I’m totally not in the holiday spirit this year.  I thought I was kind of blah about this last year, but after Sandy, it’s been kind of depressing and sad and a bit selfish to be spending all this dough (*kneeslap*) on presents when some people barely have basic food/water/shelter/clothing  =/  I’m so incredibly grateful that we were lucky, but ever since Halloween, I just haven’t been into it, and it’s tough b/c I LOVE the holidays.  I’m one of those weird people that gets her Christmas gift shopping done before November 1, and this year I’m just having a complete brain fart when it comes to anything holiday-related.  The only thing we’ve done is ordered Christmas postcards, and that was somewhat half assed because Vin designed them, they’re postcards, and I’m only sending them out to you if I already have your address on hand.  I don’t know what presents to get anyone and I don’t feel like decorating and I don’t feel enthusiastic about baking.  Thanksgiving is in T minus 3 days from the time I’m starting to write this post and I still have no clue what to make for the T house dinner and when I see my parents on Saturday.  I’m just… blah and frustrated.

A repeat of pumpkin cream cheese whoopie pies with caramel cream cheese and pecan filling

I spent the 2 days leading up to Party Time Wednesday (apparently Thanksgiving eve is one of the biggest nights out of the year and clubs and bars are ridiculously stuffed *ba DUM tsssss* with people gearing up for that mega dose of family time), flipping through food magazines and clicking on a bunch of sites to try to spark any ideas.  Bread?  Cakes?  Cupcakes?  Tarts?  Maple syrup?  Pear?  Cranberry?  Apple?  Bacon?  Pumpkin? Chocolate?  ALL OF THE ABOVE???  It just fizzled.  I didn’t want to make any pies because Vin’s other relatives always bring them, and his sister makes one of THE best cheesecakes, so I steered clear of those desserts.  I scribbled all my potential pastry prospects in my cake notebook and it looked like the musings of a madman, an Einstein that inhaled too much sugar, perhaps, but definitely not the plans of a sane, organized chef.  AND I still had to work on Wednesday, so I wouldn’t have time or energy to do anything elaborate, like a cake that looked like a turkey.  (Maybe next year, if I had a day off before Thanksgiving.)  My indecisiveness had bested me yet again! Read More