12 Days of Christmas: Day 5

Jack's family is predominately German and Dutch so we go every year to the Christkindlmarket here in Chicago to get our fill of Glühwein, a traditional German holiday market hot spiced wine and delicious Lebkuchen, a German variation on traditional gingerbread that is coated with sugar and almonds. We went last night and it was a bone chilling 5 degrees out with a -20 windchill. What can I say....we really like our German Christmas treats! I also got a chance to see the Christmas tree in Daley Plaza and huddle close to Jack under the mistletoe so the trip was definitely worthwhile.

We would love to travel to Germany and experience a real Bavarian Christmas one day. I've heard that Nuremburg and Munich pretty much turn into gigantic Christmas toy cities replete with twinkling lights, tasty treats, nutcrackers and all the wooden toys you could possibly desire. I'd probably eat myself silly! It's one trip out of many that we would love to take.

Vintage Typewriter

I have a thing for vintage typewriters. I love the idea of writing letters to friends and family using a typewriter; probably because my handwriting is getting worse every year and I still prefer to mail out correspondence-it's far more personable than emails. Back in the day, I was a poorly paid secretary who actually enjoyed using the office typewriter; I would actually make excuses to use it. They are just so much fun to use. Anyway, I would totally use one if I had one. This Royal Tiffany blue typewriter should do the trick. You can find it at Paris Hotel Boutique; one of my favorite online sites to peruse (check out their vintage books when you have time!).

Update: It already sold! These beauties go quick! You find them at My Typewriter and Three Potato Flour but I will probably go through ebay (they are much cheaper!)

12 Days of Christmas: Day 4

Besides holding your loved ones closer and giving thanks the holidays are also about giving back. I thought I would share my favorite ways to give back during the holiday season:

1. Dear Santa Program: The Chicago Sun Times runs this awesome Dear Santa program where you receive letters from low income school children in the Chicagoland area asking for small gifts. The letters are priceless! So cute and the kids put so much effort into making them special and sparkly. I still have mine from last year stuck on my fridge.

2. Purchase gifts for a needy family: We participate in the Catholic Charities Sponsor a Family Program every year and we love it. I especially love shopping for the kids.

3. Canned Goods: God knows we have way too much food in our kitchen. Jack stocks up like WWIII is around the corner. My work has a food drive each year where I drop everything off.

Woo-Hoo! I'm already planning my trip to Target this week to buy all my little goodies. Oh, and the plus side to donating canned goods is that I finally have some kitchen space-bonus!

Baked Ziti with Spinach, Tomatoes and Sausage

There are times I'm very grateful for my google reader and last night was one of them because it saved me from making a sub par dinner for Jack. I had a really strong craving for sausage but I drew a blank on how to make a meal out of it. So I type in pasta and sausage and I find a recipe for Baked Ziti with Spinach, Tomatoes and Sausage that Stephanie at StephModo made for her family. It was delicious! Simple to make, surprisingly light yet hearty in flavor... it has become a new family favorite. Honestly I would probably discuss food more often on this blog if I didn't suck at taking photos (one of my goals is to remedy that) so the photo above was taken by Stephanie. Mine came out the same way- yummy and delicious!

I also made some slight modifications to the recipe:

1. I used whole wheat pasta because I'm on a whole wheat kick

2. I used extra pasta like Stephanie recommends

3. I used regular sausage (not hot Italian)

4. I sprinkled in some fennel seeds to amplify the flavor

We actually had a nice bottle of Beaujolais on hand and it went perfectly with this dish. I'm already salivating at the thought of eating leftovers tonight. Happy Eating:)

12 Days of Christmas: Day 3

It's time to get out those ice skates! Ice skating with the one you love or with family is such a treat, especially outdoors. This weekend we plan on going ice skating in Millennium Park and warming up afterwards with a hot cup of cocoa. We are both abysmal ice skaters but that's not stopping us from having a little fun. Go outside and enjoy yourself!