One potato, two potato, sweet potato, MORE!

This year as I was preparing for Thanksgiving dinner in Blake and I's home I sat down to make my "dish list".  There are some family favorites that I tend to cook with my mom from year to year.  This year however, fate stepped in.  I happened to get my new Southern Living in the mail the same day I was planning to make all my lists.  I cannot express how happy I am that this coincidence happened.  Instead of the typical Cream Cheese and Sour Cream Garlic Mashed Potatoes that we normally make (which are declicious by the way) I came across this gem. 

Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust.  Holy moly, did anyone else just hear angels sing?  It was so amazing tasting that I cannot put it into words, but I will say this. YOU MUST MAKE THIS DISH.  It is impressive looking, but not hard to take on.  If you have a springform pan and some patience you're good to go.  I am not a fan of the traditional sweet potato dishes with brown sugar and marshmellows.  They are way too sweet for me, and honestly kind of sticky and messy.  This savory combination is perfect.  When I saw how this dish combined mandolin sliced Yukon Gold potatoes along with sweet potatoes I was done for.  The melty layers of guyere cheese and the rosemary in the crust scream holiday flavor.  I did vary the recipe a little and instead of adding salt between the layers with the cheese I diced and crisped up pancetta and layered it in.  This Italian version of bacon flavor layered throughout really set the dish off.  You can find the recipe here.  I plan on making this again for Christmas, it was that good.  Hope no one in the family minds! 

Xo-Wife of Wright

Pic-a-nic Baskets aren't just for Yogi and Boo-boo

I am in love with these biodegradable picnic boxes from Boxsal.  I think they would make a great gift for a boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife, or a friend.  At $24.99 they are an affordable gift that is super unique.  I also love that you can replace the contents for $10.00 anytime you need to re-fill your box.  They come in three fun styles that will fit a special someone in your life.

My personal favorite-Date Box

For the hipsters-Urban Box

And last but not least, the work-a-holics that need any excuse to take a break-Lunch Escape Box

You can check them all out here.  Who knows, maybe one will show up underneath my tree Christmas morning.  Are you listening Santa?

Xo-Wife of Wright

Note:  Wife of Wright was not paid or given any perks for this post.  W.O.W. just happens to love the product and enjoys paying it forward!





Loving the retro appliance ornaments from Target on my mod white tree!

I'm so happy Christmas time has arrived in OKC!

Olive juice?

Isn't that what you're supposed to mouth when you don't know the words to something and you're singing?  Today we are having a Thanksgiving Mass at my work and I have been recruited to sing in the choir in front of everyone.  Holy smokes.  I have not sang in front of anyone at Mass since I cantored back in 8th grade and let me tell you my voice is NOT the same as it was 16 years ago.  I obviously have noticed the changes over the years.  First you just can't go up quite as high, then you run out of breath a little bit faster, then all of sudden you go to sing a note and nothing even comes out.  Sad isn't it?  It's true that your voice is an instrument and if you don't use it, you lose it.  I guess I thought all of the kareoke in my car was sufficient, but I was sadly mistaken when we began practicing a few weeks ago. 

There are only six of us in the choir.  Can you say nerve wracking?  I used to love being in front of people and singing, or dancing, or acting.  Anything to have the spotlight and get a few laughs (maybe they were snickers?).  Now, I sweat.  Like sweat, sweat.  I leave practice so uncomfortable most days that I thank the Lord that I get to go home just so I can change clothes and recover for the next day when I have to do it all over again. 

Here's the kicker.  My mom is coming to watch me.  Yes, you read correctly.  MY MOM IS COMING TO WATCH ME!  How embarrassing?  I guarantee that no one else's mom is making a special trip for Thanksgiving Mass to see how the performance goes.  This might have to do with the fact that I am the youngest in the group by a couple of decades, but you get my point. 

So in closing think of me in about 20 minutes and have a good chuckle.  I'll be sweating and singing "Olive Juice" to a lovely crowd of people.

Xo-Wife of Wright

Where for art thou Rosemary?

I cannot find fresh rosemary in Oklahoma City!  I have been to Super Target and I have been to Wal-Mart Super Center.  NO ROSEMARY.  I must have it.  It is crucial to my turkey brine and my potato dish.  I'm off to Homeland as soon as I get off work. 

I have however purchased all of my other Thanksgiving groceries.  This makes me very happy because I will not be fighting anyone at the grocery store for the last of the fresh cranberries or celery on Wednesday.  I have already DVR'd "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" and "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" (the original of course although the movie version is very funny).  I made fresh ricotta cheese for the froshia last night and I'll pick up the turkey tomorrow after work so that it can start brining on Wednesday morning bright and early.  The table is set for seven, the centerpiece is complete and the Christmas lights are hung on the house.  Phew. 

There is still so much left to prepare for and other things that I'm sure I could do ahead of time, but I am going to try to stay as calm as possilble and have the most enjoyable holiday season I can.  A little cleaning tonight, start the brine tomorrow evening and prepare a couple more dishes on Wednesday after I get off work and I will be in my sock monkey house shoes and cozies by 6:30.  I can't wait!

Who else is excited for the holiday?  Do you do anything special to prepare?  Is anyone having their families' festivities at their house for the first time like Blake and I?  Does anyone else still get up super early Thanksgiving morning to watch the Macy's parade(and get a little jittery at the end right before Santa shows up?) even though their 30 ehem?  Do tell...

Xo-Wife of Wright

Barking Mad

Blake and I have a neighbor.  This particular neighbor has four cats that are allowed to run freely and three dogs that literally bark the entire time they are outside.  When we moved in seven months ago my initial issue was with the cats.  They enjoy defecating in my elevated flower bed that runs the length of our front porch.  There's nothing that says "Welcome to our new home!" like the smell of cat poo in the Oklahoma summer.  Blake, myself, and even my mother all politely let her know about the problem.  She apologized, she said she would keep them inside, she even told me one day that "Cat feces is very good for your soil."  Wha?!  W.O.W. that went over well.  What a maroon right?  (I have to inject here, a maroon is a moron.  You can thank my daddy for that one)  So I sprayed our beds with a substance called Critter Ridder.  It has cayenne pepper in it and is supposed to irritate the cats paws so that they don't want to use your flower beds anymore.  Apparently these cats are from here in the South because they like it hot.  No effect.  Thanks $15 bottle of useless smelly crap. 

Next problem-About a month into living in our home the cats starting killing birds, squirrels, and bunnies in our yard.  I love our animals, I enjoy watching them play in the yard and gather food.  I do not enjoy watching a cat pounce them from the bushes, attacking the small animal and then running with it while I come screaming out the back door throwing wooden spoons at them.  I again told the neighbor about our problem and she told me she would "ground" the cats for doing what they had done.  Is anyone else starting to see the delusion present here?  Great, you're grounding the cat?  Could you also take away their Wii and cell phone, I think they really deserve a severe punishment for this particular offense.  Within a few weeks both killer cats were back on the prowl and have been ever since.  The killing has stopped, but that's probably more due to Blake and I yelling and spraying them with the hose than the strict punishment they received from their "mommy". 

Last but not least-Our lovely neighbor had a significant other when we moved in and she was home often.  The three barking dogs that I spoke about above were let out often during appropriate times of day, but only for a few minutes to do their business and then let back in.  Because of the short time they were out Blake and I dealt with the barking and took it in stride.  A few months back the significant other disappeared and with her disappeared our neighbor for the most part.  She now randomly shows up at home very early in the morning and late at night.  She let's the dogs out around 10:00 p.m. and let's them bark for an hour or so.  She shows up in the morning at lets them out between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. and leaves them out for a couple of hours.  A few Saturdays ago she let them out at 6:00 a.m. By 7:00 Blake was livid and went next door and knocked on her door.  She didn't asnwer her front door, but he heard her open the back door and let the barking dogs in.  We thought that solved the problem, but slowly over the past few weeks she's been letting them out at insensitive times again and walking away. 

So very long story short I filed my first complaint with the city I live in today.  They wanted to set cat traps in my yard but I wasn't ready to be that aggressive yet.  I'm sure my husband would disagree.  He was ready to "take them on a ride" months ago.  I guess we'll see if there is improvment from here.  Fingers crossed!

Xo-Wife of Wright