These are a few of my new favorite things...

This Christmas Dave gave me two of my new favorite things...

First, is this great vintage Mele jewelry box from etsy seller happydayvintage:

I just love the pretty pumpkin velvet lining and the character it has; also I do feel pretty lucky to have a husband "man enough" to have an etsy account ;-)

My next surprise was something I've been coveting since our trip to Italy in September... an espresso machine!

Dave found a great deal on my/our new Krups Espresso Machine on Amazon so I was the lucky recipient of it under the tree this season. At first I was intimidated by the thought of being my own barista, but it is incredibly user friendly and shoots out two perfect little cups of espresso in a matter of seconds. Now that we've mastered that feat, Dave has been reading up on how to properly steam & froth our milk and we had our first few test lattes today; I have to say they might even give Starbucks a run for their money in a blind taste test!

Hope your holidays also brought you a few of your favorite things :-)

Little Stephie Homemaker

So Christmas has come and gone; in fact, it flew by so fast I did not even snap any photos (so unlike me!). But I did have fun wrapping, giving and receiving gifts. And the gifts that I got this year were extra heart-felt and fun for my new life as a wife. We had just gotten so many new things off of our wedding registry, that I didn't have anything I really NEEDED. But I have been really excited about learning to use all of my new kitchen gadgets, so most of my gifts I got seemed to revolve around that theme.

First of all, after reading Kristal's post about aprons, I was so excited to see an apron in the very same wonderful print in which I bought a Shabby Apple dress for our little niece this summer. 

When I saw it, I simply showed my husband the apron over my shoulder on the laptop and that was that. Actually he told me not to buy it because the price seemed high for an apron "Can't you find a cheaper one at Wal-Mart?", he said. So I was VERY surprised (and impressed) to see this under the tree on Christmas!:

Yes, ladies, he managed to not only create an Etsy account all on his own, but ALSO searched page after page until he found THE apron that I had pointed out. I know this may sound very stereotypical 50’s housewife to get this from my brand new hubby, but it is my fave gift!

Second, he also gave me a gift certificate for us to attend a class at The Chopping Block, a cooking school here in Chicago. I love getting gifts like these that we can enjoy together. This will make for a fun, yet useful date night for us. Check out the schedule of January classes and help me choose!

My mother-in-law also got me Martha Stewart's Cooking School Cookbook. I can't wait to break into this and learn all the basics! Like how to cut correctly with our new Wustof knives :-)

And lastly, there is still one related thing on my "wish-list"... good thing my birthday is in a few weeks (hint, hint, wink, wink). 

It's the newly released Iron Chef America Supreme Cuisine Wii game:

I love this show and I figure with this gift, I could practice "virtually" as well.

Coincidence? I think not!

After being a called a "nag" for the first time in our 5 week marriage, and probably with good reason, I find it to be no coincidence, that this article just popped up on my iGoogle "How To" section a few moments ago: "5 Ways to Compromise with Your Spouse" .

As I browsed for last minute holiday gifts online, this lovely little article on wikiHow brought to my attention that the best gifts I can give my new hubby this holiday season are not the great French cuff shirts that are sitting in the Macy's bag in our bedroom waiting to be wrapped. Instead, I need to give the gift of being a more active listener. Primarily, the part about removing all other distractions.

At work, I have two flat screen computer monitors on my "desk" (a table) and am usually typing as I am also dialing and also speaking into the headset attached to my ear (no I am not a telemarketer, I'm a recruiter). I also sit in an "open" floor environment where I am within an arms reach of one other person, within whispering distance of at least four other people and just one loud laugh away from about 15 others. So needless to say, in order to be successful in my professional life, I need to be a strong multi-tasker and must be able to thrive amongst multiple distractions.

What I am beginning to realize though very early in my married life is that what works in the office does not necessarily work at home. I know that to be a better partner that I must set aside the laptop (yes, every once in a while), maybe even turn off the TV and LISTEN. Don't get me wrong, I know multitasking is a great skill set, but communication can also suffer while doing so. 

And I'm thinking after reading this article that all of those times he tells me that "he doesn't care", may be because he THINKS his opinions won't matter anyway. But by all means it does though or I would not ask. Maybe it's also because he knows of my nasty little addiction too, I always have to win; yet, in compromise there should not be a winner and a loser. Maybe just two losers...lol. And since I'm in a confessing mood, I also admit that I need to do more asking, instead of just telling.

So, here it goes...

Dear Dave:

I promise to be a better listener; thus, we'll better at compromising.

Enjoy your gift & Merry Christmas!

Steph :-)

My Feelings on Felt

I love the throw-back look of all the felt Christmas decor that is out this year. My favorite right now is the Felt Garland I found online at Crate & Barrel along with this Felt Mitten Ornament Set .

But I have two issues holding me back from purchasing these online right now:

1). Although I do make a few exceptions each year, I cannot stand paying full-price for any holiday decor when I know it will be 70% in the outlet section just one day after Christmas.

2). These handcrafted gems are also mass-produced gems and I prefer to buy handmade from those whose independent hands have made each one, uniquely. So, I'm trying to search Etsy for similar felt garland, but haven't had much luck. 

Solution: I may have to buy the garland, but I remember from my childhood that my mom had made a bunch of these quirky, little felt ornaments. I also know that after many years of being beaten out for prime tree space by her newer, shinier ornaments, they are now hopefully sitting in a box untouched. But little do they know, that are now back en vogue this season. At least to me. So I plan to go home for Thanksgiving, dust off some boxes and see what I can find.

And alas, if they happened to have been sent away to the land of misfit ornaments, then I may have to break down and either buy my Crate & Barrel finds, or more likely I'll pick a few faves off of Etsy, like these kitschy little creations from seller Cuore

Or these from seller Shannon Harris:

I'll keep you posted on what felt I find!