Came across the cutest gift idea the other day...a shower cap! I know, sounds crazy right? But really, Jimeale makes the cutest shower caps I have ever seen. I have been dropping hints like crazy to get one in my stocking here in two and a half weeks.
Isn't it adorable?
Do you wear a shower cap?
Nothing says the holidays like baking. And no holiday baking is complete without a batch of homemade butter cookies and frosting!
I came across the most delicious recipe a few weeks ago and finally got to try it out earlier this week at my first Christmas party of the season! This recipe is perfect for a cookie press (if you're an avid cookie maker and you do not have a press...you need one!) or a great excuse to pull out the rolling pin and cookie cutters.
To make these yummy butter cookies, you simply need:
- 1 pound of Land O Lakes butter (four sticks/one package)--make sure the butter is softened to room temperature
- 1 stick of margarine (yes...this recipe calls for both margarine and butter...not the healthiest of cookies, but they sure are tasty!)--the margarine should be softened to room temperature as well
- 5 cups of four
- Dash of salt
- 1 1/2 cups of sugar
- 3 teaspoons of vanilla
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once you have your ingredients, cream the sugar, salt, butter and margarine. Slowly add the flour and vanilla. I used my trusty KitchenAid mixer for this process, but you can just easily use a hand mixer or a spoon--up to you.
Once combined, either load the dough into the cookie press or roll it out on a floured surface with a rolling pin and use your cookie cutters in the dough. Place the cookies on the pan of your choice (I prefer using Pampered Chef baking stones when making cookies, but that's just me!) and pop into the oven.
Pressed cookies only take between five and seven minutes to bake (cut-outs take closer to ten minutes). Of course, the cook time really comes down to your oven and your cookie preference (soft or crispy). These cookies are good at either consistency if you ask me!
While the cookies are baking, whip up frosting using powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Place powdered sugar in a bowl and add milk at one tablespoon at a time until you reach a thick spreading consistency. At that point, add some vanilla and food coloring if you wish.
Warning: these cookies are super addictive! But I hope that they add to your holiday cheer.
On Thanksgiving Day, Jacob and I were in a terrible accident on I-75--a major highway that runs through our state. Thankfully, we were both able to walk away from the scene without more than a few bumps and bruises... But ever since that moment nearly a week ago, my mind has been racing.
I keep running through different what-if scenarios...and am terrified to get behind the wheels of a car (not considering the highway for a while if I can help it)...and I am terrified when Jacob has to drive some place. I've been told that these fears will eventually subside and life will calm down. But who knows how long that will take?
Luckily, the things racing through my mind are not all scary or fear-driven...I have been blessed with a new outlook on life. There are so many things that people take forgranted...and so many things that in the grand scheme of things, just don't matter. Life is short. And fragile. Sure, you think you understand these things, but when I am completely honest with myself, I realize that I didn't. Not until last week anyway.
Above all, the knowledge that we were saved from that accident for a reason has truly stuck with me. Not sure what God has in store for us at this point, but knowing that we have a second chance is comforting.
That said, I think I am officially changing the direction of my blog...a 180 so to speak. It was initially created to capture the planning process of our September 2010 wedding, but now, I think it is more important to capture life. Because, as I said in my first blog post over a year ago, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
That makes more sense now than it ever has before.