This Christmas

Christmas has finally come and gone. I say this every year and I'll say it again.. I love love love Christmas.. but I never seem to get to enjoy it. Its always such a stressful time for me at work ; I always find myself scrambling to get presents bought and wrapped, Desserts made, and stressing over having an outfit to wear to church. So this Christmas I went home on Christmas Eve to go to mass with the family. We then feasted on the usual Amanda favorites , hoagies and hotwings. YUM!! Followed by Its A Wonderful Life.


Christmas morning we all woke up to open presents.. I got a LOT of lovely gifts, shoes, a beautiful mirror, clothes, new DVD player, movies, jewelery and PENS TICKETS:) We ate a lovely meal and watched Beckham play with all his toys. Its was a nice holiday.




And now its back to work.. only 342 days until next Christmas.. maybe I should start my shopping now so I'm more prepared.

where i've been

Today is the first day I have had off work since my last post. Work is insane and the 70+ hour work weeks are taking their toll on me. So here is what has been going on with me at work.. Cookies, Brownies, Bread Puddings, Petit fours, ice creams, banana's foster, Chocolate Mousse Cakes, Pumpkin Pie, Apple Frangipan Tarts, Creme Brulee.. the list goes on. I have not had any time to enjoy my favorite season yet. All I want to do is curl up on my couch, stare at my lovely Christmas tree while It's A Wonderful Life plays on the tv in the background. But alas I have one more stressful week of work left, and this year I am actually getting Christmas Eve off. Hooray! So I have 10 days left to get my presents bought and wrapped, I wish I had more time. Tis the season:)

I love Christmas music... pa rump a pum pum!!

Its the first of December and I am already feeling the Christmas work load. Today I started production of Yule Logs, Christmas Cookies and Peppermint Mousse Cakes. We have at least 4 holiday parties a day and it's going to be a busy month. I am pretty sure that the two days of Christmas music I had on the radio at work was enough for most of the people I work with, but I loved it and I wanted more. Unfortunately I have been limited to only one hour of Holiday tunes a day (it was put to a vote in the kitchen, petitions were made..yadda yadda yadda). So what are some of your favorite holiday tunes? Here is a fun light hearted xmas song to start of the month with... Dominick the Italian Donkey.

Change of A dress

I don't wear dresses often, but I want too. The problem is I never have anywhere to wear them and I always feel like I don't look right in them. Tonight I was looking at one of my favorite online stores, ModCloth, and there are sooo many dresses I want. (if anyone want to donate to the dress amanda fund, let me know:)lol) Not only are the dresses cute, but the descriptions that modcloth gives sets the scene for where you want to wear it. Seriously I almost bought a cute one just because they called it the An officer and a gentlewoman dress.

So without any further adieu I will present my top dressy pics..

~I love this one because it looks kinda 80's and its called , Moved to Tiers Dress~

~GAHHHH!! I love this one, although not sure I could pull off the one shoulder~

~This one is called Paris at Dusk, I mean couldn't you just imagine walking along the Seine in this!~

~Or this little Betsey Johnson Party like its your Birthday Dress~

Perhaps one day I will have somewhere to wear one of these fabulous dresses to.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving All!

Well another Thanksgiving and another holiday brunch at work. Unfortunately for me I have to work 5am-5pm, but I am still tremendously thankful I have a job. So what am I thankful for this year. Well the usual stuff of course, family, friends, the fact that I'm healthy. But there is more...

I'm thankful for...

DVR- Without which I would have to resort to a) not watching my favorite shows..like GLEE, General Hospital, Castle, Grey's Anatomy, My Boys, etc. b) a VCR that has to require someone to push a button to record my shows, plus fast forwarding commercials is a pain.

Flat Irons- I remember the days of hours spent trying to straighten my naturally curly hair, money spent on frizz ease hair serum and then still the moment I walk into the humid air of Atlanta -BOOM- FRIZZ ! I heart my flat iron.

Headbands- This is a trend I have always loved and I am super thankful that they are back and in full force. Thank you Blair Waldorf of Gossip Girls. :)

Pittsburgh Sports Teams- Enough Said.

Cake Eaters - As a pastry chef I am thankful for all the people who eat and love all of my desserts. You are the reason I have a job.

Wishbones- All the wishbones the chefs at work plucked out of the turkeys so I could get my wishes:) (you all know how I love to wish on everything:)

YOU- Anyone who takes the time to read my little blog, I am incredibly thankful for you! Please keep reading and become a follower:)

Mr. Darcy

"You must know... surely, you must know it was all for you. You are too generous to trifle with me. I believe you spoke with my aunt last night, and it has taught me to hope as I'd scarcely allowed myself before. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever. If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on. " -Mr. Darcy

In the Movie You've Got Mail, Kathleen Kelly writes to Joe Fox, "Confession: I have read Pride and Prejudice about 200 times. I get lost in the language-words like thither, mischance, felicity. I'm always in agony over whether Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are really going to get together. Read it - I know you'll love it. "

Well I have not read Pride and Prejudice 200 times in fact I barley made it through the novel one time. However I have probably seen the movie close to 200 times. For me this movie is perfect in every way. The cinematography, the actors, the lines, the dances, the dresses and of course the infamous Mr. Darcy.

Like Kathleen Kelly I not only fell in love with Mr. Darcy but the language as well, it is so luscious, words like; nonsensical, bewitched, and incandescently. The movie makes me want to speak this way. When did people start substituting "is she amiable", for "is she hot?". Why don't men talk like this anymore?



Darcy, a name any woman would be thrilled to take. He is tall, dark, handsome, rich, accomplished, well spoken all the while exuding passion. Where are the Darcy's of the world? Matthew Macfadyen plays the perfect man in this film. In the beginning of the movie you'll swear he is the most ill mannered man to walk the face of the Earth but by the end you are totally in love with him.



Have you seen Mr. Darcy?

Fluffly Clouds of Words

A friend of mine showed we this site wordle.net
where you can input text to form lovely little word clouds. I was immediately fascinated with this.. ohh the possibilities. You could make really cute ones for weddings, or scrap-booking, or even just for sheer art. After fiddling around with the site for a few hours I decided to plug in the words of all the things I love. The things that make me smile. And so.. Behold... My Wordle.

A New Moon & A Christmas Tree

I love days like today..

Today I woke up relaxed and excited. Up at 8:30 I was ready to start my day. I started out doing a little Christmas shopping before meeting Brittany and Lauren for Lunch at Tin Lizzy's followed by ... NEW MOON! I had been anxiously awaiting this movie to come out all year and today I finally saw it.

~Tin Lizzy's..Ohh how I love thee soft tacos~

~The moment we've been waiting for~

~I love the New Moon Cups~

As you can probably tell by now I am a huge 'TwiHard' (thats the name for twilight fans). How was New Moon you may ask? It was great. For me it was 10x better than the first movie and it followed the book much more closely. Edwards skin glittered as I imagined it would and although I think Edward Cullen is absolutely fabulous, Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black was equally delicious. So which team would I choose?? Since I can't choose between the two.. I'll just take Bella's dad Charlie. I love me some Billy Burke. This movie left me feeling satisfied, and I look forward to seeing Eclipse in May.

After the movie Brittany came back to my house to partake in our tradition of decorating my Christmas tree. I told her today that when we are 60 years old and I have my own family I'm still going to call her to come over and help me trim my tree. I remember when I was little putting up the Christmas tree in my house meant that the holiday was finally close. We would all hide in the other room while my parents put the lights on the tree (something always seemed to go wrong during this part)... but then we would all line up in front of my Dad as he handed us each ornaments to adorn the tree with. My Dad would put his favorite icicles on the tree followed by candy canes and tinsel. As soon as all the ornaments where on we would all stand back and enjoy the beautifully decorated tree.

~Me and My Christmas Tree~

~hanging the ornaments~

~Traditional ode to Twilight photo~


~Brittany puts the star on the top~

On my Christmas tree I went with a gold and red motif... all except for one special ornament. You've heard the legend of the Christmas Pickle.

LEGEND OF THE CHRISTMAS PICKLE
A pickle is used as decoration on the Christmas tree seems odd at first, but it is an old German tradition. When decorating the Christmas tree, it is traditional to hang the pickle last, hidden among the branches. The first child on Christmas Day to find the Christmas pickle receives a special blessing for the year and an extra gift! Great tradition to share with your family this year and for years to come!

Well as much as I love pickles I decided to go with something I love even more. So you may ask,"what do I hide deep among the branches of my tree?" Well folks... Sidney Crosby.. and what's in store for the person who finds him ..well if I had my way it would be a lifetime of waking up to find him sleeping in the bed with me. But alas..we will just say that the person who finds him gets a year of luck and happiness.

~My Very Own Sidney Crosby~

And now.. fa la la la la.. and VOILA! My Tree is up and I say " Let the festivus begin"!

a little wisdom

Brandon.. the youngest Parker Bro.

In my family its always somebody's birthday and this weekend we celebrated my little brother Brandon's 11th Birthday. I really can't believe he is eleven already. For his birthday this year we ate his favorite meal,spaghetti and meatball dinner, ate cake and watched him open all his presents.






Happy Birthday Brandon!
And now I'm fairly certain the next birthday isn't until February.

40 days

There are 40 days until Christmas, how can this be? I'm not ready for it yet, I haven't started Christmas Shopping, I haven't started saving money for the presents, and today it was 75 degrees outside. So I ask again, How can this be??

Yesterday I was in the mall and all the Christmas decorations were in full effect as children were waiting in line to sit on Santa's lap. I'm not even ready for it to be Thanksgiving yet. I'm so behind and today the panic hit me. How on earth will I get everything done in time. All the shopping and decorating, while its the busiest time for me at work. Next week starts my descend into Pumpkin Pie oblivion. I need to bake 25 pumpkin pies just to get through Thursday of next week. Is that insane? I think so. Oh how I wish I had one of those jobs that allowed me to enjoy the holidays. I wish I didn't have to worry about scheduling, and flambe stations, and Christmas cookies for thousands of people. But alas this is what I signed up for.

So What have I had time for... a little on-line perusing. Are you looking for a special gift for someone? Here are some things I think are great. First up a charming little owl tee from FredFlare.

Or how about some fun sleep masks.













What are some things on your list for Santa?

I did it again..

That's right everyone.. you may remember last year around this time I Elf'ed' me and Sidney Crosby into a holiday jig. Well in honor of Twilight coming out on Friday I decided to Elf myself with Edward Cullen and Jacob Black.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Holidays!

Cheery Cherry Pie

Last night me and the gang celebrated Brittany's 25th birthday. We started out the evening with dinner at Pappadeaux and then adjourned back at my house for gifts, games (Guesstures & Scattergories) and cherry pie.





Happy Birthday Brittany!!!!!

Well are you??

What Changed?

I must have been a pretty naive girl growing up. I honestly always thought that with enough hard work, dedication and a little divine intervention that anything I wanted was possible. Something must have changed along the way because I am always second guessing everything, worrying all the time and instead of planning on doing something, I automatically insist I can't.

So today I got a call from someone I work with saying that Top Chef is now casting for a new show .. Top Pastry Chef. I tried out last season for regular Top Chef but did not have a video.. which turned out was a good thing because after seeing this season of Top Chef I am sure I would have been booted off quick. Now as these auditions approach all I can think of is, "why bother you wouldn't win", "your good but your not that good". The old me wouldn't have given it a second thought, I would have done it with my "expect the worst, hope for the best" attitude. But what should I do? I wish I was as fearless as I once was. Won't someone please tell me what changed?

Sips and Strokes

We did it again. Last night Chris, Lauren, Brit and I went down to Sips and Strokes in East Cobb. On the agenda, a white flower still life. We had a fun time but I was less than thrilled with my final result this time. Most of this painting was done via finger painting, whereas I am much more of a control freak.. I like to use a utensil. :) Alas .. here's the documentation of the evening. Do you have a Sip and Strokes near you??

An Afghan for Amanda

Over the couch in my mothers living room sits a green and white afghan my Grandma Helen made. It's warm, pretty and every time I lay on that couch I pull it over myself. The other day my grandma gave me a red one she made especially for me to sit over the couch in my living room, and I love it. As I sit here in my condo typing this blog I am sitting under it. It matches the room perfectly, and looking at it just makes me smile. It may be cold outside, but I'll always be warm under my red afghan.


Thank you Grandma!