This Time, Last Year...

Andrew's parents were kind, generous, awesome, (insert every word imaginable to signify their unbelievable graciousness) enough to send us to Las Vegas last year as a wedding/Christmas gift. I really and truly meant to write about it RIGHT AFTER it happened but time got away from me (go figure) and here we are a year later!


We stayed at the The Mirage. The room was adorable and vibrant, and the bed was an absolute dream. I mean it was the softest, most comfortable thing I have ever laid on and I never wanted to climb out of it in the mornings! Not even with our beautiful view. I assume most people prefer a room facing the strip but I was totally glad to have this instead:


We did so much in the short time we were there and almost all of it was on a whim with one exception Andrew planned ahead of time...


A trip to The Gun Store where we prepared for the inevitable possibility of a zombie apocalypse! I did surprisingly well—something I'd never even considered. Who knew? Of course we also did our small, but fair, share of gambling. I loved Kitty Glitter (for obvious reasons) and made Andrew wait each time we came across a machine. We even saved some of winning vouchers worth a whopping 2¢.


It was so much fun both on and off the strip. The food was amazing, the people were super duper nice (because they wanted all of our money), and we were really sad to leave. I can't wait to go back someday! Have you ever been?

Pom Poms & Junk Food for the Holidays

With the return of my most excellent tree, giftmas has completely consumed my world again. I mean it. Andrew and I were in Las Vegas last year, so I guess this is me making up for lost time? Whatever the excuse reason is, decorating has been a top priority in the Santosquez household, specifically with pom poms.

I WANT TO MAKE ALL OF THE POM POMS

— JLV (@HipOh_Potamus) December 12, 2012

...and I did. Well, more like 50 but for someone who has made two in her lifetime, that's basically the same. Our living room looks incredibly silly now and I love it.


One of my favorite new additions, other than all of the pom poms, is this precious baby I was too weak-willed to stay away from (of course I tweeted about that too). I did make it a full week before going back to buy him. No giftmas of mine would be complete without Dollar Tree decorations, either. The flocked hearts, adorable white trees, and the gingerbread man and cupcake snow globe (!) are all Dollar Tree purchases. All of my wrapping supplies, too!


The itty bitty junk food ornaments covering my Ikea tree were the inspiration behind the "stockings" I just finished making. Nothing like last minute holiday crafts to fill your time while counting down to midnight!


Now that they're filled and hanging over our "fireplace," Andrew and I are just about ready to start the unwrapping. Happy holidays, everyone!

A Not-So-Brief Hiatus

Wow! A full month since my last post... I'm not totally sure, but I don't think that's how you blog? There was a trip to New York (finally!), then I got sick, plus holiday (giftmas) planning. It's safe to say I lost track of time and I've yet to finish my cat face sweater. So, instead of a post dedicated to my shortcomings in the craft department, I'll share some more food I've made recently.


Thanks to one of my favorite sweethearts of the internet, Dorothy, I found this great garlic knot recipe. To accompany the knots, I decided fettuccine Alfredo would be perfect since it's so damn simple. Just throw together equal parts Parmesan, cream, and butter. Just kidding! But only a little...


The recipe makes a simple pizza dough which can totally be subbed by store-bought stuff. Though the dough had to rise for over an hour (90 mins), as all pizza dough does, the process moved along fairly quickly.

The fact that they were absolutely adorable certainly helped.

Once they were all done and slathered in garlicky, buttery goodness, we could not resist! It took us all of three days to eat just over 20. Oh, and the fettuccine Alfredo was good, too. Adding a bit of lemon juice and zest took it above and beyond. A+.