Planning A Last Minute Chanukah Party

Happy (almost) Chanukah! This year I've committed myself to lighting the candles every single night - something I haven't done in years. Even though lighting the candles only takes a few moments, the hustle and bustle of day to day life make it easy to skip a night here and there. So this year I've been proactive -- I've rescheduled meetings, informed my professors that I won't be able to make my evening classes, and asked Neill to shift around his schedule as well. It feels good to make time for celebrating the holiday together. 

Unfortunately, with Chanukah coming so close to Thanksgiving this year I've barely had any time to prepare! But, I'm determined to have my parents over one night so we can all celebrate together. Thankfully, we already have a menorah and candles so the only thing I need to take care of is the menu.

My aunt and me frying latkes together

 I've decided to make two kinds of latkes - potato and zucchini (my personal favorite). To make the latkes feel extra special (and taste extra delicious!) we'll have a "toppings bar" of sour cream, applesauce, cavier, and creme fraiche. I'd also like to make noodle kugle and a simple roasted veggie. And now here is where things get sinfully easy, we'll be taking some help from the grocery store and serving a gussied up pre-made rotisserie chicken.  Since latkes, the real star of the show, require a fair amount of "hands on" time I figured I'd give myself a break with the chicken. Fortunately, the traditional Chanukah dessert is also easy - jelly donuts! 

Neill forming the latke

latkes frying up

In case there are any other MOT (members of the tribe) out there who are planning a last-minute Chanukah meal, here is a comprehensive shopping guide for the menu above. The ingredients are based off of recipes you can find here, but there are a ton of recipes online and they all call for basically the same things.  Also, if you are missing the basics you'll need to pick up a menorah, candles, and a dreidel.

Happy Chanukah!


You need . . . .

Vegetable Oil

Salt and Pepper

1 lemon

10 large eggs

3 small onions

3 large baking potatoes (each should be about 1 pound)

1 pound of zucchini

1/2 cup matzo meal

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 pound wide egg noodles

2 cups sugar

2 pounds full-fat cottage cheese (large curd)

2 sticks of butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

Salt to taste

Sour cream

Applesauce

1/2 pint of creme friache

Cavier (whatever is in your budget - I'll probably go with salmon roe)

2 rotisserie chickens

A few sprigs of fresh herbs for garnish

6 jelly donuts

Fresh vegetables 

Chanukah gelt (chocolate coins)

Bedroom Design Inspiration

Now that I've purchased our new nightstand and I've basically decided on what lamp to go with, I was able to crate a final inspiration montage. Even though we live in the heart of the city, I'd like our bedroom to feel more relaxed coastal than urban.  We'll be purchasing the furniture as our holiday gift to one another, but attempting to DIY the art.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8

We've given ourselves about a 450 dollar budget - 225 from each of us. Thankfully, the nightstand and lamps  are covered by gift certificates we received as wedding gifts. These items alone would have eaten up our budget!

I'm pretty set on purchasing this chair and I'm thinking about rounding out our reading nook with this 4' X 6' indoor/outdoor rug from Dash and Albert and a floor lamp. I'd love to find a reasonably priced lamp that resembles this one from Crate and Barrel. I've also added a fun knitted poof to the picture! But for 80 dollars, my dreams of poofs may have to wait a while. Poof or no poof, it will be so nice to have a comfy spot to get my hours of school related reading done!

This little light of mine (In search of a table lamp)

A few days ago I ordered a new nightstand using gift certificates Neill and I received as wedding presents. And thanks to my husband, the beauty is already assembled and set up next to our bed. Yay! 

Now, it is time to find us a pair of lamps. Currently we have two plastic floor lamps that I've never been a fan of. They look something like this:

We've had them for about five years. We bought them for the first apartment we ever had together when we were buying the cheepest version of everything we needed. The lesson I'm learning is that just because something is cheap, it doesn't necessarily mean it is a good deal! It is worth spending a little bit more money if it means getting something you'll want to keep forever. [Of course, it would be even better if you could find something you love without spending the extra cash.]

I'm hoping we can sell the lamps on craigslist (or give them away on the free section) to make room for two new lovelies.
 
Here are the lamps I've been digging.

Chelsea Bedside Lamp

I'd get this lamp in the antique bronze finish. On the plus side, Pottery Barn is having a sale right now and I could purchase two of these lamps for 148 dollars. Plus, Pottery Barn takes William Sonoma gift cards, so we could probably buy these lamps without actually spending any cash. Also, this lamp is adjustable (22.5- 27.5 inches). Downside? We have to buy the shades separately, which could be an extra 60 dollars.

Hoopla Teal Table Lamp - $49.95

This little cutie is nice and cheap and I like the blue. But, I'm not sure if the color is too jewel-toned for our room. Plus, it might be a bit too modern. 

Kathryn Table Lamp - 179.00 

This is way our of budget, but oh gee I just love love love this lamp. One day.

Alexis Ceramic Table Lamp - $99.00

I'm in like with the blue lamp on the left. But is it too pastel? This one is from pottery barn, so again we could use gift cards for it. But, buying the shades would be mo money. 

Eva Colored Glass Table Lamp - $99.00

Oh gee here is another one I'm just in love love love with from pottery barn. I'd go with either the sea glass color or the clear. The reviews say the sea glass color is actually very green and I was hoping for something more blue, but damn I just love these. 

Blue and Chrome Table Lamp - $149.99

Lovely lamp in what appears to be the perfect shade of blue! I've really liked this one for a long time too. Target has some really cute lamps!

Genie Vase Lamp - $229.99

Now I'm just getting distracted with all the beautiful lamps from Target. This one is probably much to large for our nightstands. But now I'm thinking about how lovely this lamp would look on our console table in the entry way.

Ceramic Table Lamp - $129.99

Something about this lamp reminds me of a grandma. I'm not quite sure. I like the color though and it could be great in person. Maybe I like it because it reminds me of one of the lamps I registered for that has since been discontinued.

Stephen's Table Lamp - $229.00

Again, I'm getting distracted. But I love this lamp too! Why is it so expensive??? 

Whew. That was a lot of lamps. I think I'm largely stuck between the Eva Colored Glass Table Lamp, the Blue and Chrome Table Lamp, the Chelsea Table Lamp, or the Alexis Ceramic Table Lamp. What is a girl to do?

Night Stand - Purchased!

After examining all of our options, we decided to go ahead and purchase the Brighton Night Stand from Crate and Barrel.

Not only do we like the way it looked, but we were able to purchase it with  gift cards we recieved at our wedding. So, that's basically like FREE! Getting married is truly the gift that keeps on giving (haha).

Since I was buying something anyways, I snuck in another purchase. The Sedona Hamper. Check out this beauty.

Ooo baby.  I've wanted this hamper for YEARS. What can I say? Some girls want shoes. I want a laundry basket. I'm super excited to upgrade from my blue plastic hamper I've had since grade school  to this classy lady. (Yes! Neill and I are currently using a hamper I've had throughout high school and college! Is this tmi? I hope not)

After our 10% off for "registry completion" and using our gift-cards ($300), I only ended up spending 17 dollars to have these lovelies delivered to our front door. Yippeee! I love presents! 

White Night Stand Under 200 Dollars

Neill needs a night stand. Somewhere to put his glass of water. his glasses. his stuff. Really, I don't know how we've gone more than three years living here with just a big empty space where his bed side table should be. Oops!

But, now is the time! If only we can find one that just isn't so darn expensive! Who knew that night stands can cost hundreds and hundreds dollars? Maybe this is why we never got one for him . . .

Faux Bamboo Night Stand - $788.00

so lovely, but so out of our price range

Picking out furniture has always been difficult for me. Well, not the picking it out. Its easy for me to see things I like. It is the following through and buying that is difficult. Somewhere along the way I developed a "second hand is best" mentality. Most of the pieces of furniture in our bedroom are second hand - bed frame (craigslist), my side-table (craigslist), dresser (hand me down from grandma), mirror (hand me down from mom), and book-case (built by mom, painted by us). In fact we only have two items that we actually purchased from an actual store: a beautiful full length mirror from Crate and Barrel, which we bought as an anniversary present to each other one year, and an Ikea Hemnes Dresser, which we bought when we first moved in because we needed somewhere to put our clothes ASAP.

Anyways, now that I've shared entirely too much information with you regarding our furniture, here is the dilemma. What nightstand to choose???

 

Ikea Hemnes Nighs Stand - $59.99

Adelle Bed Side Table - $149.99

Brighton Night Stand - $199.00

South Hampton Night Stand - $129.99

Charlotte Bed Side Table - $199.99

Kitchen Kink

(source)

 

This will be my kitchen one day.