Christmas Cookies

Today is all about Christmas cookies! Last year I devoted one Saturday in December to a marathon cookie baking session while we had Christmas movies playing in the background. It was glorious. Our previously mentioned December travels mean that this weekend is my one shot at cookie baking, and I plan to take advantage of it. Last year I got a little carried away and became a bit of a cookie pusher, trying to force cookies on unsuspecting family, friends, and coworkers. So I'm going to try to cut back this year, and halve recipes where I can.  The three cookie recipes that I will DEFINITELY be making this weekend:

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies (Iowa Girl Eats)

I stick with the classic peanut butter instead of her suggested use of cookie butter. These are M's favorite cookies and I will definitely NOT halve this recipe. These little guys are so, so good.

Christmas Cherries (Pioneer Woman)

 Ummm...yeah, I might double this recipe. These are my faaaaaavorite Christmas cookies. They are addictive. The citrus flavor is so refreshing, it almost makes you forget about the amount of butter involved. Also those little candied cherries remind me of the garnish my mom used to put on her homemade cream cheese braids, so there's a good deal of childhood nostalgia going for these.

Fruitcake Cookies (Ina Garten)

There are two types of people in the world: people who like fruitcake and people who don't. I fall into the former category. But I think even fruitcake detractors could be swayed by these cookies. A few of these cookies with a cup of vanilla-cinnamon tea after dinner and I am in heaven. This recipe makes a ton of cookies, but it's an easy recipe to halve. You could also make the full recipe and just freeze one of the logs instead of baking it, which is what I did last year.

Those are our three traditional Christmas cookies (or as traditional as something can be after only 4 years of being a household). I like to try new recipes every year to audition new members of our exclusive cookie club. Last year I made pepparkakor and honestly? The dough was better than the cookies. The cookies were actually delicious, but they were kind of overshadowed by all of the other offerings. I also made Dinner: A Love Story's Mexican chocolate cookies (the recipe is in her first cookbook). I overbaked them but they were still awesome, especially with a cup of hot chocolate. That said, not sure they really felt like Christmas cookies to me. So here are the newbies I want to try this year:

Christmas Sugar Cookies (Jenny Steffens Hobick)

Like many people, I grew up making cut-out cookies with my mom and sister for Christmas. We had so much fun decorating them and picking out the prettiest ones to leave for Santa. I am terrified to make them as an adult, mainly because I'm a perfectionist and I'm pretty certain that since my cookie decorating skills haven't advanced much since the 3rd grade, I'm going to be wildly disappointed in the outcome.

Pignoli Cookies (Anne Burrell)

I am a sucker for anything with pine nuts and since M is half-Italian, this seems like a fun nod to his heritage.

Buckeyes (Southern Living)

We made these every year growing up and I've just never made them as an adult. No hang-ups about them the way I do with cookies...I've just never done it. I don't know why; they're actually REALLY easy to  make. Maybe this will be the year!

Bourbon Balls (Garden and Gun)

I mean...chocolate + cookies + bourbon. I usually make hot cocoa mix and/or cheese straws to give as gifts to friends and coworkers and I feel like I can make room in the line-up for these babies. YUM.

 

Five on Friday

1. I know I already shared this on Instagram, but it's too great not to share here too. My mom works for Orvis and a few weeks ago they received the following email:

 

We are being visited this week by a friendly mallard duck, who has been greeting associates at the entrance all morning.

 

A wild bird expert I contacted told me he is fine, has recently molted (lost his flying feathers) and is probably seeking a quiet place to hang out away  from the pond while his feathers grow back.  He is harmless and will probably waddle away when he gets hungry or thirsty.

 

The bird expert I spoke with said we should not feed the duck.  Not only are the foods we have here not particularly good for the duck…if we feed him, he might get confused and decide this is a good place for him to stay. 

 

That said, please don’t feed the duck, watch your step around the entrance to the building, and be extra careful driving in the HR parking lot.  We don’t want to hurt or confuse our duck friend as he resolves his own unique and personal issues!

 

On Wednesday, I received the following text from my mother:

Apparently he also now quacks when greeted. I know they are still working with the wildlife expert to make sure their little friend is A-OK, but I can't help but anthropomorphize here and think the little guy looks like he would like to come inside and join the folks in Finance. I'm quite jealous; I really wish we had an office duck at my workplace!

 

 

2. Forget everything I said about not being into dressing up for Halloween. Next year I'm going as Ina. Now I just need to convince M to go as a bottle of "good" vanilla or olive oil or Jeffrey. (Thanks to Food & Femininity for the inspiration!)

 

3. I love, love, LOVE the idea of giving this necklace to a new mama or a recently married friend. I happen to have some engaged friends and some pregnant friends, so ladies, please act surprised when you receive this from me :) M, this would make a wonderful gift for your wife (hint, hint, wink, wink).

 

4. I'm an aunt! My sister-in-law gave birth to the most beautiful twins early yesterday morning. I am counting down the days until I get to meet my adorable niece and nephew!!!!!

 

5. Truth. 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiking and Picnicking

Last Sunday was the first real spring day we've had, so we packed up the dogs and headed for the nearest state park.  It turns out that hiking with two extremely curious dogs makes for very full hands, so the above pictures were the only ones I managed to get. 

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But fortunately some people on the interwebs were kind enough to share their photos, so you can see how beautiful it was! We want to go back without the pups so we can tour that gorgeous historic home on the property.  That view made the burning I felt in my legs all day yesterday totally worth it.

We also packed a picnic, but we were too busy scarfing down our lunch to be bothered with pictures.  I made these sandwiches

{they were just OK}

and brought these chips {the best chips EVER and made not too far from where we live!}

{BBQ for him, Chesapeake Crab for her}

and packed it all up in this nifty picnic cooler set.  My mother-in-law gave us one of these Picnic Time Malibu coolers at one of my showers with our monogram on it.  We used it for the first time on Sunday and I'm kind of obsessed with it. It has everything you could ever need, including a handy compartment for wine bottles, plates, napkins, utensils, wine glasses, a cutting board, a cheese knife, and a bottle opener.  GENIUS. At the time, I wasn't sure we would ever use this, but now I'm dreaming up all the different picnic opportunities this baby will afford. Love it. 

It felt so great to be outdoors again and to do something active {read: something other than watch DVR'd reruns of 'The Americans'} on a Sunday afternoon.  I can't wait to go back again, especially since all this hiking will come in handy for quickly approaching bikini season!

Deal of the Century

One of the items on my 101 in 1,001 list is to invest in 10 coffee table books.  I keep a running wish list on Amazon of ones I want to purchase, and the Vogue Living: Houses, Gardens, People and The World in Vogue: People, Parties, Places books have long held a place at the tippy top of that wish list.  Earlier this week I learned that a new book had been published, Vogue Weddings: Brides, Dresses, Designers, and I hopped on over to Amazon to add it to my wish list.  And stumbled upon this...

The Greatest Deal of the Century.

Your eyes do not deceive you.  As of this writing, the boxed set of all three books is selling for $29.55. I repeat, all three Vogue coffee table books, in their entirety, in hardcover, for $29.55.  Each book retails for $85, but even if you purchased them individually at Amazon's discounted rates {in the $45-$60 range}, you couldn't find a better deal than this.

Obviously I ordered them immediately.  Amazon's pricing is subject to pretty radical change without any notice, so if you've lusted after these books the way I have, now's your chance!

Hostess Gifts

 

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Looking for some last-minute hostess gifts? I hate to show up empty-handed to the home of anyone who's hosting us.  Here are some lovely, affordable gifts that any hostess would love to receive!

1. If your host/hostess are foodies, a fabulous olive oil or balsamic vinegar is always a safe bet.  Our local olive oil tasting room's chocolate balsamic vinegar was featured in the December Southern Living!

2. Hosting holiday guests can be incredibly stressful.  A decadent bubble bath is the perfect gift for an overextended hostess!

3. Cheese straws are my go-to holiday gift.  They're not so hard to make {once you get the hang of using a cookie press}, the recipe makes a ton, and they are incredibly delicious.  Don't skimp on the salt or cayenne pepper!

4.  Normally I give by the motto that all hostess gifts should be consumable, but at Christmas, it would be hard to turn down such a beautiful, elegant ornament.

5. Candles are always a safe bet for hostess gifts.  GP mentioned in a recent edition of GOOP that the Linnea Lights candle in 'Cashmere' is one of her favorites. 

Friday Favorites

Remember the hot cocoa recipe I posted last week?  This would be a fabulous way to package it up for gifts. I have these jars in our kitchen and they are the best!

A Bûche de Noël has apparently become our traditional Christmas dessert. I had always wanted to make one and last year I finally did. It was a huge hit and M has already requested it become a regular at our Christmas dinners.  I'll be sharing the whole process next week, but this year I'm hoping to be brave enough to tackle these darling meringue mushrooms too!

Sweet Elizabeth's incredibly lovely Christmas decorations.

And how to get a similar look in a wreath. 

I realize this is terribly 2003 of me, but I really want a pair of UGG Classic Cardy boots. They just look so comfy-cozy! I'm a little miffed that they no longer sell them in charcoal, but I'll settle for the grey.  You know, in case any of you need a last-minute gift idea for me.

Bon weekend!

A Different Kind of Gift Guide

If you're anything like me, you're a smidge Gift Guide-ed out.  A thought occurred to me the other day that if, as bloggers, we devoted a fraction of the space to encouraging readers to make charitable gifts this time of year {and throughout the rest of the year} that we devote to encouraging readers to buying things for themselves, we could do a lot of good.

While we already financially support our alma maters, this year we've donated items to two local charities as well.  The first is our local food bank and the second is our local animal shelter.  I'm a firm believer in supporting local charities.  The impact is greater when it's close to home, and for me anyways, it's much more meaningful.  If time, space, and money allowed, I would rescue every animal that needs a home.  Since that's not an option, we do what we can to help the sweet animals in our community who aren't as fortunate as our boys.

So pick what's important to you.  Give them a call and find out what they need.  Our animal shelter maintains a website that lists what their current needs are.  We took peanut butter, paper towels, and dog and cat treats.  As we move into the colder weather, blankets are desperately needed so that the animals aren't sleeping on cold concrete.  Our food bank also maintains a website of needs.  One thing I learned this year is that donations of personal care toiletries are EXTREMELY important, since those items aren't covered by food stamps.  There are always coupons available and sales going on for toiletries, so stock up the next time you're grocery shopping. It will be greatly appreciated.

Please know that this post isn't about tooting my own horn to show y'all how generous we are.  Quite the contrary.  I just felt like sharing what I think is an important and often overlooked part of the holiday season.

How do you give back?  I'm always interested to hear about ways people contribute their time, talent, and treasures!

Friday Favorites...on Monday

So this was supposed to go up on Friday, but I ended up on my sickbed all weekend because my cough turned into bronchitis. Woot.

From here on out, you can bet that Friday Favorites will be all things Christmas!! What I'm loving this week...

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THESE NAPKIN RINGS?!?! They look like Kate Spade and are darling, but they're actually from Tar-jay and are only $7.99 for a set of 4. Whaaaaa?!?!  OK so I saw these in person at Target yesterday and ick.  Not cute in person.  Also, I was majorly unimpressed with the Neiman Marcus collection.  Love the Tracy Reese top, but I am not paying $80 for something that is clearly still Target quality.  I did, however, spot these darling peplum tops.

I have been eyeing these beautiful placemats from Williams-Sonoma for quite some time, but just couldn't pull the trigger.  Good thing, because I popped into T.J. Maxx on my lunch break yesterday and found these look-a-likes for $9.99!

Continuing my tartan obsession is this tree skirt from The Land of Nod.  We already have a tree skirt {albeit not as wonderful as this one}, so I'm going to try and hold off on purchasing until after Christmas, hoping it will be on sale.  Operative word is 'try'.

I'm such a lemming.  I caved and bought the NEST Pumpkin Chai candle earlier this fall because everyone else {read: lots of bloggers} was doing it.  So naturally I had to buy the NEST Holiday candle.  An addict is born.  It really is as lovely as everyone says.

Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies. Yes, please.

The Dude Gift Guide: First Anniversary

First Anniversary Dude Gift Guide by gesshoo on Polyvore

In a Father's Day gift guide I posted earlier this year, I discussed the dearth of male gift guides for men like my husband.  Most gift guides are for men who are a hybrid of hipster/prepster/dapper.  M does not fall into any of those categories.  His category is more "Boy Next Door."  He likes beer, bacon, sports, and doing stuff.  Stereotypical heterosexual male.  

As I approached our first anniversary, it was important to me to stick with the traditional first anniversary gift of paper.  But naturally a quick Google search for "traditional first anniversary gifts for husband" came up with some truly horrible suggestions.  So once again, I'm doing the heavy-lifting for you ladies with men in your lives like M.  I present to you The Dude Gift Guide: First Anniversary edition:

1. A certificate for an Orvis fly-fishing school.  This was my original gift to M, but after the engine incident, we had to scale back on our plans {read: spending}.  Hopefully we'll be able to make this happen next year.  I've attended the one in Vermont and they are so much fun! 
2. An autographed picture of his favorite sports hero.  I gave M an autographed picture of his other sports hero, Ray Lewis, as a wedding gift and I'm not sure I'll ever be able to top that gift. He loves it. 
3. An e-Reader.  I thought this was a punny play on the idea of a paper gift.  Plus M is always stealing my Kindle to read whatever I've got on there, so it's about time he gets his own!
4. Your DirecTV bill, showing him that you've paid for a season's worth of NFL Sunday Ticket.  I know it's pricey, but I figure M would be at a bar every Sunday spending at least $50 on wings and beers, so in the end, it's cheaper just to spring for the TV package.
5. Tickets to a pro sporting event.  M got hockey tickets last year for Christmas and he was thrilled. I've found that a lot of guys would rather receive experiences as gifts, rather than things, so this is a great option for the guy who has everything.  Now if the NHL can just work out its issues...
6. The New York Times History of [Insert His Favorite Sports Team Here].  This is what I ended up getting for M and it could not have been a bigger hit.  I got him the History of the Baltimore Orioles, and coming off of their historic postseason run, this was such perfect timing.  It's so fun to go through and read the really old newspaper headlines.
7. A cheeky money clip filled with cash.  If you're in a household like mine where the wife is in charge of the money, sometimes it's hard for me to make M feel like he's not on an "allowance".  I know he would love for me to hand him a big ole wad of cash and tell him to spend it any which way he chooses, no questions asked.

Guest Post and Giveaway!: Tina @ The Enchanted Home

While we're busy unpacking and settling into our new home, I have some fabulous guest posts lined up for you this week.  Today's blogger is Tina from The Enchanted Home talking about all things kitchen. Be sure to check out her super-generous giveaway below!

Hi there, first let me say I am super happy to be here. I love Sarah, what a sweetheart! I am so happy for them to be moving into their new house......congrats! Thrilled to be helping her out and pitching in while she is away unpacking, organizing and making her house a home. Sarah, make sure you take plenty of coffee breaks (wine breaks after 5pm, OK I will be a sport....3pm)! When you think of a bistro what comes to mind? Something like the picture above? This look and its influence has become popular in kitchens all around the globe. No wonder, the iconic Parisian bistro is a timeless classic and if I were ever lucky enough to have my own little cafe/bookstore/bakery, I would want it modeled after this look. 

Its no surprise this look has also made its way into many a kitchen. When I think of a kitchen with a bistro edge, I think of rich warm woods, maybe black and white floors, white marble somewhere, anywhere! Fun and whimsical but not corny accessories, just a few not to be an overkill. Maybe something like a fun chef chalkboard or statue holding a wipeable menu, fun bistro towels, that kind of thing. Above all, a bistro kitchen is warm, inviting, open and ready for action. So lets take a look at what a bistro influenced kitchen might look like............... And to celebrate a bistro influenced kitchen, I am offering a small Bavarian bread board giveaway to get you started in creating your own little bistro. I own these in a few sizes and they make amazing platters  for crudites, cheese displays, crostinis....the sky is the limit! To be eligible, all you have to do is leave a comment here. The winner will be announced on my blog on Friday!

And here's how I display mine on a daily basis.....

Now moving onto the world of bistro kitchens.......

Love the lighting, the fun bistro bar stools, the pop of black on the island...the warm rich floors pull it together beautifully, Trad Home

The fun globe lighting and beautiful two toned bistro chairs make an elegant statement

Loving this idea of an actual chalk board panel in place of a cabinet, how fun! Pinterest

The black and white checkerboard floor and black and red accents lend a bistro vibe to this inviting kitchen

Steven Schubel nailed it with this very chic and sophisticated bistro influenced kitchen, this feel so old world and timeless

This gorgeous kitchen has a very sophisticated bistro feel....Beverly Ellsey

The lighter cabinets are another pretty option, and get the definite bistro vibe with the black and white checkerboard floors and open shelving, Traditional Home

Great energy in this cheerful bistro influenced kitchen, love the color and of course a touch of black does the trick every time! Squidoo

I would consider this "glam bistro", once again the black gives great impact, the brass accents add richness, the open shelving lend itself to the bistro feel, fabulous! Mick De Guilio

Now lets talk about the elements that might make up a bistro kitchen for the home. ......

Fun towels...with a touch of black make a perfect accessory (Etsy)

These pretty towels have a definite bistro theme but don't feel "themey"

I could see this sign above a doorway or above a range.....anything in French automatically sets the tone!

A fun sign can be a great way to pull together the look, keep it simple

A fun little guy like this is a whimsical conversation piece to have at the ready announcing that days fare!

Bread boards are not only beautiful looking but super functional for serving and cutting!

Bistro chairs....YES!

Gotta have an authentic bistro chair.....available in a rainbow of colors, these are just classics all the way! (HK designs)

If opting for bistro influenced china, make it something simple and elegant, like this one found at Sur La Table, this could easily be found at a chic Parisian brasserie

Yes, black and white checkerboard floors are the poster child for a bistro feel but aren't a must do, its a great look in both tile and marble...but warm wood floors or a warm colored ceramic/stone can give the same effect

There are so many lighting choices that could work effectively, a few that come to mind are this one, the Circa Yoke pendant

If you want to go bold....these stunning copper lights would make quite a statement!

As in Tommy Smythes gorgeous kitchen, an oversized lantern, the beautiful Belgian bluestone herringbone floors and black cabinets give this a beautiful bistro vibe.

I do love the idea of converting a cabinet or door to a chalkboard wall, brings in a little fun and whimsy and makes for a really inviting space

So....what do you think? Love it? Like it? I think it can be a great idea for a classic kitchen  as long as the "themey" things are kept to a minimum, I think one or two fun accents is just about right. Best part, there are no rules, you make them as you go along, these are merely ideas and guidelines. Think its a look that's here to stay and the next best thing to hopping on a plane and going to a real Parisian bistro....is making one of your very own to be enjoyed every day! Thank you Sarah for allowing me to be your guest today and to everyone for stopping in. Enjoy your day!