Christmas = cookies.

One of my favorite things to do is bake. Christmas time rolls around and I find myself stocking up on baking supplies and digging through my recipes. I love making all sorts of yummy treats and sending/giving them to my favorites. :) Alfonso always got excited when I sent him a box of cookies and would hide them in his room. LOL!! 


Anyways, Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without some amazing, beautiful, delicious soft sugar cookies. I love the lofthouse cookies that are just soooooo soft & simply a little piece of Heaven on earth. Ok, ok, ok. Maybe just a bit of exaggeration there. :D I really wanted to find a recipe that would turn out like the Lofthouse cookies and this is the closest I have found. Everytime I make these cookies, I always have people ask me for the recipe.

Hope you all enjoy it!! If you have any suggestions/changes/comments, please feel free to share!! 


Sugar Cookie Recipe


Ingredients:


1 c. butter
1 c. white sugar
3 beaten eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground nutmeg (I always leave this out for some reason)


Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 425*F. 


2. Mix 1 c. butter and 1 c. sugar. Once that is mixed well, add your 3 eggs and 1 tsp. of vanilla. 


3. In a separate mixing bowl, combine all your dry ingredients. (3 c. flour, 2 tsp. cream of tartar, 1 tsp. baking soda and 1 tsp. ground nutmeg).


4. Once all of your dry ingredients are mixed well, you will slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, stirring as you go. 


5. Once you have your dough, you can roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and use your favorite cookie cutters. This dough is really soft and you can roll this out about 1/2" thick if desired. Try to not add too much flour to keep your dough soft. 


6. Bake for 10 minutes or till slightly golden. 


I love these cookies, they've always turned out soft for me! Once cooled, top with your favorite icing and decorate! 

COOL treats for HOT weather!

It has been SO hot here in Michigan. My AC is broken and it can make for a pretty miserable day sometimes. It's too hot to cook. It's too hot to bake. (bummer) It's too hot to sew. It's too hot/humid to even move. 

To make these days a little easier, I found some yummy cool treats and thought I would share!

First up, Oreo and Fudge Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 c. hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed

1 (8 oz) tub cool whip, thawed and divided

1 box (4 serving size) chocolate flavor pudding and pie filling

8 Oreo sandwich cookies, chopped

12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches, unwrapped :)

Directions: 

1. Pour the fudge topping into a medium bowl. Add 1 cup of the whipped topping and stir with a wire whisk until well blended. Add dry pudding mix; stir until well blended. Gently stir in chopped cookies; set aside. 

2. Arrange 4 of the ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on a 24 inch long piece of foil. Top with half of the whipped topping mix. Repeat layers. Top with the remaining 4 ice cream sandwiches. Frost top and sides with the remaining whipped topping. Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and sides to loosely cover and seal the packet. 

3. Freeze for at least 4 hours. 

Easy AND delicious! I'm thinking maybe you could add some sort of strawberry filling for a different twist on this recipe!

Rocky Road Freeze

Ingredients: 

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened

1 c. cold milk

1 (3.9 oz) package instant chocolate pudding mix

1 (8 oz) tub whipped topping, thawed and divided

3/4 c. mini marshmallows

1/3 c. chopped peanuts

1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

25 Nilla Wafers, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Line a 9-in. round pan with plastic wrap; set aside. Beat cream cheese in a large bowl with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mix; beat until blended. 

2. Stir in 2 c. whipped topping and all remaining ingredients EXCEPT the Nilla Wafers. 

3. Spoon into pan. Top with wafers; press lightly into cream cheese mixture.

4. Freeze 4 hours or until firm. Remove the dessert from the freezer and let stand for 15 minutes before serving. Un-mold onto a serving plate. Serve with whipped topping, if desired! 

ENJOY! Hopefully you all find something to help beat the heat and stay cool!

Refashion-ista!

I love to refashion! I originally stumbled upon blogs and the world of blogging through looking around on the internet into refashioning clothing. It's a great way to save money and go green! I thought I would share some of the refashions that I have done! 

This started off as .49 shirt i got from Salvation Army! It still had the tags on it! 

Our Salvation Army has a sale every Saturday and from 5-8pm the color of the week is .49!

This hoodie also came from Salvation Army! My sister bought this for me and it was a Medium so it was a bit too big on me so I took in the sleeves and the sides and it was a perfect fit! The ruffles were from a white shirt that I cut up!

I made this skirt from a man's shirt! I bought the shirt from goodwill. 

This isn't a refashion but thought I would share it anyways :) This was my first pattern. ever. (besides the ones we used in home-ec in middle school) I got it from Joann's during one of their .99 sale! The fabric was purchased from Walmart for 1.00/yard! My mom purchased this fabric awhile back and it's just been sitting in a closet. I used it since it was my first pattern and not that big of a loss if it didn't turn out.

I made this belt using leftover material from my skirt, some ribbon I had on hand and some 1.5 inch wide elastic. Super easy to make! 

Hope you enjoyed my refashions! 

Thing's I'm Crushin'!

I'm crushin' on...

Bubble Petal Sleeve Top from Forever 21 

Chiffon Petal Trimmed Tank from Forever 21 

This would be easy to duplicate! 

Yes, I love Forever 21! I used to work there and they hold a special place in my heart!

And, who DOESN'T love Anthro?

Embraceable Tee from Anthropologie 

I think this will be my next re-fashion! I have just the shirt!

Twist of Fate Cardi from Anthropologie

Anthro is my love.

Someone should host a shopping spree giveaway to Anthro.

They would be my best friend.

My up-do for the night!

aI am/was pretty much in love with my hair tonight. It's my fave style yet for my hair.

To me, it's so classy, elegant and simply gorgeous! 

This is a side view, pretty much all pin curls. 

This is the front view. Yes, I took these in my car. I was waiting for people and wanted to get pictures before the night was over so I whipped out my laptop and took them using photobooth. :) lol. 

This is the back view, it was all pulled over to one side. I've been wanting to do hair for prom, weddings, etc. 

And YES, I do have very long hair. I'm proud to say it's never been cut, dyed, etc. I'm a pretty natural girl :) 

SUMMER!

I don't know about you, but summer is my FAVORITE time of the year. I've lived in Michigan my whole life and after the first week of snow, I'm sick of the cold, dampness, cleaning off my car, and of course - NO sunshine. C'mon now. It makes for a depressing time. :) Everything seems so cheery in the summer! The other day I was outside and I have this bush or whatever you want to call it outside my bedroom window and I had to take a picture of it. This is one of the reasons I love summer! 

Gorgeous! :) Of course, the dogs love the summer too! Paris loves to dig holes, dig holes, and dig some more holes! We got a new puppy recently too. Isn't she the cutest thing ever? 

Everyone, meet Maggie. :) She's the sweetest thing EVER! 
What's your favorite thing about summer?