A Six Year Old and a Mallot & Guest Bartending

December is about the craziest month of the year....always......I'm sure we are in agreement on this.  

The middle part of the weekend.....way too early on Sunday morning....I had scheduled our 4H Cooking Group to meet at my house to make Gingerbread houses but at last minute decided to have them make something a little less time consuming.......Melting Snowmen Cookies.

I was reminded JUST how much noise a six year old can make with a mallot while crushing cookies.

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Begin with a Bang.....

December is definitely starting out with a bang.  From the I don't know HOW many inches of rain we received....maybe 7?  To the very festive Clover Stornetta Christmas party, an exciting weekend for sure.

The Clover Stornetta party was held in a renovated barn done up with 12 hanging chandeliers {the pic doesn't do them justice}, white twinkly lights, lighted Christmas trees along the walls, beautifully arranged dinner tables and cocktail tables.....a warm and festive atmosphere in the high ceiling old barn.  

We ate, drank and danced our way into the next morning.

Only to wake up to massive amounts of water rushing through the ranch.

Thought for sure we were gonna need to build an Ark to get through the weekend.....but our girls were safe and sound and dry if they wanted to be, in their free-stall barn.

One stopped up culvert and massive amounts of rain can really put a damper on what was supposed to be a day to watch football, attend a party and decorate our tree.

Although I'm not complaining {too much} about the rainfall....I know many across the nation are in desperate need of it, but it would be nice not to get it all in one weekend.

I did manage to watch a bit of football {BooHoo...Niners LOST} and do some decorating...

On another note..........

For those of you in the area, come down to Finnegan's Marin the evening of Saturday December 8th, where we're conducting a Toy Drive to benefit UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital and I'll be 'Guest Bartending' beginning at 8:30 p.m.  Should be a fun party! Finnegan's has a full menu and bar for those who would like to eat and drink and  DJ dancing that night as well!  I hope to see some of you there!

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Low Fat Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Last night, Dominic and I had a date night and decided to head downtown to Finnegan's Marin.  Now, I didn't snap any photos because I knew I would have the exact same thing as the last time we were at Finnegan's........it was that good and I've been craving it ever since.  Dominic also ordered the same thing as last time.  We were not dissappointed.  A great way to end a busy day.

Earilier in the day, the kids and I made some treats to eat.
If you're trying to cut back on calories just a wee bit during the holidays like I am, you may enjoy this low fat pumpkin spice cupcake/muffin recipe.  My friend, Lori, told me about this Weight Watchers recipe for pumpkin spice cupcakes where you use a boxed spice cake mix and one can of pumpkin and that's it!  No added oil or eggs.  I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try out the new silicone Christmas cupcake trays I bought at Target for $2.50.....{such a deal!}

Here's what you need for success.  Your favorite spice boxed cake mix, one can of pumpkin, canned frosting {or make some from scratch} and almond or vanilla extract.

Cupcake/muffin trays.

Two or more willing participants.

Directions:  stir can of pumpkin with the box of Spice cake mix.  It feels pretty stiff when finished.

Scoop with a medium ice cream scooper to fill each 3/4 full.

Bake according to the box directions.  My oven normally bakes on the hotter side and the box I used said 18 - 24 minutes and I timed mine for 18 minutes, which was not enough.

Looked good from the top, but they were a bit under cooked, but that's what I get for not checking with a toothpick, right!

Add one tsp. vanilla or almond extract to one tub of store bought frosting and beat with electric mixer.  This technique helps the frosting taste a little closer to home made.

Frost and decorate.

Oh, and we also used powdered sugar to decorate a few of them as well.

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Shopping, Bling & Cocktails

Everyone likes to promote their own town's businesses and with the current economical situation in most cities across the nation, it's great to see brand new businesses move into town.  The other night, my friend Alice, organized a girl's shopping night in our home town.  Two brand new clothing and accessory boutiques opened in our small town, "My Favorite Things" and "Georgiou".  The two boutiques stayed open later in the evening for us, served wine and champagne and some snacks for our girl's night of shopping.  

A 'shopping party' or 'boutique crawl' is what it was like and what a fun time we had!

First stop was the Hill Top restaurant for cocktails, which I missed.  We had our bi-monthly vet check at the dairy which means Dominic works later than usual, so instead, I met everyone downtown at the second stop, "My Favorite Things".

For the locals, this is a fun and reasonably priced boutique.  Anything from leggings, shoes, purses, clothing and bling-bling jewelry.  I ended up buying a few presents that I can now cross off my list....and one or two things for myself.

Lots of accessories and scarves. 

They're also getting a new shipment in on Wednesday, so if you're local to Novato and still have some Christmas shopping to do, check them out.

Next stop was "Georgiou" just down the street.  I was too busy trying on all the cute outfits they have to snap any photos but they have anything from cocktail dresses, purses, jewelry, jeans, sweaters, you name it,  and also very reasonably priced.  I just love it when I don't have to leave town to find a great outfit, don't you?

Georgiou is conveniently located next to Finnegan's Marin, which was the final stop in our "boutique crawl".  Gotta finish it off at a pub, right?
Kristi {left} and Mendy {right} and I finished shopping and headed over.

Where we met Kristi's husband, Dan, who preceded to buy all of us girls a drink.  Thanks Dan!  What a night!  I was home by 9 pm just in time to tuck Bryce into bed {Paige was asleep} and read him a chapter of his Junie B. Jones book.

My Christmas shopping check list is almost complete!  How's yours coming along?

Happy Monday!

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Finnegan's

Friday night we had the pleasure of another 'Parent's Night Out' hosted by the gym I belong to.  So, while the kids were playing at the gym, Dominic and I made a quick trip to CostCo {I had already been there earlier in the day, but needed a few more things for our family reunion that was happening the next day} and then we decided to eat at Finnegan's Marin.  Finnegan's is in downtown Novato and is a great pub with a fun atmosphere and good food.

The place was packed but we managed to find a seat at the bar {good timing} to sit and wait for our table.  I sipped a cosmo and Dominic had one Coors Light.

Look how kid friendly Finegan's is....kids eat free on Sundays after 5!!

While waiting for our table, we watched the S.F. Giants game.

About 20 minutes later, the Hostess found us and sat us at our booth.  After scanning the menu, I decided upon the Half Chicken & Brussels Sprout-Bacon Hash.  I love roasted brussel sprouts.  I normally don't order chicken when at a restaurant because we have it at home quite often, but I think the combo of brussel sprouts and bacon got me!

A glass of BV Cab for me and water for Dominic.

My salad was a combo of mixed greens, crumbled blue cheese, pecans, onions and cherry tomatoes, which was delicious.

Dominic had a ceaser salad.

And he ordered the grilled salmon served with roasted red potatoes and grilled artichoke halves for his entree.

Look how beautiful my chicken and brussel sprout dish looked.

It tasted just as good as it looked.  My plate was piled high with food.  I could only eat half even though I wanted to devour the entire thing.  Dominic finished it off for me.

So good!  I will definitely order this dish again.

I did save room for dessert and ordered the Warm Irish Berry Bread Pudding.

And a decaf.

This was also really good but could only finish part of it and Dominic couldn't even try a bite, he was so stuffed from dinner.

What a fun date night!  I'm craving those brussel sprouts again!

Happy Sunday!

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