Sunday Shout Outs

This is the homemade-food-gifts edition of Sunday shout outs. This past summer I found a whole box of brand new mason jars that I am going to fill with different mixes for gifts...hopefully. If I ever get myself together enough :s
I also saw a great idea in this month's Family Fun magazine.

Cowboy Cookie Mix Looks yummy!

I LOVE this cutting board idea & the individual slices idea!

Ideas from BlogHer. I liked the idea of pet treats!

What is the most unusual food-themed gift you have ever received?

Bean Bag Buddies

I like making homemade Christmas gifts whenever I can. I think they are more personal and meaningful. To put time and energy into some one's gift is to tell them that they are important to you. With that in mind, I present to you Bean Bag Buddies by Nicki Wheeler. This book includes patterns and instructions to make lots of various professional looking beanie babies. I have made the duck, monkey, bear, bat, and koala so far. The book also includes patterns for a snowman, reindeer, space alien, cat, dragon, rhino, horse, dog, and pretty much any other animal you can think of. Right now I am working on the cow for Will's stocking.


I am impressed by the clarity of the instructions and the simplicity of the sewing skill needed to accomplish these patterns. It did take a little time for me to trace the patterns at the beginning, but I could have easily photocopied them and spared myself some work :) I also enjoyed how I could use pretty much ANY material and get fabulous results. The cow I am working on now is made out of some polyester that I had. Plus, since you only need a little bit of material, you can make these animals quite inexpensively!
The one difficulty I did have was in finding safety eyes. I ended up searching google for them and buying them online. If you were making these for older kids, you could just use buttons, but since my target audience is under 2 it was worth the extra work for me :)
I also didn't exactly make them BEAN bags - I just used stuffing because I wanted to be able to throw them in the wash when they get sucked on.
Overall - GREAT book with easy adorable animals!
Want to find the cheapest price on this book?

"A day that will live in infamy"

But not only because of Pearl Harbor...today is my dad's birthday too!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

Sunday Shout Outs

This is the baking-cookies-like-crazy edition of Sunday shout outs.
Three guesses what my plans are for the week :)
I love having cookies made to take to events, give as gifts, or just snack on with a warm drink.
Here are the cookies I am planning on making/have already made this year:


Chocolate Meringue Stars I made these for two parties last week. I had never made meringue cookies before, but they were easy and turned out great! (Notice that several are missing already)


Easy Chocolate Caramel Cookies I found an easier version of this recipe that uses a chocolate cake mix, 1 egg, 1/4 cup water, & 3 tablespoons of oil in place of the chocolate cookie dough.


Christmas Sandwich Cremes (My DH picked these out :)


Peanut Butter Cutout Cookies These are for a cookie decorating party I am doing with my neighbors & bible study ladies :)

If I feel the need to make more cookies after that (or if we eat all these before Christmas!) these are my second string:


Eggnog Snickerdoodles


Cookie Dough Truffles Awesome, awesome, awesome tasting! I eat WAY too many of these when I make them, that's why they are second string :)

What is your favorite cookie that makes Christmas sweeter?

I'm Back!

Whew! Traveling with two small children is more work than I even imagined it! I now fully appreciate all the work that my mom did when we travelled when I was a kid. (Thanks Mom - you are amazing!) We had a fun trip (although I slept less than I ever have for any other vacation) and got lots of great pics. It snowed 10 inches while we were there. My DH and I both decided we are now tired of travelling for a while and ready to be home :)


My grandmother's house after the snow


My Nana and her great-grandson


My photogenic little boy


Evan and his daddy chilling together


Will playing in the snow for the first time

More snow pics