Life is Fabulous

Our New York Christmas

2013-01-03T13:52:00.000-06:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books are the new way to preserve your memories.

Fabulosity in the Kitchen: A Pun in the Oven

2012-12-19T16:51:00.000-06:00

Happy holidays, darlings! You all know how much I love to cook and that I spend the year cooking up a storm. During the year I snap pictures and work on recipes to create my annual friends and family cookbook. This year I thought I’d share a PDF copy with all of you, so without further adieu, I present the 2012 Fabulosity in the Kitchen: A Pun in the Oven.

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR FABULOUS BOOK

I whisk (pun intended) you all a Merry Christmas and delicious New Year! Happy cooking!

Corby Shaming

2012-10-03T21:16:00.001-05:00

I think this picture pretty much sums it up. Yes, Corbets got sprayed by a skunk. Yes, this is his 3rd time to get sprayed. Yes, Corbets stinks. Yes, the solution of Peroxide, Baking Soda and Dawn or Palmolive is the cure. Grrr.

For more amusing dog shaming pics visit http://dog-shaming.com/

With Love, From My Garden

2012-05-15T22:05:00.000-05:00

A Very Yappy Easter

2012-04-08T17:13:00.002-05:00

Easter. Why should bunnies have all the fun?

Enjoy today's Yappy Easter photo blog!

The props.

I think you know where this is going. Yes, that is a dog treat.

The prize.

The egg hider.

Let the egg hunt begin!

He caught on almost immediately.

Corbets LOVED hunting Easter eggs!

Yappy Easter!

My Caribbean Cruise... For Work!

2012-03-27T18:57:00.001-05:00

Yes, I have to admit my job is pretty awesome; I mean, who else gets to go on a Caribbean wine cruise for work? I took so many pictures I found the only way to truly share them was by making a book. Here are a few pictures, followed by a book you can view. Cheers!

USS Eurodam Holland America - docked in Grand Turk

Turks & Caicos

Bacardi Distillery in San Juan

LOVE this rose tree in San Juan

St. Thomas

St. Thomas - view of Megan's Bay, where we spent the afternoon - and St. Johns

Home water preservation in St. Thomas

Megan's Bay, St. Thomas

Bahamas

Click here to view this photo book larger

You may view all my pictures from the cruise HERE

Let's Play Supermarket Sweep!

2012-03-24T18:44:00.004-05:00

Who remembers the game show Supermarket Sweep? I LOVED watching it while I was in college and always had the idea of being a contestant on my bizarre bucket list (which also includes hosting an infomercial. Yes, and you know I'd be awesome...). Well, my dream of Supermarket Sweep came true today when my friend Vicki was chosen to be one of six contestants in Standard Market's version of the game show, and she asked me to be her partner!

Standard Market; my new favorite store!

Fierce competition: the mom and daughter team.

The judge.

Vicki signing the 'I won't sue if we fall on dried chickpeas' paperwork.

The backdrop.

Team 'Wineaux'.

Stop fraternizing with the competition, Vicki!

Our competition: Mom & daughter and father & son.

After a barrage of questions, on everything from beer to avocados, Team Wineaux was VICTORIOUS! If you watched Supermarket Sweep you know what's coming next... the SWEEP! Because I am in still in my walking boot (stupid ankle) we chose Vicki to do the sweep. We were given a list of items, including cantaloupe, pickles, chili starter, dried chickpeas, etc. We had 30 seconds to brainstorm a strategy and then Vicki was off for five minutes of madness. And she's off:

Look for the arrow and you can see Vicki spilling dried chickpeas all over the floor.

Clean up in aisle two.

After five minutes of nail-biting tension a defeated and ego-deflated Vicki returns. She got all but one item!

Team Wineaux might not have got the big prize (a $200 gift card) but we did get a $50 gift card, the funny blue t-shirts and a new adoration of Standard Market. Oh, and we hit up the wine tasting in lieu of licking our wounds. It was a great finish to a highly entertaining afternoon.

Team Wineaux RULES!

Just Call Me Catty McClanahan

2012-03-19T22:55:00.003-05:00

I love St. Patrick's Day because of the frivolity and fun that surrounds the holiday and there was plenty of that in the Heller household this St. Patty's Day weekend:

The weather is so beautiful in Chicago that our daffodils are blooming and my pears trees just blossomed!

You may remember that one of my dear friends, Bubba (but you better call him Tom), is the Brewmaster for Ram Brewery. For St. Patty's Day he was hosting a tapping party for his Nefarious Nelson Stout from noon to 2 pm on Saturday so we decided to bring our crew for some early celebration! We also decided to change our names for the day...

The Nefarious Nelson (a.k.a. the Naughty Normy)

Bob and Deb (a.k.a. Bobby & Debbie McNash)

Hans (a.k.a. William Wallace -yes, yes, yes -we did keep telling him that Braveheart was Scottish but he refused to be anything other than).

Sláinte

Me and Hans (a.k.a. CatTy McClanahan and William Wallace)

Pete (a.k.a. Irish mafia boss)

Jon & Sue (a.k.a. Johnny & Susie O'Shae)

Playing Beer Trivia at the Ram Brewery

After our brewery shenanigans Hans and I went home and I took a nap (HEY, I am not as young as I used to be) while Hans worked on his car. While I napped our corned beef was simmering on the stove. We visited our neighbors and at about 7 pm the neighborhood gang came over for dinner (my recipe for corned beef and roasted vegetables is at the bottom of this blog).

Veggies before being roasted

Corned beef out of the oven

St. Patrick's Day weekend ended on a sweet note with a visit from our friend Jon from Boston! The perfect weekend!

Jon & Hans

Catty McClanahan's Corned Beef & Roasted Veggies

Corned Beef:

4-5 pound corned beef brisket, fat cap left intact, with pickling spices

1 large onion, peeled and quartered

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the brisket, pickling spices, and onion in a large, at least 8-quart stockpot. Cover with cold water. Turn the heat to high and bring the water to a simmer, then turn the heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer for 3 hours, or until tender.

2. Preheat oven to 400° F. Remove the brisket from the cooking liquid and transfer it onto a roasting pan, fat side up. Save a cup or two of the simmering liquid to use in the roasting pan. Season lightly with salt and pepper (even with the pickling spices, the brisket benefits in flavor from the additional seasoning). Roast the brisket for 40 to 45 minutes. This process serves to caramelize the brisket, rendering the fat while leaving what remains crisp and delicious. To serve, slice brisket across the grain. Serve with a grainy Dijon mustard, rye bread and roasted veggies.

Roasted veggies:

Red potatoes

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Baby Carrots

Olive Oil

Salt Pepper

Quarter red potatoes. Microwave with a quarter cup water, in a microwave safe bowl, covered with saran wrap, for 5 minutes. Drain.

Mix potatoes, cut broccoli, cut cauliflower and baby carrots on a baking sheet. Drizzle and mix with olive oil and freshly ground salt and pepper. Roast in the same oven with the corned beef for the same amount of time (40-45 minutes - 400 degrees). Voila - awesomeness is served.

Fabulously Fashionable, Darling

2012-03-05T19:49:00.002-06:00

This past Saturday I flew home from my fabulous Lynfred Winery sponsored cruise (yay for the best job, ever) and woke up early Sunday to attend one of my favorite events of the year... the NWSRA / Special Olympics Fashion Show! Guess what the theme was? A cruise! My aunt Lori started the fashion show 22 years ago and the stars of the show (at least in our eyes) are my cousin Billy and his girlfriend Allison.

My beautiful cousin, and proud sister of Billy, Jennifer

The table number cards I designed

The incredibly beautiful Gank family: Lori, Jennifer,
Corrina, Marcus & Gigi

Allison, Billy & Lori

Allison and Billy working the runway

Billy, Allison & Corrina showing their fabulousness

Two of the models - we LOVED the therapy dog!

The Bloomingdale's representative and my very awesome
Aunt Lori - cancer free for 1 year! Woop Woop!

Marcus... too fabulous for words

The fashion stars

The models working the stage for an encore

Just a note: Bloomingdale's provided all the fashionably wonderful clothes for the models... shop them and shop them often (like I need anyone to tell me that)... Oh, and Aunt Lori, you did a MAH-velous job, darling!

Stay tuned for a recap of my Caribbean excursion!

My office for the day! Megans Beach, one of the top ten beaches in the world by Nat'l Geographic - St. Thomas

2012-02-22T10:47:00.001-06:00

Christina Anderson-Heller
Sent from my Droid

Bon Voyage

2012-02-18T14:48:00.001-06:00

I am about to embark on a seven day cruise to the eastern Caribbean cruise for the winery! I'll be sharing pics along the way!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T13:01:00.001-06:00

Hans and I are hardly going to see each other for a few weeks, but he will actually be home tonight, although not until almost ten pm. Since I won't be able to make him dinner I decided he might enjoy coming home to some roses; a six pack of them to be exact...

6 reasons why my Hans will ask me to be his Valentine.

Of course I could not forget my kids for Valentine's Day! I bought Corbets six new bandanas and they decided to pose for some pictures just for you:

You know I wouldn't forget a treat for myself on Valentine's Day! I am going to be drinking roses; Rose' that is!

Here's hoping your Valentine's Day is filled with lots of X and Os! XOXO, the Crazy Heller Family

Snow Day

2012-02-11T17:19:00.001-06:00

We have had an almost non-existent winter in Chicago this year so I guess I couldn't complain when we got a few inches last night. But I will complain, because Hans is visiting his family in New York, and that left me to shovel the driveway by myself; well, not entirely by myself I had some help. Corbets loves the snow. This morning I woke up to this face begging me to go play in the snow:

"Mom, mom, mom, mom, wake up, mom, mom, mom..."

Snow Dog

Corbets and I spent the day putzing about but our favorite thing we did was make the homemade Cheez-Its recipe from yesterday's Chicagoist!

Ingredients
1 cup flour
8 oz. cheddar cheese of your choosing, grated
4 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into squares
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika (my note: I used 1/8 regular paprika and1/8 smoked paprika)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until blended and crumbly. Add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture forms into dough.

For us this was about 2 tablespoons (Christina's note: I used 3 tablespoons). Form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about half an hour.

During the refrigeration time I realized that the dog was missing. I found him taking a nap on our bed:

Place the ball of dough on a floured surface and roll out with a rolling pin until it's about 1/8 inch thick. This can be done in 2 batches, if you don't have enough surface area. Cut dough into squares about 1 inch x 1 inch. Poke center with one prong of a fork for that famous hole in the center. If you want the serrated edges, use a serrated knife to trim the very edges of each cracker (my note: I was too lazy to do this). Sprinkle with extra salt on top.

Either line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray it with baking spray. Place crackers on sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes (my note: I baked for 20 minutes because they were getting pretty done).

My favorite part of baking my own Cheez-its? No crappy, fake ingredients that I can't pronounce, but mostly the amazing aroma of baked cheese in my house! Was it worth it? Oh yeah, and I will be making them again! My notes for next time: 1) I will take the time use a serrated knife to make the signature edges and 2) I will bake them at 325 degrees when using dark pans like I did today.

Happy baking!

I Like Beer.

2012-01-22T19:00:00.001-06:00

The fact that I work for a winery comes with a fallacy that I only enjoy wine. I am here to tell you that beer, good beer, is also fun! Beer. It makes me a jolly good fellow.

For some reason the past three weekends have found me enjoying the suds. Here is a recap:

On a chilly and 'blah' Saturday I awoke to the a case of the hum drums. Hans was working on destroying the monstrosity that was our living room ceiling fan and I was looking to stay out of his way. The outcome? A visit to the Wisconsin border to buy some delicious cheese at Mars Cheese Caslte and check off something on my bucket list... a train ride of the Jelly Belly factory!

Vicki and her new BFF

Me and Vicki

While Vicki and I were playing in Wisconsin, Hans worked on tearing out the fan and adding our new ceiling lights in the living room. The next day he went to the gun range with my Uncle Bill and the following Tuesday I painted the ceiling and the hallway. . . by the way, I have decided, if there is a hell they make you paint ceilings all day!

The next weekend Hans and I celebrated the ceiling/hallway renovation with a visit to Ram Brewery in Schaumburg. The best? Running into my dear friend Bubba (you better call him Tom), the Brewmaster at Ram Brewery, and enjoying some of his favorites beers!

Bubba! YOU better call him Tom.

This past weekend: After a hard wine week in the world of Christina, and Hans trying to come home from Iowa in a snowstorm, we totally deserved a fun day of beer tasting. We went downtown to the elusive and amusing Brew Ho Ho with our friends Vicki, Pete, Jon, Sue, Bob and Deb.

Hans, Jon & Pete

The Motley Crew

Me and Chuck, the beer sensei, and also the editor of The Chicagoist

I ran in to Ronnie, whom I've known for 10 years, an awesome wine club member at Lynfred!

Pete ripped his pants.

Hans and Pete couldn't wait for dinner.

We finished off the night with my homemade Potato Corn Chowder.

Okay. That's enough beer. Bring on the vino!

Sometimes You Just Have To Fry Some $#*%

2012-01-05T20:46:00.002-06:00

Hello, my name is Christina and I don't like fried food. Yes, I admit it, I am a southerner who loathes all things fried. Baked? I love it. Sauteed? Yes, please. Roasted? Mmm, hmm. Fried? Ick. Call me a hypocrite, but when it comes to fried chicken, I am a convert! Okay, let me be honest, I am a convert unless it is made in my house; I cannot stand the smell of fried crap in my house. But, when my cute, and very persistent, husband begs for fried chicken for five days in a row... well, I can take a hint.

If you're going to stink up your house with oil and fried $#*% you might as well use a kick a$$ recipe like my 'It's So Worth The Grease Smell Because They Are Delicious, Chicken Thighs':

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon dried mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

3 large eggs

2 cups buttermilk seasoned with salt and pepper

12 skinless boneless chicken thighs (about 2 2/3 pounds)

Vegetable or Olive oil for frying

Day Before:

Soak chicken thighs in buttermilk (if you don’t have buttermilk use 2 cups milk and 2 tablespoons vinegar), salt and pepper. Soak overnight (for 8-18 hours). This is a very important (i.e. VITAL) tip to follow because it tenderizes the chicken.

Day of cooking:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix flour, salt, black pepper, chili powder, paprika, dried mustard and dried thyme in large ziplock bag to blend. Whisk eggs in another medium bowl to blend. Shake chicken thighs in flour mixture, coat with egg, then shake again in flour mixture. Transfer chicken to baking sheet.

Add enough olive oil to heavy large skillet to come 1/4 inch up sides of pan. Heat oil over medium-high heat until very hot; Working in batches, fry chicken thighs until brown, about 2 minutes per side. Return chicken to baking sheet. Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Make sure chicken registers to 165 degrees. Serve with love. Oh, and then open a window and wash your clothes to get rid of that fried smell that I loathe.**

**Again, so worth the smell because this fried chicken recipe kicks @$$.

You're welcome (because Hans will be singing my praises), Christina

A White Christmas in Texas, Y'all

2011-12-31T09:05:00.000-06:00

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.... and we got it... in west Texas!

With Hans' family on the east coast, and mine in the south, every year we alternate our Christmas destination; this year found us flying into Midland for the surprise of white stuff in the otherwise arid west Texas.

We celebrated with the traditional Swedish smorgasbord on Christmas Eve followed by a lavish evening of cocktails and fabulous presents (thanks, Mom and Dad)!

Christmas Day we cooked up a beautiful prime rib and my beautiful sister-in-law, Somany, came out to visit. Unfortunately Erik and Sophanarit were working the drill rig in New Mexico but at least we were able to chat on the phone all weekend.

Somany!

Christmas night we played a mean game of Farkle. I think Hans makes up the rules as he goes...

The day after Christmas my mom and I were up at the crack of dawn to get in line at Miss Cayce's Christmas store for their after-Christmas sale! We spent the day shopping and got to visit Erik & Somany's new home (they just moved in last weekend)! We even found time to include a stop to Aldredge Gardens. We shopped while Hans and dad went to the shooting range (of course, what trip to Texas is complete without guns?).

Erik and Somany's new house! Now they just need grass! lol

Poinsettias at Aldredge Gardens

I must re-create this!

Orchids!

After an exhilarating day of shopping me, mom and Somany headed out for a girl's night out at the ballet! We started with some vino and appetizers and then went to see the Moscow Ballet perform the Nutcracker. FABULOUS!

After a blissful and relaxing weekend Hans and I headed home to Chicago. I hope your holiday was as wonderful as ours was! Merry Christmas, Y'all!

You may view all the pictures from our merry Texas trip HERE

Merry Christmas from the Notorious Heller Gang

2011-12-22T20:24:00.002-06:00

'Sly Gino' Wheezer

'Four Legs' Corbets

Hans 'The Grinch'

Christina 'The Fabuloso'

Here's hoping your holiday is so fun it should be illegal!

A fabulous new look

2011-12-13T12:35:00.000-06:00

We're baaaaaccckkk! After a 9 month hiatus I have decided it was time to redesign our blog with a new streamlined look and bring fabulous back! This serves as your warning...

I'm Going To Oprah's Final Taping!

2011-05-16T19:00:00.008-05:00

For those of you who have not heard (trust me, if you’ve been within 500 feet of me in the past week, you know…) I am going to Oprah’s final tapings tomorrow (Tuesday evening)!

What might be the most sought after tickets in human history (seriously), I have them in my greedy little paws (okay, really my BFF Vicki has them, because she’s the one who got them). Anyhoo, I am going to Oprah’s final taping at the United Center with 19,999 of my new best friends.

Whether you love or hate Oprah you have to be excited for me; I grew up with Oprah. Oprah first aired when I was 12 years old. My mom watched her. My grandma worshipped her. I listened to her. When I told my Mom I was going she said “You know who would be so excited? My Mom.” My grandma, the hard working German that she was, only relaxed one hour a day; when Oprah was on. So you know what? I’m going to pretend that I’m sneaking Grandma in to the show in my purse (God knows there is plenty of room there) and I’m going to scream like one of those crazy people on the ‘Favorite Things’ shows… you watch me – seriously – watch me – the two shows that we’re taping air May 23 & 24. Stay tuned for updates after the taping!

Oh, what am I wearing? This:

Oprah or Bust, baby!

The Queen of FUN

2011-04-06T20:33:00.011-05:00

Since the inception of my blog I have never neglected my ‘baby’ for so long. Here is my apology: Dear Fabdarling Blog, I have missed you dearly but I must admit I have been having a ton of fun during our separation. I promise to love you in the coming months (my goodness, I have so many fun things coming up) and I hope you will forgive me with this posting of pictures and links to some fabulous experiences. We spent Christmas at a shooting range, New Years on a gangster tour of Chicago, cheered my cousin at a Special Olympics fashion show, enjoyed a girlfriend getaway in Wisconsin, visited friends and wineries in Paso Robles, California and entertained friends... life is always fun in the Heller abode! Wanna come play? XOXO, The Queen of Fun, Christina

Christmas 2010 - Hans' Parents Visit

New Year's Eve 2010 - Best College Friend Visit

Mom's Visit Feb '11- Special Olympics Fashion Show

California Visit - March '11 Paso Robles Wineries & Cochran Fam

Coming soon: Cape Hatteras, baby!

Me. On TV.

2011-02-23T15:25:00.005-06:00

Remember the morning it was -9 degrees outside (before the wind chill) in Chicago? I remember it quite well; it was Thursday, February 10. That morning I was up before the birds (like they’d be up in that weather) and was headed to the winery for an early morning, live-taping of the WGN TV’s Around Town segment!

Ana Belaval from WGN TV

WGN’s Ana Belaval and her fabulous crew arrived around 6 am to set up and a select group of volunteers (from our Facebook page) arrived around 6:30. We were promoting our first-ever Weddings at the Winery with Whole Foods Market in Schaumburg and we decided to throw a mini-wedding at 7 am!

The morning truly was a blast and the two longer segments can be viewed here:

Part 1

Part 2

Gia - my awesome assistant! I had her marry this bottle of wine on-air.

All the pictures from the WGN filming can be viewed on my winery Flickr page.

Snowmageddon 2011

2011-02-02T09:15:00.007-06:00

Snowmageddon. Snowpocolypes. Snownami. SnowMG, Snowtorious B.I.G. Chizzard. Whatever you want to call it, we got ALOT of snow.

Um Corbets, the snow is taller than you. You can't go out the front door.

I was able to get the front door open 'this' much.

So I Dragged Hans to a French Restaurant

2011-01-08T07:20:00.006-06:00

During our Christmas vacation Hans and I made a trip out to Woodstock, Illinois. Woodstock is where the movie Groundhog Day was filmed and is just cute as a button. While there we had lunch at the cutest little French restaurant, La Petite Creperie. Below is the review I wrote for Yelp, but I thought I’d share with all of you, too:

On a blustery winter day I awoke with a craving for French food (here is where I might add that this happens on a pretty regular basis). My husband and I were both on Christmas vacation so with a promise to stop at Cabella's for him, I was able to coerce him to join me on a trip to Woodstock for lunch at La Petite Creperie.

Located on the darling Woodstock square, La Petite stands as a welcoming beacon of comfy, cozy French food. The second we walked in I felt like I was given a hug of friendliness; the staff was smiling and welcoming and within five minutes my husband had a delicious hot toddy in hand and me, a French Viognier.

Yes, I realize it was only lunch, but because we had never been to La Petite before we wanted to experience the menu so we ordered everything from appetizers to dessert. We had both the pâté plate as well as the mussels - both were delicious! My husband and I were fighting over the pâté; and for a man who hates olives, he did not leave me much of their homemade olive bread! Oh, I dipped that olive bread in the mussel's broth and it was heaven! Our main courses we had to go with the savory crepes. He had the beef bourguignon with pearl onions and I had the shrimp Creole; both were scrumptious! We also decided to have dessert and were very thankful we did; crème brulee and a noel log cake... YUM!

I will definitely make the trip back to Woodstock to visit Le Creperie again - possibly in summer to experience the square's farmer's markets I've heard so much about!

La Petite Creperie in Woodstock? Il est magnifique!

Merry Christmas From The Crazy Heller Family

2010-12-24T07:18:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas!!! Love, Hans, Christina, Corbets & Wheezer

Christmas Decorating at the Heller's - South Pole Style

2010-12-11T19:33:00.007-06:00

When the 'Crazy Target Lady' commercials surfaced this year Hans laughed for about three days. Yep, she pretty much sums me up.

This year will be our first year at home for Christmas in five years; we usually travel to Texas or New York to visit our families for the holidays but are entertaining at home this year! This year Hans’ parents, George and Marilyn, are driving in from New York to spend the holiday with us, only to be followed up by a visit from by fabulous college friends, JJ and Cyndi, for New Year’s Eve! I only decorated three Christmas trees this year but focused more on ‘fresh’ since we’d be home to enjoy it. You’ll also see some sights of my fabulous Mark Robert’s fairies…

My 'heritage' tree with family ornaments and those that Hans and I made as kids. Yep- that picture ornament is me in kindergarten in Kansas.

The bar area decorations are all my passed-down Swedish and German things from my family.

I did all white poinsettias all over the house this year -except for red ones in the guest bedroom.

Our bedroom. Hans thought I might have gone too far doing the bedroom, too but I told him you can't just stop at the hallway. He just shook his head and accepted defeat. Boys, don't worry, he used it as an excuse to go to Lunar Brewery while I was decorating.

My spruce tips on the front porch. My first attempt this year and I think they turned out pretty cute!

Today I went downtown with my BFF, Vicki, to visit the Christkindl Mart. I can't wait to share those pics! Until then... Love, love, love...