Boston Trip 2014

I headed Black Friday for my 2nd annual trip to Boston for a work event.  Every Saturday after Thanksgiving we do a huge event at the Marriott.  We had about 400 people show to the event I fly in to help set up appointments and greet people.

I always fly JetBlue to Boston due to the non-stop flight!  AND on my way to Boston JetBlue had WIFI on the plane!  YES it was awesome!!

I know most are not happy about the Thanksgiving stores being open but I'm grateful for those people who work.  I'm able to do my shopping Thursday night and then hope on a plane Friday afternoon and fly to Boston.  My flight was delayed so I got into Boston and into my room around midnight.  I find staying at the hotel the night before the event is awesome.  I can then get ready and just head down to the event in the main ballroom.

My co-worker Lana and my bosses son William

click link above Lana and her family are going on a year long sailing trip!

The event was a hit! I stayed Saturday and Sunday night at my bosses house.  I love their house it is so beautiful!  My male boss had hip surgery recently and was in the guest room with a special bed so I slept in the bunk beds in my bosses son's room. He's such a great kid reminds me of my youngest.  We talked for a long time, he told me all about minecraft.  It was just like being home.

Sunday between work, my female boss took me to the mall.  I had lost my black boots before the trip and needed to pick up a pair along with I forgot my makeup brush.  We were able to walk the mall and even went to see Catching Fire.  I haven't been to a movie in so long, and to see a movie I LIKED was so nice!!!

My Rooms

1st Night - Burlington Marriott

2nd Night - Braintree Hyatt

Monday AM I got up worked a while then headed into the office.  This stay I ended up staying at the hotel in our parking lot.  That way I was able to work in the office during the week. We have 2 locations so I split my days between the two offices.  It was really nice getting to better know my co-workers. Being virtual has great advantages but having the one on one time really does help.  I'm so excited that I've been asked to come back every 3 months and work in the office.  A great break for me and also face time which really does help.  I've worked her for almost 7 years now, last year was my first time meeting everyone in real life.  So this is a huge step and I love it!

The Hyatt had an amazing healthy Breakfast

PLUS a few not so healthy meals were had also ... lol

Since I work at home my dress-code is PJ's

So had to buy dresses for the days in the office and the event.

And a going outfit for the Museum and Mall (double duty outfit .. lol)

I had a great time and one night one of my coworkers took me to the The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.  I had so much fun!  It was breath taking to see Van Gogh and Monet paintings up close.  This was my first time seeing paintings up close! AND I got to see a Mummy's head up close!  It was more then words could explain!  And we hit a yummy place for dinner where I hear celebs are seen a lot!!

What an amazing trip! And when I got home Rick had the house cleaned, laundry and dishes done.  The house hadn't  burned down and the kids go to all their classes and tutoring!  I feel so much better about going now every 3 months!

Hope you're all having a GREAT day!

Pumpkin Cheesecake (A little Lighter)

For Thanksgiving I wanted to make a dessert that wasn't so high in fat and calories.  I Google search light Thanksgiving meals and came across this Pumpkin Brulee Cheesecake on Food Network.  Their was VERY pretty and the did a brulee on top that I skipped (let's say because I wanted to and not that I didn't run out of time .. lol).

The cheesecake was moist and very yummy, I doubled it knowing I would take the left over to my friends house who was watching the boys while I was away in Boston.  So mine took a lot longer to cook and got a little more brown then I would have liked to.

Ingredients
8 sheets honey graham crackers
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
12 -ounces 1/3rd less fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup low-fat (2%) Greek style plain yogurt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 15 -ounce can pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions
Position the oven racks in center and lower third of your oven. Fill a roasting pan about half full of water and place on the lower rack. This will create a moist environment for the cheesecake and help prevent cracking. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Coat a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Put the graham crackers and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until fine. Add the butter and two tablespoons of water and pulse until moistened. Press into the bottom of the prepared springform pan. Bake until set and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Combine the cream cheese, brown sugar, 1/3 cup granulated sugar and salt in a large bowl. Beat, with an electric mixer on medium speed, until smooth and fluffy. Add the yogurt, egg and egg whites, reduce the mixer speed to low, and continue to beat until blended. Add the pumpkin, flour, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat until just combined. Stir with a spatula a few times to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated and to release any air bubbles in the batter that could cause the cheesecake to crack.

Pour the batter over the crust and rap the pan against the countertop a few times to bring any trapped air bubbles to the surface. Place the cheesecake on the center rack in the oven. Bake until just set and the center wiggles slightly, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Turn the oven off and crack the door open. Let sit in the oven for 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Run a thin sharp knife between the cheesecake and then pan to release the sides. Cool completely and then chill until cold, at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Any treats planned to make?

Thanks for Stopping by!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.

Cinnamon Bun Popcorn

Next on my list to do before I left for Boston was to make a treat to take with me.  I love to make caramel corn it's easy and always a hit.  I of course can't make the same type each time, so I found a recipe on Food.com for Cinnamon Bun Popcorn.

Ingredients:

12 cups popped popcorn (about 1/2 cup kernels or 2 bags of microwave popcorn)
1 cup pecan halves, roughly chopped
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup real butter (= 1 stick)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 pieces white almond bark or 2 pieces white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Pop your popcorn according to directions. Be sure and check for any UN-popped kernels, those are the WORST to bite into unexpectedly.

Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon, butter and karo in a medium sized pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to rolling boil. Remove from heat and add your vanilla and baking soda. The baking soda will make your caramel mixture foam up and rise, don't be alarmed, it's suppose to (this is why you need to use a tall sided pot if you have one).

Pour your caramel mixture over your popcorn and pecans and stir well.

Spread popcorn mixture onto a foil-lined cookie sheet. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool down. Break into bite size pieces. Store in an air tight container.

Alexis notes:  I made blow your mind microwave popcorn, that way you're popping your own popcorn.  I had some of my homemade butter left over and used that. I also used Wilton Melts in bright white to drizzle over the done popcorn.

Any treats planned to make?

Thanks for Stopping by!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.

Oreo Truffle Turkeys

I must first start with I'm sorry I have been away.  I had to travel to Boston for work and the week before I left with Thanksgiving I lost all track of time to blog or do anything.  I promise to get back in the swing of things this coming week.

I found this idea for Oreo Truffle Turkeys on Pink When so easy to make and you should have seen Caden's classmates, huge smiles!!

• 36 OREO cookies finely crushed (about 3 cups)
• 1 package (8oz.) cream cheese (softened)
• 4 (4oz.) semi sweet baking chocolate (melted)
• candy corn
• candy eyes
• tubed icing (to help things stick together)

Break cookies into cookie crumbs. Mix cream cheese and cookie crumbs until blended well. Shape the mixture into about 48 (1′ inch) cookie balls.Freeze for 10 minutes. Then dip the balls into the melted chocolate and then place onto a pan covered with wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.Once you have the cookie balls made, it’s now time to make the OREO cookie balls into OREO Thanksgiving Turkey Cookie Balls. You will need a few extra ingredients to finish off the turkeys. Remove the OREO Cookie Balls from the refrigerator (only cooling for about 10 minutes) and grab your supplies.  I just simply grabbed 5 Indian colored honey flavored candy corn and add them to the back of the cookie ball.

ALEXIS NOTES:  I changed a few things that I found were easier.  I used my ninja to make the cookie crumbs.  I made my oreo balls a little larger so the turkeys were a little bigger, I made 26 enough for the whole class, but I would say 24 is the perfect amount for these.  I melted my Wilton melts in the microwave.  NOW this is what I found was the easiest method.  Once you dip the ball in chocolate work quickly adding three candy corn for the feathers on the rump, add 2 Wilton candy eyes and I broke off the white tip of the candy corn for a beak.  I found trying to add the candy corn etc after the balls had dried to be a pain in my rump. :).  Now I also tried to dip several then decorate but my house was warm so the chocolate dried to fast. So unless you have a helper decorating after you dip the chocolate.

Any school treats planned to make?

Thanks for Stopping by!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.

The Great Turkey Disguise ... Darth Vader

Caden's class got to do the classic hide the turkey in plan sight project.  They were all given a turkey to cut out and then they had to hide it in a costume.  I did a google search and we found several Darth Vader versions that were fun so we did it.

What you need:

Turkey Picture

Black Felt (or paper)

Red Felt (or paper)

Blue Felt (or paper)

Darth Vader face printed out

Tin Foil

Glue

I took a strip of tin foil and folded it to be the chest plate.  For the Cape I cut out 2 panels for the sides and then made one for the collar that pops up.  I cut out 2 boots from black felt.  Cut a square felt in black for the chest then 2 small red and 2 small blue squares to go on it.  I made a light saber with tin foil an red felt.  We even added a yellow triangle for the nose and red waddle.  Then we thought we would be funny and add a comic bubble that say's "Luke I'm Your Father".  I used craft glue but since my felt was cheap from dollar store it did leak through a little be careful.  

Have a great thanksgiving!

Thanks for Stopping by!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

Two weeks ago our pastor asked us to make cookies and take it to another church by us to say thank you for what they do, in the spirit of one church.  Rick works for the a local Catholic hospital and I wanted to honor the Parish staff.  We're asked to do it last week but I'm a little late with my crazy week getting ready to leave town, but I got them done!

I found these Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies by Six Sister Stuff's and had to make them!  I then found a glaze that was used on some Apple Oat Cookies by Betty Crocker.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2½ cups all-purpose flour
3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 package (about 2 cups) cinnamon chips (found by the chocolate chips)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar.
Beat in eggs.
Add vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, sift together baking soda, salt, cinnamon and flour. Add to wet mixture and mix until combined.
Fold in oats and cinnamon chips.
Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 7-8 minutes for chewy cookies or 9-10 minutes for crisp cookies.

ALEXIS NOTES: I used a little pumpkin spice instead of just cinnamon to give a more fall flavor.  I also used my homemade butter.  I found the Cinnamon Chips at Walmart, I've also seen them at Target and a few other grocery stores.

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons apple juice

In medium bowl, beat powdered sugar and apple juice until smooth, using wire whisk or fork. Drizzle over cooled cookies on cooling rack. Let stand about 1 hour or until glaze is set.

ALEXIS NOTES:  To make this even more fall feeling I thought an apple sugar glaze was called for.

Thanks for Stopping by!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.