Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have a magical holiday filled with warmth and laughter and love.

I will be thinking of you as I eat my weight in food.

Merry Christmas!!

The 1001 Cranes

Ah yes, here you are. Do you remember the saga of folding 1,001 cranes?


Of course you do because some of you actually folded cranes for me!!



Did I mention that the cranes literally arrived the day before the wedding? All I could think was how disappointing it would be for all the people that helped me if the cranes didn't make it to the wedding. But they made it!



Is that copper piping?! How much do you think I could sell that stuff for?



In the front of the picture you see the instructions for assembly. It was actually very easy but I don't have any pictures fo the finished project yet. And by very easy I really mean very easy for my dad.


It basically went into a ceramic pot and was surrounded by white rock.



Originally I had wanted the bonzai tree but then Alan read the blog post about how I loved birch and changed the design. I really love how it turned out.


The only thing it was missing were the black striations that are a birch trademark so my dad painted those on for me.



All those little leaves are cranes my friends and I folded. Thank you Chrissy, Tina, Celeste and April!


A very special thank you to my lovely friends Mimirickets and Jana who folded for me. We've never even met in real life and I still consider you two of my favorite people. I'm so glad you could be a part of my wedding.



With all this focus on including all of our ethnicities in our ritual I just couldn't leave out a bit of Puerto Rican flare.


One of these is not like the others!





What I am left with is an amazing piece to have in my home that will stand as a reminder of the hardwork and love that went into it.


Thank you friends.... I really could never have done it without you!

~sigh~ I lurve Christmas

Can you believe its nearly Christmas?

Our first Christmas together as a married couple to be exact.



You know, like our first Monday as a married couple, and our first concert as a married couple, and our first.... its like I'm back in high school.



I stole B's point and shoot and I have to say that I am quite impressed!

The blurry ones are mainly my fault. Those things don't have image stabilization.



Do you see this bell? Its older than I am. I "borrowed" it from my parents.



I have a thing about snowflakes. I LOVE snowflakes.



I also love leaves. Is it weird hanging leaves on a tree without leaves? Are pine needles leaves? What does it all mean?

I'm a tad bit on the tired side, you'll have to excuse me.



When I was little I had my own little tree in my room. This was one of the dolls on that sat on the branches. I have the best memories of falling asleep at night as I watched the lights twinkle on my little tree.



I interrupt this post for a public service announcement.

When you bake a cake.... smooth out the batter evenly before you pop it in the oven. Otherwise the cake will bake in a big mound and when you flip it onto a tray it will crack down the middle.



But it tastes just as good. Apparently while I was wrapping presents B decided we needed cake...and he baked one at 9 pm.

Who decides to bake a cake at 9 pm?

But it was a box cake so it didn't take long.

We only had a smidgeon of chocolate frosting left so he pulled out the confetti frosting. (I have a thing for confetti cake and confetti frosting- I can't help it)

The thing about cakes like this is that I feel like its OK to eat with my fingers.

So we stopped our present wrapping and ate cake... with our hands...while we watched Frosty the Snowman. This is our first box cake as a married couple.

CORRECTION: My sincerest apologies. As it has been pointed out to me... the above pictured frosting is in fact Rainbow Chip. It is not confetti.



And then we had a sword fight with wrapping paper tubes.

I'm totally serious. Maybe it was the sugar.

Maybe next year I'll take up fencing. B turned his sword into nuncucks but I still won.

In these last few days before Christmas, in the hustle and bustle of baking and cleaning and shopping and packing, don't forget to take a moment to yourself!

Take a moment to breathe and smile and laugh and play. :)

What are your plans for the next couple of days?

Nieces

Meet Makayla and Cassidy! This was taken the day after the wedding at the brunch. There are three nieces missing from this picture but I couldn't help sharing it. They aren't sisters but they are both totally adorable. Totally.Adorable.

My mom's poor kitchen

For the record, in the month before the wedding I managed to bake 12 or was it 13? different kinds of cookies. I bake and freeze and then let it defrost before I need it. I needed the brunch/holiday party the next day to have all the things certain people look forward to.

I bake at my mom's house. Why?
1. Mom has all the spices I'll ever need
2. They did a renovation and now she has like 13 feet of counter
3. That doesn't include the 9 foot island
4. And the the double oven
5. And an extra freezer that came about from the holiday baking
6. Mom has nicer stuffs than I do
7. My apartment has 2 feet of space



And clearly I need the space. I think part of mom likes that I took over the holiday baking...and part wishes I would buy a house and get out of hers.

In my defense I have 3 recipes going here. Revel Bars, Cherry Winks and dough for Almond Orange Bites. Isn't having a double oven the coolest?!



I don't usually make this much of a mess at home...but thats only because I don't have this much space. I'm a kitchen spaz.

Add that to my list of New Years resolutions: Clean As You Cook.

How comfortable are you in the kitchen? Are you neat? Messy? A recipe follower? An improviser?

Images of New Zealand

I have quite a lot to share with you...there is the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner and my Christmas tree (that I think is sooo pretty) and a few stories about nothing important and the cranes (Jaxx, its coming), and I never finished the Christmas baking posts and there are pretty pictures that make me sigh BUT

• My computer is still not recognizing my camera or my memory card
  
• My flash drive is broken
  
• My external hard drive that has all my previous pictures is wonky and won't let me in
  
• I saw Zero 7 at the Orpheum Wed. and didn't get to bed until 2 am and woke up a 5:45 am. (The Orpheum is an amazing venue in LA and I'll someday take you on a tour there) and I'm still tired :)
  
• I cannot bring myself to post without pictures


• I haven't completed my shopping
  
• I tend to ramble
  
• What are we talking about?

Oh yeah, so for now, just enjoy this lovely video of New Zealand!

Images of New Zealand from Michael Fletcher on Vimeo.

Are you ready for Christmas? 7 days and counting!

CD Freebie: Kenny & Dolly "Once Upon a Christmas"

Let me first say that when it comes to Christmas I don't think there is anything that is too cheesy or corny or quirky. I watch Christmas movies and sing Christmas carols and I have wonderful Christmas memories.

I'm not sure any of you will be into this CD but in my world its a Christmas classic... an absolutely must play every year type of CD. It can also clear B out of any room. Doesn't the album cover say it all?




I can practically feel some of you cringing. Its Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton people! Its sooo country.

This was from a Christmas TV special in the early 80's. You gotta love 80's country.

The next song is loud so turn your speakers down a bit. :)



You know, music is a very personal thing. But I'm just putting it all out there by saying that I love every single song on this CD. Part of it is that my mom loves this CD and I can remember very vividly dancing to it in the living room while she was baking in the kitchen.

I remember spinning around and around. I also remember the rust colored carpet. ~shudder~



Do you remember what I said about things not being to cheesy or corny? I may eat my words. Please check out the next video.




This is the very dramatic title track of Once Upon a Christmas. This video is so fantastic. Who doesn't need a dancing nativity scene?! But really, give it a chance.. you just need to get past the speaking part and the song is really pretty.

If you want it (giggle) let me know and I'll mail it out to the first taker.

If not, feel free to leave comments about the music you love and hate at Christmas time!