February Favorites

While February might have been a short month, it was jam-packed with great books, recipes, and Netflix shows to get us through the last of these cold, rainy days. Here is my list of Feb Favs that I want to share with you :)

Recently, I have been on a cooking show kick on Netflix and let me just tell you these shows are on point. They make you hungry but the music and imagery is breathtaking and I am convinced that I want to go to culinary school at some point now (terrifying, I know).

I've also been slowly making my way through a stack of wonderful books I got as birthday presents! Cookbooks, home decor books, and self improvement books are a huge guilty pleasure of mine. You know, the kind of books that most people just set out on the coffee table...I am a huge nerd and actually read them, over and over and over again.

 

 

Since the majority of the days in February down here are cold and rainy, we have been eating a lot of warm dishes for dinner. Classics like tomato soup and grilled cheese, chicken and wild rice stew, homemade buttermilk biscuits, and yo-yo ramen noodles (which basically means we make ramen and add a bunch of random yummy things to it).

The Buttermilk Biscuit recipe in the Fosters Market Favorites cookbook (above) in RIDICULOUSLY YUMMY. And easy to tweak and make your own. 

Also, cheese and wine. We go through a weird amount of bread, cheese, and wine in our house. Especially since I realized how easy it is to bake Irish Soda bread from scratch. Slap some local jam on it and it is a perfect snack during the day. 

 

There is nothing cozier than coming home from a long day of showing houses, putting some oils on the diffuser, getting some biscuits baking in the oven and settling down on the couch with a good book and some hot tea. 

I recommend all of the books above and would love to hear which recipes are your personal favorites!

xoxo Em

Weekend Update

A big cup of reheated (multiple times) coffee in my Durham mug, Harry Potter playing on the TV, and snoring pups at our feet. Not bad for a 3 day weekend in Milton. The weather down here in Florida is incredibly volatile in the winter, so yesterday it was seventy degrees and sunny but today it is in the 50's and super chilly outside! We had plans to maybe take a trip somewhere for the weekend but there is something so easy and comfortable about a good old fashioned stay-cation :) Especially since as a realtor there isn't really such a thing as a three day weekend. 

I plan on spending this weekend catching up on some reading, trying out a couple of new recipes, and showing houses to some wonderful new clients. Not too shabby!

In honor of Valentines day we are going to make...drumroll please...DONUTS!! I have no idea why but I really associate valentines day with eating donuts, and according to Pinterest I'm not the only one who feels that way. 

We are going to try several different recipes and combinations so hopefully they taste awesome and we don't burn down the house! As an amateur in the kitchen that's really all one can hope for...

Keep an eye out for our V-Day donut adventure tomorrow... ;)

10 Of My Favorite Things Right Now

In the spirit of the holidays I've been thinking about all of the things I'm thankful for. Of course the list is insane! There are just too many wonderful, kind, and amazing people in our life to forget how lucky we are :) We have made so many friends down here in Florida and even though we're going through our first wave of friends PCS'ing away from us I am so thankful for these friendships and know that we have a support network that distance cannot break. (All the feels!)

So, with that being said AND with the obvious exception of friends and family, here are 10 of my favorite things right now...

One: Essie's holiday glitter nail polish <3 
Two: Sipping delicious christmas blend coffee
Three: Re-watching all the episodes of Peaky Blinders before season 3 comes out!
Four: Getting to spend time baking in our amazing kitchen
Five: All of the beautiful holiday posts from my favorite bloggers :)
Six: It's finally cold enough to wear hats!
Seven: The folksy holiday music channel on spotify
Eight: Shopping for the perfect gift for all of my people
Nine: Watching christmas movies with J in the evenings (even though I ugly cry during each and every one)
Ten: The incredible support EM Realty has gotten from our community!

What are your "10 Things" this cozy Friday evening?
<3 EM

Flight Delays, Gratitude, & Favorite Holiday Traditions

If you can name one thing worse than winter storm flight cancellations in Kansas during the weekend after thanksgiving, now would be the time to speak up! I am currently on my second cancellation in 24 hours due to icy conditions and I would be lying if I said that my gracious, thankful attitude wasn't getting worn a bit thin. 

Of course it is ridiculous for me to get so worked up over something like flight cancellations when there are real problems in the world. I have a loving, happy, healthy family, great friends, a beautiful home, an amazing boyfriend, a job that I enjoy, and so many other blessings in my life that far outweigh the negatives! 

But I really just want to get home so I can decorate for christmas and get into the Christmas freaking spirit gosh darn it!!! In the wise words of Buddy (the Elf), I am an angry elf right now. And also maybe a cotton-headed-ninny-muggins but that's another story...

Anyways, I have decided to entertain myself by making a list of my favorite holiday traditions...

1. Christmas Movies! Love Actually, Elf, The Family Stone, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Holiday, The Polar Express, I love them all!

2. Christmas Music! I love listening to She & Him, Ariana Grande, Ceelo's christmas albums right now, but the oldies are amazing too, and I'm a sucker for country christmas music...

3. Making Christmas Cookies! My dad always makes his famous chocolate chip cookies at christmas and they are so delicious :) I also like making and decorating sugar cookies, but they definitely don't taste as good as his! Then, to counter the sweetness of the cookies, my mom makes AMAZING trash (chex mix not garbage haha) and I spend a good 60% of the holidays alternating between cookies and trash!

4. Decorating the tree. There is something so magical about making some hot cocoa, putting on some christmas music, and getting out the ornaments to decorate the tree. My parents tree is always covered in the ornaments my sister and I made when we were little and it brings back so many great memories to see them all on our tree :)

5. Pajamas! Every year we all get a pair of cozy pajamas on christmas eve and everyone has to sleep in them and wear them the next morning. I am all about those footie pajamas...

6. Napping by the fire. After the presents are opened, we're all full of pancakes and coffee, and everyone is comfy and warm, I love to curl up next to the fireplace with a good book and relax. 

7. Spending time with family. This is my absolute favorite thing about the holidays! Especially now that we don't live in the same state I am so excited to get to spend part of the holidays with them. None of the other parts of christmas would even matter without getting to experience it with family and friends!

These are just a few of my favorite things about christmas! What are some of your best memories and favorite traditions from the holiday season??

E

Easy Peasy Cheesey Cake

We are living the Saturday life over here in the Nardi/Morgan household, and we are doing it right. The house smells like coffee, pumpkin candle, and Churro Cheesecake which is baking in the oven right now. I have a feeling it will be a dessert-before-dinner night...

This is the first time I've used this specific recipe and there are definitely a couple of things I will be doing differently next time (like make my own dough or used pie crust instead of pre-made biscuit dough). 

But overall, this is an easy to make, yummy, fall recipe that is quick and delicious.

All you have to do is mix...
Two 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese
One large egg
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla

...into your food processor like you would if you were making frosting. When it is smooth and fully mixed then you're good to go. 

Set the oven to 350, and grease a baking pan heavily with butter then sprinkle the bottom with cinnamon sugar (I mixed in a little bit of brown sugar with this too because I like it on my pie crusts).

Next, fit your dough (or as this recipe called for, the Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough) into the bottom of the pan and pour the cheesecake mix on top. Put a second layer of dough (the second can of crescent rolls dough) on top, and douse it with another hefty layer of cinnamon sugar mix. 

Pop it in the oven for 30-35 minutes and enjoy as your whole house fills up with the amazing smell of baked cinnamon sugar. Viola!

Easy peasy cheesey cake that anyone can make :)

I found this original recipe on 

http://therecipecritic.com/2013/04/churro-cheesecake/