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!

Deck the Halls.

What is it about this time of year? Several nights in a row the past few weeks Caleb and I sat in the living room, no TV, tree lit, cocoa or wine in hand and it was almost magical.

I've been preparing for said magical moments accordingly by putting out every Christmas decoration I own with the addition of a few new little pieces {like the adorable fawn pictured below!}.

I'm also looking forward to a weekend of Christmas cheer complete with cocoa, gift wrapping, and time with my hubby at home.

Ahhh... this time is year...

Sometimes You Need A Break!

Hey guys! Happy Monday {is it possible for those words to go together?!}!

I can't seem to shake my serious case of bloggers block. I can't think of anything to write and not posting makes me feel guilty. Like I'm not doing something I'm supposed to be doing. You know what I mean? I hate it so I'm giving myself permission to take a break. I'll still be around and I'm still going to post, but I need a break from the pressure of feeling like I have to constantly come up with something worthy and interesting to say. Like I HAVE to have a weekly Pinterest project or I HAVE to participate in link parties. So... I'm not gonna (except the cookie swap cause I'm super pumped for that!)...


That being said...

I've been having a lot of fun lately! Decorating, visiting with family, going to street festivals... I love this time is year! I'm going to leave you all with a few of my fave pictures as of recent. See you soon!

Its the Hap Happiest Season of All!

Its starting to look like Christmas in these parts.  The last of the Fall decor has made its way back to storage and the rotten pumpkins from the front yard have been thrown in the garbage.  The orange and brown and wheat and gourds have been exchanged for red and garland and Christmas lights.  

I love this time of year.  If Fall didn't bring cozy feelings then this season will with cool nights and cocoa.  Christmas movies and traditions.  Last night I found myself sitting with my mug of cocoa staring at the tree.

I wanted a real tree this year.  I decided to go with a miniature version.  I love it.  It goes perfect with a good book.

Cinderella is also enjoying the season.  We have found that she loves candy canes.  I came home from work to find that she had eaten three.  The only part left were the wrappers and some broken pieces.  If you look closely you can see the crazy glint in her eyes from all the sugar!

I'm looking forward to old traditions and starting new ones in our first home.  What special traditions does your family enjoy this season?  I would love to hear about them!

Excuse me while I go watch the tree lighting from Rockefeller Center on TV.  My cocoa is getting cold...  

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.  

I'm so Lazy.

Hello!

Its been a little bit since I've sat down and actually written a post.  I've been experiencing some major lack of motivation.  Last week I was out of town for several days and then I was focused on the holiday and then I was just enjoying spending time with family so much that I didn't feel like taking time away to sit in front of the computer while everyone else was watching Christmas movies and football and visiting and drinking wine.  Know what I mean?

And honestly I'm still feeling pretty lazy.  So lazy that I don't even want to upload the pictures off my phone that I took of my holiday (plus Blogger is saying I used up all my free storage space on Picassa?  What the....).  

In fact, I've been trying to write this post for the last twenty minutes, but instead find myself looking at Cyber Monday deals (50% off at J. Crew!!!! + Free Shipping) and perusing renttherunway.com to find a dress for the imaginary Christmas party I'm going to.  

I was going to leave you with a picture that makes me happy, but please reference previous comments about lack of picture storage and instead imagine that I uploaded a Fall sunset and crimson leaves.  :)  

Happy Monday.

Happy Saturday After Thanksgiving!

Well Hello! I've been absent for a while, I know. First it was preparing for the holiday, then a trip to Indiana for a funeral, and then Thanksgiving. Now, I'm busy relaxing and recouping with family and focusing on the many things I am thankful for.

I'll be back full force soon, but until then I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with family and friends! See you soon!