christmas

Entries Tagged as 'christmas'

Spa Day!

March 10th, 2013 · No Comments

spa_day

For Christmas Dallas got me a facial/massage combo package at Spa Forever in Bucktown and I finally went and used it a couple weeks ago. I also got an eyebrow wax, stopped for lunch at Flipside Cafe, and got a mani/pedi at Nail Gallery. All of these places are within a block or two of each other, so it worked out perfectly. Fun day in Bucktown! And seemed fitting to do it while Dallas was at Mitch’s bachelor party in Tennessee!

Big Soft Ginger Cookies

December 30th, 2012 · No Comments

big_soft_ginger_cookies

I made these cookies for Christmas because my mom told me that Jess now loves gingersnaps. And my dad is always a big fan of spiced cookies. And I like them now and again. They turned out thinner than I’d expected, but they were very soft and chewy. I liked them a lot and would make them again.

ginger_cookies

Big Soft Ginger Cookies
From: All Recipes

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Holiday Treats From 300 E

December 29th, 2012 · No Comments

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halloween_cookie

This is part of moving into a big fancy building, I guess. Can we expect treats for every holiday? Also, they’ve not been very good so far!

ShowPlace Icon Theater VIP

December 28th, 2012 · No Comments

Our friends have been telling us about the VIP seating at the ShowPlace Icon Theatre on Roosevelt for a long time, but we never experienced it until Christmas day. It’s become a tradition of ours to see a movie before going to Aunty Gail’s for dinner. And these are not uplifting Christmas movies we’ve seen. We were trying to think of all the movies we’ve seen on Christmas day … last year we saw The Descendents. Great movie, we loved it, but not uplifting! No Country for Good Men was another year. The only kind of feel good movie we saw on Christmas was Juno. Anyway, going with that… we decided to see Django Unchained. This was Dallas’s pick and I didn’t expect to like it that much, but it was fantastic! Also, I was half drunk because in the VIP seating you get drinks and food delivered right to your seat. The seats are big and cushy and paired off with tables. The paired seats are like sitting in one big cushy leather loveseat. I’ve mostly resisted the VIP seating because the tickets usually run about $20, but since we were at a matinee, the tickets were only $12. Only a little more than a regular ticket, for VIP! I ordered bloody drinks for a bloody movie!

Yearly Santa Hat Photo

December 24th, 2012 · 1 Comment

santa_hat_2012

Another mobile phone photo this year. This time my iPhone 5 has a front-facing camera, making my yearly Santa hat photo almost too easy. Usually I have to take a hundred self portraits blindly and try to find a good one. This year? No guessing.

We happily celebrated one year of marriage this year but also dealt with the hardest issues we’ve ever had to face in our eight year-relationship. On the strength of our marriage and the support of our family and friends we pulled through and ended the year ok. This year we attended weddings in Chicago, Mexico and Hawaii. In addition to Mexico and Hawaii I also traveled to New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Wisconsin, and spent a lot of time in Boston both for work and pleasure. Speaking of work, Roundarch merged this year with Isobar after an acquisition by Aegis. Some of the HRish things have changed but our Chicago office remains the same and my work continues to be interesting and challenging. I am looking forward to seeing what 2013 brings!

Merry Christmas, everyone!