Eat, Drink, and be Merry!

Saturday night I got to celebrate Christmas AGAIN. David, Holly, and I went together on buying a cooking class for Dave for Christmas. Lucky for me, I got to go along. Yay!

We cooked a four course meal for ourselves at the Chopping Block in the Merchandise Mart downtown. (Can you say fancy?) It was really fun, especially because everything was measured out for us (my least favorite part of cooking!) and someone else washed the dishes. Amazing! Plus the whole kitchen was fancy-shmancy and we got to use the best tools. Definitely not the kind of experience I can replicate at home... at least without a shopping spree beforehand.

First, we prepared sausage and herbed cheese stuffed mushrooms. Neither Dave nor I am a fan of mushrooms, but we went in with an open mind and these little appetizers were very good. (I'm still not sold on mushrooms, though. I mean, they're fungus. Come on.)

Then we whipped up some broccoli and cauliflower gratin - complete with roux, one of the three French sauces. I love me some broccoli casserole... err, fancy gratin. And then there were the steaks. Mmm. With homemade herbed butter on top. And finally, my favorite part, cinnamon pumpkin donuts. I was on the frying shift for these guys and it was a lot easier than I expected! Maybe it was the chef-supervision and the state of the art kitchen tools?

Our spread at meal time

Songs in my head

I have had three songs stuck in my head for the last five days.

Mariah Carey's classic "All I Want for Christmas is You"

"Happy Birthday Jesus" - in the voices of the children's choir at church last Sunday

Jimmy Fallon/Neil Young + Bruce Springsteen's "Whip My Hair"

I guess it's better than the Lady Gaga epidemic I was plagued with all summer... But I'm still ready for something new to get stuck. Auld Lang Syne maybe?

This is so cool..

How cool are these beds?? And the whole room!? Say it with me, "YELLOW AND GRAY! YELLOW AND GRAY!"

Last night I went to the Harry Potter midnight showing and I am s o o tired today. However, I think I've finally reached my second wind. Yeehaw! Also, the jittery coffee bugs have finally worked their way out of my system. Ha.

This weekend I'm excited to Christmas shop, see a comedy show, and hang out with Kate's family who is in town for Thanksgiving! Plus, I'm going to start packing for vacation next week! I can't wait!

Happy Friday!

[picture/bedroom from here]