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It's that time of the year again?!

From our virtual world to yours, happy holidays.

Whether 2022 flew furiously by or sauntered slowly through, 2023 is now upon us all the same. Another year down. To mark the moment, The Starr Conspiracy is sharing an insight into our experiences — moments of reflection, tradition, and anticipation.
 
Enjoy,
Ocho
“If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love, actually, is all around.” – Love Actually (2003)

What are your favorite holiday recipes?

(Served Christmas morning with all the mimosas)

Ingredients: 

  1. 2/3 cup butter
  2. 3 eggs
  3. 2/3 cup flower
  4. powdered sugar and lemon

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Melt butter in an 8–9 in cake pan.
  3. Blend eggs in blender for 1 minute.
  4. Add milk and blend for 30 seconds more.
  5. Add flour and mix to combine.
  6. Pour into cake pan.
  7. Bake for 20 minutes (they will puff up around the sides and fall in the middle).
  8. Before serving, dot with some more butter (because, why not?).
  9. Serve with a heavy dusting of powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon. If you must, you can also serve it with syrup. 
  10. Eat so many you feel sick.

Ingredients: 

  1. 12 eggs
  2. A little tub of ricotta cheese
  3. A bag of mozzarella shreds (maybe the whole bag) 
  4. A bunch of sliced pepperoni

Directions:

  1. Mix all ingredients up in a bowl.
  2. Pour it into a 9×12 in (whatever) baking dish.
  3. Bake at 350° until done in the middle.
  4. Serve with marinara, horseradish, or the spicy toppings of your choice.

Flaky on the outside, creamy on the inside. Make this for your next holiday party if you want to be that person everyone asks, “how did you make this?!” Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients: 

  1. Carrots
  2. Mayo
  3. Horseradish
  4. Salt
  5. Pepper
  6. One onion
  7. Butter
  8. Ritz Crackers

Directions: 

  1. Julienne a 1 lb bag of carrots (make them into carrot sticks, and for gosh sake do not use baby carrots).
  2. Cook them just a little in boiling water (like, 10 min).
  3. Layer in greased casserole dish.
  4. Create a wonderful mixture of mayo, horseradish, salt, pepper, and finely chopped onion (I NEVER measure).
  5. Pour over the carrots.
  6. Dab with squares of butter and top with crushed Ritz crackers!
  7. YUMMMM, bake for 45 min at 350°!

Barbara’s Gingersnap Cookies Recipe simply can’t be beat. Here’s the recipe.

Favorite holiday boozy dranks?

When I drank, I used to love it when the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale came out around this time of year. I fucking hated Christmas beers that tasted like spice and trees and shit. But the Celebration is just a really hoppy, fresh-hopped IPA. No bullshit. Now it’s just La Croix Tangerine all year round.    
Homemade eggnog. Lots of rum.    
Hot Apple Cider with Fireball Whiskey.    
Trader Joe’s Sparkling Pomegranate Punch + Bourbon. It’s easy. It’s boozy. It’s bubbly.    
Ingredients:
i. 1 bottle dry red wine
ii. 1 cup ginger beer
iii. 1 cup orange juice
iv. 1/3 cup brandy
v. 1 Honeycrisp apple, thinly sliced
vi. 1 navel orange, thinly sliced
vii. 1 cup fresh cranberries
viii. cloves for garnish
ix. cinnamon sticks for garnish
x. rosemary sprigs for garnish  

Favorite holiday songs?

Favorite holiday traditions?

Putting up the Christmas ornaments from over the years as a family. It’s fun to see how things have changed through the ornaments we have.

Every Christmas Eve, we choose a country/culture/cuisine to explore. My brothers and I have done this for the last 20 years or so. A day of cooking with family is hands down my favorite part of the holiday. That and Christmas stockings.

My cat always gets one year older on Black Friday. I don’t know his real birthday or really his real age, so I figured Black Friday fit his personality. The actual date changes, too, but his birthday is Black Friday. He’ll be 13 this year. His Black Friday the 13th B-day is going to make him smile.

Okay, bear with me. I spent a lot of my teens and 20s traveling and being far from home, and I have a movie that became a holiday movie for no real reason: Semi-Pro.

Every holiday, whichever family member is hosting has to create an original game for everyone to play. My family is pretty competitive, so we try to outdo each other with who can create the most elaborate game.

What’s something you’re most proud of from 2022?

"I'm really proud I started playing the drums.

Snagged a great kit for a helluva good price, have stuck to practicing about 6 hours a week, and have no intention of quitting. I played music (double bass) on a competitive level from age 9 to 18, but quit when I started college, and not playing music since had left a gap in my life. Playing drums has unlocked a piece of me I forgot I had. I love experiencing the progression of skill; the drumming community is amazing. Plus it’s just fuckin’ fun."

"Working out 4x a week.

Even though sometimes I hate it."

"Focused on my health.

Reversing the downward COVID slide."

"Getting married!

AND buying a house!!"

"Making it through these last few years.

It's something we ALL should be really proud of."

What are you most looking forward to in 2023?

"Personal: I want to keep visiting family in Chile and in Norway. Professional: looking forward to seeing us all band together and help drive this here agency fearlessly toward all-weather success (while feeling a quiet sense of satisfaction and contentment)."
"Seeing Dead & Company on their final tour in Colorado with my family."
"My 30th wedding anniversary is in January. We're planning an extended trip abroad to celebrate (fingers crossed)."
"Camping with my family — 2023 is our year! Seeing more of my coworkers in person and continuing to build those relationships."
"Adding to our family!"
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What image comes to mind when you think of the holiday season?

Happy Holiday Season. 

See you in 2023! 

Ocho

A Humble Guide To Fixing Everything In Brand, Marketing, And Sales by Bret Starr is out now. Why the hype? Check it out.

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