Blissfully Simple: 2019

Favorite Holiday Bakes

11:31 AM

Hi loves! The countdown to Christmas is on with only four days left. I wanted to share with you one of my favorite bakes during the holidays. If you know me, you know that baking is one of my absolute favorite pastimes. I know it's not an option, but I think it's my love language. Filling up the bellies of my loved ones has to be my favorite thing to do. Today, I wanted to share with you a goodie I've been making for the holidays for eight years straight! It has become quite the tradition.

It all started my freshman year of college when I was home for winter break. My parents have been throwing Christmas parties since the first year they started dating-- I think this year is the 34th year! I was home with not much to do so my mom tasked me with making homemade goodies for the dessert table. One of the recipes she gave me was an old magazine clipping from a 2001 issue of Food and Wine. It was a recipe for Almond and Cranberry Biscotti. It was an instant hit! You can find the recipe here.

B's Notes:

I want to let you know that when I make the biscotti I always DOUBLE the recipe. If you're making it as a gift for co-workers, loved ones, etc., I recommend quadrupling the recipe.
To make the biscotti a little more special, I like to dip them in chocolate. Here's how I do it

Prepare tray or two with wax paper
Set up a double boiler-- pot with a small amount of water in it with a glass bowl on top of the pot
Bring water for a medium boil

Make sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl

Once the bowl is heated, pour a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips in the bowl
Stir until the chocolate is melted
Take the end of the biscotti and dip it into the chocolate
Place the dipped biscotti on the wax paper
Once they're all dipped, let them cool and harden.

For gifts:

Prepare cute little tags with a hole punch
Weave through the hole a piece of twine
Place biscotti in decorative bags
Tie the tag and twine around the bag opening
Gift to your loved ones!

What are your holiday baking traditions? I'd love to know! Until next time, I wanted to say Happy Holidays from B to you! 💗

lifestyle

Magic in Vermont

4:53 PM

We are now on day 15 of being engaged (how exciting!) Let’s set the scene: Vermont, fall, mountains, peak foliage, cheese, wine, diamond.

Saturday, October 19, 2019, or 10/19/2019-- kudos to Anthony on this very numerically pleasing number! We had planned this weekend getaway months in advance. We knew we wanted to hit leaf-peeping in Vermont because we hadn’t been in three years. We stayed at the lovely Wilburton Inn, in Manchester, VT which we had stayed the last time we were up dazzling in the magic of fall in Vermont.

We took our time driving up on Friday stopping to pick some apples at a cute little farm in upstate NY, as well as grabbing some apple cider donuts and pumpkins and continued our trek. Before settling in at the bed and breakfast, we went into town and did a little shopping. Anthony was adamant about getting a Barbour jacket so Orvis was the first stop. Dinner was low key at a great underground brewpub. We watched the Yankees win (shockingly) and retired for the night.

Saturday morning was spent solidifying plans for the day, while we helped ourselves to the delish breakfast, offered onsite at the Wilburton. I say solidify the plans because I really just wanted to see how the day was going to go and when and if Anthony would propose (if you really truly know me you know how I rarely I let information slip by me).

We had plans to go on a gondola ride and enjoy the peak foliage from an aerial view—the gondola had shut down the weekend before 😒. So instead, we made our way to Hildene, famous as being the Lincoln lineage property/farm. For lunch, we landed at a Vermontian cheese shop that specialized in local cheese, wine, and beer. We shared a cheeseboard (duh), had two glasses of wine from Portugal, a full-circle moment, each and went back to the hotel to get ready for “dinner”.

We had reservations to a tiny, 6-table farm-to-table restaurant in the middle of Manchester. Three years ago when we were coming up to Manchester, we had called and called this place trying to get a reservation and they kindly let us know that tables book months (2-3) in advance. This time, we had booked our reservation for The Silver Fork in August.

It was 3:15 and I was curling my hair. “Are you almost ready???” -a question that Anthony frequents. “No, I still have to do my makeup and get changed” “Well hurry up I want to show you this pond.” In my head, I’m thinking “It’s 3:15 and our reservation isn’t until 8. What’s the big rush??” Well apparently, the rush was an engagement 7+ years in the making.

We get in the car all ready for “dinner” and Anthony is ADAMANT about going to this pond he saw on Instagram to check it out and “have a photoshoot”. At this point, I knew something was up because Anthony doesn't ever want to have a photoshoot.

As we were driving up the road to Equinox pond, there’s a sign that reads “No Trespassing” “Equinox Guests Only”. I turned to Anthony and said “Did you see those signs? I don’t think we can go in.” “We’re fine, let’s just check it out,” he retorts. So here we are, trespassers and all, making our way to the pond.

It’s 3:45 when we get up to the pond. We were looking around admiring how beautiful the scene was and Anthony goes “Oh no! I left my phone in the car! How are we going to take pictures??” Well, I had my phone on me but I let him go to the car.

I was standing there admiring the lovely scenery and I hear Anthony running back up. He grabbed my arm and looks at me and says “B, I brought you here to ask you a very important question.” I blacked out after that. That’s it.

Just kidding but we really both blacked out. He said something along the lines of “I’ve always known that you were the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with”.

Oh man, Anthony really is THE best and the sweetest. Back when we were not even a year into dating, he had disclosed to me that he started a “ring fund”. He knew back then that I was his person. He would put $20 or $30 into it, back when he had $500 to his name. All throughout college, it had grown incrementally. When Anthony took this job at Lord Abbett, he started to build up for himself, and his future, a barrier of financial security. He is single-handedly the hardest working and humble person I have ever known-- Anthony is the realest.

I, too, have always known that this was the man I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. I couldn't think of a better person to grow with, encounter challenges with, grow a future with, start a family with, and ultimately spend my life.

Anthony, I am the luckiest person in the world. Thank you for this beautiful life we have created together. Thank you for choosing me. Loving you is the greatest thing I will ever know.

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