baking

What’s making me happy lately

Hello and happy Tuesday! I just wanted to pop in and share some things that have been making me happy lately. I’m just going to jump right in!

Lola with yarn

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Lola isn’t a typical dog in that she doesn’t like to play–not with toys, people, or dogs. Her favorite things are food, laying on the couch, and taking long walks. I was super surprised when my mother-in-law and sister-in-law came over last week to teach me how to crochet and Lola was transfixed by the yarn. She didn’t do anything, but I could tell she was enthralled. The next day, she came inside after her morning bathroom break and ran over to my ball of yarn and started ripping it apart and playing with it! It was the cutest thing.

Date nights

Before Jimmy and I were married, we went on dates a few times a month because we only saw each other on the weekends. Now that we’re married and living together, we’re with each other all the time (yay!), but we tend to focus on house work or other activities in our free time. We went on a date night over the weekend for the first time in months, and it was spectacular. We used a gift card we were given for Red Lobster and then browsed around some local stores. Catching up over a meal we didn’t have to cook or clean up after was lovely, and we had a blast window shopping! Must do that more often 🙂

Doodling

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I’ve been doodling each morning when I write in my journal and read my Bible. It’s a fun way to relax and express creativity. Also, I want a cat.

Enjoying the great outdoors

It’s so easy to stay cooped up in the winter when it’s cold outside. Thankfully I have Lola to give me the please walk me now look, which gets us outside each day. Even if we’re only out for ten minutes, I always feel great afterwards. Fresh air works wonders!

Work

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I got to work from home (kind of!) for the first time last week. The family I work for is having their house renovated, so their kitchen is currently out of commission. I typically bake and cook for them each week, so I made some food in my kitchen and then dropped it off at their house. I made granola, bread, chili, meatballs, homemade pasta sauce, and spaghetti. The only downfall? I was totally unmotivated to cook dinner for Jimmy and I that night, haha.

Indoor gardening

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Last month, I mentioned that Jimmy and I bought new windows for our house. Jimmy, stud that he is, made a special windowsill in our kitchen for me to start an herb (and palm tree, ha) garden! I planted basil, oregano, cilantro, rosemary, parsley, and chives. Everything is starting to grow, and it makes me incredibly happy. I’m already dreaming of gardening outside in a few months. Can’t wait!

What’s making you happy lately?

A new tradition

Hi! Can you believe it’s almost Christmas? I’m very excited to spend time with mine and Jimmy’s families. This time of year–when we remember and celebrate Christ’s birth–is incredibly special. The traditions and festivities are always so memorable, too. Over the weekend, my mom and I decided to start a new tradition. We got together and spent the day baking cookies and treats, and assembled the baked goods on trays to give to our neighbors.

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I think that we spent about eight hours baking. I’m sure four of those hours were probably spent laughing. I don’t know what it was, but we had a major case of the giggles all day. It could have been because my hand twitched when I was holding candy eyeballs?

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Then I said something (I can’t remember what) and it made my mom laugh so hard that she drooled on a cookie…which we promptly threw away. We also burned a batch of gingersnaps and couldn’t figure out why. It turned out that we accidentally used wax paper to line the cookie sheet instead of parchment. Yikes!

My sister and her boyfriend were at my parent’s house for a little while on Saturday, and they wanted me to take pictures of them by the Christmas tree. Hannah’s boyfriend was helping her get ready and I walked by the bathroom and saw him blow drying her hair. It was such a sweet moment!

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It was also nice to hang out with my parent’s dogs, Brandy and Reggie. When I talk to Jimmy about them I sometimes refer to them as one unit and call them “Breggie” haha.

My mom and I ended up making sugar cookies, gingersnaps, Russian tea cakes (also called snowballs or Mexican wedding cookies), peanut butter blossoms, penguin cookies, chocolate crinkles, cranberry bars, and peppermint bark. We both agreed that either the cranberry bars or the penguins were the hardest thing to make because they required so many different steps and ingredients. The easiest cookies were probably the Russian tea cakes. The treat that was the biggest hit was the peppermint bark.

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Jimmy and I delivered cookie trays to seven of our neighbors on Sunday afternoon, and I don’t think I stopped smiling for the rest of the day. We both agreed that it felt amazing and like it was the least we could do to give back to the people who have been so friendly and welcoming to us since we moved to our community in 2014.

Do you bake around Christmas time?
What’s your favorite type of cookie?