From our home to yours,

I am very late on sending out my Christmas cards. So I am sticking these in and making them Holiday cards..

Mrs.J

The first ever...

Wow! I am working on taking down my Christmas decorations today. I have most everything done except for a few things I need Todd's help in putting away. Alas, he went golfing with our neighbor so I am taking a break and sitting down to blog about our wonderful Christmas. It is always sad to put all of the decorations away for the next 11 months. After having almost every nook and cranny stuffed with garland, snowflakes and lights my house seems really bare. Maybe this will give me a jump start to adding some more decorations.

So we had our first Christmas together as a family. It was incredible. My family and Todd's family all came together to celebrate our first Christmas by spending it in Queen Creek with us. We had so much fun and seriously stuffed every day with Christmas events. Over the last few years the McLarty's have created a few Holiday traditions and this year was no exception. I wish I had taken more pictures but hosting a major holiday is craziness. When you are the one doing everything, you don't have time to take pictures. But let me tell you about a few of our Christmas traditions.

1) The McLarty-Jaramillo Annual Gingerbread House Build Off
This tradition has really taken shape over the last two years. It is part Iron Chef part Food Network Challenge and 100 percent super fun. We put everyone's name into a bowl and pulled out teams randomly. Since there was one extra person we put Team 1 and Team 2 into a bowl and pulled out who got the extra person. Katie put together the "secret ingredients" we had to use. These we pick out and don't come in the gingerbread house kit. They always are pretty crazy and require extra creativity. This year Katie picked out brussel sprouts, oatmeal, rice and tortilla chips. Then we had one hour to assemble them and move them to the judging table. Our neighbors Nick ans Sara came over to judge the homes when they were done. Team 2 was victorious! I think our cute snowman was what did it for the judges.

2) McLarty-Jaramillo Christmas Corn Hole Tournament
This is actually a new tradition to this year, but it was so much fun I know it is going to be a staple at probably every holiday we do. Todd first played corn hole in Iowa in college and after playing recently with our neighbors Pam and Time he decided he needed to make his own corn hole set. He found a set of instructions online and with a little elbow greased made his very own personalized set. Did you think he would put anything other than Angel's logos on there? We had a few tournaments that weekend. Todd and I even won one together!

3) Tamales
My family has been making tamales at Christmas time for over 10 years now. We love to sit around the table and just laugh while we make a huge batch of tamales. When we were younger we would put all the extras into the freezer. Now we split them up amongst ourselves. My tamales are almost gone. I love to eat them with eggs at breakfast time. When our families spent our first Christmas together in 2008 we taught Todd's family how to make tamales. This year we had a little throw down with our neighbors Pam and Tim. They didn't know when they agreed to it that we had been making them for that long. I think we might have won that one, although Pam and Tim's were really yummy too! Next year we want to make them all together.


All in all it was just an amazing, incredible and lovely Christmas. The weather was lovely and company was even better. On Christmas morning Todd and I recorded all the fun gifts that our family opened instead of taking pictures. I want to try and put them together in one video because, I have to say, Santa was very, very, very good to me this year. Now I am relaxing a little before heading to my sisters' house to ring in the New Year. What a year 2010 was!

-Mrs.J

Last month was about...

My "digital life" went a little by the way side in the last week or so of November. Not like that is always a terrible thing; sometimes it is a little nice to not feel so attached to your computer. Anyways, I had tried to keep a status update on Facebook of one thing I was thankful for up until Thanksgiving. I started out doing really well, then I got busy preparing for the holiday and things kind of fell apart. I do have so much to be thankful for though.

I am thankful for a loving husband who supports me and helps me continually grow as a person.

I am thankful for my siblings. My sisters are just incredible and I love how our relationships have standed the test of time and are now more adult. It is a lot of work, but to have them as best friends, it is completely worth it.

My brother-in-law, I never had a brother before and I am so thankful that Brian is my brother now! He is hilarious and really caring at the same time.

I am so thankful for my parents. They worked so hard on raising their three girls and they did a pretty dang good job if you ask me! Because of all the hard work they put in when I was young, we are now able to have a certain kind of friendship you can't find anywhere else. I love them so much!

Todd's family, which is now my family. They are all such wonderful people. From the very first time I met them, they were nothing but loving and accepting. When Todd and I dated long distance for 3 years, I always felt so welcome in their home. Debbie is such an incredible Mother-In-Law. She loves my sisters just as much as she loves me and that means the world to me. I am so thankful our families are now just one big mish-mash.

I am thankful for my home and everything it contains.Every day I have shelter over my head and food in my fridge; I have much more than many people just with that. I am thankful for it every day.

Incredible friends who always make great company. I also get to call two of them my neighbors, which I am double thankful for!

My little kitties. I know this may be a silly thing to be thankful for, but I really am. I am thankful for the unconditional love that these two furballs give me. Even if I have had the worst day, without a doubt Nunu and Scioscia can cheer me up. What a feeling to have someone happy to see you every morning, every evening, even when you just walk back into a room. Both Nunu and Scioscia are rescue kitties and I thankful I get to take care of them and repay them for the amazingness that is their kitty companionship.





So much to be thankful for, it is nice to sometimes sit back and reflect on all of the blessings you have in your life. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Let the holidays begin,

Mrs.J

I spent today being a

I turned this:

Into this

I have been meaning to make one of these for a while now. I had been keeping my eyes open for a frame and then last night I remembered that I had an old frame sitting in a closet! I just needed to update it.

This project was super simple all I needed was a little paint and scrap book paper, both of which I had sitting in my craft dresser. Really, this project didn't cost me anything to do!

First I painted the frame with some white acrylic paint.

While I was waiting for that to dry, I started to work with my scrap book paper. This part was tough because I didn't have enough of one paper design to do the whole thing in that color. It actually worked out better though because I was able to do a boarder and incorporate a bunch of colors that we decorated the house with. I also cut out about 35 squares in a fun pattern paper that are the days on the calender.

I used some stickers I had to put the days of the week on the top of each row. I know the squares are not perfect, but I think it gives some character.

All you have to then is put the frame back together and fill out your calendar according to what month it is.

I love the way this turned out. I am just so excited about it! I know exactly where I want to hang this on the way when the hubs gets home tonight.

Being a crafty girl is fun and even better when you can craft with stuff you have laying around the house.

-Mrs.J

October is over???

Wow! This month really zoomed right on by. I can't believe that today is already three days into November! I know this post is a little belated, but please come on in and check out how House of Jaramillo spent Halloween...

I just adore Halloween. I think it is such a fun and silly Holiday. I also love everything spooky and ghost related so Halloween for me is really a win-win situation.

I pulled out all of my Halloween decorations on October 1st exactly. This was the first year I was decorating a house however I wanted to. It also was the first year I didn't have any of my sister's decorations to work with and realized I need to keep expanding my Halloween decoration collection. I actually found some of the best Halloween decoration at the Dollar Tree. They seriously had the cutest stuff and for only a dollar you can't go wrong. Just buy it when you see it because they sell out of stuff fast.I found this little witch restaurant menu there. I hung it right on my banister.

 

It looked really cute hanging across from our mirror in the entry way that I decorated like this.

Next year I want to get a little witches broom and make the whole entry way a little slice of witch heaven.

I also found these killer pumpkin paper lanterns at the Dollar Tree.

I hung them down the stair well with  invisible thread. These little lanterns had lights powered from AAA batteries. I didn't light them up though because it would have been a pain to go up and down, turning them off and on.

Another great area to check out for Halloween decorations is the Dollar Spot in Target. About two years ago I found some super cute glitter words around Christmas. Last year at Valentines day, I found glittery ones in pink, red and purple. This year I was so happy when I saw they had Halloween ones! I did want the orange "Boo" but couldn't find one in the best of shape. I am hoping they will have them next year and I can snatch them up.

I paired my glitter words with my cake stand/punch bowl and filled it with the most delicious seasonal treat ever:

That is right, filled with candy corn and candy pumpkins. There are some peanut M&M's thrown in for good measure. This made such a cute decoration. I have quite a bit leftover and will probably be munching on Candy Corn until summer.

I really had a ton of ideas for Halloween crafts, but only got around to making one. These are my Halloween vintage word blocks.

They are made out of wood blocks, scrapbook paper, stickers, Modge Podge and then a little ink on the sides to make them look old. I thought they turned out super cute and think it would be fun to use this same concept for another Holiday. You can find wood blocks at any craft store, I purchased mine at Hobby Lobby. I cut out little squares of scrap book paper, Modge Podged them on, stuck on a sticker and then roughed up the edges. It was a pretty easy craft that I finished over two days. I had to let the Modge Podge dry over night.

My sisters and I have started a few Halloween traditions that help us get into the fall mood. This always includes a ghost walk of some sort, a trip to Schnepf Farm, a visit to the pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving and then my sister Katie's annual Halloween party. We did the ghost walk and Schnepf Farm trip around the 22nd of October. I suck because I didn't take like any pictures. Let me just tell you, it was awesome. We did a ghost walk of Downtown Mesa, Arizona and will 100% for sure be doing it again next year. It was awesome.

This year we all met on Friday night at our favorite pumpkin patch, Mother Nature's Farm in Gilbert.

If you are looking for a fun little place to get a pumpkin next year, this is the place to go. They have a ton of pumpkins you can choose from, are super reasonable on prices and if you want they even have some fun children's activities in their actual farm. You do have to pay to walk around the farm but not just go to the pumpkin patch.

We each found our pumpkin and then everyone came out to our house to carve up their pumpkins.

Just so you know, carving a pumpkin with a butcher knife is no easy task. The tools in the carving kit are so much easier. I made a little kitty in a witches' boot. I cut the top of the ear off to make it in honor of Nunu.

For the last two years, Todd has chosen a California theme when carving his pumpkin. Last year was the LA Angel's "A" and this year he chose SC for USC Trojans. This man is a Southern California boy from head to toe.

Laura chose to do a free-hand bats and stars design. She is so crafty, she never chooses the pattern from the book.

Katie did two pumpkins this year. One was a ghost and the other was scared pumpkin face.

The kitties of course where there. Nunu was hoping that we were actually sharing our food with her when we let her sit on the chair and smell the pumpkins. I think she was disappointed that the one time we let smell whatever was on the table was the one time it was something she didn't want to eat.

Scioscia seems to really dig the smell of pumpkin, so she was a little more interested in actually getting up into the pumpkin. She probably would have crawled right in had we let her.

The pumpkins looked so cute out front all lit up, it was like having a little pumpkin patch in my front yard. I think I might get some Funkins next year to make a little pumpkin patch that can be reused each year.

Saturday night was Katie's Halloween party. Has anyone else noticed that our generation doesn't understand what it means to RSVP to party? Last year we had a bunch of people who said they were coming so we prepared for that with lots of food and drinks and then none of them came! It is was so frustrating! This year Katie didn't want to even deal with it so she decided to just throw a little dinner party with people we knew would actually show up. I think it was the best party yet. Seriously, this is such an amazing group of people. They are awesome friends.

Todd and I had to throw together our costumes last minute. I was going to be a ballerina and update a costume I had worn last year. It didn't start working on it until that day and then it just didn't turn out the way I had planned so I had to throw together a few things I had laying around the house to make something up. Todd does the same thing every year; he says all month long he doesn't want to dress up and then changes his mind the day of the party and we are left trying to scramble and put something together. He ended up wearing his suit and glasses and said he was Reservoir Dogs or Men in Black. I ended up looking like a mix between a girl from Rock of Love, Cher and the lead singer of Heart.

I really can't believe that we already into November. Christmas is going to be here before you know it. Todd and I are actually hosting Christmas at our house. Everyone is coming to celebrate our first Christmas as a married couple. I am so very excited, but we already have a ton of stuff to get done beforehand. I am going to try and do a lot more Christmas crafts so I am going start this month on some of them. When I was Target yesterday, Christmas music was playing from one of those CD displays, my heart started to flutter a little bit. Halloween really is like the kick off to the Holiday season and I rearing and ready to go!

Happy Start to the Holiday Season!

-Mrs. J

Can I have fall yet?

The weather around here is FINALLY starting to change to the cooler side. I have to say, October is one of my favorite times of the year and probably my least favorite time to live in Arizona. I actually said to Todd this month "I think we should move," yeah, I know. See, the thing that stinks is all of the images of fall that start floating around this time of year. Leaves start to change, nights start to cool down and you pull out your Halloween decorations. Not in Phoenix, you still have one month left of 90 degree weather. All I want is to pull out my riding boots and sweaters and everyone else is still getting their tan on.

You really have to learn how to put that extra effort into making it feel like fall in Arizona. As soon as October first rolled around I threw up all my Halloween decorations. (This also explains the lacking blog on the home re-model. I dont' want you think that floating pumpkins are part of the new decor. I do want to show off my Halloween decor before the season is up though.) I spent most of last weekend watching all of my favorite fall movies. This included; Hocus Pocus, Practical Magic,The Skeleton Key (not really fall, but scary) and a few random ones that for some reason always make think of fall; The Stepmom and When Harry Met Sally (really I don't know why I consider these seasonal movies.)

This week I was blessed with cooler weather-77 degrees and cloudy out? Yes Please!  The stormy weather wasn't supposed to hit us until today, but I was too anxious last night and had to prepare something that was super fall-ish to me, it helps me psychologically you see.

Hence, last night's dinner was.... 

HOLY COW, was it good. I have never roasted carrots on their own before, but I think I have a new favorite way to eat this veggie. Carrots are made to me roasted, their flavor just explodes! It was really easy too!


Thyme-Roasted Carrots (from A Sweet Pea Chef via Tastespotting)
10-12 whole unpeeled carrots, split lengthwise (I only used about 5 since I was cooking for two of us)2 tbsp. fresh whole thyme leaves (no stems)
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
optional: balsamic vinegar, honey, fresh rosemary sprigs (I just used thyme because it was what I had)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cover a sheet pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Drizzle olive oil over carrots on the sheet pan. Season with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Toss carrots until evenly coated with oil and seasonings. Arrange carrots on sheet pan. Toss fresh thyme leaves over carrots.
Roast in oven for 30-35 minutes, until golden and tender.

How easy is that? These were seriously incredible. Carrots are also super cheap this time of the year, I got my bag of them for 98 cents at Fresh and Easy.These would be a great way to impress some dinner guests.

Is your mouth watering yet?

But let's get to the real reason you are here today...Loaded Baked Potato Soup.

Confession: I never follow recipes, I usually look at them as suggestions really. I like to find a few versions of what I am cooking then  take the parts I like and mix them into one. For the most part it usually works out. When I was searching a recipe for the potato soup I found this recipe from Natalie's Killer Cuisine. I wanted to try our her family's secret ingredient of Chive and Onion cream cheese, but it also was a huge batch of soup, (10 potatoes!) so I was shallow and picked a recipe from what picture I liked the best.

Baked Potato Soup (For The Love of Cooking via Tastespotting)

• 4-5 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 6 cups of 2% reduced fat milk ( I actually used skim milk because I knew I was adding sour cream and cream cheese)
• 3/4 cup reduced fat extra sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 1 cup reduced fat sour cream (I used non fat)
• 1/2 cup green onions, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pierce the potatoes with a fork; bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash. Discard skins
Lightly spoon the flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add the milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, cheese, salt and pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Turn the heat to low. Stir in the sour cream and the green onions. Cook for 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated - DO NOT BOIL.
Toppings:

• 6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• Green onions, chopped
• Cheddar cheese, shredded
• Sour cream with chives

Hello gorgeous, you smelled lovely last night. Also, I would like to take this moment to introduce you to my cast iron dutch oven. It rocks my world. If you don't have one, get one...like yesterday. I would have to say it is one of the best kitchen investments ever.

This recipe is really easy. You can even bake your potatoes ahead of time. I put mine in for an hour while I emptied the dishwasher and picked up the house. Then it was ready to eat when Todd got home from work. It was the perfect dinner to put me the fall mood. If I am lucky, it can be a celebration dinner for the end of triple-digit weather for this year.

Hope you are enjoying your fall weather, wherever you are.

-Mrs. J

Today, the Jaramillos and the McLartys became...

That is right. On November 1, 2010 (weather permitting) the McLarty family and the Jaramillo family will be taking off on flight with NASA on one of their last few space missions...well ok, maybe we are not physically going. Our photos are going though!

Last week I was bumming around online, shocker I know, and stumbled upon NASA's Your Face in Space program. All you have to do is go to NASA's Web site, upload your photo and then you are cleared for take off! NASA will be taking all of the photos up into outer space with them on their last two space missions. When the shuttles land you can go back online and print out your certificate of participation. How cool, right?

I tried to do photo of Todd's and my family together, but not all of us would fit so I broke us down into two. This is the photo of my family that is going:

and this is the photo of Todd's family:

I don't know if you would consider formal wear appropriate for space travel, but I just thought we should all be dressed to the nines for this once in a lifetime experience. If you can't tell, Todd's family was able to keep their composure preparing for the big space event, my family not so much.

There are only 2 flights left if you want to participate. STS-133 is the launch we are going on and is taking off November 1st. STS-134 is taking off in February. The best part, it is totally free to hitch a ride! I hope that the weather participates and we can have a safe flight.

Happy flights astronauts!

-Mrs.J

oh and PS, the girls are going to be coming too, I just need to find a good photo of both of them.

Everyday

I don't know if there words enough to explain the many ways Todd blesses my life every day. I am so thankful for everything about him, so thankful to have met him and so thankful to have married him.

This man worked hard teaching and coaching and lived at home for two years after college to put a down payment on a house for us to live in.

This man moved from California, where he grew up and loved, to be with me in Arizona.

This man sold his Volkswagen Bus, that he worked at Ihop in high school to buy, because he wanted to give me a gorgeous engagement ring.

This man drives to work an hour each way to provide for our family.

This man worked hard to understand my sensitive spirit and tries not to hurt my feelings.

This man learned to deal with the way three sisters can fight and nag at each other sometimes.

This man loves my family for everything we are, even when we are weird.

This man makes the best enchiladas I have ever had.

This man never stops thinking on how he can make our family set in the future.

This man taught me there can be pleasure in saving money.

This man enrolled in graduate school on top of working 40 hours a week.

This man will take me to baseball games and enjoy explaining the game to me.

This man waters our grass and trims our trees with such precision and care.

This man loves everything about me, even when I drive him crazy and feels like nothing he says is right.

This man will be my future children's father.

This man makes me laugh like no person I have ever met.

This man promised my father to take care of me the way a father would want a daughter taken care of.

This man is my husband and thank God every day that he brought Todd into my life.

-Mrs.J

You need to know about...

If you haven't figured it out yet, I am little obsessed with my cats. I can't help it really, ever since I was a child I have just loved cats. Nothing turns me into this little girl again:

 like seeing a little kitty running around. I seriously can't help it.

I know I talk about our little kitty Scioscia a bunch and I really think you need to know the story of Nunu because if you ever meet her, you will instantly fall in love. Even my sister Laura who has been a dog person from day one has a sweet spot for Nunu. She has the best kitty spirit I think I have ever known. I will always maintain  Nunu and I were destined to be together. I think we are kindred spirits and needed to spend some time on is earth together.

 Before I married Todd, I lived my sisters. One day the absolute worst neighbors moved into our cul-de-sac. It was a blended family of a boyfriend/girlfriend and their children from previous relationships. The kids ran around crazy and unsupervised; many a day I ran outside, broke up their fight and sent them home, I have to say it was good practice for my future mom-voice. The dad spent a lot of his time drinking beer and blaring country music in the front yard. Probably the breaking point with this new neighbor was when a man living with them came outside drunk and yelled some really racist things at our next door neighbor who we all loved. Needless to say, this family was a little bit of a rough crowd and this was the first family that Nunu ever knew. She was a gift from the biological mother of one of the children that lived in the house. They named her Angel. At first Nunu was allowed to be inside, then the dad's friend who was living with the family (Mr. Racist Pants) decided he didn't like the cat, I am guessing Nunu probably decided she didn't like him either, and she was soon kicked out of the house. They even stopped giving her food and water. I really don't know how they thought she would survive.

I remember the exact day I first met Nunu. I was walking out to get the mail when I spotted this adorable grey little fluffy things walking across the cul-de-sac. Remember that little girl you saw in the top photo? Yeah, I revert to that girl so often. I of course had to call this little kitty over, I used my loving cat calls I would use to call my sister's cat Coco, "Here kitty kitty, my little nunie-nunie head." If you have pets you understand that. Nunu looked at me and without any hesitation came trotting over. She started purring when I pet her, I was immediately smitten. Our relationship continued this way for a couple weeks. She would come over to me anytime I was outside in the front yard. Once when I was outside and she was sitting with me, the little girl from across the street came over. "Do you know whose kitty this is?" I asked her. "Oh yeah, that is our cat Angel. She can't come inside anymore because my dad's friend doesn't like her." Then without any concern for what should be her cat, she ran off and started playing. My my heart broke for Nunu. I decided I would start putting out food and water for her, but she had to stay an outside cat. She had gotten use to my cat calls and would come whenever I would call out "Nunu," so the name kind of stuck. I hadn't been looking to adopt a cat and still being on the parental unit's dime, I couldn't really just decide to take on the responsibility. After my mom came for a visit and met Nunu, we found a place in Phoenix that would spay and neuter feral cats. If you notice Nunu has the top of her right ear cut off, this what the clinic did to identify her as fixed. This way if she were to be picked up by Animal Control they would release her back into the neighborhood since she was really not a problem if she wouldn't be having any kittens. It seemed that we had a good thing going, Nunu was my happy outside kitty. Then winter came.

I could tell that Nunu was getting really lonely. She made friends with another little kitty that I was feeding and had gotten fixed, I called her Tiggs. Tiggs was very shy and never let me touch her, she would just follow Nunu around and sit near me when I was outside but was never brave enough to let me touch her. One day Tiggs disappeared. I am not sure what happened to her, she just stopped coming around. This really made Nunu sad. She started spending all of her time outside our house. I would spend as much time as I could with her. When it got cold, Todd and I bought her a kitty bed and rug that she could sleep in outside. Every night I came home she would be curled up in her bed. Then came the tipping point. One day I was home alone and felt very sorry for little Nunu. I could see her sitting outside the house looking lonely. I decided to just let her come spend a little time with me inside while I was watching TV...the next day I started to let her spend a little more time...then a few days later I brought her bed inside to sleep in during cold night. Since she had spent the start of her life as an inside kitty, it was easy for her to go back to using a litter box. Then Nunu watched our dog Emma use the doggy door, all bets were off and Nunu moved herslef in the next day. For a long time Nunu was very desperate for attention. Anytime you were sitting down she would run over and curl up in your lap, purring her heart out. Even when she was sleeping next to you she liked to put one paw on you, just to make sure you weren't leaving her. It was as if she worried you would abandon her any minute and she would be out on the street again.

That of course never happened. Nunu was such a good kitty who followed all the rules so easily that my sister never really objected to Nunu moving in. My mom was so smitten by her loving personality that we knew we just couldn't throw her back in the street. This cat really went from homeless to the lap of luxury.

I had always been a person who would adopt a rescue before anything else, but I never really felt like an advocate for it until I met Nunu. Here was this kitty who wanted nothing more than to be unconditionally loved by a family. Her little kitty spirit really inspired to me want to help out other pets. I even chose my senior PR internship with a rescue group because of Nunu. I am just so glad serendipity meant that Nunu and I would meet. She really deserves all of the love that she gets because she gives so much in return. Since Nunu didn't get the prettiest name I decided to giver her the middle name Bella because it means beautiful.

-Mrs.J