New Years Day

For New Years Eve I went out with my brother, sister-in-law, and her brother to a house party. It was a wonderful chance to get to meet new people and have a some what relaxed evening where I did not feel super pressured to do something crazy. I really enjoyed the night but as there are no great stories or any pictures I think I would rather share with you what I did on New Years Day...

Someone had a late night...

I got up early on New Years Day (NYD) because Lily was grumpy and terrified of my brothers house. I have got to admit that there are moments when I want to strangle her but all in all we mostly have a great time together. Once we got home I whipped up a little breakfast and some coffee. At this point I tried to figure out what we were going to do with ourselves on a whole day off without any obligation. It was rainy and gross out so I knew that we would be staying in. I realized that it would be relaxing to me to read for a while and spend some time baking. 

Lily and I spend the majority of the day like this just enjoying each others company.

Laying with me on the couch just being loved

I tried a new cookie recipe that I was pretty excited to share with you until I baked the cookies. I thought that will all of the work that went into rolling these cookies I would get something more like a cookie and less like a chocolate wafer. I will admit that I have eaten many of these and I did finally make the rest of the batch but it is still just a wafer... maybe my baking soda was bad?

Chocolate Wafer Cookies

For dinner I decided to make something in the Crock-pot: I made stewed andouille and chicken. This is essentially a gumbo but without a roux. I have been dying to make gumbo but I don't have the time or the amount of eaters needed to make that worth it. This recipe has a leftover recipe so I don't have to eat it for weeks on end. I love this so much, it is worth all of the work. Well there isn't much work but it is sooo good, I'll give you the recipe soon.

Chicken and sausage gumbo

I also made french bread from scratch. I am pretty impressed with this one I have to admit. It was a little hard and kinda dense but so yummy. I will be trying this again to see if I can make it just a little better and maybe smaller. Who knows it was very good and I enjoyed the baking. 

Homemade bread... I am such a homemaker

There wasn't too much going on but I did love every moment of being with the dog and enjoying all of our time together and the wonderful smells that wafted through the house were worth it. How did you spend the first day of the new year? Did you try to finish up last year or just take a few moments to enjoy the promise of a new year?