Jingle Bells or Not

There are many things that I miss in my life now that I live in Hoboken.

At the top of my list is my family and being able to sit down to regular dinners with them, watch weeknight tv shows, hearing my brother and sister tell stories about their school days - the list could go on and on.

Next would be taking my dog for walks.  You would think I told Misty she won $10 million with the way she responds to "Hey Misty, wanna go for a walk?"  She runs around and can't get to the door fast enough. And it's amazing how much thinking you can do in a 15 minute walk and how easy it is to "talk" to a dog and then some how Misty makes it all better by the time you get back to the driveway...

And what sparked my thought for this post was driving in my car and singing along to the radio.  Now that it is Christmas time, I have been listening to Christmas music at work.  A few of my favorites have come on and I want to belt them out - but I can't.  Well, I mean, I could but then I would look like a crazy person and disrupt productivity.  So it got me thinking about how much I miss being in a car and singing my favorite jams. 

 So - I will continue Skype home to talk to my family (and yell to Misty to come to the screen even though she has no desire to move from her spot on the couch) and just hum along to O Holy Night and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays... 

It's a beaut, Clark.

My first Christmas tree in Hoboken!  It is so nice to come home to the smell of the tree and light it up each night as we watch TV, make dinner and hang out.

Jen, Drew and I also decorated a gingerbread house which came out pretty cute!

This weekend we attended an ugly sweater party and Tom found us matching t-shirts that had a pattern of a typical Christmas sweater!

It's certainly beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Hoboken!

A interesting article

For those in their mid-20s...

Perhaps this could be a new years resolution guide of sorts as next year I will be turning the big 2-5. 

A whole lot...

In one post.

I have been severely lacking in the posts throughout the last month or so - allow me to catch you up to speed...

Victoria turned 16 and we had a wonderful time celebrating and dancing with her friends!

Soon after her party, it was time to celebrate Halloween.  With most of our friends choosing superheroes - I felt I was left no other choice than to be Mighty Mouse - in hopes of ridding our apartment once and for all of mice by making a joke of it...

The costume was a success (though ridding the apartment of mice hasn't proven as successful...). Nevertheless, Halloween was a good time this year - despite the random snow storm!  Here are a few shots from the night:

As November began, I started the think more and more about working on "opening" a catering company of sorts.  I love to cook and bake, I enjoy preparing food for friends and family and think that with a solid client base, I could really start something!  

So - Good Afternoonan Catering has been established, I created a business card, am working on trying as many recipes as I can and slowly but surely am getting the word out there that this is something I really would like to try.  

Here are a few "tah-dah" shots of some of the food I have been making:

Spaghetti squash with homemade sauce and chicken/spinach/onions meatballs

Side of garlic bread (naturally)

Homemade spring rolls

Pumpkin apple muffins

Oatmeal cookie sandwiches

I have had two clients so far - and hopefully will have more to come in the next few months!  Here are the trays I put together for one of the clients:

Spinach dip in a bread bowl with veggies and bread

Assorted cookie tray featuring
Italian cookies, Oreo truffles, sugar cookies, oatmeal cookies, and pumpkin bites

Know anyone interested in sampling some of Good Afternoonan Catering's food at their next event?  Send them my way - goodafternoonancatering@gmail.com !

In the spirit of Thanksgiving (and to rival my local Hoboken competition - the Cake Boss) - I gave it a shot at trying to make a turkey cake.  With a little help from some trusty toothpicks, we got Tommy the Turkey to stand and here he is:

Now - if that doesn't get you excited about Good Afternoonan Catering - well, I don't know what will!

Ah, scratch that - I will be posting pictures of my Christmas cookies soon - in case you have any further doubts!

So - stayed tuned for pictures of my first Christmas tree, a gingerbread house fit for a king (currently stored in the refrigerator so it is not home to a mouse) and Christmas treats galore!