Robb + Jessie Married & in the Badger State
Our First Christmas
This was Robb’s and my first Christmas away from our families. I am surprised by how much we enjoyed it. We were a bit homesick, but we were able to talk to both of our families using video chat. It made the separation a bit easier to handle.
We began our morning with some delicious cinnamon rolls by the lovely Molly Wizenberg of Orangette. While these baked, we opened our gifts. Robb surprised me with the most beautiful pie dish from William & Sonoma (Emile Henry):
(I had been eyeing this pie dish since we registered for our wedding –- over a year ago! And with the help of Ruthie, Robb bought me exactly what I needed/wanted!)
I won Robb’s heart by giving him a video game for Wii. I will admit, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is actually an entertaining game.
Our parents were also very generous and we are very grateful for their wonderful gifts.
Perhaps what I missed most was waking up in my parents’ house on Christmas morning. My dad is always the first one up thus able to capture the stillness and beauty of Christmas morning:
We decided that the 1ºF weather was not ideal for playing outside in the snow, so we opted to watch both Home Alone movies. We couldn’t help but think fondly of our good friends Jamie and Nick who love these films so much. Here are a few memorable quotes:
Harry: Where did he go?
Marv: Maybe he committed suicide.
Kevin McCallister: I’m over here you big horse’s ass, come and get me before I call the police.
Harry: Why the hell did you take your shoes off?
Marv: Why the hell are you dressed like a chicken?
Ah, but I almost forgot to tell how how wonderful our dinner was. Robb made the most delicious and tenderest Cornish Game Hens I have ever tasted (and chicken for that matter!). Robb used the brining method and let them soak for about 48 hours before we cooked them. We also enjoyed steamed carrots with asparagus, mashed sweet potatoes with orange, cranberry sauce and Trader Joe’s Vintage Ale.
One of the best things about this Christmas (besides not worrying about flying to Seattle) was that Robb and I were able to forge traditions that we will carry on for years to come. One of the simplest, yet meaningful, traditions is a birthday card to Jesus. After all, we are celebrating our Saviors’ birthday this cold day in December. We bought a simple card with a lion on the front and signed our names. One day, when we have children, we can add their names to the card, too.
And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” Revelation 5:5
Alter ego?
Once or twice a year, Robb will get his hair cut. This weekend was the second time this year he had it cut. (Before it was this past March for his part as an extra in Public Enemies. Linda Rizzuto, who did styling on many movies including Home Alone, cut his hair.)
And now for your enjoyment, the new Robb:
What is so great is that his hair is no longer bleached blond from this past summer’s sun… And there are a few curls left (his hair was blown dry in this photo). But the first time I saw him post-haircut, I hardly recognized my husband!
Homemade Goodness
Christmas is over, but we still have a box of homemade marshmallows waiting to be consumed in our kitchen. Feeling a touch adventerous, I decided to make Robb and myself some mochas using our little Moka espresso maker and my favourite hot cocoa recipe. I suppose I have made this combination before, but I tweeked it a bit… I heated the milk up in the microwave and added ground cinnamon to the cocoa-sugar-water mixture instead of using a stick of cinnamon.
I urge you to try out this little combination. It goes very well with a cold, snowy day.
New Year’s Resolution
Something Robb and I realised while looking through photographs from 2008, we don’t have any photos of us together!
Our goal for 2009 is to be more intentional of taking photos of us together.
Here is one to ring in the new year from our fun in the snow on Christmas Eve. We attempted to build a snowman, but the snow we get in Madison is pure powder. And thus, excellent for snow angels.
We hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones. We surely did.
Our first party!
Apologies for the lack of posts lately. I was struck with some kind of sickness that literally removed my voice from my body. I kind of felt like Ariel from Disney’s The Little Mermaid when the evil sea witch takes her voice in exchange for giving her a human figure. And I didn’t get anything that good in exchange! I am better now, and I am excited to share some of the fun from the past few weeks with you.
Our only Black Friday purchase was a much needed crock-pot. Robb and I were pondering what delicious meals we could make when we realized that we could make mulled wine in our little pot. On top of that, we were given the Stankey Signature Family Recipe for Grandma Nita’s Christmas sugar cookies. Robb and I were excited to share these with our friends. Combine the cookies with the mulled wine and add a few friends, we had an excellent Christmas party in the making. While we have never had more than four people in our apartment for any length of time, we decided to see how many of our friends would come over. Amazingly enough, seven of us gathered around out little living room quite comfortably. Plus, we even had our tree up!
I should say it was a success. We began the evening with snacks and a fun gift exchange and finished off with a game of Cranium WOW! What fun! We are looking forward to another Christmas party next year!