Silver and Gold, and then very cold

Happy New Year!

I hope 2014 is treating everyone well so far. You might have noticed that I have fallen behind on my cheese and pottery posts. This is partially due to the craziness of the holiday season, and also because of the New Year's Eve party MB, Sophie and I ambitiously threw at my apartment. We spent a lot of time getting ready for it, and so I thought I would share some photos. (Sophie did a lovely recap of our event on her blog, Life's Philosophie, so check it out if you want to see more details about the food and decor!)

We were especially proud of the photo booth we managed to set up! There were over 600 pictures taken - but I thought this one was a good representation for the night.

Kevin and his friends from home have celebrated New Year's Day the past few years by jumping into the freezing cold lake in their town. Now that we are living in DC we had to keep the tradition alive, so we did what any reasonable people looking for water would do - hopped in the car and drove east! We ended up in Chesapeake Beach, MD and jumped right into the Chesapeake Bay. 

MB, looking a little apprehensive pre-plunge.

There was a family feeding the birds on our little patch of beach, and these ducks were going NUTS. I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures.

It was a seriously gorgeous afternoon, we were lucky enough to have this nice man named Steve capture a quick video of us! 

A bit chilly, but all smiles after toweling off.

---

2014 is off to an invigorating start! Looking forward to see what the rest of this year has in store, and to perhaps swimming in some slightly warmer water in the coming months :)

'Tis the Season!

This weekend officially marked the start of the Christmas season for me, and also a notable first. I completed my first 5k run! As someone who for most of her life could not understand why anyone would just run for fun, I was very proud of myself. Plus, the Jingle Bell 5k was a delightfully festive event, and it was fun to be running in sea of Santa hats, elves, and reindeer. 

Also, my running buddy MB placed 5th in the Female 20-29 group! Woohoo MB!

After we got back from the race, it was time to get our Christmas tree. We are lucky to have fairly high ceilings in our apartment, so we wanted to take advantage and get a tall tree. Check out our beautiful 7-footer!

To celebrate our hard work, we made some hot buttered rum to sip on while we watched one of my favorite Christmas movies - National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. OH MAN this drink is so delicious! When I took a sip I swear my soul felt warm and cozy. See below for the recipe - but be warned, it seriously packs a punch!

Hot Buttered Rum

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves
Pinch salt
Bottle dark rum
Boiling water

Directions
In a bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Refrigerate until almost firm. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the butter mixture into 12 small mugs. Pour about 3 ounces of rum into each mug (filling about halfway). Top with boiling water (to fill the remaining half), stir well, and serve immediately.

 

Max Temkin - on "doing what makes you happy"

I found this video on Swiss-Miss yesterday, and it could not have been more appropriate for a gal like me on the eve of her 25th birthday. It is about 30 minutes long, but it is worth watching the whole thing.

Max Temkin is the creator of Cards Against Humanity, and gave this talk during Chicago Ideas Week. He calls into question the advice to "do what makes you happy" and to "follow your passion". Take a look to see what he says to do instead.

Max Temkin at CreativeMornings Chicago. Join the conversation and learn more at http://creativemornings.com