Happy Halloween!
SFGirl Says Farewell.
2 years ago
Showing posts with label Fall Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fall Holidays. Show all posts
First Flavors of Fall
Social media is starting to make me think, that perhaps it is an inherently female thing to love fall. I cannot count the number of women folk proclaiming their love for this loveliest of seasons all over the interweb.
Like that silent internal clock that ticks away until one day BAM you're 30 and you can't think of anything but babies (or so I'm told) I think we ladies have another little timekeeper that starts sounding the alarm right around mid-September. It shouts excitedly in our ears "the holidays are coming!" and "it's snuggle time!" as the air chills and everything seems a little rosier.
Falling prey to such biological nudging, I couldn't help myself when I saw this awesome recipe for Light Mussel and Pumpkin Soup from Saveur. I made it and it was amazing!
See below for instructions. I combined it with this recipe from Emeril. Basically I followed the Saveur recipe with a few Emeril additions. I added the garlic from Emeril's recipe when sauteing the shallots. I used a cup of chicken broth instead of Saveur's suggested cup of water, and I added a splash of heavy cream at the end. The result was a yummy kind of chowder-esque concoction that reminded me of potato leek soup, with a seafood edge. Oh p.s. I used a Japanese Kabocha Squash per Saveur's suggestion.
Saveur Light Mussel & Pumpkin Soup
6 tbsp. butter
1 shallot, peeled and sliced
1 lb. mussels, cleaned
3 cups dry white wine
3-4 lbs. of pumpkin, seeded, peeled, and diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 sprigs parsley, chopped
1. Melt 2 tbsp. of the butter in a heavy-bottomed medium pot over medium heat. Add shallots, and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add mussels, wine, and 1 cup water; increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until mussels open, about 5 minutes. Strain mussels through a colander set over a medium bowl. Set broth aside. Remove mussels from their shells (discard any that don't open), and discard shells. Set mussels aside.
2. Melt remaining 4 tbsp. butter in same pot over medium heat. Add pumpkin, and cook, stirring often, until soft and lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Add reserved mussel broth, and simmer until pumpkin is very soft and broth thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.
3. Working in batches, purée pumpkin in a blender until smooth. Return purée to pot over medium-low heat, add mussels, season to taste with salt and pepper, and heat until warm (do not boil). Serve in warmed soup bowls, and garnish with parsley
It's The Most Beautiful Time of the Year
It's the holiday season, which can only mean two things:1. I will struggle not to consume all the baked goods and carb filled treats put in my face both day and night.
2. I will be on a socially acceptable spending spree, spending hours purchasing *gifts* for *other people* (really on a search to find pretty things for myself to wear to Christmas parties!)
Of course I will also be recording every claymation Christmas special, perusing recipes to find the next big "tradition" in our house, and hopefully getting sloshed at a few fabulous soirees.
At the very least I will be sitting in front of the tube sipping some bubbly watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, oh and can't forget every girl's favorite White Christmas!
Back to my original point. The next few months I will be trying to A. stay skinny (or get skinny, whichever) and B. get pretty (or stay pretty). In this wonderful spirit I wanted to share a few preemptive purchases I've made to make my season just a little bit brighter (also, my face).
I've been trying to build my make-up collection to cater to my skin tone & hair color, instead of just grabbing the newest color that doesn't really flatter me. I'm loving my new Lorac Blush in Flaunt. Nice cool pink for my super white skin! Its really bright, which at first scared me. But it goes on pretty sheer, allowing you to choose the intensity you want.
Best color ever. Bright pink with blue undertones you would think its shocking based on the intensity but its so flattering! I love it. Thanks to Diamonds & Tulle who turned me on to this stuff :)
I really like this brand for multiple reasons. For one, I love the art deco packaging! But more importantly I like her "saint/sinner" lines. "Saint" is a more sheer version of the color, while "Sinner" is more robust. I bought the Saint "Wine" color and it's so nice. Goes on like lipstick but the color is very soft, perfect for work. I think she describes it as 20% color. If you love the color but want more, just purchase the sinner counterpart!
Ok this is an oldie but a goodie. This is the first eye shadow I was ever allowed to wear, when I was 13 my mom took me to the Clinique counter and said "only something that looks natural" which of course I was so mad about because I wanted every color in the rainbow. Now I can appreciate (some) simpler things in life and this is definitely one of them! I also buy the Dark Chocolate liner from them to pair with this.
All my new holiday make up really needs a pretty container. . .
So want to fill this with make up, or just display it at my house!
Ok so now you know my beauty *secrets* for the holidays. What are yours?
SOL Food Festival & Farmer's Market
Tonight is one of those great fall nights where it's frightfully windy & cold, and it feels really satisfying to just be inside. Listening to the world roar around you. For some weird reason it gives me this sense of inexplicable excitement, like Christmas Eve. Like anything could happen out there. Tomorrow I'll head out to find that the only thing to occur was plenty of leaves decided to pile themselves not-so-neatly on my porch. And a tree branch might have sacrificed itself to the wind gods. Nothing more.
But I do love this familiar feeling, a reminder of childhood wonder lost.
This weekend was the SOL Food Festival. It wasn't what I was expecting, nor would I say it was the best festival I've ever been to. But everyone's heart was in the right place (woohoo support Mother Earth!) and there were sweet little scenes to be found everywhere if you had your eyes open.
Baby ostriches! The fluffiest little creatures I've ever seen. And the little kids completely enthralled by them.
Farmer's market, filled with gourds & pumpkins, little orange clocks telling us that Halloween, Thanksgiving and finally Christmas are almost here.
So a lovely weekend it was. And culminating in such a great Monday night, sitting inside, eating & drinking wine with my sweetie. . .
Building Your Fall Nest
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| Fall 2007 Thanksgiving Party. With Yule Log DVD. Sweet! |
Fall more than ever
I feel this primordial pull
telling me to stock up for winter
both home and body.
I have this disgusting urge
to buy a crock-pot
( I avoid crock-pots like the plague due to childhood trauma--aka pot roast!)
and don some flannel.
Then I wake up from my sleepy harvest dreams and remind myself
that such practices would make me really creepy
(the crazy flannel wearing crock-pot lover)
and so I abstain.
But I do like to surround myself with the comforts of fall,
the appropriate ones at least.
The second someone mentions Fall coming, I immediately reach for anything Apple Cinnamon or Pumpkin scented. I just grabbed a Glade Warming Plug-in in Apple Cinnamon the other day and now my house smells like delicious snuggling when I walk in. (Yes I said delicious snuggling, it happened lol) The cool thing is you can adjust the amount of scent being dispersed so if someone comes over and they are sensitive to fragrances you can turn it down. Or up!
These things are the best thing ever. I'm surprised when I find out the amount of people that don't know about them. You can get them at the grocery store in the flower department! They have a really strong scent, so if you have a shoebox like me your whole house will smell great in minutes.
A plus (or minus depending on your decor) is that they are literally twiggy brooms so they do add to a fall decor theme. If you aren't into the whole turning your house into a leafy wonderland in Sept. then you can just put them in a little hiding nook (I put mine behind the couch lol) and they still smell great without looking like a witch lives there.
I love being inside when it's cold and windy and you just feel as snug as a bug in a rug. (Gross analogy can we admit?) Something that really adds to the coziness is great lighting. I read a tip from designer Ashley Roi Jenkins over at Daily Candy that suggested GE Reveal lights. Apparently these make your house look fabulous by filtering out dulling yellow tones. Add some sweet dimmers to these and your house will have a sweet fall glow!
4. Decadence
Fall and winter are a time of feasting and celebration. Holidays call for a little bit of decadence; extra candles, special china, a little bit of yummy indulgence. I really love this Lenox "Solitaire" Fine China. Oh the accent plate, I swoon. Serve some of my Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk cookies on there or my Creepy Candy Apples
and you are all set for a Fall soiree.
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