My Favorite Things 2012

So today I woke up late around 8:15 for my Dentist appointment. Now I should mention that if my college age or even my early 20s self was reading this she would snark at my old maid comment of "8:15" being late but anyway. I walked down to my car and turned it on, at least I would have turned it on if I could have. Turns out the battery was dead, and by dead I mean that when the AAA guy hooked up his computer thingy to the battery the charge barely registered. Ugh....

Here's the evidence

Well $90 later I have a new batter and I'm really no worse for wear (the dentist had a nice chuckle at my expense too which was very entertaining.)

So I came home and began to sort through all the plants on my patio that I'm giving to my friend Yvonne, who graciously agreed to be step mama to the plants that I can't take with me up north. After that I started thinking about Christmas a little bit. With the move coming up and all the stress of packing up my life I haven't been in the Christmas mood just yet, which is a shame because Christmas is my favorite time of year. I have been very unhelpful with the "so what do you want for Christmas?" question so after I compiled a list for gifts for friends/family I thought a little about myself and what I would like. Surprisingly the list came pretty easily:

 
1) j. crew gift card: I need to start beefing up my wardrobe a bit, so things like gift cards to clothing stores (Banana Republic, GAP, Nordstrom, J.Crew etc are always well received!

2) All-Clad Copper Core Skillet: I currently have a 10 piece set of Emeril all-clad anodized non-stick pots & pans. They have held up well the last 5 years but certain parts of the non stick coating is starting to come loose. Also it's pretty much impossible to sear anything in a non stick pan. Now that I have started to cook a little more seriously I want to graduate to the big girl cook-ware. This is the Cadillac of cookware and I think the best way to start my kitchen set update is with a nice french skillet *drool*

3) FORLIFE Curve 45-Ounce Teapot with Infuser: I told Kyle that I wanted a teapot for loose leaf tea because currently I have no way to brew loose leaf tea. This pot looks well made and comes with a stainless steal infuser, plus it's cute!

4) Eat Sleep Clarinet T-Shirt: Something to wear while practicing! (Which I should probably be doing right now....)

5) Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking: Saw really good reviews for this book on amazon. Apparently this book unlocks the "ratios" of basic recipes and allows you to have a lot more freedom with experimentation allows a safe way to be more creative. Very appealing to me who considers any cooking without a recipe well outside my zone of comfort. 

6) Ruhlman's Twenty: 20 Techniques 100 Recipes A Cook's Manifesto: Another cookbook on my wishlist. It was one of the International Association of Culinary Professionals' 2012 Cookbook Award winner. Need I say more?


Hopefully one (or more of these) will end up under my tree this year. What's on you list for Santa this year?