Tina Tina Bo-bina...

I caught all of 5 sec. of the SAG awards last night,
but in those teeny seconds I watched, Alec Baldwin won something
and I caught a glimpse of Tina Fey...

I mean... she's so funny,
she doesn't really have to be beautiful,
lucky for her it's just an extra perk.
I loved the dress.


We all know how I love me some red...

Christmas Movie Lovin'

We love ourselves some Christmas movies around here...
and Disney's short films are hands down our favourite.

My all time favourite doesn't happen to be available on a christmas DVD,
but you can find it in Walt Disney's Treasure Donald Volume 2 or just watch it on Youtube.
It kills me ev.er.y.time Donald comes racing down the hill again to destroy the boys snowman,
only to sadly discover they'd hid a giant rock behind their creation.
I love that he loses every stitch of hair on his fur coat from the wallop.

Easy Peasy...

Yet another thing I'd seen quite some time ago and thought "maybe I'll make that"...
months went by...
and then I got to thinking that I needed a new Christmas wreath.
One without little berries that will freeze and fracture.
This seemed like the perfect option.
It's super easy and super cheap
(like maybe $7 total (but obviously that's if you use synthetic felt))

It will certainly do in a pinch...

Are you kidding me?

How had I never heard of this show before?
Apparently this is the second season?
Doesn't matter...
now I have... and...
I love it...

love love love.
Amazing Talent.

My Handy Man.

So I'd seen a tutorial a while ago on how to make these shelves
and just kind of stored it in the back of my brain.
Once we began pulling out Christmas,
I knew it was the perfect time to tackle the "shelf project".

I got the tutorial from here on a super cute blog called House of Smiths.

This project started out as a team effort but soon became Joel's perfection obsession...
story of my life... but I'm not complaining.




The finished product...

Love them... and love the man that made them...

Warm Fuzzies...

That's what I get when I think of this soup...
make this soup...
and most definitely when I eat this soup.

Tyler's Ultimate Chicken and Dumplings

I had saved the episode when he made this probably over a year ago.
But time and energy weren't at their best last winter
so I waited for the cold to set in this year to give it a try.

I've made it twice since...




The chicken stock that you make is more than enough for two kicks at this recipe.
I just froze the remaining stock after making it the first time.
For the second time around...
thaw the stock...
and take skinless/boneless chicken breasts, trim them and butterfly them,
then simmer them in a pot with water/salt/peppercorns/thyme/bay leaves for about an hour.

Also... mine didn't thicken enough with the flour that he called for,
so I made a little flour/stock solution to add for a thicker consistency.

Bah! Boots...

Every winter I begin a new great debate...
what do I warm my toes with?
And every year...
I don't end up buying anything and my toes suffer.

Not this year...
I've found a few options I'm considering...

These little cuties are from Sorel

The obvious Hunter boot
(if I'm being honest... these aren't even in debate... I just need to go and get them)
(and invest in some warm wool socks)

I just love the hunter plaid on these ones I saw in the new Jcrew catalog.

I technically wouldn't have considered these winter/snow boots...
but because they have the cozy top, I've thrown them in the mix.
They are from lovely and dependable Aldo.

Now (in no offense) I'm not usually a UGG boot fan...
but these may have won over my heart a tad.

As for these boots...
to each their own on what you want to sport this winter,
but don't expect a sympathetic look from me if you slip and break a hip...