truffle shuffle

I had been planning for a while to make some hand-made candies for my mom and Grandma for Christmas. After some research, I cobbled together my own recipe based on ones I found here, here and here. I added Bailey's for some extra deliciousness. Poor Tim traipsed all over Manhattan to find me a melon baller, which ended up not working as expected, so I rolled each truffle by hand. Messy but effective.

Just before I made them, I also saw that Tracy at Shutterbean, my newest favorite site, had made some as well, and I borrowed the candy cane idea from her. I also dipped mine in cocoa powder, chopped white chocolate (food processor worked perfectly to turn it into tiny bits), chopped bittersweet chocolate (same stuff I used to make the ganache centers) and chopped toasted almonds.

I presented them in small Chinese food containers lined with waxed paper and tied with red and silver ribbons. The platter of extras I put out at Christmas dinner was wiped clean pretty quickly, making me think they tasted as good as they looked.

happy holidays

surprises and celebrations

I threw a surprise graduation party for Tim at Union Hall this weekend. I couldn't be prouder that he finished his Masters program and it was so much fun to celebrate with friends, even if he kinda knew something was up. We also got to be tourists for the weekend with his family who came into town for the ceremony. The complete set is here. Congrats to you, Catts!

outside the ica

Outside the ICA

weekend in boston

We spent an awesome long weekend in Boston ... design exhibit at the ICA ... wandering the city with Tito ... beers at Kingston Station ... sushi with Tito, Mark and Christi ... the coolest bathroom sink any of us have seen ... Anna's birthday party complete with pinata and Darren ... Sophia that cat at the Roslindale B+B (aka Mark + Christi's apartment) ... more design exhibits, in the form of Blogorelli's rad typewriter collection ... homemade brunch with the best brown bread ... Paper Sourcing with Jenna, a true expert ... finally making it to Wagamama for a big bowl of nostalgia ... pizza and more beers in front of Jenna and Steve's fireplace, with Hazel the pup ... then taking the train home, so much nicer than the bus. Thanks friends!

opulence

the head chef

I really like this shot of my mom on Thanksgiving before the big meal. Notice the open window in the background... the only time I ever remember it being warm enough to have them open at the end of November in Jersey!

This is the house that I grew up in, but the kitchen got redone after I moved out. I remember it more like this.