After the Holidays

Phew!  Well, Christmas arrived and is gone again now, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day has passed, and now we are facing the first few weeks of January.  

The weeks leading up to Christmas saw me and Mr. Darcy packing up and moving out of our apartment; we are now settled into our new living quarters, and--while it has been an adjustment for both of us--we are both much less stressed out than we were before the move.  We watched my parents' house and their two dogs while Mom, Dad, and my two youngest sisters went out of town for a week after Christmas, and hosted our first New Year's Eve get-together.  Shortly after that, on King's Day, we hosted a French-themed dinner party for my best friend, Micah.  She had been having some serious health issues for a while that had prevented her from having a normal diet, and just before Christmas she had surgery to correct one of the issues.  Well, it turns out that this one issue was really the root-cause of most of her health problems, and now she is able to eat normally again!

Following that, I requested that she come up with a French-themed menu of foods that she most wanted to eat again, now that she could.  She asked for beef bourguignon, a simple greens-and-vinaigrette salad, and some kind of dessert.  My New Year's resolution was "Have more adventures!", so when she asked to have beef bourguignon for dinner--if it wasn't too difficult to make--I was eager to rise to the challenge.  It was time-consuming, more than anything else, but I found that beef bourguignon isn't difficult to make at all.  I used Ina Garten's recipe, from Food Network's website.

(Beef bourguignon doesn't look spectacular in a photo...but its taste is nothing less than sublime.)

(Table decor from the dinner party,  featuring fine china and silverware, a fun bowl-shaped candle, 

and my very own brand-new, platinum-hued charger plates, a Christmas gift from my grandmother.)

(Shoes!  Clockwise: Micah's dangerously chic cage booties,  my pretty peep-toe pumps, 

and Jenn's strappy and sophisticated rosette-embellished heels.) 

The beef bourguignon turned out nicely, and paired well with the loaf of French bread that I bought.  Her mother made the salad that Micah had requested: field greens with a raspberry vinaigrette and walnuts.  And for dessert, we had crepes with a buffet of various toppings.  We had Nutella, sliced bananas, sliced strawberries, frozen vanilla yogurt, peanut butter and granola, and more...and that was when I decided that crepes-with-your-choice-of-toppings were definitely a good dessert idea for a party!  Everyone really enjoyed themselves that evening: from getting to dress up in our favorite French-inspired outfits, to the food, to Jenn and her husband's surprise appearance at the front door just before dinner started.  Great friends and great food never fail to make for a wonderful time.

That was this past weekend; this week, it's back to work, Bible studies, and time with the family and friends again.  I'm hoping that soon I'll be able to get started on my next "adventure"--which will be digging my new sewing machine out of its box and starting to work on the first sewing project that I've had in a while.  I'm hoping to make a dress, something that will look similar to this sundress, by dELiAs...

That is, of course, provided that I can find a suitable sewing pattern, and white eyelet lace material that does not cost an arm and a leg.  I have a $25 gift card to work with at the fabric store, and I'm determined to use it wisely.  Wish me luck...

Now, I'm off to take care of Mr. Darcy, who--like me--is suffering from a bit of a head cold.  We've been a sad, sniffling pair today!

À bientôt,

Cait