winter activities

Our side of the mountain is completely blanketed in bright, fluffly snow. It's unusual to see this much snow, we get a couple inches that stick around for a day or two, then its back to mild cold. This business is weird. Everything seems so still and oddly quiet, the snow crunching underfoot seems thunderous.

I love her hat from Ugly Dolls! I think it suits her perfectly. We picked it up a few weeks ago in Columbus, OH at the plush art show held at Rivet.

Suni loves the snow! She bounds through it, leaping and jumping and burrowing, enjoying every second of it. I, however, can only stand a few minutes of being cold, since my joints stiffen rather uncomfortably.

We love cooking all the time, but there's something about the cold that lends itself to really rich food. Greg made this Bacon Jam from the recent issue of Food Everyday (packed with fast and easy recipes-we love it) and served it with buttery crostinis. Its garlicky, tasting first of sweet carmelized onions, then finishing with a savory crunch of bacon- its rich and delicious. We also tried the Bacon Wrapped Mini Potatoes and they were excellent.

My husband is obsessed with duck. If its on the menu, he's ordering it. Doesn't matter if its crispy, confit or folded into a crepe. So he embarked on a quest to master the perfectly cooked duck. Pictured above is roasted duck with roasted brussel sprouts and mashed sweet potatoes. It turned out tasty. I have to say I am loving his obsession with cooking lately!

Azalea loves to wear Max's puppy costume. She wears it everyday and Max adores her as a dog! He follows her around laughing, petting her head and hugging her. Of course, he's an animal lover and is completely bewitched by Suni and our cat Paddy. He's so sweet it breaks my heart a little.