Cookies

Easy Mini Sugar Cookies

12:30:00 PM


Having had time off from school, and getting ready for the Easter festivities I decided it was time to bring out the baking pans once again. This recipe was really easy and so simple to make!



 You'll need; 
1 cup Powdered Sugar
 2 Eggs
 1 cup Regular Sugar
 1 cup Margarine or Butter
 1 cup Vegetable Oil
 1 teaspoon Vanilla
 4 cups and 4 tablespoons of Flour
 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
 1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
 One big bowl
Clearly, I forgot to put out the eggs and the cream of tartar for this picture. Oops! 

Firstly wash your hands, as I hope you always do when you bake. Tie back your hair..nobody likes hairy cookies! 
In this recipe you don't need to separate the wet ingredients from the dry, unless you really really want to. I just went down the list and added things. The cup of powdered sugar, then the eggs followed by the regular sugar (white sugar). The recipe did call for margarine but that was easily substituted for butter, which comes out as two sticks. Then the vegetable oil, followed by vanilla and flour and topped off with baking soda and cream of tartar. 
I quickly found out that my little whisking machine was no match for the cookie dough! It was really thick! So I resorted to a spoon and at the end just using my hands. It did turn out looking delicious!

After having mixed the ingredients, stick the bowl of dough into the fridge for about 3-4 hours! I know it's really long, but you can start cleaning up the mess while you wait and maybe tend to that load of laundry that's been sitting there for awhile.
While they chill set the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit or 190.5 degrees Celsius I believe. 
Get the pans, I did two at a time so it would go quicker. I used parchment paper, as I usually do just so the pans wouldn't get dirty! It's so much nicer to not wash the pans during cleanup at the end!
Roll the dough into balls, this batch won't spread out so you can make them as big or little as you would like. I did them smaller just so it would make more and we could enjoy them longer! Plus who doesn't like bite sized cookies!?!
After placing the balls on the pan, press them down with either glass or the palm of your hand!



 After this step, put the trays or tray in the oven for about 6 minutes. My recipe said not to "over bake" but I did have to go 7 or 8 minutes. 
Also, careful taking the pans out of the oven if you do put two in..I lifted the pan on the lower shelf just a bit too soon which resulted in part of the cookie falling to the bottom of the oven and part staying to the pan.
Let's just say a burnt cookie doesn't smell as well as a nicely done cookie. 
After taking out the pans, let the cookies cool. 
Don't they look delicious!

After the cookies have cooled, it's time for the best part!
THE ICING AND DECORATING!!
There is a recipe for homemade frosting attached to the one I have but I went for store bought icing instead. Maybe I'll make another batch in the future and try it! I'll let you know! 
Since it was close to Easter when these were made I tried to stick with easter-y colors! Mostly green and pink! 
Also my mom chipped in and made an Easter rabbit while I attempted to make an Easter chick!



As the batch wound down and there became less and less cookies to bake, I wanted to try something new. I poured in the green sprinkles and pink with the batch in the bowl and kneaded them in it.
They turned out pretty cool! I decided to ice them as if they were dip cookies just to show off their pretty colors!
You can see the dip cookies I made in the back a little bit!
These did make a big batch but they went away quickly as everyone really liked them! 
I hope you try this recipe! 
xx

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Italian Food

Reliving Italy

12:30:00 PM


Almost two summers ago (it’ll be officially two in July) I took a trip to Italy with my family for my grandparents anniversary. We ate real Italian food! Pasta, Lasagna, Pizza, Gnocchi you name it, we probably at it! I loved the Italian food, I can remember almost every restaurant we visited. The first thing we ate was pizza. That was incredible and I’m still craving some all the way back here in the states.

 It’s been almost two years since then and I do still keep reliving the experience. How could you even try to forget it? The other night I went out to dinner with my dad at the Olive Garden. If you don’t know what the Olive Garden is, it’s an Italian Restaurant decorated to give you a feel as though you’re really in Italy. Though their food obviously isn’t as good as the real life Italians do it over in Italy, it’s still pretty good.

  I’ve never had a bad experience at the Olive Garden, though once a waiter did drop a cheese grater on the table. Cheese went flying, I’m pretty sure it was his first day. Poor guy. Anyway, the waiters and waitress and hostess are so nice when you walk in. Sometimes there’s a wait, depending on when you go. We sat down and ordered our food. I got the usual, the chicken and gnocchi soup and cheese ravioli. I usually get the cheese ravioli with meat sauce or just plain sauce but this time I wanted to try it with Alfredo! I've had Alfredo sauce before, just not on ravioli so I was excited to try it out. I stuck with water as my drink.
 The bread sticks arrived along with my soup and my dads salad. The bread sticks come warm and delicious. The soup isn't quite the same as the Gnocchi soup I had while sitting in a restraint across from the roman coliseum but it’s close. The waitress sprinkles some cheese on it, though sometimes I feel strange having so much cheese on it but I love cheese on things. I won’t eat it plain though, isn’t that weird? 

    

Anyway, after eating the soup and bread sticks the main courses arrived. The portions are huge. If you have never eaten at the Olive Garden you wouldn't know, but I’m telling you..they’re massive! I have never been able to finish an entire plate by myself. I think in order to do that I would have to eat a really early breakfast and skip lunch in order to have dinner at 6:30 pm. I was pleasantly surprised that the ravioli was just as good with the Alfredo sauce as with any other sauce. 

I’m not someone who over eats just because there is food in front of me. I have a limit, which I guess is good right? I just hate feeling so full that I can’t move. We were asked if we wanted dessert but had to decline because we were so full. I have had their dessert before though, it’s just as good as everything else!
 When the check comes they also bring you a little chocolate mint.

Have you ever been to Olive Garden? What’s your favorite dish? If you haven’t been there do you have a favorite Italian food? 
  This post really made me miss Italy and now I can’t wait to go back! Hopefully sooner than later!
Also I fell in LOVE with these little lemon drop like things and I don't know what they're called but they look like this and if you know what they are can you tell me? I think they're like Limoncello or something i don't know! 


 xx 

Bird Nests

Spring Time Sweets

2:00:00 PM


Awhile ago I saw a little picture on pinterest. It was a chocolate nest with tiny chocolate eggs on top of it. Perfect for Easter and Spring in general I thought! I decided to make my own. 
  For these I really didn't follow a written recipe from anyone, since I've made these in the fall, excuse the fact that the ones I make in the fall are called Haystacks and not bird's nests. 
 They're pretty simple to make and didn't take long at all. Depending on how many you decide to make yourself! 
 To make these you'll need some Chocolate Cadbury eggs (note they don't have to be Cadbury but that's just what I used because those are what the store offered). You'll also need Chow Mein noodles, chocolate chips (Note they don't have to be chocolate I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and butterscotch chips, you can also use white chocolate or whatever you prefer.) I also purchased some marshmallow Peeps just for decoration and to eat. I've always like these and didn't know they came in Vanilla flavor, they smell so good! You'll also need a medium sized bowl. 
  


In the first batch I made I just used the semi-sweet chocolate chips. I followed the instructions on the bag for melting them in the microwave. On my package it said 1 minute for 1 cup. I used 2 cups so I put them in the microwave for about 1 minute 30 seconds. 
There were still a few un-melted chips in the bowl, which is okay! Just stir them to mix it up. 
After stirring, pour in a few chow mein noodles, I measured how many I needed just by seeing and guessing how much chocolate would be able to cover them. Don't put too much all at once, it's good to do a little at a time and mix as you go. 
Make sure you have a pan ready to go for scooping out the clumps. Also make sure to put wax paper on top of the pan, it's a little messy! Depending on how big or small you want your bird nest's to be, scoop some chunks onto the pan. I made mine a good medium size. 
With a spoon, or even using your hands create nest shapes. Scoop the corners up or push a little spot in the middle, enough so the eggs can just sit. After creating your nests, place them in the refrigerator for a few minutes until they're cool and have set. 
After they've set, bring them out and set them on the counter and place the mini eggs on top! 
It's so cute! I did make two batches, as I mentioned earlier. One with semi-sweet chocolate and one with butterscotch and chocolate. 
After you've finished up with the nests, give them a test if you haven't already! They're yummy aren't they?
Even my marshmallow peeps enjoyed them. I definitely had fun placing them for pictures. 


 



I hope you give these a try! I'm excited to eat them, and (probably) share them with others!
See you next time! 
xx
Oh p.s you can now comment below whether you have a Google account or not just select anonymous. But if you do leave a comment as an anon, make sure you leave your name and where you're from! Because I like to know that stuff! 
Okay bye
x



adventure

Sleeping Sadie

11:30:00 AM


First college spring break? How did I spend it? 
 Not like the movies, I'll tell you that.
 In the movies, they always portray college students going somewhere south to a warm beach and partying and all of that, which was not what I was doing. ( I don't really party anyway? ) I actually didn't go anywhere for my Spring Break, even though my urge to just book a flight to Orlando for the YouTube Convention Play List Live was one to fight. I'm usually lucky enough to escape the colder weather of Wisconsin every year but this year I stayed home. Only because my sister and I have two different Spring Break weeks as she's in High school and well I'm in college. I wasn't disappointed though, I liked having the down time to wear sweatpants all day long and hang out with Sadie. We walked every day, coming home to having to give her a bath as the roads are really sandy and wet because THE SNOW IS FINALLY MELTING I THOUGHT WINTER WOULD NEVER END!!!!! I did watch a lot of shows I had been meaning to catch up on and even baked some cookies which I posted on and you can read it here if you haven't already! 
 I was a little disappointed by the people I call my friends because it seemed like nobody wanted to get together. But I didn't dwell on that too much, as I drank tea and wrapped myself burrito style in a big fluffy blanket. I did get a few bits of shopping done as I was looking for a pair of rain boots/wellies whatever you want to call them and a skater skirt. I also finished a book that I've had since this past summer called Oh My Stars and it was really good! It was kind of slow at some parts but I did enjoy getting to sit down and actually read it and relax. 
 I hope you all have had/are going to have a great Spring Break! Where are you going? Anywhere exciting? I of course took tons of Sadie pictures and did spend some time watching my favorite youtubers. Since I don't like not having a picture on my blog post here are some I took! 

Clearly, tired from the days events

She lays around a lot but it's SO CUTE I JUST WANT TO SQUISH HER. 

How cute is this one though? 

I had told her we were going for a walk! Which reminds me, we tried out a different route this past Spring Break week when I went to my dads house, because it was sunny out and somewhat warmish? Sadie wanted to go further than normal plus I didn't think it would be too nice to walk on the trail we've been walking on, the one that's accessible by snowbank because of the melting snow. I would probably have fallen in too many times. 

Then I saw an icicle on a tree branch and attempted to be artsy. 

This is our daily, every morning cuddle session right after breakfast! I had stopped petting her to get this picture and she gave me this look!

I read somewhere that dogs stick out their tongues because they get overheated, so I guess she was trying to cool down. I just think it's so cute when she does it. 
I hope you enjoyed this post! I enjoy putting these all together for you! 
Please leave a comment if you have any questions or feel free to send me an email or tweet or instagram dm or something! 
xx 

Books

Little Library

1:30:00 PM



     I usually don't stumble upon new things in my hometown. At least not anything recently, putting aside the fact that I haven't been out since practically December because of the extremely long and cold Winter. That is, until last Sunday...
  

   It had been warm and sunny all weekend. Almost fifty degrees! Which is great for this time of year. I pulled on my new rain boots, I'll include them in a post later on! The sun felt so nice on my face and the snow was melting, making that lovely spring sound as it went down the gutter drain in the street. The birds were chirping and the geese were returning from the south. I was walking through puddles with confidence wearing my new boots while Sadie happily walked beside me sniffing all the scents. As we walked, we came across a short dark brown wooden box. From afar it looked like a wooden mail box, which totally would not have been weird if the mail boxes in town weren't attached to people's houses. As we got closer, I saw that it was a Little Library. I had recently heard about these last summer or last fall but I had never seen one in person. It was really cute! The concept is simple;
   
   You bring a book you've either recently finished or just haven't read for awhile and put it into the box. Then you take a different book. It's like a book swap. You can do this however many times you would like! And it's free! Which is great...I mean who doesn't like free things right?  At the time, I didn't have any books with me so I couldn't do an exchange, but I thought it was so col! I'll probably stop by the next time I pass by or this Summer and if I remember to bring a book. I do really want to see what books there are. I haven't read in awhile and I'm hoping to this summer, as I will probably have more time! Whenever I do read, I feel myself become the character and I get so connected and into the story sometimes. When that happens it's obviously a really great book! I did just finish reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green this past fall and it was amazing! Definitely my favorite book this year hands down. The story line was just amazing and the characters were brilliant! If you haven't read it you really need to. If you have read it, how did you like it? I'm so excited for the movie!
   Here's what a Little Library looks like: 


As we walked along, I kept thinking about the Little Free Library and decided once I got home to do some research. I found out that these things are set up all over the world! If you want to know where some are near you go to this link! http://littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap/ I discovered that there are four in my town! It was also created in Wisconsin, which I think is pretty cool since I do live here! Since I'll be traveling in the future I think I'll try to remember that these are around and try to find them and exchange as I go. 


How many are in your town or near you? Have you ever done an exchange before? Which book would you hope would be in a Little Free Library?
Also would you recommend any books you're reading right now? I'm also up for some suggestions! 

Hope you enjoyed this post! See you next time! 
xx

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