All I want for Christmas...

I've always been pretty practical when it comes to my Christmas list.

For instance a few years ago, I only asked for socks.  So my mom bought be a piece of luggage and filled the entire thing with socks!
Last year, all I asked for was workout clothes and christmas decorations. So my sister bought me a few workout outfits (that I wear on the regular) and my brother bought me a whole arrangement of christmas ornaments (that I just decorated the tree with!)

This year is no different. I'm not asking for any lavish gift but I will suggest a few things I really need...and would love to have.

Here are my practical wish list items in no particular order:

(1)

A cute lunch bag to carry to work (preferably in a dark pattern)

I like the Built Neoprene lunch bags: They sell them on Amazon for about $15-$20.

(2)

A few of my favorite Origins products.
A Perfect World™ Antioxidant cleanser with White Tea ($21)
and A Perfect World™ for Eyes ($32)

(3)

Black Nylon Isotoner Smart-Touch Gloves (size small)

So I can make phone calls and keep my digits warm! :)

I saw these at DSW for only $19.99

(4)

A Scarf Hanger

Yes, you read that right. It's a hanger for scarves.

Make that two. I want two scarf hangers.

And I want them to match.

(5)

Toms Canvas Classics (Black, Grey/Ash or Navy) ($44).
Size 6, please!

Pretty practical, huh?
What's on your wish-list this year?

Chocolate Pretzel Hugs

Thanks to my dear friend, pinterest, I found a super easy recipe that I made as a snack for Thanksgiving. They were rich & delicious and I think I'll be making them again soon.

Chocolate Pretzel Hugs

Ingredients:

1 bag of Butter Snap Pretzels

1 bag of Hershey Hugs

Wax Paper

Cookie Sheet

Directions:

Lay wax paper over a cookie sheet and line with pretzels

Unwrap the Hershey Hugs and place 1 hug on top of each pretzel.

Place in preheated oven @ 300 degrees for 3 minutes.

Remove from oven and top each hug with another pretzel.

Place in fridge to cool for 30 minutes.

 Now, enjoy!

The perfect combo of salty & sweet!

Wine Me!

To continue the weekend drinking, CV and I attended Winefest at Jungle Jims on Saturday night with a few of our friends. *Don't worry, the pregnant friend didn't drink! :)

We definitely didn't take it as seriously as we did last year. (Read my experience from last year here.) Last year we were taking notes, circling which ones we tasted, putting stars next to the ones we wanted to buy.

This year.

We just drank.

And we rode the monorail:

And ofcourse, got our faces on a bottle of Chardonnay.

After winefest, about ten of us met up at a dive bar and played darts till almost 3am.

Mental Note: Hours of drinking + Darts = Embarrasement :)

I hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Private Preview Party

Friday night, CV and I were invited to a "Private Preview Party" for a new restaurant opening in Downtown Cincinnati.

The invitation said "Attire: Cocktail Chic" so ofcourse I was immediately freaking out since I don't really own anything in that category.

I'm one of those people who have tons of clothes, but never has anything to wear. Am I the only one with this problem???

Luckily, my fabulous friend, Emily let me borrow an amazing yellow dress which ended up being a big hit. A guy even told me I was the best dressed person in the entire place. My dress or not, it was a pretty great compliment! AND, in my opinion, CV was the best dressed guy there.

Best dressed couple??

Cue the applause.

A few of our friends joined the party, as well. It was great to spend the night socializing with friends and enjoying a glass (or 8) of Chardonnay.

What did you do on Friday night?

*Saturday Night recap coming soon...

Day Drinking and Football

Day drinking, friends and football.

A great weekend combination.

Two weekends ago, CV and I headed up to Columbus to party with D & C, two of CV's close friends from college. (And my new favorite friends too!)

We toured the Ohio State campus where all three of them went to school.

The boys (old roomates) took a picture in front of their old dorm.

We posed with the Buckeye.

(Don't let the coffee cups deceive you, they were filled with none other than delicious booze!)

We took a picture in front of Mirror Lake. It's a tradition for students to jump into the lake before the Michigan home game. In the freezing cold, might I add.

And we kissed under the mistletoe tree for good luck! :)

After the drinking & tailgating on campus, we went back to their house for homemade pizzas and lots of food & drinks to watch the game.

...and OHIO WON!

A little weekend roadtrip did us right. :)

Slow Cooker BBQ Baby Back Ribs

Well, my first crockpot experience was a huge hit. So why not keep the slow-cooking alive with an easy BBQ Baby Back Rib dinner.
This dinner was a HUGE hit.
Five Star indeed.

Ingredients:
3 lbs Pork Spareribs
Rib Rub Seasoning (I used Rendezvous BBQ seasoning) *Memphis brand
1 Jar Barbecue Sauce (I used Neely's BBQ sauce)*Memphis brand
1 Onion, diced

Directions:

Dice up the onion, add to crock pot. Rub the ribs with seasoning, add to crock pot. Add 3/4 jar BBQ sauce on top. Cook on low setting for 8.5 hours.

We were kinda amazed on how delicious the ribs were. They fell off the bone and was very tender and juicy! It definitely felt great to come home to a home-cooked meal that you only spent about 5 minutes making!

*I serve it with macaroni salad, rolls and a side of the remaining BBQ sauce!

Make. This. Now. Seriously.