If you still have a holiday potluck to attend, or need a lighter side dish for Christmas dinner, I suggest these Balsamic Roasted Carrots. I used to shy away from signing up for sides because I never knew what to make. Since I discovered these carrots, they’ve become my go-to! They’re delicious, healthy, cheap, and require almost no effort. WIN.
The “recipe” originally comes from here, but I think I got it from Ashley. There’s not much to it!
– Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread out two pounds (i.e. two packages) of baby carrots on a large cookie sheet, jelly roll pan, or roasting pan. If you’re feeding a big crowd, of course you can add more carrots.
– Season the carrots (with whatever you’re in the mood for: salt and pepper, rosemary, etc.) and drizzle evenly with olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes.
– Remove the carrots from the oven and top with about 2 Tbsp of olive oil, 3 Tbsp of honey, and 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. The amounts don’t have to be exact – I usually add more balsamic vinegar because I love it. Toss to make sure the carrots are coated pretty evenly. Return to the oven for about 5 more minutes.
– Transfer carrots to a Pyrex or serving dish. They can be made in advance and still taste great reheated!
Just an FYI, I probably won’t be blogging quite as regularly over the next couple of weeks. I’ll still pop in, but want to take time to enjoy the holidays and some R&R. I imagine most bloggers are doing the same!
2 Comments + Posted in: food
On Saturday I went to my first Memphis blogger meetup! It was organized by Alyssa of Ten Feet Off Beale, who was the only participant I knew prior to the event. We’d never met in person, but she’s just as nice and fun as she seems online! I’m happy to have met her.
Other local bloggers in attendance: Cameron, Jade, Kim, Paige, and Sarah. Alyssa’s boyfriend Jeremy also stopped by to mingle and even took this picture for us. What a great sport!
We all met up at a new downtown speakeasy, The Blind Bear, immediately following the Memphis-Louisville game (more on that later). They gave us the VIP room. Swanky! The meetup was sponsored by Passionfruit Ads, so we enjoyed some Muddy’s cupcakes and goody bags, as well as door prizes – I won an adorable hot-chocolate penguin mug! Most of the other bloggers contributed fantastic handmade goodies. I contributed my business card. Sorry ladies! I’m new at this.
Everyone was really friendly, and I’m glad to know more bloggers in the area. There’s already talk of having another meetup in the spring, so I’ll share details when available in case more people are interested!
Meanwhile, I have to mention the Memphis-Louisville game on Saturday – the biggest home game of this season. Louisville is our third-biggest basketball rival (behind UT and Kentucky), and the rivalry goes back to the 1940s. As Louisville was #6 in the country at game time, we were not favored, but no one thought it would be a blowout either. Attendance at the Forum was over 18,000 (most games of significance draw around 15,000). I was so excited to see all the fans in blue flowing toward the stadium. There were some alumni in attendance too – Penny Hardaway and Robert Dozier. The atmosphere was amazing! I told Kathy that this must be how it feels at an SEC school every week.
‘Blue-out successful!
The Tigers led for most of the first half and into the second, but then the Big East refs started calling foul on every single move they made, and if you’re not allowed to defend the ball, you are not going to win. We could have beaten Louisville, but we couldn’t beat them and their refs. Memphis lost 87-78. I had been looking forward to celebrations in the streets, but instead the sea of blue ebbed away sadly and quietly. The only bright spot in the situation was my favorite Tiger, D.J. Stephens, who had the game of his life. He literally threw himself into every play – I lost count of how many big spills he took. I’ve never seen anyone play with such abandon.
So, to sum up my weekend: Blogger meetup: good. Tiger loss: sad.
4 Comments + Posted in: memphis, tigers
Kelly’s Korner is hosting a linkup about Christmas decorations. I probably would have posted about mine anyway, so I’m joining in! Not that my humble decor really belongs in a “Tour of Homes,” but whatever. :)
It took me a few years to get everything in order, but now I have Christmas decorations that are perfect for me and make me very happy. I bought this pre-lit 7′ artificial tree at Bed Bath & Beyond last year. It has tiny pinecones and some flocking here and there. I love it! Aside from the years I lived with my friend Kathy, I’ve always had an artificial tree. It’s cheaper, easier, and better for the earth. For some reason, the top third of the tree is leaning forward this year, but it’s not that noticeable unless you’re right alongside it. I probably just didn’t assemble it right.
My tree skirt is from Pottery Barn. I bought the matching stocking at the PB outlet, but passed up the skirt. It didn’t take me long to realize that if I didn’t find that matching skirt, I’d always regret it. By then, they were long gone from the store. So I bought it on eBay. :) It was expensive, but I plan to keep it for MANY years!
I like to commemorate big events of the year with special ornaments. I bought both of these NYC ornaments at the Empire State Building – I couldn’t stop at one!
Some older favorites: I got this snow bunnies ornament at Hallmark when I worked there in high school. It was the first ornament I ever bought for my own tree. I’ve had the McAlister’s tea ornament for a few years.
One of several ornaments I made at a holiday crafting event last November. (This was also the event where I decided I needed a sewing machine, so it’s sort of commemorative in its own way.)
The 2012 Christmas mantel. As I’ve said here many times, I don’t have The Eye for mantel arrangement, but this is good enough for me!
This is the creche I grew up with. About eight years ago my dad went to Israel and bought a hand-carved Nativity in Bethlehem, so they passed this one on to me. When I was a kid, I liked to make my Little People walk up the stairs and into the hayloft, and otherwise interact with the scene. (“Hey, goat! You’re a goat! What’s that all about? Say hello to your mother for me!”)
I like to have something simple in the middle of my dining table at all times. These are just layered placemats, again from Bed Bath & Beyond. The vase with candle has been there for a while. :)
This is my only new Christmas item this year, and I didn’t buy it – my BIL’s grandma gave it to me. I’ve always liked these little light-up ceramic houses, but I feel like you should have either a village, or none at all. But now that I have this one, I’ll enjoy it by itself. I don’t have room for a village!
Hope you enjoyed this Christmas tour!
4 Comments + Posted in: christmas, domestic
Every Advent, I connect with the song “Breath of Heaven,” about Mary. (It’s uncool of me to admit my love for an Amy Grant song, but if you thought I was cool, you didn’t know me very well.) Mary is so inspiring. She could have been angry about the monumental task God gave her, which ruined her reputation and could have cost her everything, even her life. She could have given in to fear. She could have insisted that she was inadequate to be the mother of the Messiah, and then kept dwelling on her own inadequacy. But she accepted God’s plan for her, not with trembling, but with boldness. She had full confidence in God’s goodness and His ability to strengthen and provide for her.
If Mary, a nobody teenage girl in a society that regarded women as property, could bravely embrace the most important role in the history of mankind, I should be able to embrace the MUCH less demanding life path I’ve been handed. He who is mighty has done great things for me, too. I may not have a clue what He’s doing with my life, but Mary had even less of a clue, and she still trusted, and her life glorified God mightily. May I grow to have the same open, surrendered heart.
5 Comments + Posted in: christmas, faith
I love commentaries on popular fiction, so when I saw Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader available on Netgalley, I snatched it up. Regardless of any controversy surrounding her, I’ve been a fan of Cassandra Clare since her epic Harry Potter fanfiction in the early 2000s. You can see seeds of the Draco Trilogy in her ever-expanding original work, set in the world of the Shadowhunters – supernatural warriors who are half human, half angel. I’ve mentioned before that I prefer the more genteel Infernal Devices trilogy, which is set in Victorian England, but these essays focus on the modern-day Mortal Instruments books. Popular YA authors, including Diana Peterfreund (one of my favorite authors, period) and longtime Clare pals Sarah Rees Brennan and Holly Black, weigh in on various aspects of the Shadowhunter universe. My favorite essays were Peterfreund’s expounding on the power of Jace’s wit as a weapon; Kami Garcia’s about why the best friend never gets the girl; and Michelle Hodkin’s analysis of Simon, the much-beloved Jewish vampire (my personal favorite character). Clare herself edited this collection, which I thought was cool, since she shared some of her own related thoughts at the beginning of each chapter.
Obviously, this book probably won’t be worth much to you if you haven’t read or didn’t like the novels. It isn’t as academic as the Hunger Games commentary I reviewed recently, but it’s still a quick and interesting read. Since the essays are short, you can pick it up and put it down easily. I enjoyed it, and probably would have liked it even better if I hadn’t had a fever at the time!
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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