Holiday Cookie Exchange (More Cookies, Less Exchange)

As you well know by now, we love the holidays. Last night, we went to a Seattle Choral Company at a cathedral in the city. It was a lot of fun and just the right event to put us in a holiday state of mind!

Tonight we had some friends over to share holiday cookies. It was a very casual and "no stress" zone, since the holidays often tend to be overwhelming and busy. Before folks came over, I made some paper snowflakes to hang in our window. It seems like we - a city where it almost never snows - always get storm on the same day that I make my annual paper snowflakes. Well, tonight was no different.

You would think that two people from Montana/Wisconsin and upstate New York wouldn't marvel at snow, but get a light accumulation and we're out there taking pictures.

My garden is almost covered with the white stuff. I'm so excited!

Even the Christmas decorations can't escape the snow!

Now back to the cookie exchange. We made two different sweet treats and two of our friends brought some cookies to share. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective), our friends are heading to Mexico tomorrow, so they didn't take many cookies with them. I think we're going to become popular neighbors in the next day or two.

Chinese Noodle Cookies

Almond Bark

Good Old Fashioned Peanut Butter and Hershey Kiss Cookies

Our "Fireplace"
We actually have a working fireplace, but since we live in a city, we don't use it even on cold nights. Instead we put candles in the space, which give it the same warm glow that a fire does but without the mess!

We hope you are warm and cozy wherever you are!

These Halls are Officially Decked!

My two favorite holidays are Halloween and Christmas because you can decorate like a maniac for each of these holidays without looking like the neighborhood crazy-person. Today, Ryan and I spent some time getting our house ready for its first Christmas with the Nonericks. I think I'm going to like it here!

The Grand Entry

Now we just need some snow to make it really holiday-ready!

Dining Table Centerpiece

The stockings were hung on the mantle with care...
Looks like Soma is hoping that St. Nicholas soon will be there!

The tree that Mike and Ryan picked out and decorated right after Thanksgiving.

We have a new resident, Oli the Owl, in our Christmas tree.

We hope you are having a great December! Stay tuned for our annual recap of Nonerick adventures!

O Tannenbaum...

Ryan usually has a very strict rule about Christmas decorations. In his opinion, you can't decorate for the holidays until after December 1. During Thanksgiving dinner, our friends, Amy and Byron, mentioned that they were going on a fun outing to pick out the perfect tree on "Black Friday".

After much cajoling, Ryan eventually gave in and we went to pick up our tree. Interestingly, Ryan dramatically changed his mind and was all about decking the halls with Christmas cheer. We'll post pictures of the final product tomorrow. In the meantime, check out these pics of the shenanigans.

Ryan and Mike find the perfect tree.

Ryan loves having his picture taken.

What did I tell you? Ryan loves the holidays.

Proof positive that tree hugging runs in the family.

When company comes to Seattle, we put them to work!

Three Cheers for Tofurkey!

You may remember our Thanksgiving post from last year (click here to jog your memory) where we made a delicious Tofurkey. Well, the tradition continues, but this time we drafted another participant: my little brother, Mike.

For some reason we always end up with a ridiculous amount of food, which is great because there is nothing better than T-day leftovers. Tofurkey only gets better with time...

I was a terrible blogger and didn't take enough photos, but here are a few snapshots from the day.

The Thanksgiving table with flowers from my garden and my favorite new obsession, glassybaby candle votives.

The New Emeril

A good chef always tests his food

Just a few leftovers...

This is what a food coma looks like.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The New Me!

BEFORE

AFTER!

From The 'Cuse To The Emerald City

Ryan's brother, Sean, and his girlfriend, Carolyn, flew out from Syracuse to enjoy Seattle's incredible November weather. By "incredible" I mean dark, rainy, and cold. Actually, the weather wasn't terrible, but it was bad enough to prevent two lazy hosts (us) from taking our guests hiking in the beautiful surrounding mountains. Instead of hiking and enjoying the outdoors, we ate, lounged, ate some more, enjoyed some of Seattle's great sites, and ate again. When the visit was over, we all had "food babies" in our bellies and talked about the need for nutritional "detox".

Check out some highlights from the weekend:

Walking at Discovery Park

Soma Caught in the Act of Cleaning His Nose

Sean and Carolyn's Feet at the Ballard Locks

An Incoming Commercial Fishing Boat

Taking in the View of Puget Sound

Ryan and Soma Checking Out Puget Sound
It's fitting that we spent some time on the Sound this weekend because our state entity charged with saving/recovering the Sound (the Puget Sound Partnership) came out with a draft plan the day Sean and Carolyn arrived.

We didn't see any seal pups, but we did see this sign. It always amazes me to think that wild animals can live in such an urban environment.

Sean Hiking Up From the Beach

Ryan (finally!) smiling in a photograph.
What a handsome devil!

We had a great time with Sean and Carolyn, and we hope we see them in Seattle again soon (with or without a moving truck, but preferably with). Thanks, S & C for coming to visit!

Now the work begins, but I'm 'Fired Up! Ready to Go!"