Wedding Pictures Finally!

ever too late...right?! Tyler and I finally found time in both of our schedules to sit down and pic out wedding pictures to order.  While we're still waiting to get them in the mail, we thought we would share our favorites with you!  Enjoy!

Just About as Good as Cinnabon!!!

n Thursday, I took it upon myself to attempt a homeade cinnamon roll recipe, and boy did it pay off!  I always get nervous when I'm trying out a new recipe and I know that I'm going to serve it before really knowing if it worked or not.  This was no flop!  The recipe was a Food Network copycat of Cinnabon's cinnamon rolls, and I'm bold enough to say that they were better!  This will definitely be a recipe to repeat often...

"Just Like Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls"

For the Dough:
1 cup whole milk
1 1/4-ounce packet active dry yeast
1/4 cup plus 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the bowl
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 

For the Filling:
All-purpose flour, for dusting
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon 

For the Glaze:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
 

Instructions:
Make the dough: Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over low heat until it reaches about 100. Remove from the heat and sprinkle in the yeast and 1/4 teaspoon sugar (don't stir). Set aside until foamy, 5 minutes. Whisk in the melted butter, egg yolk and vanilla. 

Whisk the flour, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the salt and nutmeg in the bowl of a stand mixer. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture. Mix on low speed with the dough hook until thick and slightly sticky. Knead on medium speed until the dough gathers around the hook, 6 minutes. (Add up to 2 more tablespoons flour if necessary.)

Remove the dough and shape into a ball. Butter the mixer bowl and return the dough to the bowl, turning to coat with butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 1 hour 15 minutes. 

Roll out the dough, fill and cut into buns (see instructions below). Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan; place the buns cut-side down in the pan, leaving space between each. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325.
Bake the buns until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool in the pan 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the glaze: Sift the confectioners' sugar into a bowl, then whisk in the cream and melted butter. Transfer the buns to a rack and spoon the glaze on top while still warm.

How to Form Cinnamon Buns
1. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12-by-14-inch rectangle with the longer side facing you.
2. Spread with the softened butter, leaving a 1/2-inch border on the far long edge. Mix the sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the butter.
3. Brush the unbuttered far edge with water. Roll the dough away from you into a tight cylinder and press on the long edge to seal.
4. Cut the cylinder with a sharp knife to make 6 equal-size buns (I cut 12 equal buns...I didn't want mine as big as cinnabon...I had to feed a big group)!
 

Back in the Swing of Things

reaks are great, and this one has been one of the best, but it is nice to get back into a routine.  We had such a wonderful Christmas break!  This was our first Christmas together as a married couple and even though I expected it to be so much different, it really wasn't much different at all.  Tyler and I stayed with my parents for the two...yes two...weeks we had off.   Once the of best parts of our break was the snow!  It snowed twice over the break, once on Christmas Eve and another a few days later.  One of the most wonderful parts about the Christmas Eve snow was that it hadn't melted by morning.  So technically, we had a white Christmas! 

Here's the gang on Christmas Eve...minus Megan and Jordan of course.  Little Jackie is hiding in the snow...can you find him?

 

Tyler and I were able to cross off a lot of different things on our to-do list for the break.  We made cut-out cookies with the family, collaborated to build a gingerbread house, made a trip to the Crate and Barrel, celebrated our 6 month anniversary of being married, went shopping, played lots of different games, and ATE!!!  One of the restaurants we wanted to make sure we hit up while we were in Dallas was Taverna.  Taverna is a small restaurant located near Knox street and it is delicious. 

As silly as it seems, Tyler and I went all out in celebrating our 6 months of marriage.  For starters, we stayed at The Stoneleigh, the same hotel we stayed at after our wedding.  We absolutely loved it when we stayed there on our wedding night, and I don't think this is the last we'll see of The Stoneleigh!  After checking in, we headed out for dinner (Taverna) and had the roasted lamb and saffron risotto!  Dinner was fabulous, and after dinner, we headed back to the hotel to watch the Cowboys game!  It was such a wonderful way to celebrate.

One of my favorite parts of this Christmas was having everyone over for Christmas Eve dinner!  Every year, my family invites the Selfs over, and it has become somewhat of a tradition.  This year, the Ellis family joined us, and it was nice to have both of our families there to spend the evening with.  Of course, the evening couldn't be complete without family photos...so, here's the new Ellis family!

Followed by, the new Carpenter family (sorry it's a little blurry)!

And of course...the sisters!

New pajamas for Christmas!!!

Here is the gingerbread house!  Kayla, Tyler, my Dad, and I each decorated a differnet wall.  Can you guess who decorated which?

Answers:  Kayla, back wall with climbing ivy.  Tyler, side wall with bushes and lattice.  Dad, other side wall with flowers and shutters.  Me, front wall with windows and wreath. 

Tyler and I were so excited to get to spend our New Years with our good friends Kolby and Emily!  We also spent the evening with my good friend Kassidy and her fiance Derek!  We spent the night out at the Lost Creek Ranch.  Emily's parents built the house for family/friend get togethers, and we're glad they did.  It was so much fun eating pizza, playing games, stargazing, riding the 4 wheeler, and just hanging out and catching up.  Here is a picture of us on the ranch.  Thanks Kolby and Emily for the invite!

Another crazy thing that happened over the break was my best friends Lynley and Shawn got engaged!!!  I can't tell you how happy I am for them!  The story was incredible, and I can't wait to follow all the plans with them!  We love you two so much, and can't wait to celebrate with you!

Well, our break had to come to an end, and so it did.  We got back to Arkadelphia on January 2nd, just in time for a wedding!  Our friends Ian and Cara Deetz got married, and the wedding was beautiful!  Cara's dress was gorgeous, and we're so happy for them!

And that was it!  It's back to work and back to school for us both, but we're loving every minute of it!  Here's to a new year!