Celebration Month

 we started celebrating at Four Pegs Beer Lounge in Louisville...

 ...then made our way to St. Louis!

 Tim posing with his much loved whale at the City Museum.

 Saturday afternoon coffee.

 we end up the most interesting places together.

Then came Valentine's Day!

Our gifts to one another.

February 6th marked one year of marriage!  We find ourselves repeating "I can't believe it's already been a year!"  It really has flown by.  It's been a wonderful (and very fun) year.  So much learned about life, relationships and love.

To celebrate our one year we made our way over to St. Louis.  We enjoyed sipping Shlafly (a much enjoyed beer of ours) while taking a tour of the brewery.  We stopped by the City Museum and their Contemporary Art Museum.  We found a nice coffee shop and a great record store.  We even were spoiled on a continental breakfast of omelets, bacon and fruit loops (a childhood favorite of both).  The Mississippi is lined with historic brick roads and bridges...and that giant arch.  We enjoyed walking along the river on a crisp Sunday morning.

Then came Valentine's Day!  Tim picked out flowers that (again) brought tears to my eyes.  I tend to carry them from room to room while I am home.  Strawberry pancakes were enjoyed in the morning while seared tuna and asparagus were savored in the evening. It was nice to be at home together, sitting in front of the fire, catching up from our recent busy days.  Here is year two and our hearts continue to grow.

Thirty

I briefly mentioned Tim had a birthday, but forgot to mention it was the big 30!  (i hear 30 is the new 20.)  Since there were a lot of festivities going on, as well as sharing his birthday with his brother, and well, J-s-s, we missed an individual celebration for turning 30.  Last year he had a small celebration for being 29.5 in June...so maybe a big blow out awaits for this summer.  Or maybe this year will hold the first of many 'Celebrate Life Day'.  An ideal celebration?  Bike rides, picnic, friends and dancing, all under a warm sun.  We'll keep you posted when the time comes.

TX Christmas Part 2: Birthdays, DMA, Pinatas!

 Liz, Mandy, Christopher and Tim all have birthdays in the same week!  They have a tradition to celebrate them all together in a big birthday blow out.  Cupcakes, a new version of bop-it and h'orderves filled the night.

 A van Gogh painting at the Dallas Musuem of Art on Christmas Eve.

Tim helped start the mornings off just right.

The wonderful Christmas Day Extravaganza!

The Christmas Tree Pinata we made for Katie and Caroline...

...filled with rubber lizards, bouncy balls and bracelets!  Interactive gifts are so much fun!

 We couldn't go without snapping a photo in front of our first Christmas Tree.  So here ya go, 

S+T Christmas number 1.

Texas Christmas part 1: Mass amounts of gingerbread.

 Tim and I spent a week with family in Texas for Christmas.  Throughout the week stay, there were many 'extravaganzas' that took place.  I'll post them all for you to see, starting with the first one.  It was a 'Gingerbread Cookie Extravaganza' with our nieces.  What started as a wonderfully fun, gingerbread man making project, ended up being a four hour decorating, baking and munching process!  By the end, the assembly line was made and we were moving quick!  It was no longer a 'let's enjoy the moment', but a 'oh my goodness, i can't believe there are so many cookies, and so many more to go!  let's get it done!!!!!  It's the Strader way, i guess.  I'm glad I could jump in and help get things done.

 By the end of our stay, there were only 3 cookies left...so i guess the mass number of cookies were necessary!

projects, parties & blessings

 Our brand new heat source!  Goodbye to 58 degree indoor winters...hello to 70 degree plus!

 Making Sweet Potato Biscuits Thanksgiving morning.

 A (frustrating) little project Tim & I did.  (I don't reccommed giving your time to these little string balls...)

 Popcorn and cranberry stringing! 

 Tim spray painted some red, green and gold to add a bit more to the garlands.

Tim & I picked up some (free!) tree trimmings at Whole Foods the other week.  We decided on making our own wreaths with them.  We were very pleased with the outcome, and had a lot of fun making them together.

 The past two Advent Seasons, Tim and I have gone through this book together.  We've picked it up again this year too.  There are so many things for our hearts to ponder in these coming weeks, and we hope to keep a celebratory and focused heart through it all.  This is a great tool.

 Jason, Donna, Gracie and Emmit came over Saturday evening for dinner and Christmas Cookie making!  We love this family dearly and enjoy every minute we can grab with them.

 Tim made the cookie dough from scratch, using a recipe passed down from his Great Grandmother.  We made these last year too.  We hope this recipe continues as a tradition.  We liked being able to share it with such great friends, and their children who REALLY appreciated it!

Jason & Donna brought us a Christmas Tree!!!!  It was such a sweet treat and surprise!  We were not planning on getting one this year for many reasons, which made this one such a blessing.

These last few months have been BUSY.  We've already been to a couple holiday parties (which were a blast!) and a few more coming up soon.   Last night was the Sunergos Christmas Party with the annual talent show.  Tim recited a spoken word 'message' by Lawrence Ferlinghetti titled Christ Climbed Down.  He did pretty awesome.  We've been spending our time on little things like memorizing spoken word messages while sipping bourbon in hot chocolate, making a hearth for a useful and beautiful wood burning stove to go on, and having game nights and ornament making gatherings around the mesmerizing fire.  A lot of gift making and brainstorming and research have been going on in this little living room.  Tim and I are very thankful for all the time we have.  We are so rich with time.  We like making our time economical and worth while...and it feels like each minute is being used up...and will continue to be used up for the next few weeks.  Amidst all the chaos, we've been blessed with the stillness that comes with intricately bundling trimmings into wreaths and pauses that come along with needle and thread.  We enjoy those times, separately and together.  They keep us sane.

Seasonal Treats

There seems to be an abundance of green tomatoes from our garden, as well as friend's garden's.  So, this past weekend I whipped up a batch on 'Janie's Green Tomato Jam'.  It was super easy, and very tasty, especially with cheeses.  It filled up five very small mason jars.  With a little bit of fabric tied on top of each jar, it made a nice little housewarming gift for some good friends of ours.  If you'd like to make Janie's Green Tomato Jam for yourself, or as gifts, here is the recipe, out of one of my favorite cook books:  Forgotten Skills of Cooking.

Ingredients:

18 oz. green tomatoes

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

finely grated zest and juice of one organic lemon

Wash & slice the tomatoes and put into a large pan with 1 1/2 cups of h2o.  Bring to a boil & simmer 50-60 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients over low heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Once sugar is dissolved boil rapidly for 10-12 minutes.  Fill into sterilized jars, cover and store in a cool dry cupboard.

I made this Butternut Squash Gratin for lunch on Saturday.  It will make a great dish to bring to some upcoming holiday parties.  The best part: it's made with kitchen staples!  It's also super affordable and quick to make.  I followed the recipe from simplebites, a source for many of my recipes.  Get the full recipe of Butternut Squash Gratin here:

http://www.simplebites.net/butternut-squash-gratin-recipe-family-favorite-side-dish/

quarter of a century old.

My grandmother, uncle and I all celebrate October birthdays.

 Brunch at The Seelbach's Oakroom.  Ice sculpture surrounded by oysters & artichokes & the best cheese plate i've seen in a while.

 I'm not one that is big on Halloween, but the theme at the brunch was pretty cute.

 Picnic at Bernheim Forrest.

Mulled Wine, Goat Cheese, Apples, Crackers, and my incredible husband, all on one blanket.  Probably one of the best birthday treats.

Making my birthday (and the cake) last.

It was a great birthday weekend.  25.  Now I can say I'm starting to feel old.  I'm no longer in my 'early twenties'.  I've now entered the 'mid twenties', and only a couple more years until 30. (which i hear is the new 20.)  Life is such an adventure, and every year is another blessing.

It was good to celebrate with family and eat yummy cake, a tradition we've held for years.  My birthday, my grandmother's and my uncle's are all in the same week, so we all celebrate together.   Sunday morning Tim and I got all dressed up and enjoyed brunch at the Seelbach's Oakroom. (Tim and I stayed a couple nights there on our honeymoon.  It holds a special place in our hearts.)  Brie on scrambled eggs?  Yes please.  Bacon AND sausage?  Yes!  Five different kinds of cheeses with oysters?  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  It was a great meal.  On my actual birthday Tim took me to a favorite spot of ours.  We've been going to Bernheim Forrest every autumn since we began dating.  We shared a sweet picnic then walked around the pond.  Here we saw a family of deer, a heron and geese migrating!  We tend to recieve these gifts almost everytime we are out on a hike.  I love coming across such grand surprises with my husband.  I would take those moments with him over pretty much anything.