Firework Cookies

When I saw the July cover of Martha Stewart Living I knew I wanted to make those cookies!



We will be (briefly) joining Eric's family this weekend I thought these would be a great addition to our trip. My only hesitation was that I'd never even made cookies from scratch before let alone decorate them so intricately. But I guess you have to start somewhere so I gave them a go.



Putting the dough together was a cinch and I went a head and rolled it out right away, between parchment paper, before chilling it.



This morning I got to baking and decorating.



I think the only real problem I had was getting the consistency of the icing right.



As you can see in the picture some of them bled over.



But all in all, I think not so bad for a first time decorator!

I also have to tell you about NY Cake. Martha Stewart recomends them in the magazine and since Im here in NYC I had the privledge of just popping over to their store. WOW! If you love to bake and you're in NYC, GO TO THERE !!

Christmas

Hope you all had as wonderfull of a Christmas Holiday as I did!





Christmas may be over but Nutcracker is still going strong. Check out the NY Times Slideshow

On my window sill...

are my beautiful Ikea tins filled with yummy home made treats and my gorgeous Birthday Tulips from Katie!




I hope you are all having fun, staying warm and traveling safely over these next few days!

Nutz of Yore..

Speaking of my Nutcracker days of yore...

Nutcracker Sweets

Check out this treasure trove of information on ABT's new production of The Nutcracker! There are lots of behind the scenes peeks and interviews. We start tech. rehearsals next week and now I'm even more excited than I already was! I think the last Nutcracker I worked on was at NCSA in 1996 dancing as a party child. Come to think of it, a few of the ABT company members were with me there, too. Small world.

The Way to a Women's Heart...

is with yummy food. Here are two delicious foodie treats that would make great Holiday gifts... that's if I could resist them long enough to wrap them.


Salted Caramel Bark


Spicey Pickles

Its beginning to look...

a lot like Christmas! Im gathering my new Holiday decor:



Gold Star
Star Dish
Lantern
All Ornaments

Chritmas Craft Idea

Paper covered ornament:

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paper ideas: poetry, sheet music, vintage childrens books illustrations

Looking Forward...

November is slow for me as far as the Opera goes. This job is unique in the fact that you are hired for specific Operas, and the performances of those specific Operas are spread out over weeks, even months. Neither Boris nor La Boheme have performances right now. La Bo has four shows in December, then I pick up Tosca in January, Nixon in February as well as La Bo again, and then Boris resumes in March with my final show being Tosca April 16th- then ABT's season begins one month later.

In the mean time Im selling away at Esprit and looking forward to a short run of ABT's new production of The Nutcracker at B.A.M. This means I will be spending my first Christmas in New York! My parents and sister will be joining me up here for the Holiday and I think it will be a really fun and unique experience to celebrate in the City! Now I have a real excuse to buy and decorate a tree!

Dress rehearsals are scary...

...literally. The Haunted House opens tomorrow! Here are a few pics from the dress rehearsal:

Bloody Mary's get their gore on!


Penny Man waits to grab a guest!


Camera Man steals your soul!

Finnegan's Wake!

Every now and then E and I find a reason to visit the Upper East Side, the neighborhood where we went to college and where I lived for 4 years. Almost all of my college memories are confined to a 10 block radius encompassing most of the east 70's. It always feels a little weird walking down the same block we walked so many times on our way to class, or passing by a store front thats now different and saying "Hey, where did Healthy Bagel go? I loved that place!" or something along those lines.

One of the days we almost always travel to this neighborhood for is St. Patty's Day. St. Patty's day is crazy in NYC but we brave the crowds to venture to one of our old college haunts... Finnegan's Wake. Finnegan's was one of two Irish pubs we frequented (the other being Kelly's but sadly it's no longer with us). We made it a point to go early this year because last year we almost missed the food... and oh.... the food! We LOVE the Bangers and Mash!



It's funny when we go there now I cant imagine how annoying our group of drunk 20 somethings must have been to all the old Irish locals. Its a pretty small quiet place but we would make ourselves right at home. Still, my favorite memories of Finnegan's are the nights E and I would be there alone, talking till 2 am when they would finally kick us out. Even though many parts of NYC living get me down and tire me out, its beautiful days like today that remind me what a special place it can be. It is the backdrop of the beginning my adult life and its the first chapter in our love story. I guess thats pretty awesome. :-)

Ahoy!

Sew I know its way too early to be thinking about Halloween, but how cute would this vintage pattern be as a costume?



vanessa.e. vintage

2010!

Highlights of Christmas Week

I'm back in the city after a fabulous week with my family! So many people were utterly shocked that Eric and I didn't spend our first married Christmas together.

Example: They: "Hey Marissa! Where's Eric?" Me: "Oh, he's at home with his family." Them: "What! Why?".

I guess I can understand it, but it didn't seem the slightest bit weird to us. We've never spent a Christmas together. We dont buy each other presents. We both value our family time sooooo much that neither one of us can even fathom the idea of not being with them at Christmas. Also, because our respective parental units live so far apart from each other, we could never split the time between them. Thus, we were apart our first married Christmas. We both agreed that until we have a child, and Christmas becomes about them, we'll continue to go our separate ways for the Holiday. Sure I missed him, but I see him almost everyday! I only see the fam. maybe twice a year!! It was a wonderful holiday full of love, and my hubs was only a phone call away.

Highlights of Christmas Week:

1. Watching Bry dance.

2. Margaritas at La Caretta with my girls!

3. Sausage Gravy Biscuits.

4. Getting my family hooked on Lost

5. My new iPod and One Yard Wonders.

Hope you had a fabulous Holiday as well!


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Highlights of our Thanksgiving

1. The BABIES! Kailyn is sooo talkative now at just past 25 months. Her catch phrase of the week was "It's okay" and saying "Hi Uncle Eric!" and "Hi Aunt Marissa!". It was so awesome to see her calling everyone by name and knowing who goes with who. If I was in the room without Eric she would ask me where he was, and visa versa. So cute. Colin is scooting around and pulling himself up on everything!


2. The Bills game wasn't freezing! In fact, I didn't have to put my coat on until the second quarter! AND the Bills actually WON! Double whammy!

3. Our new TV!! We promised ourselves that our one big purchase with our wedding money would be a flat screen TV. E's friend works at an electronics store and gave us a killer deal! It arrives tomorrow along with our new HD receiver. SOOO EXCITED.

4. Our Wedding Picture Gallery! To view, select Peck Wedding Album. You have to register and make up a user name and password. Then the code is peck2009. We are so happy with them! I cannot recommend McDorman Photography enough! They were a joy.

I hope you guys had a wonderfull holiday as well!

Turkey Day!

Well,tomorrow morning we're off (very early) to dear ole Fairport to celebrate Turkey day with E's family! So excited for the food and the babies! I hope you all have a very happy holiday. What are you most thankful for this year?





Images from Amy Atlas Thanksgiving Dessert Buffet. Yum.

Lame

Sorry guys. I feel like I've been a super lame blogger lately. I've just been so exhausted these past few weeks. I've been de-stressing to the sounds of the uber talented Brandi Carlile.


I have The Story on repeat.

I am counting down the days till we hop the train to Fairport for Turkey Day! I have agreed to go to a Bills game again. I think my mind may have still been numb when I wrote that post last year because it was REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY COLD! The coldest I have ever been. This years game isnt any earlier, but it is during the day rather than at night so.... and also its been a much milder November so far so.... AND I have a much warmer winter coat and boots so.... Yeah, no. Im gonna be cold. Dash it'all!

Halloween Past

Eleven years ago!

A Connecticut Weekend

We're BACK and we're exhausted. I guess all we can do today is play Rock Band... oh well.


Our nephew's cheeks are soooo squeezable!


And our niece is already a ham!








We found the Peck Tavern built in 1680. Its a private residence now, but the owner showed us around. Ben Franklin and George Washington are among the guest list.




We had a lovely time!

Off to Old Lyme

We'll be off to Old Lyme, CT this weekend with E's family to celebrate his Dad's birthday! I imagine there will be some good old New England sea-food eating going on!


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