Much to Celebrate!

A LOT has happened in the last few weeks!

#58: Order fish 5 times.
So...I turned 25 two weeks ago! For my birthday dinner this year, I chose to go to Ramsi's, this great multicultural restaurant in the Highlands. And when I say multicultural...whoo, boy. It's the perfect place to go when you're with a group of people who all want different types of food. There was Italian, Greek, Moroccan, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Mexican...you name it! Personally, I was in the mood for Italian that night, and I ordered the Salmon Sonesta, which was salmon (duh) served over mashed potatoes, with a sun-dried tomato cream sauce (and Asian stir-fry vegetables on the side...random). So, so good! And it was fish dish #5, so consider this goal complete!

#63: Go to 5 concerts.
This is on the list because I looooove going to hear live music, but the last year or so has been pretty dry in the live music department. Well, we try to do something fun and musical every year at Christmastime. Last year we went to hear the Louisville Chorus, and they were fantastic. We're not exactly music critics or anything, but we were both in choirs all through college...speaking of which, the LC actually performed a piece that Tom and I did in college: Rachmaninoff's Ave Maria, which was always one of my favorite pieces that we did. We sang it in Russian, and the LC sang it in Latin. Just beautiful.

#14: Host a themed party.
Last Saturday was the Duttweilers' First Annual Christmas Extravaganza Party! (Tom shot down my original title.) We were talking maybe a month ago about how it would be nice to get together with all our friends here in Louisville before we all part ways for Christmas. Well, I honestly didn't think that idea would become a reality, but sure enough, there we were on Saturday afternoon, chatting with our friends, exchanging gifts White-Elephant style, and snacking on a whole lot of food...! (And wouldn't you know, I brought my camera to the party, but forgot to make sure the memory card was in it...doh.) I think a good time was had by all...and Tom and I are already coming up with ideas for next year!

#1: 100 new recipes.

Our party gave me a reason to try five new recipes! In Tom's family, it's not Christmas without buckeyes. This was the first year that he wasn't going to be with his family during "buckeye season," so I got the recipe from his mom and made a HUGE batch of them for the party! For the next treat, I found a P-Dub recipe for these little chocolate cookies, halfway dipped in white chocolate and crushed peppermints (we used candy canes). I made the cookies, and Tom took care of the dipping. Cute and delicious! Next came this cranberry chutney that we served over cream cheese, to spread on crackers. It was probably the easiest thing to make, but I think it was my favorite! And what's a Christmas party without Christmas cookies? I made them waaaaay too big, so we only ended up with 19 instead of 36 like the recipe said...but they sure were tasty! In keeping with the finger-food/bite-size theme, I got a recipe for tomato tarts from my Christmas with Paula Deen cookbook (found it online too though, so the link is posted!).

#28: Watch every Best Picture winner from 1961-2013.
I had Tom's laptop with me in the kitchen this week, mainly so we could listen to Christmas music while cooking. While I was dipping the buckeyes on Wednesday night, I thought I'd put on a movie instead. So I wandered over to Netflix to see what BPWs were available for instant viewing. Well, to my surprise and delight, one of them was Rocky! Not exactly a Christmas movie, but a great one nonetheless.

Didn't get a chance to send cards this year, but definitely next year! I recently started a Pinterest account, so I'm already getting some good ideas...! Merry Christmas, everyone!