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So the Ng-Chee + 1 family is officially back from our one day vacay to San Antonio! To say this relaxation time before the holidays begin was much needed is a blunt UNDERSTATEMENT.. I'd like to sit and blog about how we had an adventurous time exploring the Alamo and fun things like that, but to be perfectly honest, we did alot of NOTHING! And "nothing" never felt so good.. The photos taken on our quick getaway are slim to none, simply because 1) We vowed to leave all electronics put away for most of the time and 2) I spent the majority of the trip wearing a sleeping eye mask. We slept, then we ate. Sleep. Eat. Repeat. Enjoy the very few pictures I managed to get! (All of which involve the boys having a great time while I played photographer..The perks of being outnumbered! WAAAAHHH)

We started our trip early in the morning.. and nothing compliments a too early morning like.. (you WON'T be expecting this!) ...MCDONALDS! Yes, I'm not ashamed to admit that I have a serious compassion for all things McDonalds breakfast.. Here's a couple shots as we enjoyed our five star early morning meal. P.S Cash is a little love bug in the morning, as you can see from the shot giving daddy some suga!

When we arrived in San Antonio, we checked into our hotel.. Let's just say, I was in HEAVEN! Who WOULDN'T want to relax here??





I rest my case. The hotel was right on the riverwalk, and our jogging stroller came in good handy as we coasted around downtown. Our first stop: PAT O BRIEN'S! This restaurant is a New Orleans original, with two other locations in Orlando, FL and.. you guessed it, SAN ANTONIO! Being that J is from New Orleans, we had to stop and get some Crawfish Nachos (ummm YUM?!?!) some Pat O Brien's Mardi Gras beads, and a Hurricane for J, (their signature drink, and a Mardi Gras staple!) We then browsed some gift shops, and as you can clearly tell by the last pic, J was feeling the Hurricane by that time.

Back to the hotel we go, and there the camera stays for the remainder of the trip. One nightime trip to the vivacious riverwalk to enjoy the lights and scenery and a nice dinner later, we again made our way back to relaxation station.. No more pics were shot until we left the next day. Here's a couple pics of Cash; firm confirmation as to why I refer to him as "overly animated.." I like to pretend that he's blowing me a kiss in the last one, but J says he's obviously just showing his "gangsta side."

On a Christmas note, we stopped to our Christmas tree on the way home. After strategically analyzing the "real" trees, we decided to opt out and buy a fake one again this year. I was excited at the thought of having a real tree, until I realized some of the obvious negatives involved in having one. 1) I'm not familiar with Cash's allergies yet, so we're risking the fact that he could have some odd allergy to pine needles. 2) Pine needles. Period. 3) I didn't realize the maintenance for these things was such a bee-yotch. I guess I was lost in some dancing-sugar-plum-fantasy, without realizing that a REAL tree is a PLANT. Meaning it needs maintenance and care.. Um HELLO!?? No thank you. We agreed on a fake tree..an 8 ft one at that, and boy is it a beauty! We set it up, but plan to wait until Thanksgiving night to decorate it. I'll post some pics when that comes.. In the meantime, my fab blog makeover is enough for me =) Here's a recipe for some super cute Peppermint Pinwheel cookies that I found online for the holidays.. I love the idea of wrapping them in cellophane and tying them on each side to resemble a piece of peppermint candy.. PERFECT Christmas party favor! Enjoy =)



PEPPERMINT PINWHEEL COOKIES

NEED:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon red food coloring paste
- Parchment paper
- Peppermint Frosting

STEPS:
1. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beating until blended, scraping bowl as needed.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended.
3. Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Roll 1 portion of dough into a 12- x 8-inch rectangle on a piece of lightly floured plastic wrap.
4. Knead food coloring paste into remaining portion of dough while wearing rubber gloves. Roll tinted dough into a rectangle as directed in Step 3. Invert untinted dough onto tinted dough; peel off plastic wrap. Cut dough in half lengthwise, forming 2 (12- x 4-inch) rectangles. Roll up each rectangle, jelly-roll fashion, starting at 1 long side, using bottom piece of plastic wrap as a guide. Wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze 4 hours or up to 1 month.
5. Preheat oven to 350°. Cut ends off each dough log, and discard. Cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick pieces, and place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
6. Bake at 350° for 6 to 7 minutes or until puffed and set; cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks, and cool completely (about 30 minutes).
7. Place Peppermint Frosting in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic freezer bag. Snip 1 corner of bag to make a small hole. Pipe about 2 tsp. frosting onto half of cookies; top with remaining cookies, gently pressing to form a sandwich.

ICING NEEDS:
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 (3-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract

ICING STEPS:
1. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended. Increase speed to medium, and gradually add milk and peppermint extract, beating until smooth.