This Is Not Your Ginger-Grandfather's House

For today's discerning gingerbread man. Modern yet refined living.

From: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/inspiration/gingerbread-house-inspiration-roundup--103844

Salma

I like Salma Hayek's new haircut.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

We saw The Fantastic Mr. Fox over the weekend. It was so incredibly cute. I hightly recommend it.

Santas

Returning to our neighborhood after an afternoon of very successful Christmas shopping, Guy and I spotted an exciting celebrity--Santa! Or, about 20 Santas, to be exact. They were drinking at 2 of our neighborhood bars. There were tall Santas and short Santas, slutty girl Santas and skinny Santas, classic fat Santas, and even a Santa in a wheelchair. It was very festive.

Since we can see both bars from our kitchen window, Guy took these photos. One of the bars (the Elite) is a gay bar, but I don't think all the Santas were gay, just bar-hopping.

After some searching online, I found their website:

What is Santacon?
For those new Santas, what you need to know is this. Santa can't do what Santa needs to do the night of Dec. 24th without some recon work. So Santa checks out who's been naughty in cities all over the world in the month of December... and sometimes in July. So we suit up and go on a merry adventure drinking as much as we can and spreading jolly cheer. All you need is a pair of good walking shoes, a Santa outfit and the location of where and when to show up and you're good to go!

Basically its about the funnest thing you could possibly do with your time so don't even think about not showing up.

Conventions of Santacon:
- Follow Santa
- No Santa Left Behind! Keep track of your Santa friends.
- Don't wash the suit! Your Disgusting Santa suit is a badge of honor.
- Wear it proudly.
- Bars can be crowded. Its best to carry a backup plan (and a flask!)
- Follow Santa

What are the answers to these stupid questions?
Q: Who are you?
A: SANTA!
A: ELVIS!

Q: Where are you from?
A: North of here a bit...
A: The North Pole!

Q: Why are you dressed like that?
A: Red and White is the new Black and Denim
A: To spread the good word of Santa & Socialism

Q: What are you doing here?
A: Mrs. Claus kicked me out.
A: You're not my mother!
A: Looking for some hot elf action.
A: What are YOU doing here?
A: My sleigh broke down.
A: Trying to steal change from Unicef DING DING DING!

Santa's Little Workshop:
Santacon is a great time for Santa to try out new toys, so whether you've got Naughty and Nice Stickers, Spray Snow, Naughty Cristmas Carols, Stuffed Animal flasks, GIANT candy canes, A Beer hat with candy cane striped straws, New Santa outfits... Santacon is the place to try all that stuff out. Santa loves creativity. If you don't do any of that... don't worry you can always drink.

WHERE IS SEATTLE SANTACON 2009?
Elysian Brewing Company @ Capitol Hill, 1221 E Pike St., Seattle. Remember... Santa is on the move usually within 30-45 minutes of the starting location, so show up early or on-time to be sure not to lose Santa.

From: http://www.meetup.com/partypalooza/calendar/11945124/

Cyndi + Gaga + MAC = Perfection

Wow! Two girls I love in an ad for something else I love--cosmetics!!

What a great combination! It's like a caprese salad with that perfect blend of tomato + basil + mozzarella.

Broccoli-Hating Dog

This dog reminds me of Guy.

Giada's Cookies

Of all the celebrity chefs, the one my husband has a little crush on is Giada De Laurentiis. (Better luck next time, Mario Batali.) I think Rachael Ray is cute, but Guy finds her to be too "stumpy."

Giada is cute and perky but with a sophisticated European edge. She looks a lot like Natalie Portman, but without the annoying personality. She's like Natalie's fun older sister, the one that you meet and think, "Wow! Natalie's sister is so cool! Why is Natalie such a drip?":

"Born in Rome, Giada grew up in a large Italian family where the culture of food was a staple in and of itself. As the granddaughter of film producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada consistently found herself in the family's kitchen and spent a great deal of time at her grandfather's restaurant, DDL Foodshow. After graduating from the University of California in Los Angeles with a degree in anthropology, Giada's passion for cooking remained. She eventually made the decision to commence a culinary career and began her professional training at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, specializing in both cuisine and pastry."

Anyway, I found this recipe for Giada's Apricot and Nut Cookies with Amaretto Icing linked from one of my favorite blogs. They look so delicious!!

Cookies:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

Icing:
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
5 to 7 tablespoons almond flavored liqueur (recommended: Amaretto)

For the Cookies: In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg. Stir in the flour until just blended. Mix in the apricots, almonds, and pine nuts.

Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a log, about 12-inches long and 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Wrap the dough in the plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 heavy baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cut the dough log crosswise into 1/4 to 1/2 inch-thick slices. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly apart. Bake until the cookies are golden around the edges, about 15 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

For the Icing: Place the confectioners' sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Gradually whisk in the almond flavored liqueur, until the mixture is of drizzling consistency.

Place the wire rack over a baking sheet. Using a spoon or fork, drizzle the cookies with the icing, allowing any excess icing to drip onto the baking sheet. Allow the icing to set before serving, about 30 minutes.