Oh Christmas Tree!

I was lucky enough to have my first snow day of the year on Monday (yes, teachers get JUST as excited about the first snow!), so it seemed like a perfect day to decorate our Christmas tree; the one we had searched for and cut down on the coldest day of the year thus far! We went to a local tree farm on Saturday, and aside from the cold, aside from my nephew hysterically crying, and aside from the fact that their tree selection was pretty poor, we had a great time! The cold certainly didn't chill our spirits!

In order to get into the festive mood, I played some holiday music and made these delicious egg nog cocktails. No exact recipe here, but here is what I did. I put some ice in a shaker. I then combined rum (or you could use whiskey, or perhaps even kaluha?) with a good amount of egg nog (I used the light version, didn't want to feel too guilty about it) and a little cinnamon. Shake the heck out of it, and pour over crushed ice in a martini glass. My favorite part was the cinnamon sugar rim I added before placing the ice and then drink in the glass. I finished off the cocktail with a sprinkling of nutmeg. Cheers!

Black Dog Ale

So, on my way home from class on Tuesday night, my darling husband called with a request...he really felt like a beer and we had none. Could I stop and pick some up? Well, that sounded pretty darn tasty to me, too, so I obliged.

I pick up a six-pack of Harpoon Summer Beer (local Boston brewery) and am on my way out when I realize that MY DOG is staring back at me from inside the cooler. Well, OK, it wasn't MY DOG, but it was an adorable black lab that looks just like Allie. So, I reach into the cooler, and am thrilled to find Black Dog Ale. Spanish Peaks Brewing Company makes 2 Black Dog Ales, and I chose to get the Honey Raspberry flavor. I took the opportunity once I got home to have a photo shoot with Allie and the beer. Yeah, I know...