Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays

Greetings! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas with loved ones! We spend the holiday with the Bakers in Mobile. We got to town late Thursday evening & we immediately went to meet up with some of JD's friends from high shool: Jon, Brian, Stig, Sneul. It ended up being an early night after our waiter accidently spilled someone's drink all over me, my cell phone, & my new purse - lovely :(

The next morning we all were pretty lazy - we did get out to run a couple of last minute grocery store errands & had lunch at JD's favorite Mobile bbq joint, Saucy Q's (yummmm). Once we got back to the house, Pam & Katie started cooking / baking for that evening's family celebration. Katie made Nan's *famous* chocolate cake & the Bottega mac & cheese - both were excellent! I "helped" Johnny fry the oysters & chicken fingers (a family tradition)later that night. Luna & Benny were a big help too, especially when Johnny accidently dropped any batter :)

Every year on Christmas Eve, the Baker / Modling clan gets together for a dinner of fried oysters (with other assorted goods), followed by exchanging of presents with the extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins). Growing up in my family, we always waited & exchanged gifts on Christmas day, but it is nice to break it up & be able to be with lots of family during the holidays.

After the family left, we cleaned up the kitchen & got ready for Santa!! JD, Katie, & I always get to open one gift on Christmas Eve from Pam & Johnny - our Christmas pajamas!! This year there was a special surprise under the tree from Santa to all the pups (Wilson, Tanner, Sadie, Luna, & Benny - yes, we did Christmas with 5 dogs) - CHRISTMAS PAJAMAS!!! Here is a picture I got of JD with our pups in their new pajamas: (too precious)



Christmas Day was so nice & relaxing this year - usually JD & his band (Doubt of the Benefit) play a Christmas-Day-night show at Soul Kitchen, but this year they weren't able to do it as the drummer wasn't going to be in town. This was the first time in 6 years (since I started dating JD) that the guys didn't do the Christmas show & although we missed hearing them, it was so nice to be able to relax & enjoy the holiday & time with family. We spent most of the day tinkering with the new Christmas goods : Katie got GLEE kareoke for the Wii, I got a new CAMERA with a carrying case & tri-pod from the hubbs (someone was reading my blog, possibly?), & JD got a beer home-brewing kit!! I think JD was more excited about that than the rest of us put together - he can't wait to start brewing & have a party at the house for his first batch (um, it makes 5 gallons people - come thirsty!!)!



Here are a few more pictures from Christmas at the Bakers - I'm trying out the new camera, so they aren't too great...







Later that evening JD's friends Brian & Charles (in from NYC)came to visit & see the Bakers new house. We ended up going downtown with them to see some other folks & JD's friend Stig was DJ'ing at Boo Radley's. As you can imagine, this ended up being a later night than anticipated, but it was good to see old friends!

Sunday we loaded up the car & the pups & headed back to Birmingham. On the way home we reflected about the holiday (which we started celebrating a couple of weeks ago wiht the Goodroes) & thought about how belssed we are to have such a great network family & friends who love & support us in all we do.

We hope that everyone had a great Christmas holiday & we wish you the very best in 2011!!

snuggly babies

we have a good time here...

{holiday treats}

last night I tried a new recipe for a fun holiday treat to share with the sweet girls at work, chocolate sugar cookies! They turned out pretty good, although I wish they were a little sweeter. The recipe is pretty basic, so it allows you to personalize it as you wish! I think I am going to try icing mine to add some holiday *happy* & to add some sweetness:

CHOCOLATE SUGAR COOKIES


2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
4 squares BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate
1 cup butter or margarine
1-1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

MIX flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add 1 cup sugar, egg and vanilla; mix well. Stir in flour mixture until well blended. Refrigerate 15 min. or until dough is easy to handle.

HEAT oven to 375°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in remaining sugar. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets.

BAKE 8 to 10 min. or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheets 1 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

family.

just wanted to do a quick post to reflect on the great weekend we had with our families. It seems we never get to see them enough, so the holidays are such a treat to spend time together. JD & I are so blessed to have such a great family who provide lots of love & support in all that we do.

We hope that everybody is enjoying spending the holidays with loved ones too!

{holiday spirit}

Well, we FINALLY got all of the outdoor Christmas decorations up - just in time for Christmas... what do you guys think?


Ha ha - totally kidding :) We did, however, stumble across this *gem* while looking at holiday lights last weekend with Mom & Dad Goodroe. This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice - for those readers who live in Birmingham, try to find yourself over in the Crestline Village area & take a drive down Beech Road. You will NOT be disappointed!

And let me go ahead & say that I won't tolerate any witty remarks about how this is a "typical Auburn fan"... :)

Hope that everybody is ready for the holidays - JD & I kick off our family celebrations this weekend with the Goodroe family! Looking forward to spending more time with the family & having our usual traditional Christmas.

Safe travels for those of you who are going to be on the road / in the air!

Until next time,

peace & love.

the bakers.

{love this guy}

WDE

**Can't get enough of those Auburn Tigers - here's a picture I saw on another blog & couldn't help but share... On the way to GLENDALE!!!