cheers to 2014!

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Welcome to 2014.  We have survived the holidays and made it to another year.  Cheers to us!

My holidays were fun.  The tradition of Christmas Eve at my house (aka the old homeplace) continued, and more friends than normal were home for the holidays.  The group is rarely together at the same time, and it's a blast when we can hang out.  It's been a solid 2 weeks of hanging out with people I don't see enough of, and I loved every minute of it.

I also got Chromecast for Christmas, and its been great.  My tv is new, but my laptop is not, so they don't communicate directly.  My plan is to get a computer with a TV tuner & Microsoft Media Center eventually, but I traveled in 2013, sooo yeah.  Now with Chromecast I can stream from my laptop, or a few certain apps on my phone.   If ESPN would work on it's streaming quality, life would be amazing.

Speaking of amazing...I want this year to be amazing.  I don't usually post resolutions, I just give the year a general theme that has ended up sticking and carrying over to the next year.  2011 was (Re)Discover Chattanooga, 2012 was the year of my house, and last year was #travel2013.   All of these are things I want to continue doing in 2014.  I haven't come up with a theme yet but here are some the things I want to accomplish this year:

1. Work on my house.  I did a decent amount of work on the inside of my house before I moved in, but once I moved in, my focus turned to the outside.  The immediate goal is to work on my kitchen, but I would also like to decorate my living room and paint my bathroom this year.
2. Plant flowers.  You know, the ones that bloom and come back year after year.  I've mulched and prepped beds all around my house, and this year I want to actually put things in them.
3. Post for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day every month.  This is the one group posting 'thing' that I have done, and hate that I got all slack for most of this year.  2014 I will be back, so prepare yourselves for at least one garden post a month.
4. Loose another 25 pounds.  I am trying to get in better shape without compromising the things that make me happy, or doing things that make me miserable.  That means I eat and drink too much when I hang out with friends, and I never run.  In 2013 I was able to stick to those rules and loose 25 pounds, here's to doing that again :)

So yeah, the only things that stick out as a theme right now are super cheesey...things like Just Do It, Get 'er Done, or Live Life to its Fullest.  I can't handle any of those things, but when the right theme presents itself, I'll let you know.  In the meantime, tell me about your resolutions/goals/plans for 2014, hopefully I'll be inspired!

#travel2013 - clemson for christmas

My last trip of 2013 was to Clemson, not actually for Christmas, but for the Backstreets Christmas Party.

#travel2013

There were some new faces, and a lot of old faces too.

The party was wonderful, and I spent the next day with friends enjoying a beautiful day in Clemson.

I miss this place and these people.

GO TIGERS!

o christmas tree

Christmas trees make me happy.  And for the first time ever, I was one of those people who put up their Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving.  You'll be happy to know I was not one of the people you saw driving around with a tree on top of their car, and a fake wreath on the hood.  Nope, my Christmas tree tradition involves my friend Ann, a saw, a bow knife, and a hunt for a tree on my property.

This year the process went much smoother than normal.  For starters there was daylight, no freezing rain, and multiple trees to choose from.  The selection and cutting process took less than an hour.  We felt like pros, and therefore will have a miserable time next year.

Also in keeping with tradition, we did not trim the tree other than getting the height right.  And for the first time, it actually has the shape of a traditional Christmas tree.  Like I said, we felt like pros and have completely jinxed ourselves for next year.

Ta-da!

I think it looks pretty cute.  The ornaments are some that I made a few years ago, and some vintage gold balls from when my parents first got married.  I like it.

Now I just have to wrap presents so I will have something under my tree!

2011 Tree  | 2012 Tree

(Re)Discover Chattanooga - Community Pie's new NY Style Pizza

Mmmmm, Community Pie.  As I've said before, I love Community Pie.  I had never been exposed to Neopoliton pizza before they opened, but my Italian taste buds very much approve of everything I have eaten in my multiple trips to Community Pie.  The warm gooey crust is right up my alley, and it doesn't bother me at all that it is meant to be eaten with a knife and a fork.  The flavor combinations on the menu always have me fighting to make a decision.  Homemade gelato from Milk & Honey is the icing on the top of what is always a good meal.

But there is more to pizza than just Neapolitan style pizza.  There is New York Style Pizza, Chicago Deep Dish, etc etc.  So I was excited earlier this month when I found out that Community Pie was adding New York Style pizza to the menu.  I was even more excited when they sent me a gift certificate thanking me for my previous blog post.  So a trip to Community Pie was in order....twist my arm.

We went last Saturday night to try it out.  There was about a 30 minute wait at 6:30, but we quickly found seats at the bar, and decided to eat there.  The bar staff was friendly, and it looked like our awesome waiter from our first trip to Community Pie is now a manager.  He is on top of things and super friendly, and we were happy to see that he is still around.

The New York style pizza is available by the slice, and also in 14" and 19" pies.  We wanted to try something that sounded cool, and also something basic that would show off the new crust, so we ordered two 14" pizzas: the Drunk Pig ("vodka sauce, Community Pie ricotta, homemade fennel sausage, fresh mozzarella, parmasean cheese, and crushed red pepper"), and the Demarco ("Fresh & Shredded mozzarella, hand torn basil, extra virgin olive oil, and pecorino romano").

Never try and edit a picture on an iphone.

 
The verdict???  Jon Stewart would approve.  (Jon Stewart has strong feelings on pizza crusts.)

The crust: In true New York Style fashion, both crusts were cooked well, easy to pick up, fold, and bite into.  I am not an expert on New York Style crusts, but I liked the crust on both pizzas.  There is no mistaking the New Your crust for the Neopoliton, so I call this a crust win.

The toppings:  The Drunk Pig was good, but the Demarco was amazing.  I'm a cheese pizza fan to begin with, and the Demarco is a grown up version of what what comes to mind when I think of New York Style cheese pizza.  It's got enough fresh mozzarella to be a little greasy, but the mix of hard cheeses means it's not swimming in grease.  You can't go wrong with torn basil and extra virgin olive oil, and the Demarco was the pizza that we attacked...it was that good.  The sausage on the Drunk Pig was a little strong for my taste, but the vodka sauce, ricotta, and other cheeses were all on point.

Of course, we couldn't leave Community Pie without gelato...even in November.  You can try up to three flavors per serving, but I didn't look farther than two:  Mint Chocolate and Milk & Honey.

Thanks for the gift certificate Community Pie, I enjoyed it!   My favorite crust is still the Neapolitan style, but don't be surprised if you see me come in for a slice of New York style cheese pizza sometime soon.  :)

Community Pie
850 Market Street,
Chattanooga TN 37405
423.486.1743

Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11am-10pm
Friday and Saturday 11am-11pm
Website | Facebook | @CommunityPie 
New Menu

fall colors

The leaves have been so beautiful this year.  Since I've moved into my house, I've been a part of the Fall Color Project at Growing the Home Garden.  (Last year's leaves)  My pictures from this weekend pale in comparison to the natural view, but I think you can get an idea of how spectacular the leaves in Chattanooga, TN are this year.  I hope you enjoy a few of my (unedited, iphone) pictures!

The view from my front porch.

My house is painted!

The oak trees are a beautiful bright yellow right now.

More yellow Oak trees.

This Oak has started the transition to orange.

This picture of the pond is about a week old,
but the colors were great.

It was so hard for me to take pictures of the pond.

The colors never came out as vibrant as they are in person.

But they're still pretty.