gifts | these are a few of my favorite things

Ever since our first big move, we've been on a quest to continually reduce our collection of stuff.  We got rid of SO much before our move that it seems nearly impossible that we still ended up with a pretty full apartment here in Fort Wayne.  With many more moves in our future, we hope to continue reducing the sheer quantity of our belongings while only adding items that we find to be of great practical or sentimental value.

Since Christmas often ends up being the time of year we acquire the most "crap", we've tried to be really careful to ask our families only for things that we really want or need.  Things that we truly find beautiful or are so useful that we'll use them forever, or at least till they fall apart.  Two big things made that cut this year.

Kaite's Gift -- Cuisinart 5 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven

I've been wanting an enameled cast iron dutch oven for quite a while now.  My in-laws have a few sizes and styles and they cook almost everything better than traditional pots and pans.  The cast iron holds and distributes heat really evenly so meat is tender and evenly cooked, sauces don't burn, soups simmer perfectly, etc.  They also go from stove top to oven so you can sear your meat on the stove top and then put the whole pot, including the lid, straight into the oven.  The enamel coating is non-stick and makes clean up a breeze.  And did I mention that are gorgeous to look at?

As you have probably guessed, these things aren't incredibly cheap.  In fact, we didn't register for one when we got married because we figured they were so expensive it was highly unlikely we would receive one.  Oh yeah, and having never used one, I figured it was one of those pretty but mostly useless items often found on wedding registry guides.  Well, I was wrong.

From what I can tell there are three tiers of quality (or at least cost).

Le Creuset ($$$)

Cuisinart ($$)

Lodge ($)

According to the reviews I've read, all three brands work well and have their own set of pros and cons.  I decided on the Cuisinart because the price and quality seemed to have the best correlation.  At just under $100 (less than half the cost of the same size Le Creuset), it had excellent reviews and some even said it's potential for longevity was even better then the Le Cruset due to a slightly thicker enamel coating.  Depending on your use, the cheaper but still well performing Lodge might be a better fit.  If you have access to a TJ Max or Homegoods, definitely check for the Le Creuset version, sometimes they have crazy deals but in my opinion, the Le Creuset just isn't worth it at full price.

Isaac's Gift -- Kenneth Cole Reaction Leather Bag

Isaac has been carrying around the same backpack since high school.  It barely made it through four years of college and, because we didn't have a better alternative, has suffered through Isaac's first quarter of grad school as well.  The thing is literally being held together by shreds of fabric and a few nylon straps.  Isaac has been wanting a nice, well made leather bag that he'll be able to use after grad school as well, so we've been holding out on buying a new bag until we found something that was really worth purchasing.

This is what we finally decided on:

Kenneth Cole Reaction

The bag just arrived yesterday and is even better in person.  The quality of the leather is excellent and the color is very rich.  I can't wait for Isaac to get home from Texas so he can see it!  This is the largest bag of this style that I could find which means it will hold Isaac's laptop (in a well padded compartment) along with all the books he carries around on a daily basis.  It also has well placed pockets and smaller compartments that are perfect for chargers, small electronics, and other supplies.  We'll see how it holds up to daily use but the reviews were excellent in that category so I have high hopes.

catching up | the past month or so

We spent Thanksgiving in Indiana -- the whole family together for the first time since June!

Sisters, oh how to explain the relationship -- see this video for more information. ;)

The boys had an EPIC ping pong tournament in Grandpa and Grandma's garage.

We found the perfect Christmas tree again this year!  

All decorated for Christmas.

We had a fantastic evening out thanks to the family I nanny for -- they gave us tickets to the
Fort Wayne Philharmonic Holiday Concert for Christmas!

We drove to Nebraska on December 23rd to spend Christmas with my family -- this picture was taken at my family's church on Christmas morning.  It had been two years since we were last able to visit Nebraska! 

My mom prepared an amazing Christmas dinner as usual.  Someday I hope I have a fraction of her  skills! 

We finished off our Nebraska trip with some time spent with old and very dear friends.   Check out the Pavelka/Ogborn picture from 2003 below -- we've added a few new family members since then.

Good memories.

After we left Nebraska we stopped in Cedar Rapids to visit Grandpa and Grandma Johnson and all the Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins.  We had such a wonderful visit and were able to celebrate a few birthdays too!

We finished our road trip in Hillsdale to celebrate a late Christmas and Isaac's birthday. 

Mom J taught me how to make crepes -- a Johnson Christmas morning tradition.

Two of our five adorable nieces.  We have another little niece or nephew on the way in just a few more weeks!

Needless to say, we've had a wonderful Christmas and are so blessed by the time we were

 able to spend with friends and family.  We have much to be thankful for as we enter 2012!

food | salted caramel shortbread bars

Maybe you've heard of salted caramel.  It's only INCREDIBLE.  My first experience was with the salted caramel mocha at Starbucks and, well, I was a tad apprehensive.  Seriously, big chunks of salt floating around on the top of my drink?  But, when you have a coupon to try one for free, you just don't complain too much.

via

If you know what I'm talking about, then you have to try salted caramel shortbread bars. A few recommendations, put the pan in the freezer between each layer and again before you cut the bars. Keep in the fridge until immediately before serving, they get soft very quickly. The bars are pretty rich so cut them really small, even smaller then you think you should, and they'll be just the right size.

sew | halloween costumes

I am a big fan of homemade halloween costumes.  My mom always made our halloween costumes when we were little, and I took over making some of the costumes after I learned to sew when I was 7.  I haven't really had time to make costumes since before college so it was fun to get back into it this year.

I thought it would be fun for us to dress up as a shark/lifeguard combo, and since I would rather be warm and Isaac would rather be cold, I figured Isaac could be the one to wear his swim suit in October.

I found some shark-perfect gray fabric on sale for $1.00/yard at Walmart.  Total cost for the shark costume was $7 (4 yards of gray fabric and 2 yards of heavy interfacing, I already had thread and elastic for the bottom).  I painted Isaac's lifeguard t-shirt with red fabric paint and picked up a whistle for $1.99 from the hardware store.  Total Halloween cost = $8.99 for two costumes.

I didn't have a pattern so I penciled a basic shark shape on the length of fabric and sewed the tube shut with a pointed top. I cut a hole in the side of the head for the mouth and used extra stiff interfacing to make the teeth. I ran a length of elastic through the bottom of the shark to taper the body, and to finish him off, I used black and white circles of paper to make the eye. Voila, Fred the shark is ready to go and hungry.

food | homemade naan

Not long after we moved to Fort Wayne, we had the opportunity to try out a little hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurant called Taj Mahal. All the food was fantastic but we especially loved their garlic naan. So you can imagine my joy when, while browsing Pinterest, I found a recipe to make naan at home.

This weekend I finally had the opportunity to try it out and let me tell you, it is well worth the extra effort. Amazingly soft, pillowy, and all around delicious. I made a simple beef curry in the crockpot to enjoy along with rice and the naan last night. However, you can also use naan for personal pizzas, flatbread sandwiches, etc. I used one to make a pizza for Isaac's lunch today and it worked perfectly -- soft but crispy around the edge and the most perfect garlic flavor.

I highly recommend trying these recipes, the curry was super easy and would be great for a quick weeknight crockpot meal--especially since you can make the naan ahead of time. The naan really doesn't require much hands on time but it does need to rise for about an hour, so don't start this one unless you have at least an hour and a half. You can't make naan without garlic butter, it's just wrong. And finally, if you don't have curry powder (like me), you can easily make your own using spices you probably already have in your kitchen.

Homemade Naan

Garlic Butter

Crockpot Beef Curry

Create your own curry powder

home | bedroom update II

Our bed frame is now painted! I love having the frame and nightstands in the same color -- I think it helps all our mismatched furniture to look much more cohesive.

I have a rare day off tomorrow and one thing I would like to accomplish is a Fall inspired table centerpiece. If you have any ideas or recommendations please send them my way!

home | nightstands/bedroom update

As you may remember, we have been on the lookout for nightstands for several months. We wanted two matching nightstands for under $50, thus I figured whatever we ended up with would probably need some work. I had been watching craigslist and checking garage sales for about 5 months when I found these diamonds in the rough:

Solid wood, good construction, cheap, and electric blue. I love blue, it's my favorite color,
but these babies were BLUE. Like give you a headache if you look at it for too long blue. The picture doesn't even really do it justice, it was even brighter in person. They came as a set with a gorgeous mirror (also in, what I affectionately refer to as, "headache blue") and a large dresser. Since we already have dressers, I asked if they would consider selling the nightstands separately and we agreed on $40 for both night stands. I ended up taking the mirror home for free since the garage sale was ending soon!

I chose charcoal paint because I wanted a dark color but I didn't want jet black. I wanted something a little warmer, smokey almost, but not gray. This color is definitely black, just softer. We already have light gray dressers and I wanted something that would coordinate but add some depth since we also have light colored walls.

I also changed the cheap-looking white plastic handles to brushed silver. Big improvement.

Even with the addition of the new nightstands, I've been feeling a little blah about our bedroom and wanted to update without spending a lot of money. Basically trying to figure out how I could work with all our existing colors and linens but still update the look a little.   While browsing around the clearance wall at TJ Max last week, I happened to find a beautiful green quilt for $20 and a set of two pillow shams for $5.  With the addition of the printed shams and the punch of green from the quilt it really brightens up our room. The quilt is also the perfect weight for Spring/Fall when it's still too warm for the down comforter but not warm enough for just a sheet.

Before

After

Our new pillow shams remind me a lot of this gorgeous Pottery Barn Floral. Unfortunately, two shams = $78.

Next on the project list is painting our bed frame to match the night stands. Although we originally stained the bed, I wasn't completely happy with how the finish turned out. Pine boards take stain unevenly, even when using wood conditioner, and the effect is a little too rustic for my taste.