Christmas Cookie Heaven

I love sweets.  I love cookies.  I reeeally love Christmas cookies.  If you put the word "Christmas" in front of the word "cookie" it's instant magic.  Give me an Oreo and call it a Christmas cookie and I'm one happy girl.

I do love and appreciate a new recipe for Christmas cookies and every year I look for new treats to share with family and friends.  I couldn't wait to try out the recipe that Julie from This Gal Cooks sent me for the Christmas cookie swap!

The recipe:

White Chocolate Mint Cookies

Ingredients
1/4 cup of shortening
1/4 cup butter softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg, room temp.
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup All purpose flour
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup mint M&M's chopping (use Food processor)

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and shortening with mixer on medium high for about 30 seconds.
2. Add white and brown sugar, baking soda, and mix until combined.
3. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
4. Gradually beat in the flour.  Mix until well blended.
5. Fold in white chocolate chips and mint M&M's.
6. Drop dough into round tsp size balls onto baking pan lined with parchment paper.
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Allow to cool before serving.

Did you notice?  The recipe includes white chocolate chips and Mint M&M's!

This recipe was quick, easy, and absolutely delicious!  I will definitely be making these again before Christmas and probably in the years to come.  It was a perfect blend of white chocolate and mint.

The only thing I needed for an evening of Christmas cheer were these cookies, a cold glass of milk, and my Christmas tree!

So here is what you need to do... bake a batch of these cookies, go sit near your Christmas tree, and read Julie's blog.  You'll be glad you did!

I'm Back!

Okay.  I think I'm back in the groove of things.  Kinda.  :)

My holiday was pretty amazing and it came at the perfect time.  I was definitely in need of a break from work and the real world.  My grandfather passed away five days before Thanksgiving.  He had been very sick for a really long time and it is good to know that he is no longer suffering.

I threw myself into planning the perfect menu {Paula Dean helped}.

Caleb made the turkey.  This has become tradition and it is always delicious.  Knowing that he is going to make the turkey allows me to put extra effort into the other dishes which I think really makes our meal special.  I'm thankful.

I decided to go with the simple centerpiece of wheat and pumpkins at each place setting.  I loved the way it turned out!

Yum!

We were lucky to have Caleb's sister and her boyfriend join us for the holiday.  You'll notice there aren't any pictures of people... Caleb hates having his picture taken so I didn't do my usual begging for pictures since I know he doesn't like it.  I could barely stand it, but I think it was the thoughtful thing to do.  :)  No promises for Christmas though! 

I've really had an amazing Fall.  I'm excited to start this new season full of hot cocoa, lights, and time relaxing with a cozy blanket and family.  

Holiday Entertaining: 5 Tips for a Successful Get-Together.

In honor of the upcoming holidays I have yet another post with advice for entertaining.  I know that over the next several weeks I will have a ton of guests in and out of my home.  Some family.  Some friends.  Some neighbors from down the street.  Regardless, I always take my entertaining duties seriously and today I am going to share with you five tips that I think are crucial for a successful get-together!

Me with really long hair... crazy!

1. Think Simple.

So I'm pretty new at this entertaining thing.  I've only been married for about 3 1/2 years which means prior to our blissful nuptials I was in college.  Meaning entertaining consisted of setting out a bag of chips and a case of beer.  Okay, so maybe I have always had a little bit of the Martha Stewart gene running through my veins, but it has definitely taken some practice and good old trial and error to realize that simplicity if usually better.  Its easy to try and do too much and it is just within the past year that I figured out that creating a simple menu with a few special touches makes for a better party.

Preparing only one homemade dip and adding store bought items to the menu enabled me to
be able to keep things simple, but still have a great spread of food at my crafternoon get-together.

2. Plan ahead.

When I am having people over I try to do as many things as possible in advance.  Obviously this doesn't always work out and sometimes I am scrambling to hide the last of the clutter in the closet, bake a cheesecake, and change out of my work clothes just as guests are starting to walk in the door, but if you combine this step with step #1 I think it is the best way to ensure that you also get to enjoy the party.

I try to start thinking about the details of a get-together at least a week in advance.  At this point I will make out a grocery list, do my shopping, and make sure that I have everything on hand that I need.  If possible I will set the table beforehand to ensure that I have plenty of time to prepare food.  This is especially helpful since I almost always am running behind to finish the meal.

I set up this table the night before which enabled me to cross one thing off of my to do list.
P.S. If you are reading this Chad... don't judge my wrinkled table cloth!  ;)  

3. Remember Ice.

Someone told me once that the most important component to any party is having ice.  Wise advice.  So true.  If people have good food and a cold drink they are usually pretty happy.

4. Set the Mood.

Although it is always best to keep things simple, I also like to add special touches.  Is it a Christmas get-together?  Pick up a pack of holiday napkins.  Are you having a rustic Thanksgiving dinner?  Drink out of Mason jars.  Is it your friend's birthday?  Invest in some fun straws to sip your cocktails.  I live in the South now, so what better way to greet a Northern visitor than with a glass of ice cold sweet tea when they walk in the door?!  Its the little things that really make for a special time.

It doesn't have to be elaborate to be special.  A few small touches can go a long way.

Adding sprinkles to the rim of martini glasses really added fun to a birthday celebration.
And it was so simple! Just dip the rims in icing and dip in sprinkles!

5. Be present.

There is nothing worse than planning a get-together, investing a ton of time, and then being stuck in the kitchen the whole evening.  Truthfully, your guests don't want this either.  I have learned that company would rather spend time with their host than have them holed up in the kitchen preparing an elaborate meal.  If you are able to stick to the previous four steps this should be a little easier.  Also, guests can tell if they have a stressed-out, unprepared host and it probably doesn't make for a relaxing evening for them either!  You want the atmosphere to be fun, not frantic.  At the end of the day who cares if you burnt the bread and the cheesecake didn't turn out quite right?  The most important part is spending time with the people you care about.

Also, wouldn't it be nice to join in on the fun?!

My fabulous Muncie friends and me at my Mardis Gras party last spring.  

Holiday Entertaining: Always be Prepared.

This is my absolute favorite time of the year.  The holidays.  Every year, as soon as Halloween is over, I go into super holiday freak mode.  I think its important to note that the when I think of the holidays I consider Thanksgiving equally wonderful.

I went into Hobby Lobby today to pick up a few items for my Thanksgiving centerpiece (yes, I'm already planning this ;)!) and people were already buying their Christmas decor!  I went to Starbucks and they are already using their red holiday cups which to me screams Christmas.  But the biggest shock of all was when I ran in the mall and Santa was there!  Shouldn't he still be in the North Pole on vacation for at least a couple more weeks?!  What happened to Thanksgiving people?!

Source: Simply Recipes

Anyway... one of my favorite things about the holiday season is entertaining.  In honor of the upcoming holidays, and my love for hosting get-togethers, I am going to do a series of posts about holiday entertaining.

Today I am going to talk about rule numero uno: Always Be Prepared.  For anything and anyone to stop by.  The best way to earn holiday brownie points and the reputation of world's best hostest is to always have the basics on hand.

Source: Natasha in Oz

Just picture this...

You and the hubby are sitting on the couch watching t.v. and you hear a knock on the door.  It's your next door neighbor/Great Aunt Susie/Co-worker and they have stopped by to drop off a tin of holiday cookies fresh out of the oven.  Wanting to return the holiday cheer in true Martha Stewart fashion you dash to the kitchen and realize that you don't have a thing to offer.  No cookies.  No coffee.  Nada.

Source: The Old House

How can you avoid this you ask?  Easy!  Between now and the holidays pick up a few simple items each time you go to the store.  You'll always be prepared for anyone that might stop by or for an impromptu get-together of friends to watch National Lampoon's Christmas vacation!

Here are a few of the items that I have started stocking in my pantry:

Just think... you'll be the picture of holiday cheer when you walk out of the kitchen with your tray of Biscoff cookies and hot cocoa! 

Linking up with Lower Case Letters for: 

Oh, How Pinteresting

Happy Halloween!

This picture is actually from last year, but the cuteness kills me!  We also attempted to put this costume on Cinderella this year and I think she hates it even more than Splinter...

In addition to it being Halloween, it is also Wednesday!  So, I'm linking up with The Vintage Apple for:

Yesterday I hosted a small get-together and knew that I wanted to have a Halloween themed food table.  There is so much great inspiration out there that I knew that I would have no trouble coming up with something.  I did however have one big restriction... I didn't want to spend any extra money making this happen. My first step was firing up Pinterest for some great ideas...

College Life DIY via Jodi on Pinterest

Good Housekeeping via Jodi on Pinterest

Candace Stringham Photography via Jodi  on Pinterest

Inspiring Pretty via Jodi on Pinterest

Digs Digs via Jodi on Pinterest

After looking through all these pictures, and visiting the websites, I felt pretty confident that I could come up with something, so I set to work.  I was pretty pleased with the end result... especially since I set it up an hour before the party started!

The first set of pictures are pre-food and the lighting is a little better.  The latter pictures are once I put all the food out...

I can't wait to hit some sales snatch up some cheap Halloween supplies for next year!

Spooky!

So I've been looking at Pinterest for months in excitement.  I came up with a million and one ways that I wanted to decorate the outside of our house for Halloween.  I had grand dreams of skeletons, spider webs, pumpkins that looked like they were eating a man's leg... you know.

So I went outside one Thursday evening with all my supplies and realized that it was harder than I thought.  Most of my ideas required a ladder.  I don't go on ladders.  Ever.  I did put out some spider web {which I will probably regret when I have to pull it out of the bushes}, a strand of orange lantern lights, and I planted some mums.

Yes, there is one random skeleton lounging in the bush.

 Please ignore the fact that I have a forest of weeds growing between my bushes... oh, and also apparently poison ivy as now I have a rip roaring case all down my legs.  Needless to say, I've given up on Halloween perfection and am quite happy with the result even though it isn't Martha Stewart picture perfect.

After all, this is just a practice run on outdoor decor.  The real deal comes at Christmastime right?

Do you do any decorating outside for Fall/Halloween?  

Linking up with:

Fall Inspiration... Is it too early??

  I'm itching for Fall.  Partially its because I am so eager to see the leaves change all throughout the Tennessee mountains.  I've heard how beautiful it can be and I can hardly wait to sit on my back deck with a cup of hot cider and a slice of pumpkin pie.

The other reason is because I have been obsessed with pinning new Fall decorating ideas... specifically Halloween ideas.  I know that my excitement is because I finally have a house to decorate.  Caleb may have to reign me in...

Here are a few of the amazing ideas I have been drooling over:

Sweet Something Designs

Candace Stringham Photography

Delish

Feeling Some Love

Hostess With the Mostess

And finally......

Martha Stewart

I love those fanged pumpkins!!

Are you eager for Fall?  What are you looking forward to the most?

Farewell Cookout with a Collection of Friends.

What a weekend we had!  It was a whirlwind of activity, but absolutely amazing.  Thursday night Caleb, his sister Micah, and I drove to Chattanooga to do some house hunting (details to come!!), Saturday we returned to Muncie for a cookout, and Sunday we drove to Caleb's parent's house for another cookout before spending time with his parent, my mom, and her fiance on Monday!  Phew!

We find ourselves trying to fit in everything that we possibly can because there are so many people that we are going to miss and be unable to see as often once we move to Tennessee.  We have a wonderful group of friends in Muncie that I will be sad to leave behind... not to mention the fact that we will be further away from family and friends that we have had for years.  

Saturday, our friends Art and Alice threw us a going away cookout.  They definitely know how to have a good time and it was just what we needed after our quick trip to Chattanooga to look at houses.

Art grilled out and Alice had some amazing potato salad and side dishes to complete our meal.

Their condo sits on a lake where Art and Liz fished.  The scenery was beautiful and relaxing.

This is Liz.  Such a funny girl!  Love her.

Check out my new hat!  A going away present from Art and Alice.  Perfect for moving to the South!!!  My only regret is that I didn't get a photo of the whole group... Thanks to everyone who came and made it a special night.  We will certainly miss you all (and can't wait for visitors...)!!!

Something that I am beginning to learn is that there are amazing people everywhere.  Sometimes I think that moving often stinks, but I am beginning to accumulate a whole collection of friends from all over.  Friends that compost, friends that have been on great adventures like living in NYC, friends who love the same shows as me and understand my love of blogs and fancy things, friends that love travel who are caring and help kids.  I have friends who love wine like me, who went to college with me, who are 22 and 66.  I have friends that I have absolutely nothing in common with, but love more than anything.  Its a nice thought to know that you all are out there and that saying goodbye isn't the end of a friendship, but that you are all part of my journey.

Easter with Family and a Melted Bunny.

I went to see my grandparents this weekend.  It was a holiday weekend and the thing that my family knows how to do best is celebrating holiday weekends.  My family is loud and fun and they know how to have a good time.  

My family also knows how to eat.  It may be the thing that we do best.  Well, maybe second to loving each other.  Shapuras' are very good at that, especially my Grandma and Grandpa.

When I think about Easter the first things that comes to mind are chocolate bunnies.  

You have to have a chocolate bunny on Easter.  Regretfully mine didn't make it to my mouth.  It melted into a brown bunny puddle after being left in the hot sun, and regardless of the tragedy, the egg hunts and basket opening continued unaffected and blissfully unaware of my bunny's demise.  

Aside from the bunny mishap, my weekend was relaxing and wonderful.  I ate 13 cream puffs made special by my grandma, watched the deer in the field, and spent time with my beautiful cousin who is expecting baby number 2... baby number 1 did not want to be held and was more interested in making mischief than making me happy by snuggling.

My favorite face.  My favorite cook.  My grandma.  She's the one who fed me the 13 cream puffs.  And then sent me home with a pack of Oreos and four boxes of Girl Scout cookies.  Ha!  

Sometimes the simple things are the best things.