the highlights

the year is almost over, can you believe it? there have been some seriously great moments followed by a few not so great (looking at you, water damage). but, all in all, 2015, you've been pretty amazing. to close out the year, i thought i'd take a walk down memory lane through my favorite moments. enjoy!

january:

we hosted our first friends dinner with a mobster theme...

and we started actually making our home feel like home. 

february:

we found a new sushi place to frequent...

and the pups found some great trails and freshwater swimming.

march:

we celebrated T's mom's birthday with a cookout and old friends...

honored family traditions...

and found more to love about this sweet city.

april:

we went to our first motown get down and have been boogieing ever since...

and we got all festival-ed out for nmf.

may:

my parents hosted a spring-themed garden party...

T hung out with a few fellow baldies...

and we sampled all the ribs.

june:

we took a week long roadtrip with two main stops. first stop, auburn, to see my darling get married. but first, all the festivities...

we got dolled up for the big day...

and ended our trip with our second stop in atlanta to see my grandparents. one of the big highlights was swimming with the whale sharks!

july:

my dreams of a barn door came to fruition... 

we started the renovations on our den floor...

and we had our first shrimp boil.

august:

we checked out T's old stomping grounds for treats...

and took the pups on their first camping trip.

september:

two little love birds got married...

and we soaked up all the sun rays and ocean water we could.

october:

T and i celebrated our first anniversary...

we met up with friends to beat the corn maze...

and my best got engaged!

november:

there were dance offs, costumes, and cobwebs galore...

we had an amazing weekend in the woods...

and hosted our first thanksgiving day dinner.

december:

aunt T came up to visit (yay!)...

and we got in the holiday spirit at the tree farm.

this will be my last post of the year since i'll be taking time off to celebrate the holidays with loved ones. i'll see you in the new year and thanks for following along!

friendsmas

hoping everyone had a wonderful weekend, T and i certainly enjoyed it! one of my favorite moments was our friends' friendsmas party. the theme? feliz navidad. the company? filled with some of my favorite people. my abs were actually sore from laughing so much. and the food? to die-for...i'm still dreaming of it all. 

[festive]

[photo bombing]

[look at all that delicious pico and guac]

[my contribution: campechanas, yum]

[all together now]

[now, the gents]

i have always loved this season because of all the precious time spent with family savoring traditions, new and old. but, i've started to realize over the years how much our friends have become an equal ingredient to making the holidays so great. this night was a great example of that.

[happy holidays from the webbs]

food in movies

next up on food in movies, was chocolat (my pick). this one seemed fitting for the winter weather given the setting of the movie but, what was most surprising was that it was on my list to view (and eat). unlike most i've met, i am one of the few that don't care for chocolate. i know, right? i quickly learned not to reveal this in large groups of people as their reactions were pretty extreme. but, enough is enough, and i'm finally putting it out there...i don't get the big deal about chocolate. 

that is, until i watched the movie, chocolat. the vast majority of the cocoa-themed foods eluded me except for the hot chocolate. something about the reactions people had to taking those first sips had me dreaming of trying it myself. my mouth watered in every scene featuring it which, of course, meant i had to track down the recipe. 

[yum]

first up, i had to add in the extra spice for it to be the cocoa from the movie, cue chili water! for those who are confused, like i was, it's a way to gradually add in heat to this drink without going too far. 

[all the vanilla bean caviar]

[slowly, slowly adding in the chili water]

[all the dreamy steam means it's ready!]

and, true to the movie, we of course had to have fresh whipped cream on top :)

this cup of cocoa was just how i imagined it to be in the movie. and even though, chocolate isn't normally my cup of tea, this cup (and the movie) may have made the list ;)