Magnificent Oats and Ornament Memories
Well, that weekend flew by! Jeez, Louise! That was the fastest weekend I’ve had in awhile! Time flies when you’re having fun! 
This morning’s oats were magnificent! (How’s that for an adjective?!) Seriously, they were much tastier than my usual morning bowl– and all I did was cube a thick slice of cranberry loaf and add it to my normal oats. The end result was very bread pudding-like. Some bites were soft and chewy, while others were a little more firm. I added vanilla hemp milk to the mix, and the cranberry loaf and oats sponged it right up! This bowl of oats = holy yum!!!
Measurements:
- 1/4 cup dry oats
- 1 thick slice of cranberry loaf
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup vanilla hemp milk
- 1/4 cup water
At the office, I made myself a mug of French Roast with soy milk and agave nectar. Back to the grind…
O’ Christmas Tree
Decorating our Christmas tree yesterday afternoon was so fun! I love the holidays! 
While we decorated, Mal and I listen to Christmas music, drank eggnog, and reminisced about past Christmases. I love how most of our Christmas tree ornaments have a memory attached to them. I pretty much had a story for each one I hung on the tree!
Some of my favorite ornament memories…
Our engagement in New York City, 2006
Returning to the Scene of the Crime, New York City, 2008
There’s a little joke behind the yellow taxi.
This is easily Mal’s favorite ornament, but one of mine too!
World Series Champions, Boston Red Sox, 2007
Our Christmas tree!
Here’s Mr. Mal taking a shot, um, I mean watering the tree with a turkey baster! 
Question of the Day
For those of you who celebrate Christmas, do you have a favorite Christmas tree ornament?
Posted by: Tina 36 comments
Posted in: Uncategorized
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 10:50 am
I love your morning posts! Your breakfasts always look so tasty! Tree looks fab! Love that red sox ornament! I have tons of favorites- all on my moms tree! They are usually random things like homemade ornaments that remind me of my childhood!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Love the Christmas decorating! I have good ornament memories as well. One of my aunts gave each of her nieces and nephews an ornament at Thanksgiving every year from our first Christmas to our senior year of high school. We all had different themes – snowmen, frogs, bells, etc. Mine was cats, so every year I’d get a new cat ornament. It was a lot of fun!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 11:00 am
I love your tree skirt, and tree! I posted my two faves the other day:
http://carolinebee.wordpress.com/2008/12/06/christmas-stylin/
well, one is just funny but the other is my fave
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Awww, your tree looks amazing. My favorite: my pickle! It’s a German tradition to hide the pickle on the tree and the person that finds it had good luck all year long!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 11:04 am
For awhile, my cousin gave me cat angels and I have always really liked them. You wouldn’t have thought there would be so many. Now I like the ones that have pictures of my kids…it is a little walk down memory lane.
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 11:08 am
My favorite ornament is the star that goes on top of the tree! I always have to fight my little brother for who gets to put it on (I usually win, haha). I really love the photos of your tree, and oh my, your the photo of your b-fast if very beautiful.
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 11:13 am
What a pretty tree! We have an angel that goes on the top that is really cute. She has crazy, shiny hair. Love it.
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Right now my favorite ornaments are the glass chocolate dipped strawberries from Sur La Table. They are beautiful and I just bought a few more this weekend.
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 11:20 am
holy yum your brekkie!!!
And I love your ornaments, they’re so cute!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Oh…it’s so hard to decide! When I was little, my favorite was a crystal ballerina. I do have an old white ball with little flowers on it that always makes me smile when I take it out because it was given to me by one of the old ladies in my church right off her tree when I went to visit her one Christmas. It will always be “Mrs. Flo’s ornament.” Really I like all of my ornaments…most of them are related to some kind of memory!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 11:28 am
That breakfast is a great way to break in the new week – it sounds DIVINE!
Cute tree too
I don’t have a favorite ornament because a lot of them have a special meaning behind them. Wow, that sounded cheesetastic but it’s true!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 11:43 am
First I have to say your oats from this morning looked freaking brilliant. I love pudding will have to try something like that.
Your Christmas tree looks so fun and festive. I have this one ornament made out of old soda cans. Sounds weird, but it’s really unique and guests always comment on it. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite because I love them all, but people always notice that one in particular.
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 11:58 am
I love Christmas ornaments! My favorites are the ones from my childhood, especially the Muppets ones from the early 80’s. Glad you had fun decorating the tree.
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Magnificent oats AND decorations!!
**Favorite ornament = the stained-glass star on top of the tree. It’s been in my family for 4 generations now.
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
In 2nd grade my Secret Santa gave me a crochet bell ornament. I cried as all of the other kids in the class played with their cool toys they received from the gift exchange. When I got home from school, I told my grandmother what had happened, and she felt bad and bought me a magic 8 ball.
23 years later, I still have the crochet bell ornament, and re-tell the story every Christmas. After that day in 2nd grade, somehow, my secret santa and I become friends and are still friends to this day-we were even college room mates. I tease her every year about the bell!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Beautiful tree and oats! Enjoy your Monday morning, Tina!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I love when oats are bread pudding like! Love the tree and ornament memories! I have so many favorite ornaments! I will be posting about some of them soon!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
I will take a look at my mom’s tree this year and let you know.
Bread pudding oatmeal – genius!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Growing up my mom always gave me a christmas ornament each year as one of my gifts. When I got married, she boxed up all of my ornaments and shipped them to me. I love them all, and I couldn’t choose just one!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
adding the bread the the oatmeal is such a great idea, especially since it tastes like bread pudding! I am going to have to try this soon.
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Interesting Idea with the bread/oatmeal! I can’t pick a favorite! But we go to NC every year for the Holidays. Christmas eve we go to the Country Club and they have a big fancy dinner and decor. For as long as I remember my Grandmother sneaks an ornament off their tree and sticks it in her purse!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Tina – what brand eggnog do you drink? I love eggnog. Just bought this CK Creamery, Fat Free eggnog (only 100 calories)but not sure if I like it. I’ve tried the Silk brand that you showed, and I think I like that better. I always try to find one that is lower in calories.
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Laurie,
I drink the Silk Soy Eggnog. It’s delicious!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Most of my favorite ornanments are ones I got on trips :I love the Hawaiian shirt Santa I got in Hawaii a couple of years ago and the Irish dancer from Ireland.
But one of my co-worker got me the best ornament a few years back – Rhett Butler carrying Scarlett O’Hara, it’s a scene from my fave movie: Gone with the Wind!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Oatmeal that tastes like bread pudding! I don’t see how that can be beat. I’m going to have to try something similar – thanks for the idea!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
your pictures are so adorable!!
I love the layout of your website and your avatars….sooo fresh and lovely! Did you create it yourself?
Fav ornament? hmmm not sure!!!
Angela
http://www.ohsheglows.com
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Angela,
My friend created it for me. His website is 13 infinite (link below). Let me know if you have any questions!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Your oatmeal looks amazing! Such a good idea to crumble a piece of the cranberry loaf in it, I will definitely try that out the next time I bake!
The tree is so precious – the perfect apartment size! I love ornaments that have stories behind them, it’s so much more personal and special!
My favorite ornament is probably my “baby” ornament – it’s a baby picture of me inside of an angel ornament. Pretty narcissistic now that I think about it, oh well, I was a cute baby!
Stay warm today, it’s wayyyy too cold!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
SO CUTE! Magnificent is such a great adjective!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Such a pretty tree! I don’t celebrate Christmas but I am planning on putting up some cute lights anyway to be festive!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I have a bunch of little birds that can “cling” to the branches and look like they’re perched there. So cute. Except my cats are obsessed with trying to pull them off!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Betsy,
My mom had a couple of those birds for her tree too! One year, our cat ripped the thing to shreds! We still have the bird and we still hang it on the tree! It cracks us up every year!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
I gotta say I tried pomegranate seeds yesterday after all this blog hype… and blah! I expected juicy little suckers full of flavor and uh, no. Next time I’ll save my cash and just occasionally treat myself to the juice.
So disappointing =(
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
I love your tree and ornaments! My favorite ornaments are the ones I made when I was in grade school. They’re hilarious! I’m so not crafty!
on Dec 8th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Pretty tree!
My favourite ornament on ours is the angel on the top. My mum made her before I was born and she’s starting to look more than a little worse for wear, but we won’t replace her unless she literally falls apart! It’s the same with my grandparents’ tree – their angel is the most special ornament. She’s over fifty years old and still going strong.
on Dec 9th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Jennifer,
Thanks for the insight. I’ll have to give the pomegranate seeds a try for myself. I haven’t had them since I was a kid, but I do love the juice!