Decors Up, Gifts Wrapped, More to go...

On the last two days of our long Thanksgiving holiday, I was so inspired to "Christmasify" our tiny apartment... While on it, I tried making my red velvet cupcakes which I haven't done in a year or so... I wanted to make sure it's still good enough for gifting.  Here are a few pictures...

Our theme... Snowflakes and earthy elements.  I love twigs and branches.

We went for a slim Christmas Tree - I thought it looked more elegant (and practical for a smaller space).

And of course, an angel on top for our little angel.

Pink and Gold color motif, including the wreath.  The bow on the wreath was supposedly for our tree but it was too big for our "sexy" tree, so I put it on our door wreath instead.

If you choose wise, you don't have to spend a fortune for Christmas decors, especially here in the US.  A pack of two of this sparkly snowflake is $1.99 at Target.

Ribbons and tissues and gift boxes from Michael's, my happy place.

I plan to give out red velvet cupcakes for some of my office mates, so I practiced half a batch.  I gave it a little twist by stuffing it with butter cream cheese frosting and topping with cream cheese whipped cream and a small candy cane. :-)

They looked pretty nice in this cupcake box.  So cute.

These gift boxes from Michael's are so convenient.  Great for sweaters and shirts.  We have a few all-wrapped up and under the tree.

Thankful Feast!

It's been more than a month since I posted anything on my blog so I apologize to my regular readers (as if haha)!  Anyway, I can't miss this opportunity to share our Thanksgiving get together last night as we had a fun potluck dinner and of course, our usual Settlers of Catan session.  We're able to recruit a couple who had fun playing (and winning) the game - boohoo, beginners luck hehehe! :-)

It was my first time to make Thanksgiving staples - no turkey this time around, but we had stuffed cornish hens instead.  I used the no-fail lemon-butter-garlic-rosemary recipe and put some stuffing I learned from the Food Network show, Pioneer Woman.  I'm not really a fan of stuffing, but this recipe caught my eye because it had Italian Sausage and mushrooms - yummy.  For dessert, I took the risk of making Sweet Potato Cheesecake, and added my own spin at the topping - cream cheese whipped cream.  It's not the type of cake that everyone will love, but I think it was pretty good, considering it has  "kamote" haha.  So of course, I had a backup dessert - again a no-fail recipe - Ice Box Cake.

My Sweet Potato Cheesecake and Stuffed Cornish Hens

Apols' Baby Back Ribs and Haidee & John's Bacon-wrapped Asparagus

Ela's Puttanesca Sauce and Haidee's Mashed Potatoes with Dill & Cream Cheese

Tin & Jeff's Chicken Wings and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Our Thanksgiving Spread and Dessert Table

Last year, we had a fall-themed housewarming party so I had some paraphernalia to use... It was a great investment in a way, well, at least until this year.  I realized I had so much potpourri and empty vases... so, voila - see photos below!  And the house smelled so good too - cinnamon and spice and everything nice (with a hint of roasting cornish hen ;-)).

My attempt at a fall-ish Thanksgiving theme...

Friends and of course, Game Night!

Hosting parties are really fun, but also exhausting.  I only cooked three dishes, but I think with my growing belly at six months, getting tired so quickly is no surprise.  BUT, I am thankful that I get tired.  Because I get to invite friends over, have a great time, get to make lambing to my hubby so he does things for me (and I feel his love so much more), and knowing the fact that a new life is forming inside of me.