We had a hoot of a time trying to get a good picture in front of our tree the other night, but we took so many there were actually quite a few to choose from. My sister might have wanted to hurt me by the end, but all in good fun. Here are my favorites.
And what a tree, huh? It sparkles just right.
From us, to you, Happy Holidays!
If there’s one thing I hate more than anything it’s being cold.
Go figure, I’m originally from this place.
Sometimes I dream of living in Southern California, where the temperature is almost always 70 degrees and the sun beats down readily as the days pass by. Of course, this is not my reality at the moment. Currently I am in frigid New England where the frost is alive and my heater suddenly broke last night.
We fixed it, thanks to a few phone calls, but it made sunny CA look just that much better.
Since I do call the Northeast home (and I do absolutely love it May-October), I’ve learned to deal quite efficiently with the cold days and even colder nights.
Here are some of my favorite ways to stay cozy:
1. cozy socks 2. slippers for extra warmth 3. a blanket from the past
4. a fuzzy robe 5. mugs of hot cocoa 6. steamy hot tea
7. a puffy down jacket 8 and 9. wool mittens and a hat 10. bowls of chicken soup for the soul
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And while all these things are nice, let’s not forget that the best way to be cozy is to surround yourself with the people you love. Snuggle up on the couch under that big ‘ol blanket and take a look at that twinkling tree you have. Think about your life and what makes you happy. Think about favorite memories, favorite days, favorite people. Take all those small moments and rejoice. Be thankful and be glad. Life is sweet. ♥
You didn’t think I’d leave you hanging without this cookie recipe did you?
I’d like to think you trust me more than that.
We are friends after all.
Here you go!
Mom’s Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
2.5 cups of sifted flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
C of butter, softened
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
1 C of confectionary sugar
Directions:
Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside
Cream butter and vanilla until butter is softened
Add confectionary sugar gradually, cream until fluffy after each addition
Mix in the dry ingredients (my mom doesn’t add all the flour because it gets too stiff and is hard to roll out)
Then, take half the dough and roll it out until 1/4 inch thick.
Put some confectionry sugar and flour down when you roll the dough out (and sprinkle on top so it doesn’t stick to the rolling pin).
Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Watch them, too, because they burn easily.
Enjoy!!
Do you have a favorite christmas cookie recipe? Or some other favorite treat that’s your go-to for the holidays? My grandmother makes loads and loads of different types of Christmas cookies every year. She puts them in little holiday tins and the whole time I’m visiting I’m basically just munching and munching on cookies till my teeth hurt.
It’s a once a year thing and I’m happy to indulge in it.
“Let them eat cookies!”
It’s completely, ridiculously Christmas up in here.
This is a fact.
95% at leeeeast.
And I’m 100% ok with it.
Yesterday I captured my day in photos by taking a picture an hour. I saw this recently over at Beaktweets and she saw it on Bleubird (which I just discovered and will now be stalking regularly). It was fun! Overall, it was a pretty uneventful day and a lot of my morning was filled with wrapping Christmas presents, but with the records spinning and the endless Christmas movies being popped into the DVD player it was easy to crank out all the wrapping.
Today after school I’m participating in a cookie swap at work, and after debating over which kind to make I resorted back to my mom’s sugar cookies. They are just too good to quit. Plus they always get rave reviews, which is what I’m going for. Tryin’ to be the life of the party.
Anyways, enough babbling. Here it goes… my day in pictures:
How was your weekend? Did you get everything done that you needed to for the 25th? One more week! It’s coming up so fast and this makes my heart happier than happy. I’ll be spending Christmas this year with my parents down at my grandmothers house in Connecticut. I can’t wait for the joy and love and relaxation. It’s going to be perfect, I can just feel it in my bones.
Happy Monday!
