Marriage: Year One

August 10, 2015 Allie Ellenbogen

I’m finally getting around to posting about our one-year anniversary celebration. You know, nearly in time to celebrate our second. Better late than never?

We decided that instead of giving any gifts we would take a trip. Nothing elaborate. I used to love going on vacations in big cities and any other destinations with promises of exploring around every corner, requiring weeks of planning, and leaving you happily exhausted at the end of each day. But, since moving to San Francisco I’ve found that I crave the exact opposite. I think it’s because every day is like the best kind of vacation where you’re constantly discovering new things that come time for vacation, I’m ready to not do a thing. The thought of quietly unwinding, sitting aimlessly on a beautiful deck, cocktail in hand, and warm sun on my cheeks makes me giddy. And that’s exactly what we did for our first anniversary.

Gougères

January 29, 2015 Allie Ellenbogen

A few weeks ago I posted a chocolate mousse recipe from Paris Pastry Club.

The second recipe I’ve tried and really liked from the book is the gougères (pronounced goo-zher…think French). I first made them as an appetizer for this year’s NYE dinner party. They were delicious. Salty, parmesan-ey, fluffy, and little gooey in the middle, with the tang and zest of a heap of paprika. They make a lovely appetizer, snack for girls night, or accompaniment to your favorite movie. Pair with wine for best results!

They don't keep for very long; 3-4 tops. But, they're best fresh from the oven. If I were you I'd eat them all up right then.

Chocolate Mousse

January 15, 2015 Allie Ellenbogen

One of my Christmas gifts from Xander was a new cookbook, Paris Pastry Club. I love baking, but my current repertoire is largely classics. Brownies, cookies, cakes…you get the gist. This book is mostly made up of French classics with some other outside-of-the-box recipes mixed in. I’ve made three things from it so far and two have been outstanding. It’s been really exciting to bake from PPC because it’s so far outside of my normal. I’m getting to try new techniques, hone ones I already know but have little use for, and get fresh ideas for meals and dinner parties. As a (hobby) baker it’s been wonderfully stretching.

Christmas Brunch

January 7, 2015 Allie Ellenbogen

This post is a little throwback. Appropriate I suppose. It being Thursday and all.

I have yet to post anything about our Christmas and wanted to share our brunch + how we celebrated.

This is the second Christmas we’ve spent as a married couple and away from our families. Last year was fun and novel. We were fresh little babies in the city. There were so many things to experience that it took our minds off the fact that we were not spending this special time with our families. However, this year was a little different. We both felt the effects of being far from home. But, it was also fun to make traditions. My favorite, two-years running, is Christmas Day brunch.

Christmas 2014

December 18, 2014 Allie Ellenbogen

I debated between a wreath and garland at the tree lot. I ended up going with garland. With the extra I decided to make this wreath. I used the spare garland as the base and the other things were leftover from our Thanksgiving table. I really like t… — I debated between a wreath and garland at the tree lot. I ended up going with garland. With the extra I decided to make this wreath. I used the spare garland as the base and the other things were leftover from our Thanksgiving table. I really like the free-formed look.

It's officially our second Christmas 3,000 miles away from most people we know and love. Last year was exciting and twinklie because not only had we just moved to the West coast, but also it was our first Christmas as a married couple. We were enamored with starting our own traditions and celebrating in our own ways. We weren't going back East because we had just arrived here. And even if our apartment was mostly empty and we had very little (i.e. money and possessions) we were cozied up together and couldn't have been happier.