The Christmas Countdown

Now don't be mad at me.. I know it's been quite some time since i've updated on here.  I've just been so darn busy working for Santa at the North Pole.  That's a lie.. but I do think I would make one fantastic elf.  Speaking of elves.. I love Christmas!! I love everything about it and this whole month of December has been an amazing month filled with so many amazing Christmas rituals, scents, movies, etc..

Jeremy and I got our first Christmas tree together. We strolled through the isles of trees disagreeing on what size would be best for our little living room.  Jeremy of course wanted a huge tree that would overflow onto the couches and make it impossible for us to move about (slight exaggeration).  Me on the other hand, wanted something on the smaller side so we would have plenty of room to gather and gaze at the beautiful lights without being swallowed by the branches.  One thing we have definitely learned from being married is how to compromise.  After we compromised on what we wanted, we actually ended up with the perfect tree.

Our very first Christmas tree

The week after we got the tree, the bristles started falling off at a record breaking speed.  Our tree looks great, but just don't touch it.  And YES we water it.  Lesson learned: don't buy Christmas trees from sketchy tree lots.  Next year we will cut it down ourselves.
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Jeremy and I also got to go into Boston and enjoy the Christmas tree with some good friends of ours.  We had dinner in the City, accompanied by a fabulous coupon which gave us more than half off.  Following dinner we enjoyed hot eggnog lates from Starbucks and took a stroll to see the tree.  It was such a fun night with friends, and it really started to get us excited about Christmas.

 

 

 

Jeremy and I at the tree in Boston

 

 

 

 

The next few weeks were filled with Christmas shopping, oldies 103.3 Christmas music, and the official countdown until Christmas.
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I have also spent a lot of time on Martha Stuarts website (don't judge).  There are a lot of great decorating ideas for the holidays.  Also some pretty fabulous recipes.  This weekend I made fudge with my Nana to give out as gifts to some loved ones.  Also, Jeremy and I made some Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps (recipe from Martha Stuart dot com).  The final product made me so happy.  It was just enough Christmas on one plate, and I had an amazing time baking them with my husband.

Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps (image from Marthastuart.com.. ours obviously looked a lot better!)

Recipe for Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps: 

Makes 18

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 teaspoons instant espresso
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Confectioners' sugar, for coating

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, espresso, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until well combined; mix in cooled chocolate. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat in milk until just combined. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Freeze until firm, about 45 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Pour confectioners' sugar (about 1/2 cup) into a medium bowl; working in batches, roll balls in sugar two times, letting them sit in sugar between coatings.
3. Place on prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies have spread and coating is cracked, 12 to 14 minutes; cookies will still be soft to the touch. Cool cookies on a wire rack.