Yes, snow! This is my little girl playing in the snow the day before WinterFest.We decorated the walls with twinkle lights and snowflakes we made.Why not combine storage and decor? I kept bows in a big bowl on the book shelf. :)My little one love to help stir while I am cooking, she's my little helper!For dinner on WinterFest-Eve, I made Curried Butternut Squash Soup and little poppyseed ham and swiss sandwiches. Soup and sandwiches make great winter meals!
My husband, Tim, makes breakfast on WinterFest … this year he made blini, a thin Russian pancake
(you can see his recipe is taped up on the microwave)…
... and they were sooooooooo delicious!
Apparently, they are eaten both savory (with sour cream and fish) or sweet (with fruit spreads).
My favorite was with a little sour cream and blackberry jam … ahh, it was SO good.
Our daughter loved the blini too. :)Then, after breakfast, I got to work on cooking the Russian dinner.
In the meantime, my little one was hunting down the clues we had hidden for her to find throughout the day.Finally it was time for dinner! First there was a spread of Russian zakuski (kind of like appetizers you eat throughout the whole meal).
It turns out various pickles are an essential part of a big Russian meal – my daughter put them into pretty little bowls, and enjoyed them very much. :)
First we had Pomegranate Broth Soup, from a Russian cookbook. It was ... interesting...
... maybe a little tart for my daughter. :) She was a good sport though!
The main course was roast pork paprikash with garlic smashed potatoes, and a delicious sauce made from the vegetables cooked with the meat. We loved it! Not very photogenic, though.
Dessert was a cheese and blueberry pie. I totally cheated and used the wrong kind of crust as opposed to authentic Russian crust, but it tasted good, so just don't tell anyone. ;)
After supper, she found the last of a set of five clues about Russian nesting dolls I had hidden for her;
she was very excited because now she could put them all together…
She had to put the nesting doll clues in order of size;
each one had a letter inside, and once they were in order….
... she could read the word they made: SNOW!Yep, she knew where she needed to go to find the last clue - out in the snow!
Time to get bundled up! She and Daddy went outside;
I lagged inside a minute behind to get everything set up while they went out to hunt for the last clue!
Found it!
... it said to go inside for a WinterFest surprise ...
Presents! In ice blue and cranberry red, of course. :)We exchanged gifts - one of the biggest hits was the box of legos ... I think my husband was almost as excited about them as she was!
On the left are all the WinterFest clues from throughout day!
We also really liked the Russian dolls my Mom let us use, and the cards my younger siblings made.
It was definitely a day of special memories that we enjoyed spending together. Happy WinterFest!
14 thoughts on “It was a lovely day: WinterFest 2012”
Joyful tears flowed as I saw your lovely day:)
Awww! :D
Way cool!!!!!!!
Beautiful :-)
love the top pic of Leila outside
Thanks :D Yeah, she looooved being out in the snow. Much more than I did – I was a wimp and kept running inside to get warm. Probably also because I was a lot more careful to get her bundled up than bundling up myself, haha :)
Your Russian meal looks authentic to me… at least Eastern European! : ) Didn’t you want to try borscht?
Yeah, it reeeeally reminded me of Eastern European food – I kept telling Tim “This tastes like Prague!” :)
Thought about borscht, its definitely very classic … somehow it didn’t sound great to me though – and I wanted a simple soup, not too filling, because we had so many other dishes. But, yeah, borscht definitely would have been the quintessential Russian soup! :)
Great photos! It looks like Winterfest is really coming into its own as a legit holiday!
Thanks! :) Yeah, Tim and I both felt this year WinterFest “arrived” as (like you said) a legit holiday! Of course, it will still grow and change, but it really felt real this year for the first time, instead of a well-let’s-pretend-we-have-a-holiday, haha!
By the way, your suggestion influenced our decision for next year’s theme, I’m planning to announce it soon. :)
Cool!
What a lovely celebration! You have a beautiful family :) Blini looks a lot like Crepes! Growing up my dad would make us Crepes for breakfast + we would fill them with preserves, roll them up & then top with sour cream. It is still one of my favs to this day ;)
Thanks Priscilla. :) Yes, they are a lot like crepes! Especially in flavor. I think crepes would be easier to make though … the blini had rise 3 separate times! Talk about time intensive. But delicious. :)
Good site you have got here.. It’s hard to find good quality writing like yours nowadays.
I truly appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
Owning to sch evidence it’s indeed vital to search out a respectaable issuer that is capable to ckrrespond to your expectations and
possibilities. Online reviews may be rather useful in identifying whether thhe
organization is reputable oor acts with fraudulent intentions.
All you need to qualify is a checking aaccount and a regular source of income,
and you can qualify for upp to $1000 or more to be
deposited directly into your checking account.
Peopoe look for external financial assistance when log jammed
in such a situation. Even those with the worst credit can still gget a
cash advance from these services.
To summarize, closing the cash advance contract binds you to realpize payment in time, thus scan itt attentivbely
to learn all conditions. With their databases, payday companies can check
your information online, providing you with a near instant response.
Thdse loans are available with short period but it can bee flexible enough to expand the tim up to 3 months.
It iss well known to us that asking for money from friends and
relatives always seem to be very embaarrassing and tough.
A cash advance will help you stay afloatt util
you get paid. A online payday loan is a product that is meant to offer the best possible servicing
oof unexpected financial needs.
Actually short term cash loan is used to fulfill any short term needs.
If you are in nesed of extra cash until your next pay day, you may want
to consider applying for a payday loan or cash advance online.
How Many Tips About The Fax-less Cash Advance Loan Do You Really Know There are many companies on the Internet these days who offer and
process payday loans and cash advances withut you havibng to waste time or gas mnoey getting around.
In case you are capable to spot out someone who has utilized the payday loan services prfeviously with success
then you might be certain that they operate honestly. Several of these
unexpected momentgs and you are no doubt going to be feeling thee crunch financially,
which can only add to the stress and strain of everyday life.
Thus, thee loan period iss between one and two weeks. No credit check payday loan facility is projected for those people whoo are need of emergency monetary help in spite of their bad credit records.
Joyful tears flowed as I saw your lovely day:)
Awww! :D
Way cool!!!!!!!
Beautiful :-)
love the top pic of Leila outside
Thanks :D Yeah, she looooved being out in the snow. Much more than I did – I was a wimp and kept running inside to get warm. Probably also because I was a lot more careful to get her bundled up than bundling up myself, haha :)
Your Russian meal looks authentic to me… at least Eastern European! : ) Didn’t you want to try borscht?
Yeah, it reeeeally reminded me of Eastern European food – I kept telling Tim “This tastes like Prague!” :)
Thought about borscht, its definitely very classic … somehow it didn’t sound great to me though – and I wanted a simple soup, not too filling, because we had so many other dishes. But, yeah, borscht definitely would have been the quintessential Russian soup! :)
Great photos! It looks like Winterfest is really coming into its own as a legit holiday!
Thanks! :) Yeah, Tim and I both felt this year WinterFest “arrived” as (like you said) a legit holiday! Of course, it will still grow and change, but it really felt real this year for the first time, instead of a well-let’s-pretend-we-have-a-holiday, haha!
By the way, your suggestion influenced our decision for next year’s theme, I’m planning to announce it soon. :)
Cool!
What a lovely celebration! You have a beautiful family :) Blini looks a lot like Crepes! Growing up my dad would make us Crepes for breakfast + we would fill them with preserves, roll them up & then top with sour cream. It is still one of my favs to this day ;)
Thanks Priscilla. :) Yes, they are a lot like crepes! Especially in flavor. I think crepes would be easier to make though … the blini had rise 3 separate times! Talk about time intensive. But delicious. :)
Good site you have got here.. It’s hard to find good quality writing like yours nowadays.
I truly appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
Owning to sch evidence it’s indeed vital to search out a respectaable issuer that is capable to ckrrespond to your expectations and
possibilities. Online reviews may be rather useful in identifying whether thhe
organization is reputable oor acts with fraudulent intentions.
All you need to qualify is a checking aaccount and a regular source of income,
and you can qualify for upp to $1000 or more to be
deposited directly into your checking account.
Peopoe look for external financial assistance when log jammed
in such a situation. Even those with the worst credit can still gget a
cash advance from these services.
To summarize, closing the cash advance contract binds you to realpize payment in time, thus scan itt attentivbely
to learn all conditions. With their databases, payday companies can check
your information online, providing you with a near instant response.
Thdse loans are available with short period but it can bee flexible enough to expand the tim up to 3 months.
It iss well known to us that asking for money from friends and
relatives always seem to be very embaarrassing and tough.
A cash advance will help you stay afloatt util
you get paid. A online payday loan is a product that is meant to offer the best possible servicing
oof unexpected financial needs.
Actually short term cash loan is used to fulfill any short term needs.
If you are in nesed of extra cash until your next pay day, you may want
to consider applying for a payday loan or cash advance online.
How Many Tips About The Fax-less Cash Advance Loan Do You Really Know There are many companies on the Internet these days who offer and
process payday loans and cash advances withut you havibng to waste time or gas mnoey getting around.
In case you are capable to spot out someone who has utilized the payday loan services prfeviously with success
then you might be certain that they operate honestly. Several of these
unexpected momentgs and you are no doubt going to be feeling thee crunch financially,
which can only add to the stress and strain of everyday life.
Thus, thee loan period iss between one and two weeks. No credit check payday loan facility is projected for those people whoo are need of emergency monetary help in spite of their bad credit records.