what's red and white and sometimes dark?

if you guessed peppermint bark, you are a woman or man after my own heart. the christmas season without peppermint bark is like a swimming pool without water: it just isn't right. while visiting my parents for thanksgiving, LH and i were relaxing (i was sleeping, he was watching a movie) on the couch after a long drive, when my mom handed me a box the size of a candy bar. it was, in fact, a candy bar, but not just any candy bar. it was a peppermint bark candy bar from trader joe's! oh man, even though i had been asleep and still was pretty out of it, i took a big bite of it and chewed very slowly. mmmm.... the dark chocolate mixed with the white chocolate to create a heavenly, chocolately flavor that was just crunchy enough from the pieces of peppermint bark. i didn't finish the bar right then, and set it down on the counter top to "save for later." later, funny enough, ended up being when LH woke me up to go to bed. i grabbed the candy bar as we started walking up the stairs and took another big bite. this time, i didn't mess around and i chewed much quicker. in fact, by the time LH had brushed his teeth and was all ready for bed, the candy bar was all gone and i had a big smile on my face. nothing like peppermint bark for a midnight snack during the holidays. or any other time of year. only, it's so hard to find it any other time of year. and why does peppermint bark have to be so expensive? i think i'm going to learn how to make it myself so i can eat it year round. anyone have any good peppermint bark recipes to share?

life is like a bowl of...

pomegranate seeds? yup. my world is, anyhow. this was my dinner a few weeks ago. i had a huge craving for them and i couldn't eat them fast enough. i did, however, manage to stop myself in time to take a quick picture. i guess it's the color, and maybe the flavor, but pomegranate seeds make me feel very christmas-y. enjoy.



p.s. no husbands were injured in the taking of this picture or in the eating of this dinner. i provided a much more normal dinner for the hubby. i can't remember now, but i think i cooked hotdogs with toasted, cheesy buns for him.

steaks, spikes and birthday cake

this weekend, the hubby, bozeman and i traveled to my parents’ house to see my brother compete in the state cross country meet. let me just say that i am SO proud of my brother. he ran a 5k on an extremely hilly course in 16:57. that boy can run. he isn’t even built for cross country, since he towers over everyone else and is very muscular, but he has overcome his physical disadvantages and runs with the best of them.
on the way back from the cross country meet, the hubby and i stopped by sara’s house to help celebrate anna’s third birthday. it’s amazing how fast kids grow up! anna shared some of her yummy little mermaid cupcake-birthday cake with us and it was pretty darn yummy. i have to say that sara was looking very bride-y this weekend!
saturday night, while the parentals and my brother were at various parties, the hubby and i decided to get a sushi appetizer and grill some steak. if i never make steak again, i will the happiest woman alive. we didn’t get to the grocery store until about 7:30 and as we hungrily browsed the meat selection, we decided to go all out and get a pound of filet. we also picked up some old-fashioned bottled coke and a pack of miso sushi rolls. once we were back at my parents’ house, i put our blockbuster movie in the dvd player and sunk down into the comfy couch with a down blanket on top of me. oh man, was it cozy and boy, did i get drowsy fast. observing my sleepy circumstances, my wonderful hubby took over and started the grill. about 15-20 minutes later, the hubby walked past me with the plate of steak and told me to come sit down at the table to eat. i was pretty sleepy, but i was more than curious about the steak, so i abandoned the warm couch and down blanket for my hubby at the table. fork and steak knife in hand, the hubby explained that this piece over here was medium-rare and that one over there was medium. i asked for the medium-rare piece, which he put on my plate, and quickly cut into it. i took a bite and suddenly forgot that i was sleepy and no longer nice and warm. this had to be the best steak i had eaten in my entire life. seriously. at first, the hubby thought that i was just saying that to make him feel good, but the speed at which i was eating the hunk of meat confirmed that i was telling the truth. honestly, i hope that i never have to cook a steak again, because my husband is by far the best steak griller in the world, and it would just be silly to waste his talents. maybe he’ll grill some steak again this week. i’m hoping that he does, because my mouth is watering right now just thinking about it.

cooking, dresses and robots

i'm about to head out the door to meet up with some people from church, but thought i'd give a rundown of the weekend in case i don't have time later today:
*9 friends and i went to a moroccan cooking class on saturday morning/early afternoon. it was pretty cool, except for the lady who kept "shushing" us throughout the whole class. hey, we were just there to have a little fun and maybe learn how to make some new dishes in the process. and fun, we had! i wish i had taken some pictures while we were there, but it totally slipped my mind. if i think about it later, i'll tell you what the menu items were. mmm....
*while at the cooking class, several of the girlies told how much they enjoyed seeing transformers. well, the hubby has really been wanting to go see that movie, but i wasn't too thrilled to go see it with him. i came home from the cooking class and told him that we should go see it together. he was super excited and so we planned it out that we would go - but after we first stopped at the bridal store so i could try on sara's bridesmaids dress (story of a girl... she has a picture of the dress linked from her blog).
*the dress fit perfectly and sara, yes, i do approve =) especially since i can buy it off the rack without needing any alterations! sweet.
*the movie ROCKED! i seriously want to see it again. i was totally surprised that i enjoyed it so much. i told the hubby that we are pre-ordering it on dvd. his response? you can do that?!?!