Have A Bite Of...

Twix Cookies

These babies were super easy to make and a hit at Christmas dinner.

You can find the recipe over at chef in training; the modifications I made were to the chocolate topping(s). I used milk chocolate for half of the cookies and semisweet for the remainder. Also, I don't use shortening so I melted each 1/3 c. of chocolate chips with 1 Tbs. of evaporated milk.

Does anyone else feel guilty about not using an entire can of evaporated milk? I don't use it often and the recipes that call for it never require more than a few tablespoons at a time, so I'm always at a loss of what to do with the excess.

The caramel layer was so gorgeous I almost didn't want to cover it with chocolate...

Who am I kidding? Everything is better with a little chocolate!

Our parents and my sister came over for Christmas brunch and a gift exchange. There was a lovely mix of toys and books for Jr, and not a single battery operated toy in the bunch!

There were homemade cinnamon rolls and fruit, smoked sausages and eggs, coffee and spicy tomato juice. We laughed and reminisced, played games and just relaxed. The look of pure joy on Jr's face when he tried out his new rocker, it must have felt like he was flying.

We're going to need a bigger toy basket...

Such a big boy!

"All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!"
Charles Schulz

Happy Holidays!

Things have been busy around here. Everyone has to pull their weight.

The munchkin has discovered laptops...

We acquired a Christmas tree.

Professional tree pickers.

Professional tree cutter.

The tree people were quite impressed with his level of preparedness (overalls, boots, and coat).

Timber!!

You've got that, right? Good.

Ta-da!!

There was a very merry half-birthday.

Six months old?!

And we took approximately nine hundred pictures for our Christmas card.

We are quite talented at ensuring one member of the family is never looking at the camera.

"As long as we know in our hearts what Christmas ought to be, Christmas is."

Eric Sevareid

The Little Things

Usually it's the little things that make a difference in how my day is going. Two of the small luxuries that I love? Great drinks and good music.

Great Drinks

source

Something about that little green logo makes my morning brighter, but my wallet lighter. The latter of those results necessitated learning to make my beloved macchiato at home and I have a delicious copycat worked up. Put it in a cup with a straw and it's just about perfect (minus the $4 fee, of course).
Macchiato Knock Off
~~~
1 cup ice
2 tsp vanilla syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk 
(or 1/2 cup skim milk)
6 oz cold brewed coffee
(or two shots of espresso)
Caramel sauce
~~~
Layer first four ingredients in a 16oz cup (with straw) and drizzle with caramel sauce. Easy peasy. 

Good Music
I utilize spare bits of my time to compile and edit playlists on Grooveshark, A) because music is an essential part of my daily life and B) because I think exposing Jr to music is important. Currently I'm on a Boyce Avenue kick - specifically their covers which are, by and large, absolutely wonderful.

November Snapshots

1) View

I can't describe how much I enjoy seeing our neighborhood deer every day.

2) Happy

Stopped for coffee while running errands with my sis, ended up with a free coffee!

3) Balance

Starting up the business again, discovering it's much more difficult to do with a baby. 

4) Wear

I'm obsessed with this vest purchased at Old Navy (for cheap!)

5) Love

The hair!!

6) Everyday

My five-minute-face routine.

7) Eat

This was reserved for a picture of my very first Thanksgiving turkey, but I forgot to get a picture before it was devoured. I'm still miffed about this - it really was picture perfect.

8) Project

Starbucks has a holiday punch card? Challenge accepted!

9) Habit

I probably shouldn't let it be a habit, but holding Jr for a nap is so precious I can't resist.

10) Favorite

Jr's first reaction to peekaboo.

"If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one."
Cavett Robert