It's the Heart of the Matter

Everything will probably not go according to plan this Holiday season, and that’s ok. The kitchen floor might be sticky for the entirety of December, and that’s ok. You might not have made Martha Stewart worthy gifts for all the neighbors, and that’s ok. You and your family might not get along and discuss things of value while wearing matching sweaters, and that’s also ok.

When I was a little girl one Christmas I read a seasonal book targeted at Christian women and it made a huge impression on me. The first chapter included two variations of the same scenario. The first described an idyllic wife, gliding through her custom made farmhouse in a vintage apron, enjoying the smells and sights of her beautiful home and children. Her parents arrive through the front door, bringing with them a red flannel sack full of educational and tasteful toys. At some point towards the end of the scene the woman’s husband goes whizzing past the front door in a horse drawn sleigh.

The second scenario sketches a very different picture, with the same players. The absent minded wife rushes through her home, listening to the grating sounds of her children’s voices and the loathsome Uncle Freddie who is watching football. Whether Uncle Freddie is loathsome because he is watching football or simply because he is loathsome is left to our discretion. The dinner is not on time, food is burnt, and the kitchen floor is a sticky mess from the baking done earlier in the day. Her parents burst through the front door amid chaos and the presents distributed are plastic and cheap, and there are so many of them!

The comparison made a huge impression on me. Obviously. It’s almost 11 bloody years later and any time I hear my mums say something not being spot on,s or something she didn’t do this year, I think of that damn book and I want to burn it. Because you know what? The people who love you remember the spirit of an event, not the magazine-worthy perfection of it. I remember the old Christmas albums of Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney playing in the background. I don’t remember whether the kitchen floor was sticky or clean, but I do remember having a full belly. I remember my mums smiling indulgently at my dad when he did something odd. I don’t remember if our toys were strictly educational, but I do remember that they catered to who we were as little people. I don’t remember my mums ever wearing an apron, but there was always room for unannounced visitors at our table.

The point of all this reminiscing is...I think we get so caught up with the way things are “supposed to be” or the way they’re supposed to appear via Instagram that we forget that the spirit of the matter takes place throughout the whole year, whether you set up a creche with a baby Jesus, use a menorah to keep track of Hanukkah, or gift to the poor during Milad un Nabi. It’s the heart of the matter the other 11 months that counts.

Happy Holidays everyone!

xo xo

Liz

How To Host The Perfect Party

I went to my first Christmas party of the season the other night. It was honestly such fun and I met several people who I’m looking forward to getting to know better. The host and hostess certainly knew how to throw a fantastic party. They were relaxed, comfortable and everyone there had an amazing time. Here are some basic rules about hosting a party, whether you live in ranch housing or a mansion on the hill!

Be Prepared For Early Guests There will always be one or two guests who arrive earlier than you expect. Be prepared at least 15 minutes ahead of time. The point is to visit with your guests and enjoy their company, you don’t want to send them away while you finish things up in the kitchen.

Play Music Always have music playing in the background. At the beginning of a party it sometimes helps to have it turned up a little louder than usual. I like to have a mix of different CDs ready and always have music playing before the guests arrive. It helps to break the ice and can even get people to talking a bit more. As your party goes on, you can turn it down.

Turn The Heat Up It helps to turn the heat up a tad when you’re hosting a get together. Start a fire, light the candles and turn the thermostat up. Nothing is so uncomfortable as trying not to shiver in front of your hosts.

Offer Your Guests Something To Drink As Soon As They Arrive Pay attention to your guests! I was at a cocktail party a few weeks ago where I wasn’t offered anything to drink for about 15 minutes. It made me feel like I wasn't very welcome. As soon as your guests arrive, greet them, tell them you’re glad they could make it, take their coat and offer them a drink. And make sure you keep it refilled.

Introduce Your Guests Introduce people who don’t know each other. Offer some information to your guests when you introduce them so they have more than just a name to start talking about. For instance, “Greg, this is Linda. She runs marathons in her spare time! Linda, Greg is a team roping champion!”

Get them talking and always check on the wallflowers. Don’t just talk to the people you know the best, make sure you visit with each and every guest. If you notice someone by themselves and not talking to anyone else, go sit with them and try to draw them out.

Have Enough Food Make sure you have more than enough food! I’m sure everyone has been the guest at a party where there was just enough food for everyone present and not a bite more. I have and it was uncomfortable feeling like I couldn’t eat what I wanted in case someone else didn’t get enough! That’s not fun, and a party is supposed to be fun! Hors d’oeuvres are basically pretty easy to assemble ahead of time and will easily look elegant with just a little arranging on your part. Cheese and crackers, cured meats, sliced veggies, dip, cold shrimp and cocktail sauce, hot artichoke dip, brie cheese….the list goes on and on! One thing, never try out a new recipe untested on guests! The point is for them to feel comfortable and relaxed, not gagging from a dish gone wrong.

Safety Proof Your Home Safety proof your home before your guests arrive. If you’re a gun owner like I am, make sure all your guns are unloaded and locked up from the reach of children or people who may not be used to being around guns. If small children will be present, make sure all breakables are up out of reach and stairwells are partitioned off. Elderly guests will not be used to your floors or the layout of your home, so make sure steps are well light and rugs that they could possibly trip over are out of the way.

Take Time To Freshen Up Change out of your "slopping-around-the-house-clothes" and dress up a tad. Run a comb through your hair, swipe on an extra layer of lipstick and put on a clean shirt. If you look messy and frazzled when your guests arrive, it might make them feel guilty or uncomfortable that you working too hard on their account. Take a deep breath, pour yourself a drink and go enjoy the fruits of your labor and the company of your guests!

{image via}

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xo xo Elizabeth

8 Things To Do Before December Ends

1.   Stir your hot chocolate with a candy cane.

2.   Watch at least a couple nights of the NFR (National Finals Rodeo) and enjoy the commercials for once!

3.   Wear a stupid hat with a pom-pom, a headband with antlers or an ugly sweater to a Christmas cookie party…like we’re going to this weekend!

4.   Go for a long walk outside, and look for the beauty in the grey skies, the snow, the mud or even soggy grass. Winter weather can be annoying and make life harder, but it is only here for a season and has its own type of beauty.

5.   Keep extra change in your pocket for the Salvation Army…they do great things.

6.   Brave the spiders and the dark and hunt through your garage or attic, and pull out your Christmas books. Our favorite children’s Christmas books (that we made our mums keep), are The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, The Mitten, The Wild Christmas Reindeer and The Hat by Jan Brett and Saint Francis and the Christmas Donkey by Robert Byrd. If you haven’t read any of these…please do, they’re the best!!

7.   Frost some Christmas cookies with a kid. If you don’t have a kid, go find one!

8.   Remember that all the beautiful wrapping, the caroling and the “Merry Christmas’s!!” aren’t what actually make it a Merry Christmas. It’s the love in our hearts, the giving and the way we treat our fellow man. For some, Christmas is an ordeal to try and get through without completely breaking down, and the absence of a loved one can be felt all the more during the holiday season. Look for those around you who may be hurting and let them know you care. All it can take is a hug, but it can mean so much!

xo xo Liz and Adrian 

Photo Credit: tumblr

Buckaroo Barbie's Gift Guide

So in case you haven't noticed yet, either because you are blissfully unaware or are purposefully trying to ignore the countdown, CHRISTMAS IS 17 DAYS AWAY. That is only 2 weeks and 3 days....that is like, right around the corner!!

We've put together a gift guide that will hopefully lend you some inspiration for the different people in your life. And maybe even a present to yourself.

Buckaroo Barbie's Gift Guide

For The Chef in Your Life

Snow River Chopping Block

KitchenAid KSM75WH Classic Tilt-Head Stand Mixer

For The Vaquero In Your Life

Debra Kunic's Los Vaqueros de Alta California

4-Piece Mach3 Shaving Kit

For The Product Junkie In Your Life

Sephora: The Ultimate Guide to Makeup, Skin and Hair from the Beauty Authority

C.O. Bigelow Power Berry Mask - No. 1675


For The Kids In Your Life


Alex Draw In The Tub Bathtub Crayons



Smoky the Cowhorse By Will James


Stay tuned for more great ideas in hard-to-shop-for categories!

xo xo Liz and Adrian

Buckaroo Barbie’s Post Thanksgiving Diet and Exercise Tips

So, the holidays are basically a diet and exercise booby trap. There’s the feast like, boozy dinners with family you haven’t seen in forever, you’ve haven’t eaten as healthily as you would have liked and thus don’t feel like exercising and pie, pie, pie and cookies and did we mention pie?! If you indulged a little too much this Thanksgiving (and who doesn’t during the holidays?), then follow these tips and tricks to help you get back on track.

·      Keep drinking enough water!!!

Your body needs at LEAST 64 ounces of water a day. You probably had some beer or wine or sodas or even spiced eggnog, like me, over Thanksgiving and alcohol dehydrates you. If you only apply one suggestion here, please let it be this!!

·      Put your workout clothes on first thing in the morning.

I’ve found that even if I really don’t want to work out, but if I get dressed in my workout clothes anyway, I go ahead and workout 98% of time. And it’s way better to at least do a little something, then nothing at all. If you tell yourself you’re only going to walk or run for 5 minutes, generally by the time the 5 minutes are up, you feel like finishing your normal routine. Exercise isn’t about trying to physically punish yourself for treats that you ate, it’s about making your heart healthier and your muscles strong…it’s a reward, not a punishment.

·      Get a workout/diet partner.

Whenever Adrian and I work out together, it’s WAY more fun. We laugh at each other, encourage one another and push each other. She also really helps me with my diet. Sticking to a healthy, clean, organic diet is really important for my health so that my Lyme doesn’t flare up. If I’m tempted to cheat, she encourages me to try a healthier version and doesn’t tell me “no”, just asks me if eating that unhealthy treat is really worth me feeling bad later. She’s basically the best. Having a workout partner can also help inspire you to try new things and spice up your routine. My friend Aleesha and I went on a run together last night and I would have never had the courage to try and to run that hill without her! I’ve effectively avoided hills for some time now and once I went with Aleesha, I was shocked to discover it was actually fun! Fun to run somewhere new, fun to try something new and really fun to have someone to laugh with while we were sweating! And kudos to all you moms out there, I only pushed the stroller with Aleesha’s two kids in it for a while…but dang ladies!! That thing is heavy! 

·      Don’t beat yourself up for crashing your diet or not exercising.

That shiznit is just not healthy. And the whole point of eating clean and exercising is to make your body and mind and heart and soul healthier and stronger. Just because you ate crappy until dinner doesn’t mean you have to blow your dinner as well. Make a change then. Start fresh and don’t be negative. Focus on what positive things you DID accomplish and don’t let a little thing like mashed potatoes and pie mess up your progress so far!

Keep it up, Dolls!

And if you ever need a cheerleader, Adrian and I are your biggest fans :)

xo xo Liz and Adrian 

The Best Hot Chocolate Ever

Adrian and I were feeling very Christmas-y last night...but what's new because Adrian starts secretly listening to Christmas music in June, so....ANYWAY....we decided to make the world's best Hot Chocolate, ever. Please, please, please, try this hot chocolate this holiday season. You will never, ever want to go back to your boring hot chocolate in a package with the sad little dehydrated marshmallows floating miserably on top. Go make this. Listen to the hallelujah chorus and feel festive. Yum.

Adapted from Tasha Tudor's cookbook.

These are the ingredients you'll need: milk, unsweetened chocolate, sugar, water, dash of salt, vanilla and cinnamon to sprinkle on your whip cream cuz you're cool like that.

You'll need 3 cups of milk. Don't be a pussy, just go ahead and use whole milk. Extra points if you use organic milk and ding, ding, ding, winner winner, chicken dinner if you use raw milk! 

Tasha Tudor's recipe...aren't her illustrations great? 

Unwrap 2 squares of unsweetened baking chocolate and melt in a double boiler. A double boiler is a fancy way of saying throw a glass bowl on top of a pan of boiling water to melt stuff in. Cool, huh? 

Melting yumminess....yum. Actually, it's not yummy until you add sugar. Just in case you were wondering. But it WILL be yummy in a minute. 

You should always take time out of making hot chocolate to sing a spontaneous chorus of Jingle Bells. It makes you feel festive. Truly.

Guess what comes next?

Yup...while you're waiting for your milk to scald and your chocolate to melt, make your homemade whip cream. To every cup of heavy whipping cream, add 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of vanilla. Beat on high till it gets all clumpy and looks like whipped cream. Just don't let it go until it becomes butter! 

You don't have to add vanilla to your whip cream, but it makes it RICH and better. Just do it, OK? 

See, this is the real deal.

Our beautiful mums stopped by to check out what we were messing up in her kitchen. Isn't she lovely? 

Anyway, your chocolate should be melted by this point and it should look all lovely and glossy.

Add your sugar and salt and mix.

Slowly add 1 cup of freshly boiled water. SLOWLY.

Put it back onto your double boiler and boil for 5 minutes.

Add chocolate mixture to your scalded milk...

Whisk your hot chocolate until it's frothy.

And serve.

Add ridiculous amounts of whip cream, sprinkle with cinnamon and...

Yumminess. We promised yumminess, right? Right.

Cheers and enjoy! 

Buckaroo Barbie's Adaption of Tasha Tudor's Hot Chocolate

3 cups of milk

2 squares Baker's unsweetened chocolate

1/4 cup sugar

dash of salt

1 cup boiling water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/2 pint heaving whipping cream

In a saucepan, scald the milk. Over hot water, melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Stir in the sugar and salt, add the cup of boiling water very gradually, and stir until smooth. Then boil for 5 minutes. Add this mixture to the scalded milk and beat it with a whisk until foamy. Stir in the vanilla and serve in a pretty chocolate pot that you have warmed with boiling water. Whip the cream and spoon massive amounts onto each serving. Makes six 6-ounce servings. 

xo xo Liz and Adrian 

Photos via Adrian Brannan