This year I will...

Have you started making your New Year's resolutions yet? I don't usually make any, but this year I am working on absolutely, positively, never texting and driving. Or Tweeting. Or Facebooking, emailing, instagraming, bubble busting, using my iPhone to take awkward self-portraits making kissy faces, etc. It's dangerous, it's illegal, and it's a terribly difficult habit to break (especially that last one). I have already started working on it, but after December 31st I'm seriously considering locking my phone in my glove compartment before I start my engine. Whatever it takes, right?


If you're still trying to come up with a resolution and you're running low on ideas, I encourage you to check out this resolution generator. I think I spent the last 15 minutes clicking through... it is great. (My faves are "cook beef bourguignon" and "dress up," but that's probably because I already do those...)

[Image via the designer's site]

I'd love to hear your resolutions!!

Comfort and Joy

Isn't it funny how certain things can be so very comforting? Certain sights, smells, and sounds calm our spirits and breathe peace into our souls. Some things that always comfort me are the taste of cinnamon and nutmeg, the rich aroma of browned butter, and the smooth hum of a Kitchen Aid mixer. This recipe from Smitten Kitchen promised all three, so when I saw it this morning I knew I had to try it. 

These cinnamon brown butter breakfast puffs are delicious, and will certainly leave you feeling satisfied. Moreover, spending a quiet morning in the kitchen and indulging in a few of your favorite comforts will surely impart a renewed sense of tranquility... at least it did for me. 

What comforts you? Some others of mine include: a steamy latte, warm sunshine on my skin, sheets straight out if the dryer, balmy beach air, and freshly cut grass. 

Traditions

This year I realized why Christmas in our home is so special: traditions. The days leading up to Christmas are filled with a comforting rhythm of repeated activities that are nonetheless exciting year after year. As a kid, I didn't really appreciate it, but as an adult, I've become painfully nostalgic, and at times militant, about adhering to these traditions. Here are a few of my favorite traditions...

  Christmas Eve Baking (mandatory) 

Some of our favorite recipes are as old as me (and some even older!) 

 Christmas Eve post-dinner neighborhood party: We have a spread of cookies that even Santa would envy, and we always warm things up with a coffee bar stocked with Bailey's, Frangelico, Godiva, and other yummy liqueurs. (and of course, hot chocolate for the little ones)

 Christmas carols

 [not a tradition, but I ended up matching my favorite little elf. Definitely will be a future tradition though... my children will be my greatest accessories. (jk...kindof...notreally)]

 We always play pool. I usually lose.

 We always get to open one Christmas Eve gift... and it's always pajamas! 

 (acting surprised is part of the fun)

 Usually only the kids get pj's, so mom and dad were surprised when they got to join in on the fun.

 Christmas morning mimosas (which I certainly started appreciating more when I turned 21 last year... champagne undoubtedly trumps Sprite.)

 [Breakfast non-casserole. For years my mom made casserole. And for years we hated it. Now we have a spread like this, it's kind of an homage to the old casserole, just deconstructed.]

After breakfast we open sibling gifts first in the living room. Then Santa gifts in the pool house, where there is always a fire burning on Christmas morning, even when this coastal town's forecaster doesn't get the Christmas memo. 


Not pictured:
1. Christmas Eve Dinner: Lasagna (a tradition that started in the Johns family when my dad was a kid, but we certainly don't mind keeping it up)
2. Christmas Dinner: Beef tenderloin. And my mom's sister and her family always make the trip from Raleigh to join us.
3. Tree-trimming music: Randy Travis- Old Time Christmas.
4. Scrabble. It's kind of like homemade Chex mix. My mom makes it, and it is pretty much snack crack.  So addicting. 

What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?

25

One day last summer I asked my parents what the key to their marriage was. My mom was first to answer, and as tears welled up in her eyes she explained that she still feels the same way about my dad as she did on the day she married him. She said her heart still flutters when she sees him, even if he's only been gone for the day. 

My dad's answer was simple: Christ. Jesus Christ is the center of their marriage, the foundation upon which their relationship rests. They both find their identity in Him first, and then in each other. As a result, my dad loves my mom like Christ loves the church, even willing to lay down his life for her. And my mom is secure in this, so she is able to submit to him in love and trust, just as the church submits to Christ.*

Cheers to my wonderful parents as they celebrate 25 years of marriage today! Thank you for your example of love, friendship, and, above all else, a focus on Christ. 

*For further reading on what a Christian marriage looks like, I encourage you to read Ephesians 5:21-33

Blonde Ambition

My hair is brown. I dye it darker. Not gothic darker. My stylist adds low-lights a few times a year to give my color some dimension. And I love it. Not in a "look at me, I'm so pretty" kind of way, more like a "the woman who crafts this hair is an absolute artist/shear genius" kind of thing. On its own, my hair tends to be dull, mousy, and boring. But thanks to Brenda, it is healthy and shiny.


But sometimes, just sometimes, I wish I could be blonde. Only for a day or two, then I want my hair back. 

I went in for a hair appointment Saturday afternoon and showed Brenda this picture. Of course I cannot pull off this pretty shade of platinum like Reese can, and I'm not ready to take the plunge and bid my long locks goodbye just yet, but I was craving a change. 

[shoes: minnetonka, jeans: seven for all mankind, sweater: h&m, necklace: vintage, furry friend: Christmas present 2007]

Brenda had just the solution to my restless hair syndrome: a few inches shorter & new bangs. I am absolutely loving it. I still feel like I have "long hair," but I can blow dry it in half the time and it has 100x the body and volume. It doesn't look so hippie-amish-granola anymore and I feel like a new woman. Oh, and she didn't even have to touch my color. Whoever said blondes have more fun... was wrong.

Puppy Love

I can't decide if Taylor loves me or Yoshi more... I'm leaning toward the latter.

Candied Spiced Pecans

A great, big pecan tree towers tall in front of the house where I grew up. Most years, hurricanes rolled in off the Atlantic and wiped out the crop before it was mature. But one, magical year the tree weathered the storms and we were able to reap the bounty of its branches. We ended up with bushels and barrels of the things, and never, ever got sick of them. There's something to be said for enjoying food right where it was harvested. And to me, pecans will always say home.

Roasting the pecans brings out their rich, nutty flavor. And roasting them with the most perfect blend of sugar and spices? You'll think you've died and gone to heaven. I have made 2 batches in the past 2 days in hopes that my younger brother, who shares both my sentiments regarding pecans and my affinity for the candied variety, will pack his bags and head north.

Candied Spiced Pecans:*

1 large egg white

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon allspice

about 1 lb. pecans

1. Preheat oven to 300

2. Beat egg white until stiff

3. Mix together sugar and spices

4. Stir sugar mixture into egg white

5. Gradually stir in pecans, coating liberally.

6. Spread out on parchment-lined baking sheet

7. Bake at 300 for 45 minutes, stirring every 15. 

*I'd say this is more of a recommendation than a recipe. If you love ginger, add some ginger. Vanilla? I'm sure that would be lovely too.