's philosophy to creating these city scenes; sounds like the gal is as cool as the art.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Nighty Night

Have you tried this?

Kiehl's always manages to create quality products. The formula in this little blue bottle deserves the title of elixir and always calms me before bed, leaving my skin dewy and fresh in the morning. Oh, and it smells GREAT.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Yikes! Stripes!

Good things come in stripes: cabanas, candy canes, the American flag...
All at once clean, fresh, modern, and retro. Give me a stripe, and I am happy.
Some stripes that have caught me eye...

Phone cases don't have to be boring:

Sheets that can go with anything:

Thin stripe, bold effect:

A classic choice with some pizazz:

Almost too pretty to eat...almost: