This past Christmas was a strange one. We got to see lots of family, including my sweet little grandma, who I adore. We had some great food and reintroduced an old family tradition of doing cold cuts and deli salads for Christmas Eve. It was all very hard without my brother around, though.
Christmas day, my sister and her husband came over between their family gatherings with his family, who also lives in Seattle. The rest of the day, Shawn, mom, and I sat around in our pajamas watching TV and eating. We had delicious leftover sandwiches and munched on See's Candy. We planned a fancy dinner and ate it at 7:30pm. Basically, we did whatever the hell we wanted to. It was as good as it was going to get. I managed to take a few pictures of our feast before we devoured it.
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| Sauteed green beans in browned butter, mushrooms, and filet mignon with bleu cheese and chive butter |
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| As if filet mignon wasn't decadent enough, had to throw in the bleu cheese... |
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| Oh, and then there was lobster tail...and twice baked potatoes |
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| Now, THAT'S medium rare! |
It was a nice meal and I really enjoyed making it. In fact, I've been cooking more than ever since we've been making an extra effort to stay in to save money...
Which leads me to why a farewell for now. Shawn and I have some big news (for the two people who read this blog and don't know already). In September 2013, we will be taking off for a (hopefully) year-long adventure traveling around Asia, Australia, and Europe. We're a little over halfway toward our savings goal and working hard to meet it by August. Because of this and just the emotional stress I've had this year, I feel the need to take a break from blogging. I've been doing this somewhat regularly for a few years now and while I've had large gaps before, I've never really taken a break (read: a period of time where I didn't feel guilty for not blogging). I don't know how long it'll be before I get the itch again, but for now, I want to not think about taking pictures of things I make. I started this blog as a way to keep myself accountable--to both writing and to being creative in the kitchen. It was a personal journey and one I'm glad I started, but right now, I'm pretty tired. I also need a new camera. So, I will be back...and before we leave!
I wish everyone a prosperous and happy 2013! Thank you for taking the time to read my little blog. Until the next year...
Thanks for the fun and informative posts! Looking forward to perhaps a future blog about your travel adventures?
ReplyDeleteIt's in the works! And I'll hopefully be back around the time we hope to launch the new one, sometime in March.
DeleteWow, what a trip! I bet you worked very hard for it. I'll look forward to hearing from you again soon.
ReplyDeleteWow, that meal looks TO. DIE. FOR. Every bit of it!!! Blue cheese! Lobster! I'm so hungry now... I am so in awe of how you managed to maintain your beauty, creativity and positivity through such a difficult year Carmel; you are an amazing woman and I'm so excited for your upcoming travels. Enjoy your time at home while you can, whilst I know you will enjoy trying all the different cuisines abroad, meals like these are few and far between! Happy New Year Carmel and Shawn :)
ReplyDeleteYou're saying I WON'T be eating lobster and a $30/lb steak every meal while I'm traveling? Wow. Reality check. :)
DeleteThank you for your kinds words. That means a lot coming from you.
Good Lord that looks Yummy. It has taken me awhile to comment on this I know so my perspective may be a bit outdated, but. I know how you feel about the blogging, every now and then Sarah and I can barely stand to log into our sites. Occasionally it feels like we are doing it because we have to and that's when we know it is time to take a break, otherwise it is too much like work, and work sucks.
ReplyDeleteHope your getting closer to that savings goal.