Final Month of 2013! December Goals and Plans!

I cannot believe that 2013 is only 29 days away from ending. I cannot believe that in 29 days, I'll of been engaged to the most AMAZING man for a year. I am so excited for 2014...because we can really dive into wedding planning! I am also so sad because I still feel like I am suppose to do more with my life...I know I am only 27...but it still seems as if I'm stuck and need to pull myself in a new direction. I need to find a way to take my passions in life and make them into something. On top of that...I plan on applying to grad school in 2014. I really want to get my masters of fine arts in creative writing. If I could somehow write everyday for the rest of my life, whether it be this blog, newspapers, magazines or novels...I'd honestly be in heaven. I never get bored of writing and developing new ideas. One day...

The month of December gets crazy at work because of course its holidays! Thankfully, only Christmas is in December...which should take some of the usual brunt of multiple holidays. I had one last vacation day to use...and my manager is the best and gave Marco and I two days off together! So...we are planning a trip to Sea World. I am seriously obsessed with dolphins...like I TEAR up when I am up close with them. Insane...I know. But it's my favorite thing in Sea World...and the penguins! :) My family and I also have a list of movies and TV shows that have Christmas involved, that we make an effort to watch every year. Some years we have missed a few, but we always watch Home Alone and Home Alone 2, A Christmas Carol and A Christmas Story! :) I am so excited!!

 

 

December Goals-

 

1. Run 22 miles (I did 19 last month!)

2. Sign up to take my GRE's

3. Start the process for Grad School

4. Write 5 pages in my novel

5. Finish Christmas shopping early :)

6. Finish decorating SOON!

7. Spend every moment with my family and friends

8. Enjoy the season and the holidays!

9. Go through my closet and cleanse it

10. Attempt one DIY project from Pinterest!

 

 

Most of these are attainable just by having a positive attitude...others I'll have to work into. I'm excited to succeed this month. I didn't want to set a goal for blog entries...I'd love to write everyday...but realistically...with work, I am just not sure how things will go! I will definitely post whatever pinterest project I do and I'll make an effort to do an entry after we finish decorating!

 

What are your goals to end out the year? Any family traditions? 

No Table is Complete Without a Centerpiece!

I believe that no table is complete without a centerpiece. We might not have a huge group for the holidays anymore, as we did when my brother and I were much younger...but we still use the Holidays as a time to sit at the formal dining table and enjoy our meal! We are that family that has serving ware and such for specific holidays, and Thanksgiving is not different! Along with stuff we purchased, my mother makes these AMAZING centerpieces. I cannot wait to show you guys the ones she makes for Christmas. She did a specific to Thanksgiving one and she has several fall ones around the house currently (although, they will be coming down today and tomorrow for Christmas decorations).

The fall ones are so cute...fall color flowers and in a pumpkin. Our two centerpieces for our dining table were so perfect. One was the traditional cornucopia and the other was a turkey with fall colors and a little scarecrow in it. She is so talented with these pieces! We keep telling her she should open her own Etsy shop and sell them. Or at least teach me...so that I can post a step by step and video!

Making our Thanksgiving table was fairly simple. We used the centerpieces to break up the length of the table. And placed the napkin holder and salt/pepper shakers in the center-ish. The turkey went in the middle on the platter and the sides were placed in Thanksgiving themed serving dishes surrounding the turkey. The platter of potatoes and the wine are off to the side. We passed around the dishes and served ourselves!

What do you all think? Would you buy one of these? How much would you be willing to spend? She would make each one custom to order, if we can ever convince her to do so!

Best Turkey EVER! Alton Brown's Brine Recipe!

 

Alton Brown is seriously a genius when it comes to food! My family uses a lot of his recipes and Thanksgiving is no different! We use his Brine/Aromatics for Turkey Recipe and it is seriously the best turkey we have ever had! We use to have a good turkey and then next year, it would end up dry...but we never run into that problem anymore!

If you love moist and flavorful turkey...you have to use his recipe! For Christmas, my brother wants to try his aged turkey recipe...so we will see. :)

As a side note, we make our own vegetable broth so we had to add more salt because we realized that box/canned broth has more salt than our homemade broth. Without the added salt, the turkey comes out drier. And then we just add the rest of the brine ingredients!

You can really add whatever vegetables you have on hand to make the broth. We used carrots, potatoes, onion, celery and cabbage. I chopped the vegetables into smaller sizes, quartered the potatoes and onion and chopped the carrots and celery into thirds. You don't need to spend a crazy amount of time chopping, just enough to make the pieces manageable and to let the flavors seep out.

After the broth is done...we let it cool and chill it for about 30 minutes.

We then put the turkey, the broth and ice into a cooler and let it soak for 8 hours. Then you flip it and let it soak for another 8 hours. Then cook it for the recommended time, stuffing the turkey with the aromatics mix (also chopped to make it more manageable, but no need to finely chop).

Do you have a specific way to cook your turkey? Do you try something different each year? Have you found a recipe that is now the only way you will cook turkey?