Life Through the Lens: holidays

Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts

Monday, January 10, 2011

Christmas in Barbados

I wanted to share some photos from our Christmas celebration in Barbados. Having never been there at this magical time of year, we weren't sure what to expect. But, in true Bajan (&Dad) style, we were not disappointed.

We stay at my Dad's condo while we're there. When you walk in the front door, this is the view you are greeted with:

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

Not exactly a bad way to start your vacation.

Dad had all his holiday decorations out, including his collection of nutcrackers:

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

Decorations definitely made it feel more "Christmas-y"... even though it was 86 degrees out.

A real Christmas tree costs a couple hundred dollars in Barbados, but I thought his little fake one looked real enough to me!

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

Love this little guy

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

The sunset was beautiful, as always.

Our gifts had both a Bajan and French-Canadian flare to them. This little lady bug chocolate is apparently very popular in France.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Holiday Treats-a-palooza: Wrap Up

I would call the First Annual Holiday Treats-a-palooza a success, wouldn't you? Lets review what we made this week:

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved
Chocolate Covered Everything

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cheesebake Bars (my personal favorite!)

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved
Gena's amazing sugar cookies

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved
Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved
Nutella Sugar Sandwich Cookies

Happy holidays & happy baking everyone! Now off to the gym....

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Holiday Treats-a-palooza: Chocolate Covered Everything

It has been tradition in my family ever since I was little to make chocolates. And by chocolates I mean melting yummy milk/dark/white chocolate & dipping everything & anything you can get your hands on into it. It's super easy & always makes impressive (& yummy!) holiday gifts! Here's how I do it:

I like to use Wilton Candy Melts. They're available at Michael's or other craft-type stores. I have used other bulk chocolate discs before, available at candy supply stores, but D.C. seems to be seriously lacking in candy supply shops.

The chocolate melts looks like this when they're dumped out of the bag (no, the irony is not lost in this picture - I am making chocolates, while Brad's protein powder, banana's & water bottle hang out in the background)

Before you get started with your chocolate-ing, prep your chocolate dipping area. This year, I covered our dining room table with waxed paper, which worked very well.

Melt your chocolate on a double boiler or the lazy way: in the microwave on 50% power, stirring every 15-30 seconds. When your chocolate is melted, it will look like this (resist the urge to lick the spoon).

Now you're ready to dip. Oreo's are always a hit, so I tend to make a whole bag or two of those.

You can keep melting chocolate & dipping Oreo's until your heart is content.

If you want to move onto something else, may I suggest nutmallow, or as Martha would call them, "rocky road bars." Melt a bag of chocolate discs, toss in a half a can of cashews, & 1/2 - 3/4 of a bag of mini-marshmallows (I went overboard this year & used almost the whole bag). Give the mixture a good stir, so it's evenly coated & dump the whole mixture into a baking dish lined with wax paper. Then stick it in the fridge!

White chocolate also presents lots of fun dipping opportunities. Just be careful when melting though, as it tends to burn more easily than milk or dark chocolate.

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

Dunk that Oreo right in... don't be afraid to get any on your fingers!

White chocolate is also good for drizzling over milk or dark chocolate. Melt some white chocolate, take a small fork & dip the ends in. Then shake the fork back & forth over whatever you're drizzling. If the chocolate isn't melted enough & sticks to the fork or comes off in big blobs, stick it back in the microwave (or over the double boiler) for a few seconds.

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

There's really no end to the treats you can make!

Friday, December 10, 2010

New York City at Christmas

It hit me like a ton of bricks. I was sitting at my desk this morning, when suddenly the urge came.

New York City.

Christmastime.

I simply must go.

Unfortunately, New York City, especially at Christmastime, is expensive & our holiday schedule is already jammed.

So since a trip isn't in the picture this year, I thought I would blog about it instead. Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree...

Last Sunday, we purchased & decorated our Christmas tree. We literally pulled into the parking lot of our church (where we buy our fine tree every year), walked up to one, said "looks good" & five minutes later it was in the car. Simplest process ever. Which was good, because it was freezing cold out.

The biggest pain in the rear about purchasing a live tree is carrying it up the stairs to our fourth floor apartment. This year it resulted in me getting sap all over my winter coat. Luckily, thanks to the Intertubes, I found a genius solution to get it out: hand sanitizer. I am not even joking! Squirted some right on my coat, rubbed it in, & in a matter of moments the sap was gone. Amazing.

So, we hauled the tree upstairs, set it up in the little stand & let it get nice & warm for a few hours. Finally, it was decorating time.

Lights first.

Then it was time to get out the ornaments.
No, I don't think we have enough either, thanks for noticing.

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

*a super tacky, plastic, 1970's star that has been in my family since, well, the 1970's. My Dad gladly handed it off to me & I am obsessed with it. I refuse to get a new one.