Something Warm Since It Is Still SO COLD!

This time last year the weather in Michigan was BEAUTIFUL! This year....not so much. It is still below freezing and snowing occasionally. So much for the beginning of spring. So much for wedge sandals in March. Thanks to my Crock Pot, I have been keeping myself occupied and cozy with some fun slow cooker recipes!

The Christmas gift that keeps on giving!

My Nanny got Josh and I this gem for Christmas and it is my latest cooking obsession. It makes it easy to come home to a warm, yummy meal. When it's cold and snowy, there is nothing better than some beef stew to keep you feeling good. What you will read below is a Nanny original recipe, and is absolutely delicious! There are a lot of ingredients, however all you have to do is throw them into the slow cooker, so do not be discouraged by the list.

This is what you will need for a nice, full pot of stew:

1.5 lbs of stew beef (cut up in chunks)

1-2 cups of flour to dip the chunks of beef into

2-3 pieces of chopped celery

4-5 medium sized potatoes cut into chunks

28 oz can of crushed full tomatoes

1 small can/box of beef broth

1 package or can of onion soup

1 table spoon of worcestershire sauce

1-2 cups of chopped, fresh mushrooms

1-2 cups of pearl onions (just peel and throw in or cut each in half)

1 bay leaf

fresh parsley

garlic salt

a nice, healthy splash of beer of your choice!

All you do is put some flour into a bowl, add a healthy dose of garlic salt and mix. Then dip each chunk of beef into the dry mix. Then PUT EVERYTHING INTO THE POT! It is that simple. Cook for 8-9 hours on low. Serve with a biscuit and enjoy!

Josh couldn't get his paws on these fast enough!

This recipe is a huge hit and the hardest part is running all over the grocery store to collect the ingredients. Yummy and easy, it doesn't get any better!

My City Is NOT Miserable!

I LOVE Detroit! I go out to eat here. I go out for drinks here. I work here. I shop here. I live here. 

From the beautiful view of the river from my apartment to the amazing city scape you can see from the water, Detroit is beautiful. There is so much life in this city, but it's hard to see it from states away. This past week Forbes ranked Detroit #1 on their list of America's Most Miserable Cities in 2013. I thinks it's deplorable for a magazine that considers itself "Information for the World's Business Leaders" to further our city's bad reputation when we are fighting to bring this city back to greatness. 

There are more and more jobs and young adults moving to Detroit these days. This city is just starting to build more commercial and residential buildings, while tearing down abandoned homes across town that are inviting crime. Those of us who live here, work here, and go to school here are proud to say we love Detroit. While our previous mayor is on trial and our city is nearly bankrupt, we are still fighting. Detroit is still bringing in business and jobs. For the first time in 20 years, Detroit is submitting an application to be considered the next city for the summer Olympics location. Our city should be encouraged by periodicals like Forbes, not taking cheap shots so that more of the World's Business Leaders will buy more magazines or send more traffic to forbes.com.

It is easy to get caught up in the crime and violence that frames Detroit in the media, but if you walk the streets, eat in the restaurants, skate in Campus Martius, shop at Eastern Market, catch a wings game at the Joe or a Tiger's game at Comerica Park, that is when you see beyond the news stories.

This is the real Detroit.

Clark Park

Historic Homes

Amazing Cityscapes

Great Food!

I LOVE DETROIT

Thank You Ikea

Hank refuses to acknowledge that Ikea is good for anything other than the big, blue bags.

He hates the fact that the minute Josh and I return from Ikea, instead of giving him our full attention, Josh immediately strews pieces of furniture everywhere and ignores us both for hours. I know I gave a little tease of my new dresser a couple months ago, but I have finally gotten around to showing the final product.

TA DA!!!

This is my lovely blue dresser from Ikea, in one functioning piece thanks to my patient, talented boyfriend. I was smitten with this dresser the minute I laid eyes on it. Better yet, Josh felt the same way! So it was settled. This would be my wardrobe's new home in our bedroom. So long tupperware bins! Well, most of them... You might find one or two if you look under our bed.

This bedspread just so happened to coordinate with the dresser, so it had to come home too! My next project is to have some primary colored details casually placed about to give our bedroom more character. I am thinking a bench for the end of the bed would be a nice touch. Let's not let me get too carried away, but hanging some artwork will be my final victory. I cannot believe it has taken me this long to finally get this apartment put together, but I am happy that it is coming along.

So far this year I have epically failed at my resolution to post more often, but at least this is a start. See you soon! 

Happy New Year!

Erin and I sharing a cheers!

This is me in an amazing jewel toned Carolina Herrera courtesy of my mother, 

and my new favorite Kate Spade earrings (bright spot danglies in gold).

This past year has certainly been action packed. 2012 marked the beginning of this blog, new job offers for both Josh and I, the big move to Detroit, and a lot of amazing evenings with family and friends. I can hardly wait to see what comes along with 2013. 

I have been working on a couple resolutions for the new year, they are as follows, 

and in no particular order:

-Refrain from purchasing as many shoes as last year.

-Get back into regular work outs.

-Work on being more patient, I hear it's a virtue. It is also a weakness of mine.

-Find and try fun new recipes for Josh's and my dinners.

-Get back to posting on here more often!

We'll see how these go in 2013. Any words of encouragement/advice are welcome. Wish me luck!

Here's to you, my amazing readers! 

Cheers!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

This Christmas photo of the Scully children and dogs took only 15 minutes (we couldn't keep everyone still any longer), 3 photographers, and about a billion photos. This is one of the better ones.

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. I love everything about Christmas, from the decorations to the music, and of course the presents! I've decided on this Christmas Eve to share some of my favorite Christmas things! 

Here we go:

Holiday themed treats.

Festive centerpieces.

 

Christmas trees! 

Ornaments!

While I prefer real, large, Christmas trees decked out in lights and ornaments; this year Josh and I had to settle for a rather small fake Alberta Spruce from Target. It fits perfectly in our living room and it also provided a great toy for Hank...he LOVES the box! We are in the process of beginning an ornament collection so that as the years go by we get a fully decked out tree. 

Decorations!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE holiday decorations! Above is the exterior of the Hecker-Smiley Mansion, one of the most beautiful historic homes in Detroit. I attended a DAR meeting in this city treasure, and had the pleasure of a tour of the first floor of the home, an insight to the home's history, and best of all a chance to see this amazing home decked out for Christmas!

Hecker-Smiley front entrance.

Now I am off to enjoy some more holiday music as I finish wrapping and relaxing before venturing out with Josh to visit family members.

Merry Christmas!