Holiday Happenings

It is the holidays. Which means I have a month of freedom from school. Which means I have a lot of free time. Which means I am totally out of school mode and completely in relaxation mode. I am nearing the last few weeks till I have to go back to classes and so far my days have been filled with lots of traveling and, among other things:

Christmas presents. This is my present from Santa. The first member of my Le Creuset collection, a dutch oven that I can't wait to use. As soon as I get back to my house in Austin I will be cooking a roast or anything that will allow me to use this baby.

My Grandma's Christmas cookies. Pictured here are her spritz cookies (a butter cookie using a cookie press) and her ribbon cookies. Maybe one day I will be allowed to share the recipe. Not featured here are her sugar cookies that are my favorite. Which is perhaps why there are none in this picture... I love them so much because 1) They are the one cookie I cannot master 2) Her icing is wonderful and 3) She uses those little cinnamon candies for decoration. Christmas at Grandma's is also one of the only times I eat foods made with shortening.

And Ayn Rand and her beautiful yet challenging book Atlas Shrugged, a mug of tea, and my laptop. I started Atlas Shrugged six months ago and still haven't finished so I have made it my goal to finish it by the time classes start. And, to me, nothing goes better with a long book like a mug of tea with milk and sugar. I'm a sucker for tea. While my favorite is Celestial Seasonings Chai, this is Earl Grey - the only tea my parents have for their Tassimo.

In the next few days I will head back to Austin ready to cook up some great things to share with y'all.

Abigail