Happy New Year's Eve!

We visited NYC over break and SOMEBODY decided to tag along with us. Of course it's PomPom (no questions asked)!
We'll start with some photos of PomPom and his stuffed friends:

I got a baby Sven for Christmas and he's getting along quite well with Olaf.

Minnie and Marie are playing an intense game of Forbidden Island - another Christmas gift put quickly to use.

This is PomPom getting ready to go. Once again, he's in a Victoria's Secret tote bag.

 Poor PomPom had no other place to sit except for the floor.

PomPom reclining at the hotel as we checked in. I did see some funny glances our way...

 

And in our hotel room...

 

 

PomPom is all zipped up but reluctant to leave.

(There are more pics to come with PomPom in Times Square!)

 

Enough of PomPom. Here are some photos I took inside the city:

 

 
So cute. <3

I'm sure you can tell from this picture that this tree is huge. Gigantic. A monstrosity (sorry, getting a little dramatic)! But I'll repeat it one more time... this tree is HUGE.

 
Grand Central!

 
Times Square!

 

I'm proud of this picture. Why? It's so sharp and clear, and yet it was taken on a moving car!

 

 Recently, I'm been going into phases. One of these phases is my fashion phase. Inspired by a 13-year old prodigy, Isabella Rose Taylor (whose collection made it to fashion week in New York and is currently selling in stores such as Nordstrom), I decided to design my own clothes. I really don't know why the photos are sideways though. Hopefully you can still enjoy them. Tell me what you think!

 

Uh-oh, this one is upside down. *Sheepish grin*

 

Another one of those phases that I mentioned earlier was a Lord of the Rings phase. I had one 2 years ago when I was reading the trilogy (I read it through twice!), but after watching the most recent Hobbit film (The Battle of the Five Armies), I fear another one is coming.

So what do you get when you combine your favorite stuffed animal with a LOTR obsession?

MY PRECIOUSSSSSSS

 

 

He's a much cuter version of Sméagol (or Gollum if you will).

I do believe that was the longest post I've ever written!

Anyways, be sure to look out for some more photos of PomPom in Times Square, my oncoming fashion designs, and perhaps other LOTR-related humor.

 

Lanna :-)

Christmas Eve

Hello! Merry Christmas Eve to those who celebrate it, and happy holidays to those who don't! I have a TON of photos to share with you today, as well as my homemade hot chocolate recipe.

Well, a few days ago, I was wrapping several gifts for my teachers. Here are the before and after pics:

A jumbled up mess...

 Ta-da! Nine beautifully wrapped gifts!
And here's PomPom and I with twin Santa hats.

 
In this photo, PomPom is taking the spotlight.

 

PomPom is in time-out for stealing the hot chocolate. Think over what you have done PomPom. ;-)

 

 

I just couldn't believe how many presents we had this year! Don't get me wrong, I love presents, but it looks like there are twice as many presents as last year.

 

Isn't it such a gorgeous tree?

Now for my homemade hot chocolate recipe:
First, pour some milk into a mug. There really isn't a concrete measurement - pour how much you think you are going to be drinking afterwards.

Next, find your chocolate. These are 4 pieces of Hershey's milk chocolate from my left-over Halloween candy. Keep them in a separate bowl.

Using your hands (be sure to wash them beforehand) break the chocolate into small pieces. The smaller pieces will be easier to melt once we put them in the microwave.

 

Speaking of microwaves, the next step is to put the bowl of chocolate into the microwave. Warm it for about 1 minute. You may want to do three 20-second intervals to monitor its melting process.

Heat the mug of milk in the microwave for 1 minute as well. (I learned this the hard way - I put the chocolate in before heating the milk, and it actually cooled and hardened at the bottom!)

 

Spoon the melted chocolate into the mug of milk and stir. It looks strange at first, but keep stirring until the chocolate particles rise to the surface.

 

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Voila! Your finished hot chocolate. Delicious, rich, sweet, comforting, soothing, and decadent. I hope you liked this tutorial (it was my first).

Lanna

The Holiday Mood

AAH! I broke my promise again... But there should be more posts as the holidays arrive. PomPom is starting to get into that holiday mood already.

Somebody stole my pair of leather gloves. Don't you think he looks like a dog?

It's rather disgusting, but it appears that PomPom has stuffed an actual pompom in his nose. He thought it was funny: "It tickles, heehee!" (meanwhile, I'm shaking my head in exasperation ;) )

Ah ha! I was wondering why my gloves went missing - a second time. Peek-a-boo! I see you!

 "I can't see you, so you can't see me." Huh, that's funny. Then why do I see a chubby mass of orange and cream fur that looks suspiciously like a PomPom?

Here is a peaceful, artsy image of PomPom's behind as he waits on the staircase.
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 Originally, my parents had promised me that we would buy the Christmas tree on Sunday. But after I came home from an extracurricular class on Sunday, they had changed their minds. I was crestfallen! I had been looking forward to that in AGES, anticipating the moment when we would decorate the tree and bask in its beauty.
As soon as I came home though, I was so surprised and delighted to see this:

 The tree was already there, waiting for me! Furthermore, it was already lighted! I was jumping up and down and squealing with my excitement and happiness! I gathered up the ornaments, and soon the tree was adorned within a matter of minutes. I'm very proud.

As you can see, PomPom is admiring it too

Lanna (I promise that more photos of PomPom will be coming!)