Kitty Deschanel | Food, Wine, and Travel Adventures Across the USA

What on earth could this crazy contraption be? Something to hold yarn? A medieval torture device? Some newfangled pizza slicer? Super-whisk? NOPE! Surprise, surprise! It's a croissant cutter. And for only $4 at my Albuquerque thrift store! Damn. It's times like this that I wish I had the patience for baking. *Update* I made croissants so that I could test this croissant cutter out. I will never make them again! What a pain! I just want to EAT them, not make them! *Another Update* You're more patient than me and you have a shiny, new croissant cutter and you want to use it, despite being warned that this is a baking task of the damned? Here you go... Funny side note: While designing this graphic, I originally had a different background with a bunch of cute lil' croissants lined up in rows. Luckily I zoomed in because they were shrimp. Mastering the Art of Homemade Croissants with a Croissant Cutter...and Cinnamon Croissants! Few things rival the aroma a...

The Front of the Card: Click the Image to Enlarge The Inside of the Card: Merry Christmas!

Pica Smells Derek Brewed a Keg Danni Still Shopped for Deals And Biscuit "Goo"ed All Day

I'm told Sexy Nerd and I (okay, maybe it's just me) are impossible to shop for. If there's something we want, we buy it. Didn't buy it? Don't want it! For all you frustrated Christmas shoppers out there, brainstorming about the perfect gifts for hard-to-shop-for bosses, far away relatives, and friends who already have it all, there's a solution. You have to choose a gift your recipient doesn't know exists! (And therefore has not been able to already buy for themselves.) With that in mind, this year's annual holiday gift guide features presents from companies you may not have heard of. I've shopped with them all and highly recommend any of them. There's also a few stores you definitely have heard of, like Cost Plus, whose gift ideas were simply too splendid to leave out. It's my best holiday gift guide ever! Holiday Gift Guide (With Coupons! And Free Giveaways!!) Nordic Tea Light Trough UncommonGoods $40 *Enter below...

This is a wonderful cold weather drink, especially in our house, which I keep at a brisk 60F during the winter (Sexy Nerd loves 60 degrees - our agreement used to be 50!) I make this every time Sexy Nerd puts up our Christmas lights. He's starting early this year. It seems a bit unfair to Thanksgiving, but here we are. Our $5 Crock Pot is working hard! LambAround's Best Hot Apple Cider (approximately 8 servings) Make a simple syrup by bringing 1/8 C water and a 1/4 C sugar to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and add 1/8 tsp each of allspice, cinnamon, and ginger . Whisk well and let simmer for 5 minutes before removing from heat. In a separate pan, bring the following to a boil: 2 C water , 1 can frozen apple juice , 1 cinnamon stick , 9 allspice berries , 9 whole cloves , 1 sliced apple , and the zest of 1 small orange . Add 1/2 of your simple syrup and whisk well. Transfer your mixture from step #2 to a 2.5 quart slow cooker set to low heat. Fill to the top...

This was our favorite stop in Mexico. It's funny how different things can seem when you get home and look at your vacation photos. When we were in Loreto, I could have sworn that the L was there! Loreto is the way Santa Fe thinks they are.   I would love to paint our house just like this. It's probably a good thing we have a homeowner's association!   There was a cage with 2 birds at one of the shops. I insisted to Sexy Nerd that 1 of the birds was out to get me. He thought I was being ridiculous, but I have the photo to prove it! On a side note, I thought the flash was turned off. It wasn't.  Of all the beaches we saw on our Holland America Veendam cruise, this one was the ugliest. It was also the only one we stopped at. Oooh, artsy!  Here is one of the nicer beaches. Forget the sun and sand - we loved the trash cans! Una mas cerveza, por favor? Oh, and thank you Google Translator!