We wish you a merry Christmas!

So if you know me you know that I am super into Christmas.  I love every part of it.  Seeing family, decorating, seeing friends, giving/receiving presents, all the opportunities for DIY projects.  This time of year is great, and while I already shared some of the stuff that I did this season, I thought I'd go ahead and share a few of the highlights of this Christmas season. 

Kicking off the celebration with St. Nicholas day on the 6th of Dec.!

We broke out the Christmas decorations, and things got out of hand very quickly.

Our little tree all decorated and nice (we got a real topper this year as a gift, so next year it will be a real tree).

All of the presents all wrapped and under the tree. They were promptly opened right after this picture was taken.

Our Christmas card wall as previously posted about here.

Peppermint bath salts made to look like a candy cane...this and other great gift ideas can be found here and here.

My beautiful house in D.C. all decorated for the holidays!

All of the stockings hung by the chimney with care on Christmas eve.

Chris trying on my Christmas PJs, a family tradition...Christmas PJs, not Chris trying them all

The whole family over at my house for Christmas (and little Wilfred my sort of nephews first Christmas!)

Chris and I playing with little Wil.

Wil as the most adorable Santa EVER!

End of Christmas craziness.

Smashing the gingerbread house with a sledge hammer (clearly a new Christmas tradition).

Back home with Wedge!

Can you tie it in a knot? Can you tie it in a bow?

I've been bad. I know, but as prepared as I was for the holidays I somehow didn't find the time to post these great decoration ideas.  Both wreaths that I will show you are from Pinterest (of course), but the Christmas card hanging is a family tradition (although definitely not exclusive to my family, I'm sure).

I love Pinterest, as I'm sure a lot of you do. It makes me really excited for Christmas going through all of the Christmas crafts and ways to decorate and DIY presents. I found a picture of ribbon wreath, and I loved it.  I thought it was a lot of fun, so I decided to give it a try. Now is actually the perfect time to do it because all of the Christmas wrapping supplies are super cheap right now and you'll be all set for next year!

Ribbon wreath:

What you need:

Wire coat hanger

2 Pipe cleaners 

Ribbon (LOTS of ribbon) of your choosing

Scissors

What you do:

1) Undo the hanger so that it is in a straight line.

2) Make it into a circle twisting the ends (be careful not to pinch your fingers...feel free to wear gloves during this step although they aren't really necessary). Make sure the ends are as tucked in as possible.

3) Wrap the pipe cleaner around the wire hanger it can be spread out curls they don't have to be right next to each other, really it is to prevent the ribbon from moving around a lot while you are working/when it is hung up.

4) Cut a piece of ribbon (it is different for each type of ribbon because some thicker ribbons need to be longer to be tied in a knot, but about 8 inches should be a good place to start then make them longer or shorter accordingly), and tie it in a bow around the hanger/pipe cleaner. 

5) Repeat in a pattern or randomly with other types of ribbon.

6) Make sure that the ribbons are being tied one right after the other so that there are no gaps. 

7) Repeat until entire wreath is filled. 

8) Hang (I used a command hook) wherever you'd like.

 

This is sort of cheating because I saw this under Easter decorations on Pinterest, but it works for Christmas too. Again, this only came with a picture, so I sort of made up my own way of doing it.

Ornament wreath:
What you will need:
Cardboard (enough for the size wreath you want)
Scissors or exacto knife (exacto knife is easier to use)
Ornaments (I bought mine at Duane Reade two big boxes for 10 bucks)
Hot glue gun and glue refills (you will need about 4 cartridges)*

*I used a hot glue gun...I'm sure some kind of super glue or gorilla glue would work as well.

What you do:
1) Cut an O shape out of a piece of cardboard in whatever size you want it to be. Make sure that the O is thick, but not too thick, and try and make it circular...although a little irregularity isn't bad.
2) PREP YOUR AREA... glue is extremely messy to work with and you do not want a huge clean up, either put newspaper down or left over cardboard. 
3) Plug in your hot glue gun.
4) Start gluing your ornaments. I did them sort of randomly, but you could also make it into a pattern. Make sure that you are hiding the glue parts (at least for the most part) and that there isn't too much string from the glue showing.  Also make sure that you give the glue about 15-30 seconds to harden between each ornament or else they will slide all over the place. Make at least two layers of ornaments.
5) Hang and enjoy!

 

Christmas card hanging is an art. Everything has to look festive and good so that it can bring holiday cheer to your home. 

Christmas card hanging:

What you will need:

Bakers twine (red or green is best you can buy here or on Amazon)

Tape

Christmas cards

What you do:

1) Find a nice bare wall (the back of the door is sort of perfect for this because if you are anything like me and Chris your walls are already completely covered).

2) Tape one end of the bakers twine to the wall, and unravel in a diagonal line downward. 

3) Tape again, before moving in the opposite direction, but still diagonal and downward. 

4) Tape in place, and cut the bakers twine (if you are REALLY popular you may have to do another string downward).

5) Hang the cards up on the string. 

Game of Thrones cut out snowflakes:
What you will need:
Printer
White paper
Scissors
These designs

What you do:
1) Open the PDF on your computer and print each of the house snow flake patterns that you want. I did all of them and I recommend Lannister, Targaryen, and Martell they might not be your favorites, but they came out the best and are the easiest to start with.
2) Cut out the square.
3) Fold the paper accordingly.
4) Cut where told.
5) Unfold.
6) Hang everywhere.

12 jars of Christmas

I realize the title says Christmas, but these aren't just for Christmas.  They are for any holiday you celebrate or even throughout the year. I stumbled across the idea on Pinterest and thought that they were adorable, and I put my own twist on some of them. I made 4 types of these jars over the weekend, and plan on making tons more. They are a great way to make group gifts, so if you are looking for something to give people at the office or something to make as favors for a party you are having these are perfect.

Another cute idea would be to have a mason jar party (disgustingly hipster, but still cute) where you supply the ingredients and people make their own mason jar gifts.

1) Hot chocolate:
This is one of the easier of the jars.  You use the ingredients to make layers inside the jar that you can see on the outside. Depending on what kind of hot chocolate you want to do your jars will have between 2 and 5 layers.

What you will need (note: the only thing that is required is the hot chocolate otherwise it is up to you!):
16 oz. mason jars with lids
Hot chocolate mix (I used Starbucks hot chocolate, it's better than SwissMiss, but you can still buy it in large canisters)
Marshmallows
Peppermint
Nip of Bailys
Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Sprinkles

I used hot chocolate powder, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and marshmallows.  I was making them for someone else, but if I was doing them myself I would have either added peppermint or (depending on the crowd) nips of Bailys.

What you do:
Spoon in the appropriate amount of powder (for me it was about half the jar and it would serve 4 people).
Pour semi-sweet chocolate chips over the powder (use just enough to make a small layer you don't want to make it too chocolaty).
Fill the remainder of the jar with marshmallows. 
Tie bakers twine or ribbon around the top of the jar and add a tag with instructions (make sure that you add that they can use different kinds of milk).

2) Mulling spices:
The easiest one in my opinion, but definitely more holiday oriented.

What you will need:
16 oz. mason jars
Oranges (1/2 an orange per jar)
Apples (1/2 an apple per jar)
Cinnamon sticks (4-5 per jar)
Cloves (1-2 TBSP per jar)
Water

What you do:
Cut orange in half then cut into round slices.
Cut apple in half then cut into 1/2 inch slivers.
Place in jar mixing up the apples and oranges.
Put the cinnamon sticks and cloves into the jar.
Fill with water and make sure that the jar is sealed tight.
Tie bakers twine or ribbon around the top of the jar and add a tag with instructions (simmer on low heat throughout the day to make your house smell fantastic).

3) Pamper yourself:
Again, this one is VERY easy, but it requires ordering a few extra things.  That being said, it is a cute way to package a spa kit. This is the more expensive option of all of the jars, but it is definitely worth it, and depending on how many of these jars you are making, but if you are making 5 jars you can do it for about $10 including the jar.

What you will need:
Tea candles (you can get a bag of 50 for about 8 bucks from amazon)
Single use face masks (here is a pack of 10 for 7 dollars) 
Cooling eye mask (pack of 3 for 10 dollars)
Homemade lavender bubble bath (unscented shampoo, salt, water, and lavender essential oil)
Travel bottles for the bubble bath (pack of 6 for 7 dollars) 
Quart sized mason jars with lids

What you do:
Make lavender bubble bath using this recipe. If you are making multiple jars you should consider doubling or tripling the recipe depending on the size of the shampoo bottle that you got.
Pour them into the travel sized bottles.
Put two face masks into the jar, put an eye mask in the jar, slide in 3-4 tea candles, and the travel bottle of bubble bath.
Close the lid, and tie a tag onto the jar using bakers twine or ribbon.  On the tag write the contents of the jar...make sure you add the homemade lavender bubble bath because some people have allergies.

 

4) Homemade caramel popcorn:

Alright, so for this one you need a slightly larger work space, and it is a bit more complicated than any of the other ones because it requires more prep work.  It is a good pay off though, the popcorn is AMAZING.

What you will need (to fill 4-5 jars):

1 cup Popcorn- if you don't have an air popper you can make it the old fashioned way in a large pot with oil

1 stick salted Butter

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1 cup light brown sugar

1.5 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp vanilla

Wax paper

Aluminum foil

Quart jars

What you do:

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.

Line cookie trays with aluminum foil and grease them.

While you are at it, lay wax paper down on a large surface.

Pop popcorn- if you have an air popper you might want to do 1/2 cup at a time, if you are doing it in a LARGE pot, line bottom of the LARGE pot with olive oil and pour 1/2 a cup of popcorn into the bottom of the LARGE pot  (if you only have a small pot use 1/4 cup of popcorn at a time until you have popped a full cup of kernels) 

After you have popped the popcorn (don't do this at the same time as popping the popcorn because the caramel needs to be watched) in a small pot melt 1 stick of salted butter on LOW heat. 

When butter is completely melted add 1/4 cup light corn syrup and 1 cup light brown sugar and stir to mix completely. When it is completely mixed in let the mixture simmer on low heat untouched for 5 minutes.

When the 5 minutes are up stir for 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off for another 5 minutes.  

When the 5 minutes are up, remove from heat and add 1.5 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp vanilla and stir to mix completely. 

Pour over popcorn gradually while stirring to mix completely. 

Pour onto cookie trays spreading evenly over them. 

Put in oven for 15 minutes.  Every 5 minutes remove and stir popcorn.

When 15 minutes is up, pour over wax paper and let cool to room temperature.

Break into small pieces and pour into quart jars.

Tie on tag with ribbon or bakers twine or just use the labels I linked to at the bottom of the page.

The next few jar suggestions come from this website. You can either give 1 as a gift or you can make a bunch of these spa recipes and give them as a larger present.

5) Homemade salt scrub:

What you will need:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup honey

3/4 cup salt (make sure that it has very large salt crystals)

Essential oil of your choice (I used lavender)

16 oz. mason jar

What you do:

Mix 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/3 cup honey completely 

Add 3/4 cup salt slowly stirring it into the honey olive oil mixture. 

It should be thick, but not hard. There might be a little extra of the oil mixture on the top.  

Add about 15-30 drops of essential oil depending on how strong you want it to smell. 

Close the mason jar.

6) Homemade bubble bath:

I already talked a little about this one, but you can have a little fun with it using different essential oils, you can use a little food coloring (VERY little...you don't want to dye someones skin accidentally).

What you will need:

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup unscented shampoo 

1 tsp salt

Essential oil of your choice

Food coloring (optional)

What you do:

Add 1/2 water and 1/3 unscented shampoo to jar.

Add 1 tsp salt and stir until mixture gets thick.

Add 15-30 drops of essential oil.

Add 5-10 drops of food coloring (optional).

7) Homemade body butter:

What you will need:

1 1/2 cups coconut oil

2 TBSP vitamin E oil

Essential oil

Electric mixer

What you do:

Put 1.5 cups coconut oil and 2 TBSP vitamin E oil into a bowl.

Use an electric mixer to mix the two together for several minutes.  The mixture should be creamy you should be able to make peaks very easily. You might have to take breaks to scrape the mixture down the side of the bowl.

Add essential oil and mix again.

Scoop into mason jar and label. 

The next few are super easy because it is just mixing things into epsom salts. There are tons of sites that offer recipes for these such as: this one, this one, and this one.

8) Lavender bath salts:

What you need:

Epsom salt (if you are making a few jars you should get one of the big bags)

Essential oil

2-3 TBSP Fresh lavender (optional you can usually get lavender at places like whole foods or a local co-op)

What you do:

Fill jar halfway with Epsom salt.

Add 1-2 TBSP lavender and 15 drops lavender oil.

Seal lid and shake to mix completely.

Fill the rest of the jar with Epsom salt.

Add 1 TBSP lavender and another 15 drops of oil.

Seal jar and shake to mix completely.

Label with tag or jar topper.

9) Lemon Rosemary bath salts:

What you need:

Epsom salt

2-3 TBSP lemon zest

8 drops lemon essential oil

2-3 TBSP fresh chopped rosemary

What you do:

Fill jar halfway with Epsom salt.

Add 1-2 TBSP lemon zest, 1-2 TBSP chopped rosemary and 4 drops lemon oil.

Seal lid and shake to mix completely.

Fill the rest of the jar with Epsom salt.

Add 1 TBSP lemon zest, 1 TBSP chopped rosemary and another 4 drops of oil.

Seal jar and shake to mix completely.

Label with tag or jar topper.

 

These next few I have not tried out yet, but I definitely plan to...

10) Snowflake mix

What you need: 

3 cups bite-size rice square cereal 

3 cups bite-size corn square cereal

1 cup small pretzels

1 cup honey-roasted peanuts 

2 12  ounce package white chocolate chips

1 12 - ounce package Andes chocolate pieces (or other mint chocolate chips)

Wax paper

What you do:

Combine cereals, pretzels, and peanuts.

Melt white chocolate chips and pour over cereal mixture. 

Stir completely before spreading across wax paper to evenly.

Sprinkle with mint chocolate chips. 

Pour into jars and label.

11) S'mores in a jar

What you need:

WIDE MOUTHED mason jars (important so that everything will fit without breaking)

Graham crackers

Chocolate bars

Marshmallows

Clear baggies for loose ingredients

Quart sized jars

What you do:

Put marshmallows and graham crackers into separate bags.

Put candy bars, marshmallow bag, and graham cracker bag into the jar.

Write instructions and label on tag. 

12) Christmas cookies in a jar

I'm not as big of a fan of this one because they need to buy extra ingredients, but also because the mix came from a box which is unfortunate, but there are a bunch more recipes that don't use a mix. 

What you need:

Quart sized jars

Betty Crocker chocolate fudge cake mix

Red and green M&Ms

What you do:

 Layer ingredients (cake mix first, M&Ms second).

Write label with instructions (pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, beat together two eggs and 1/2 cup vegetable oil, add entire jar contents, mix completely, make into 1 inch balls and place them 2 inches apart, bake for 6-8 minutes).

There are plenty more ideas for mason jar gifts both on Pinterest or if you just google.  There are a few ideas here, here, here, and here.

For the labels I used this Pinterest link or this website in case you don't have Pinterest.  You just download them and print them.  I highly suggest using thicker paper if your printer can handle it.  When they have printed, write on them, cut them out, and glue them on the top.

If you aren't looking to make all of your gifts, my post yesterday covered lots of awesome websites to shop on with some great deals.  Find those here.

The gift of giving

So you may think I'm crazy, but I'm one of those people that needs to be organized around the holidays.  That's what happens when you start splitting holidays with a significant other.  Suddenly one half of the family has to be done by "early Christmas". I am officially done with all of my Christmas shopping, and am going to help you out (without giving away my gifts, of course).

You may wonder why I am releasing this post now instead of at a more appropriate time (after Thanksgiving...all Christmas stuff should happen after Thanksgiving in my opinion), but I am trying to save you some money.  Most of these sites will have crazy sales in the coming week/weekend.

Another thing to consider with all of the free time you will have this weekend you may want to try making a few gifts.  I made a post about mason jar gifts that are all really cute and fun.

1) Uncommon goods
Uncommon Goods

Good for funky interesting gifts.  They have partnerships with different artists, so a lot of it is supporting individual artists which is nice. There is some pricey stuff on there, but you can definitely find a good deal.

Recommended:
City map lowball glasses
Rorshock game
DIY felt ornaments
Typewriter key necklace
Fruit/vegetable parchment cuff bracelets

2) Urban Outfitters:
Urban Outfitters

They are all over the map for gifts, but they are definitely good for that friend that just moved into their own apartment or someone who gets a kick out of hipster or vintage things. They have lots of pint glasses and the like that are usually on sale for 2 for 10 or 2 for 15.

Recommended:
Glow in the dark stars
Disposible camera- "holidaze" theme
Nick Offerman's (from Parks and Rec.) book
Brew your own beer kit

3) Think Geek
Think Geek

For the geeks in your life.  Just kidding this site has a ton of stuff that isn't just for geeks. They have lots of practical, but fun gifts. PLUS they have a sale going on this week 20% off all orders of $40 dollars or more.  Use the code BLACKMAGIC. 

Recommended:
Star Wars thumb wrestling book
Game of Thrones pint glasses
Cable organizers
Tetris cookie cutters

4) Restoration Hardware
Restoration Hardware

Everything on the website is crazy pricey except they have a reasonably priced gifts section.  Their stocking stuffers in particular are fantastic.

Recommended:
Sun photo kit
Set of 4 childrens card games
Vintage kitchen timer
Porcelain to go cup
Scratch off map
Beer chiller

5) Kate Spade
Kate Spade

Getting designer stuff for people is great. First of all, you are getting a really quality gift for someone that they will appreciate. Second of all, since you are getting something designer, chances are its gonna be on the small side which is always better. Good things come in small packages and all ;)

Recommended:
Reusable shopping bag
Decision maker die
Glitter coasters
Mitten gloves- multiple colors

6) Kate Spade Saturday
Kate Spade Saturday

If you like that designer idea this might be even better for you.  Kate Spade Saturday is basically her less expensive line, so you would be able to get either a few things or a bigger gift for less money.

Recommended:
Hooded scarf
Leather strap bracelet
Cosmetic bag

7) J. Crew/J. Crew factory
J. Crew
J. Crew Factory

J. Crew is awesome because not only do they have nice clothes, they also have awesome accessories.  Plus their stuff is really classic, so you can't really go wrong. Plus they have sales ALL the time.  That being said, if you can't wait for a sale, J. Crew Factory is the outlet online store for J. Crew, so if you are looking for something specific (like say a hoodie that your boyfriend loves, but that was from last year) the factory store may have it.

Recommended:
J. Crew:
Women's gloves with iPhone fingers
Infinity scarf
Cable-knit hat
Martini shaker

Factory:
Suade clutch
Enamel necklace
Faux fur scarf
Fuzzy slippers
Wooden coasters
Leather flask

8) Anthropologie
Anthropologie

Adorable.  Everything here is honestly adorable. Anthro is definitely pricey, though, so that might be one where you hit up a black Friday/cyber Saturday sale. Their sale section in general is actually pretty good as well.

Recommendations:
Spoon rest
Ceramic berry baskets
Colorful bowls
Beanie hat
Beaded necklace

9) Fishs Eddy
Fishs Eddy

Very New York.  This place is awesome.  It is pretty much all kitchen stuff, but they have a few random things here and there. I highly recommend looking into them, if not for gifts then for you!

Recommended:
Floor plan square plate
Obama birth certificate tray
NYC magnets
Polka dot sauce bowls

10) Nick Offerman's Woodshop
Offerman Wood Shop

So Nick Offerman from Parks and Rec. has a website.  Not just any website.  A website where is basically IS Ron Swanson.  Nick Offerman really does do woodwork, and he has an awesome website with handmade stuff.  They also sell an autographed copy of his book as well as provide information about how to obtain his signature.

 Recommended:
Autographed book
Meat paddle/cutting board
Moustache kit (with option to personalize)

Baby it's cold outside

With all of the cold weather we have been having, it's always nice to have a hot drink to enjoy on the couch in front of the T.V. Nutella hot chocolate might just be that thing.  Chris and I have made it a few times, and it is FANTASTIC. All you need is nutella and milk! Fill a mug with milk and pour into a medium pot (this is for 1 serving, if you are making more then fill the mug however many times as you have people).  Put two TBSP (per mug of milk) of nutella in with the milk and heat on medium heat until nutella is completely dissolved. If you want it super nutella-y use 3-4 TBSP per mug. When it's done, pour back into mugs and top with either marshmallows or whipped cream!

Soupy Saturday

There is nothing better when it's cold outside to be inside enjoying a hot bowl of soup. Chris and I decided to make chicken and rice soup from scratch. I found the recipe through Pinterest, but it is really from The Pioneer Woman which is an amazing blog to follow. It is a bit time consuming (it takes about an hour and a half total), but definitely worth it. The original recipe is here, but I changed a few things.

What you will need:
A pot that is bigger than two quarts (trust me, I used a pot that was just a little over two quarts (8 cups) and it made a huge mess)
1 cup rice
Olive oil
Water
2 chicken breasts
8 chicken bullion cubes
Red bell pepper
Green bell pepper
1 stalk celery
1/2 onion (yellow)
Butter (about 1 stick)
4 TBSP flour
Salt
Pepper

What you do:
1) In a medium sized pot put 1 cup rice and two cups water. Add a dash of olive oil and a little salt. Cover and bring to a boil, when boiling turn heat down to a simmer until water is fully absorbed into the rice.

2) Put two chicken breasts in a large pot (larger than 2 quarts) and cover with two quarts of water. Add 8 bullion cubes, and bring to boil.  Let chicken cook on a constant boil until done (about 20 minutes).

3) While the rice and the chicken is cooking, finely chop the peppers, onion, and celery stalk and set aside.

4) When the rice is done, stir, and set aside.

5) When the chicken is done, remove from pot (keep bullion water in pot), and chop into bite sized pieces.

6) In a small frying pan melt 4 TBSP butter.  when butter is completely melted add 4 TBSP flour and mix completely until it is like a paste.  Pour it into the bullion water and stir.

7) In a larger frying pan melt 2-3 TBSP butter, and add chopped peppers/onion/celery. Heat until soft, and stir in chicken. When soft enough turn off heat, and add to the bullion mixture.

8) Add rice 1 cup at a time until desired texture is reached (I only added about 1 and a half cups).

9) Serve HOT (but be careful) and enjoy!

You can store in an airtight container.  You can also freeze for long term storage. 

Gobble gobble

Brighten your home or office (or home office) with a turkey candy jar! It's the same concept as the pumpkin candy jars (first project on the post of Halloween projects), but with a turkey for Thanksgiving! You could even put it out on Thanksgiving day for all of your guests to enjoy.


What you will need:
Jar (emptied, washed with peel removed)
Acrylic paint (brown, white, orange, and black)
Paint brush
Construction paper (I used orange, green, brown, red, and yellow, but you could use however many or however few colors that you like!)
Scissors
Glue
Candy of your choice

What you do:
1) Paint jar completely brown.  I used two layers.  You can use dark or light brown.
2) Wait for jar to dry completely. While you are waiting, cut out the feathers of the turkey. In order to do this so that they look the same, made a pile of the construction paper, I cut the pile into thirds, and stacked those into a larger pile. I then cut the feathers out of the piled paper.
3) Your jar should be dry by then (acrylic paint takes next to no time to dry).
4) Using the white paint, make two circles for the eyes. Set the jar down and let them dry.  Make sure you do two layers on the eyes as well, especially if you used dark brown paint so that the brown doesn't show through.
5) Make a downward facing triangle using the orange paint for the beak/nose. Again, you will probably need two layers.
6) While the eyes and beak are drying, layer the construction paper feathers and glue them together.  Set aside.
7) When the eyes are dry, paint pupils in the center, or do crazy eyes or whatever you feel like.
8) Put glue on the back of the jar, and press the feathers against the glue for 1 whole minute (I suggest actually counting to 60 to be sure they are stuck on completely, especially if the plume is as big as the one that I made).
9) Fill with candy!

It's the most magical time of the year...

I know I've been using lots of Christmas terms which (in my opinion) is not okay to do before Thanksgiving. However, I'm including Thanksgiving in the term "holidays", so keep that in mind before thinking that I'm jumping the gun ;). Also, you will thank me later for giving you lots of gift and party ideas leading up to the holidays! My first recipe for you has a little bit of a Halloween vibe these Butter Beer Cookies (yes, Harry Potter fans, I said BUTTER BEER COOKIES!) taste delicious, and would be super easy to double the recipe if you are baking for a large group.  Not to mention they are a big hit with anyone who read Harry Potter. So a few things I would do differently from the original recipe. I didn't use butter flavoring. My grocery store didn't have it, and it didn't seem necessary.  I would actually suggest using my recipe for sugar cookies which you can find here. I think it would add more flavor and it is easier to work with (it's less dry).

What you will need:
Cookies:
3 cups flour
2 TSP baking powder
1/2 cup regular sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar 
2 sticks butter
1 egg
1 TSP butter flavoring (I didn't use this)
3/4 TSP vanilla

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 TBSP light corn syrup
1 pinch coarse salt

What you do:
1) Take butter out of the oven...it should be about room temperature before you begin...You can also microwave it for about 45 seconds.
2) Pre-heat oven to 350.
3) Beat 2 sticks butter, 1/2 cup white sugar, and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a bowl until fully mixed.
4) Beat in 1 egg, 3/4 TSP vanilla, and butter flavoring (if you are using), and beat until smooth.
5) In a separate bowl, mix 3 cups flour and 2 TSP baking powder.
6) Slowly mix dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture until fully mixed. It will be dry and you might need to knead the batter toward the end to make sure that it is all mixed in.
7) Make little balls of dough and flatten them onto the baking sheet to make circular cookies.
8) Bake for 9-12 mins. (Check at 9, but mine took 11 mins).
9) While they are baking put all ingredients for glaze into a microwavable bowl (or you can use a double boiler), and heat for 30 seconds at a time stirring in between.  It takes about 4-5 mins to dissolve everything.
10) After cookies have cooled slightly, spoon glaze over cookies and let harden.

Smells like the holidays

Chris making a spiral

The holiday season is filled with traditions.  My family has a ton of them both small and large.  I decided to kick off this holiday season with a little something my family does around this time of year: cloved oranges. I picked this one to start because it is quick and easy and it makes your home smell of wonderful things. You only need two things: whole cloves (I got about a fourth of a cup and it was PLENTY we have tons left over) and oranges (I did about 3, but you can fill a bowl in the living room or make a centerpiece for the kitchen/dining room table, whatever you want). Pick a design, and stick the cloves into the oranges in that pattern. Think along the lines of cutting a pumpkin, but a bit easier. You can space the cloves out as much or as little as you want, but keep in mind that these are pretty strong smelling and the more cloves you use the stronger the smell will be. You also might want to use a tissue or paper towel when pushing the cloves in because they are sharp! Trust me, nothing will put you in the holiday spirit than sitting back and smelling these amazing cloved oranges.

The honeymoon phase ain't got nothin' on us

I've never really understood the meaning of a honeymoon phase when it applies to the person that you are supposed to be with. In my opinion when you are with that perfect person for you, the honeymoon phase never ends which is why I would like to dedicate this post to that person in my life who is the best boyfriend and best friend ever. Chris and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary on the 7th, and to celebrate we rented a little cabin up in the Catskills in Stamford, NY. We had a lovely trip. I'm including a list of places that we went at the end of the post in case you are ever in that area. 

Breakfast in bed cinnamon sugar rolls, bacon, fruit salad, and coffee! 

View from our front window as it started to snow.

Our little home away from home.

Our field and the view of the mountains.

The main room taken from our bedroom loft.

Relaxing in front of the fire.

Champagne from our host in front of the fire.

Beer puddle (?) outside the Ommegang Brewery.

Chris being a monk.

Ommegang brewery.

Clearly we went a bit crazy in the gift shop.

Ommegang brewery tasting room.

Driving through the mountains.

Fall trees.

Recommendations:
East side of the Catskills:
If you are coming from the south you will pass by Rosendale and New Paltz. They are a quick little detour right off the highway. New Paltz has more because it is a bigger town (and college town), but it has lots of cute shops for gifts, coffee, etc.  Then, you can scoot on over to Rosendale to have lunch at the Rosendale cafe on the main drag. The cafe is owned by one of my best friends from college parents and is amazing food.
Also on the east side of the Catskills, but actually in the mountains is Woodstock.  We stopped there on the way back.  It is a super cute town with lots of shops.  Bread Alone has a shop there (I HIGHLY recommend their apple cider sourdough), there was a very cute book shop called The Golden Notebook (on Tinker st.) is awesome for kids books.  Finally, my last recommendation which came from someone that Chris works with is Peace, Love, and Cupcakes (also on Tinker). This place was amazing. All the cupcakes are named after famous musicians, and they very fudgy cupcakes with amazing frosting.  My one complaint is that they are not easy share, but, then again, who wants to share a cupcake.

West side of the Catskills:
We stayed in Stamford, NY, and the one place I can recommend there (it is a TINY town) is TP's on Railroad ave. It's an a little diner, nice people, good food, amazing prices.  One place near by (pretty much the same town) was Hobart book village. It is basically a village of bookstores.  We drove by it, and it looked like a lot of fun.
We spent Friday in Margaretville which is a small town with lots of little shops. Two stuck out to me, one was an antique shop on Main. st. called 768 Main it is a coffee shop and antique store, but they also sell local maple syrup/chocolate syrup/caramel sauce. The other store we found there was a gourmet grocery store called The Cheese Barrel. They have lots of fresh cheese spreads, homemade candy, meats, etc. On the way to Margaretville we stopped for lunch at the Andes Hotel in Andes, NY.  The chicken caesar salad (me) and the burger (Chris) were both GREAT.
On Saturday we spent the day in Cooperstown, NY.  Probably one of the bigger towns in the area.  We went to the Ommegang Brewery as you can see from the pictures which was a lot of fun.  The tour was free and the tastings were $3. They also have a pretty good gift shop and a cafe which we didn't eat at so we can't vouch for it. We did eat at the Otesaga Hotel bar and grill for lunch.  It was good food, but the view of the lake is what you go there for.  It would be perfect in the summertime.  We ate dinner at an amazing restaurant on Main st. called Alex and Ika's which had GREAT food, but you definitely need a reservation.  It was crazy in there. We stopped at a few stores around town including The Firehouse market (another gourmet grocery store), there is a crafts store on Doubleday court (I can't remember what it is called) that sells stuff from artists in the area.  We had so much fun on our trip.  I hope it inspires you to plan one for yourself!

Compared to the month of October, November has been struggling for me.  HOWEVER, I am going to start focusing on Thanksgiving recipes, things to bring to parties, holiday DIY gift ideas, and decorating for the holidays! So get ready for lots of upcoming posts!