This Happened!

I MADE A TURKEY!

It took me 45 minutes, two phone calls to Mom and some online reading and video watching, JUST to figure out how to pull out the gizzards, but I made a turkey!  Let me tell you, I am no Betty Crocker.  Cooking proves challenging for me  and I often find myself having "Amelia Bedilia" moments.

Since we weren't able to travel to see our families (Doctor J was on call) I figured this would be a good year to practice my turkey cooking skills.   This would also provide leftovers, an integral part of Thanksgiving week.

{The Bird}

I purchased an organic turkey from Central Market.  It was hormone and antibiotic free.

{Into the pot it goes...stuffed and seasoned}

As you can tell by the sticker, this was the first time I used my Le Creuset (a Newlymeds "must-have" item)

{Fresh Cranberries}

{Boiling the cranberry sauce}

I added oranges for flavor and color.

Mission Accomplished: My Thanksgiving practice run was a success!

Shop for a Cause

Here's a fabulous opportunity to shop for a great cause: the BeautyBloggers.org annual charity auction (http://beautybloggers.org).

In a nutshell, beauty bloggers and brands donate some really incredible makeup, skincare, and fragrance — and the money goes to Doctors Without Borders. The bloggers and brands actually donate the cost of shipping, too, so the full amount of your winning bid goes to charity.

Participants have donated a beyond amazing collection of the best lotions, potions, products, and gadgets. This could be the perfect time to finally take the plunge on a Clarisonic, or scoop up the hottest Chanel nail polishes. You can bid on the NARS holiday collection, or some truly fantastic Kate Somerville skincare.

When the auction ends, winning bidders "pay" by making their donations directly to Doctors Without Borders, through the site’s secure giving page.

The auction will be live Monday, November 28th through Monday, December 12th.  So get out there and shop for a great cause!

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving from the Newlymeds.

This year was our first Thanksgiving spent without our families.  For me this was particularly challenging, but I am Thankful that Doctor J and I were still able to spend some quality time together over the holiday.  I am also thankful for our Dallas friends that have become like family and for including us in their holiday celebrations.

Residency can have its challenges, but there is still SO much to be thankful for!

20 something + a few

Two weekends ago we celebrated Doctor J's birthday.  This year I decided to bake him a birthday cake.  I don't know if it was because I wanted a personal challenge or just the chance to use my Kitchen Aid mixer!  I handed him my Magnolia Bakery cookbook and let him pick out the cake of his choice.  He choose a vanilla cake with buttercream icing.  It was a white cake, but  I did spice it up with some sprinkles and festive birthday candles.

Newlymed Note: I made the cake 2 days early and put the sprinkles on so that they would stick to the icing.  Mistake!  They faded into the cake.  I had to re-ice the top of the cake and put on fresh sprinkles the day of his birthday.

Here are some pictures of the process:

Butternut Squash Soup

On a chilly day last week, I was feeling in a fall mood and searching for a great recipe to create.  That day, Tasting Table, a site that sends emails on food, wine, recipes and restaurant personalities sent me a recipe for butternut squash soup.  In their "Sous Chef Series" they show you how to whip up recipes through a video.  For a "chef" in training and a visual learner I really enjoyed watching the video and following along (I must have watched it 12 times!).  I recreated Chef Michael Simon's butternut squash soup. Here is a link to the the video and the recipe.  

Voila!  Definitely time consuming, a bit messy, but worth it.  Doctor J said it was one of the best things ever made in our kitchen!

Medical Mondays

We asked for your questions on our Paging Doctor J post and you responded.  We are excited to bring your our second Medical Mondays!  Once a month Doctor J will answer your burning medical questions.  If you didn't get your question answered this month, write in to Paging Doctor J next week and he will try to answer them next month!

Question: Hypothetically speaking, how does coming off of birth control affect my chances to get pregnant?

Excellent question. This is far from my area of expertise, and should be discussed at length with your OB-GYN. However, some general rules regarding OCPs (oral contraceptive pills) state that your odds of pregnancy return to pre-birth control levels after your cycle resets.

What does this mean? In other words, once you have one regular cycle without birth control interference, you are back to baseline as far as chances to conceive, and that would be a good time to start trying. Of course, it is not unheard of to conceive within a week or two of stopping your contraceptive so beware!

Best of Luck.

Question: What the best way to deal with unwanted hair?

This is a complex question to which many people would like the perfect answer! This is something that should be discussed with your plastic surgeon or dermatologist.

There are many possible methods, from plucking, to waxing, to more permanent solutions like laser hair removal.

Laser hair removal can be an excellent option, but it depends on the location of the hair as well as your skin tone and hair color. Laser hair removal systems, while all slightly different in some regards, functions on the basis of being able to tell the hair follicle apart from you skin. When this occurs, the laser is able to send focused energy to that zone to destroy the follicle, without destroying your surrounding skin.

Thus, if you have light skin and blonde hair, or very dark skin and dark hair, laser hair removal may not be an effective option for you.

Further, it is important to know that laser hair removal will take multiple sessions spread out over the course of weeks to months because not all hairs grow at the same time (they lie dormant and grow in cycles, just like crops).

You should go and discuss your options with a doctor who specializes in this area to help ensure you are presented with all of the options available to you as well as the risks!


*This advice is not to be considered professional medical advice and before any medical decisions are made you should always consult your doctor.

And the winner is...

Last week we hosted this $25 giveaway to Erin Condren!  And the winner is....

Congratulations to our winner Christina!

Please email me your contact information to thenewlymeds{at}gmail.com

My Favorite Things: A Tulane Love Story

There must be something in the water at Tulane University.  Maybe it's the inevitable charm of New Orleans, or maybe it's because the beer flows like water. Nevertheless, there is something magical about that city!  After all, Doctor J and I met at Tulane and got engaged in New Orleans.  Post engagement we found ourselves in Scott Cowen's office, the fabulous University President.  He told us that 12% percent of Tulane couples eventually tie the knot, pretty astounding!

Last weekend Doctor J and I attended the wedding of R & J.  They met at Tulane, through yours truly, and were married in Ft. Lauderdale.  They survived several years of long distance dating and now are  living in Houston as Mr. and Mrs.

Now, here are a few of My Favorite Things from R & J's wedding weekend. They worked with "Celebrity Planner" Heather Lowenthal of Posh Parties & Paper.

1) The "I always cry at weddings" tissue placed so creatively on the wedding program

2) The chair coverings that matched the bride's dress

3) Monogrammed linen napkins! (and the beautiful place setting).  I love this personal touch and it is something the couple will have for the rest of their lives. Can you say dinner parties?!

4) And last, but certainly not least, reuniting with the Tulane crew

Lovingly yours, until the next wedding...

Giveaway: $25 to Erin Condren!

We are SO excited to host our first giveaway!  We are giving away $25 to Erin Condren!  I have always loved anything that was personalized and have been a longtime admirer of Erin's site.  She is all about personalization from her stationary, to her holiday cards and her new iphone cases!

Here are few of my favorite Erin Condren products:

{The iphone case}

{The personalized trays}

{And of course, the wedding planners}

To Enter:
1). Must be a follower of Newlymeds

For extra entries
2). Blog/tweet @newlymeds and @erincondren for extra entries!
3). Become a Facebook fan of Newlymeds or follow me on Bloglovin'
4). Sign up for the Erin Condren Newsletter and become a Facebook Fan

Leave a comment letting me know your # of entries.  (I will be double checking!) I'll be picking the winner this Friday November 11th! Good luck!

Whew!

What a week this has been!  I can't believe it is already November.  Work has been keeping the Newlymeds very busy.

Doctor J & I did attend a fabulous wedding last weekend, so "My Favorite Things" post is coming up.

I also have a great recipe to share on a butternut squash soup that almost killed me I made from scratch.  This was a "sorry I have been too busy to cook dinner, dinner" and I have to say it was amazing.  Not sure if it was worth the 2.5 HOURS, but hopefully with practice it will be a speedier process.

So more to come....