Hey Everybody, It's Christmas!! (CHRISTMAS!!!!!) (Ka-Blogger DPL!) For Christmas it's a (new) Pappas Family "Tradition" to make bagels (Because Jewish food for Christmas breakfast, of course.  Jesus was a Jew). So i started them last night, and then fell asleep on the couch, but Nanc made like an elf in the night and finished them. So i woke up this morning to find them ready to go. How lovely.

That one bagel totally looks like a butt squashed up against the plastic wrap like that, but a lovely one.

So of course Phil came into the kitchen and was like, "Why are we making bagels?" (This is after mom made a big deal of Lauren almost killing the yeast last night by keeping the dough next to the fire place all day, and then spending all night trying to figure out how to make these bagels, so I'm not sure why he was surprised at all) and i was like, "We make them every year since i got my bread making book." and Danielle was like, "So two years?" Whatever. Then Scotty was like, "I just woke up."

"Czech out at my awesome hair." (He said all of this with his eyes, also he looks like he just hopped out of an anime to save us from killer demons that want to feast on our bagels)

And Harvey and i were all, "Yay, it's Christmas!!"

You grinning fool!
So anyone who's anyone know that to make bagels chewy you need to boil them first. (Well, everyone except Scotty apparently)

This photo looks like you threw dough in the laundry.
Then top and toast. 

Meanwhile fill the entire kitchen with smoke because there's a chunk of stuff burning in the bottom of the oven.  Then open all the windows and let the heat out even though you have barely enough oil in the furnace to keep the house warm until Monday when the tank gets filled.
 
Then dad was like, "Don't make them too hard like you did last year." and i was like, "You told me they were perfect last year, and i thought you didn't remember making bagels." and he was like, "Like i said, i must have been thinking of something else."  It was the first time she'd made them, give the kid a break.

Meanwhile, presents! 

  This rainbow paper was the only thing left in the house.  Scotty almost had a seizure while he watched me go blind in the reflected glory of this gift.

That giant light thing in the upper right hand corner is actually a magnifying glass Phil uses (unsuccessfully) to read.  (He reads?)

Nail file!

 

 Who's up for some Japanese Hot Pot?  We're gonna Shabu the shit outta this thing!
Surgical scissors!

You gotta do what you gotta do.  
Fushigi!

What the crap is fushigi?
Scotty wants to be like David Bowie in Labyrinth. 

Puss and Boots!

You have no idea how proud Lauren is of herself for thinking that one up.
Fedora!

"How you doin'?"

Strife!

 By the way, did you know Lauren carries a box cutter around with her at all times?  She whipped this baby out of nowhere for Scotty.  Be careful what you say to her and pose for all her stupid pictures even if you don't want to.
 Reward!

 Kegging time... Oh Yeah!

Scotty later asked my dad, "So when can we fill these with beer?"
Then Danielle was like "Hey look at this totally awesome cocktail book the best sister in the world gave me." 

And Harvey was like, "Yeah look at that totally awesome book."

You can tell because they have the same expression.   
I'm not ungrateful!  I actually do like the book, I was asking her about a particular ingredient when she took that picture.  Her colloquialisms and cutesy inability to spell are masking her filthy lies.  Also, don't my nails look nice?  Mom and daughter mani-pedi yesterday that Lauren thanked me for getting out of. Your nails do look nice.

 And Nanc was like, 'How long do i have to pose for these stupid pictures, i just want to read.'

Then scotty was all, "Eat this Bowie."

What is with the glowing?  Is the power of fushigi to turn him into David Bowie?  Because the hair's already halfway there.  I could do without the man-bulge enhancing tights though. Spandex!

And then... Bagel time! How elegantly plated.

And i was like, "How are the bagels?" and everyone was like, "They're really good!" and i was like, "Like really good, or like you tell me a year from now they were too hard." and Danielle was like, "Well they definitely weren't too hard." and Dad was like, "Put it this way: if you were on Top Chef one of the judges would be like, 'these are a little under done.' but the other two would be like, 'these are perfect.'" Thanks for putting it to me gently Phil.  That is exactly what he was trying to do.  Do me a favor, and next time just shove them in the toaster. Anyway...

 I enjoyed them. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas one and all!

Village!

Hey Guys,

 I don't really have much to say, but i wanted to show you the Christmas Village me and Nanc made (but really mostly Nanc). Dad tried to help and put up two mountains, then was like, "I stopped because i didn't know what I was doing." And I was like, "That's probably for the best." And mom was all, "You made the right decision." Ha! Me and my mom are jerks, but with proper reason. Anyway...

Tada!! How sick is that? I'll walk you through it, but let me just start off by saying that i had to take most of these pictures without the flash, which your hand needs to be really steady for. I would have been a terrible gunslinger.

 That one's with the flash. Pretty cool, eh? This is how it looked before:

 And after:
 

The ice skaters:

Skiers:

 

I realize those were almost the same picture, but they both came out pretty cool. 
The ice cutters:

log cabin:

and the fishermen:

Now we get into the main part of the village:

 
My friend Robin was getting rid of her village, and she gave us some really cool new pieces like these three shops that fit together:

 And the Heritage Museum (our village is primarily the Heritage Collection, for those in the know).

But i have to get lights for them, so you can't really see them yet. 

New York Central!

In front of Victoria Station. 

I never did get around to fixing that rope light. Shucks.

Anyway, that's it. It took, like, an hour to upload these pictures so i hope you enjoyed them. Happy Christmas Eve Eve!

Bahama Mama

So the other day some guy called me a Bahama Mama, which: normally i'm not a fan of the drive by cat call, but i did laugh at because, ridiculous. Anyway i told my bro Augi, and he was like, that's a pretty good drink. And i have to admit i've never had one before so... 

But first everyone should read this book:

Because it is both awesome and informative. I haven't gotten through the whole thing yet because Phil keeps stealing it from me, but one of the things it starts off by telling you is that every alcohol is originally vodka, the only difference between Vodka and moonshine is the title. 

 

"There is little difference between most distilled alcohols, distillate is basically ethanol, water and some trace elements regardless of whether it comes from wine, beer, corn mash or otherwise. A lot of myth and legend surrounds these, but the difference between vodka and moonshine is the name."

 

So if you think about it, infused vodka's are really just an un-named different type of alcohol. Like Bourbon is Whiskey from Tennesee, and whiskey was originally vodka, and you can buy certain kits to make your own whiskey, but that's what they are.

 

 I mean sure there are different types of vodka made from different materials (potato, corn, even old beer) and there are different levels and ways to filter them, but that's what they are. He then encourages you to move away and really taste the flavor change in the different cordials and alcohols because if you do that for food, if your a kid and you love cheeseburgers then develop a taste for filet minion, you don't have to give up on the cheeseburger, but you have a whole new world of menu's open to you. Why can't that be the same for liquor? Why stick with Vodka when the world of flavors awaits? I say all this, and then i make the Bahama Mama, which is just sugar and rum (aka more sugar). 

Anyway, start with a 1/4oz coffee liquor (which is optional, and quite frankly unnecessary). Then 1/2 oz of dark rum, 1/2oz lemon juice, a splash of grenadine:

Then it's supposed to be 1/4oz 151 and  1/2 oz coconut liquor, but it's a school night, and also shopright liquors doesn't sell coconut liquor. So, after that whole inspirational speech i just gave you i'm ashamed to admit i used a shot of Malibu:

and a shot of Bacardi. I hope you're judging me, hard. Anyway top off with 2oz pineapple juice. Tada:

 

The weather outside may be frightful, but this Bahama Mama is delightful.

 

Trains!

Well, it's that time again. Time for tree trimming, holiday baking, and searching endlessly for the perfect gift only to find it right after you've just purchased something else. Story of my life. Today Phil and i got the tree together so mom and i could start setting up the epic village we have:

Nanc set up the base last night, and obviously has no idea how to use rope light. Anyway i was supposed to set up the train today (and fix that hideous rope light which i cannot get over), but there's too many questions. What fabric underneath? Should we put up the village first? And there's just no point because if i do it wrong Nanc'll just make me do the whole thing again, which no one wants. One time she had my cousin fold laundry all day, and she didn't fold the towels right, so Nanc made her re-do them all with the triple fold method. True story (and good for parties).

Czech out this totally cool train Tracy Willow made:

Sick. Our train is pretty cool. It's a Lionel, and we've been collecting over the years. 

We started with just a basic kit. One year we got my dad this awesome NY Central steam engine. Here's something you may not know: trains are fucking expensive. This little puppy was over $200.  So if you're asking for train stuff for xmas, that's all you're getting. Don't even ask about the transformer. I will admit, though, that this is one of the cooler presents we got him. This year i got him a fedora and a paint by numbers landscape, so he can be like Alfred Molina in both Chocolat and Frida.

At one point in my life i was moving alot, and thought it would be cool to not have any possessions, so my parents got me these Baltimore Ohio edition cars, they light up when they're on the track.

Sweet. And of course you need a boxcar.

We almost got a Yuengling car at the brewery, but it just wasn't in us. Anyway there's our non-setup train. We're setting up the village this week though, so stay tuned. This year it's going to come around the wall and into the foyer like this:

Except my dad doesn't listen and put those two trees there and a wreath. We like to do a lot of re-work at our house, if you hadn't guessed.