Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas!


I think this just might be the most adorable retelling of the Christmas story ever.

Wishing all of my readers a wonderful and happy Christmas!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Snickerdoodles!

It's been, I think, about two weeks since I actually made these snickerdoodles. I took photos of them, however, and I don't want them to go to waste.

I've been wanting to make snickerdoodles for years and years, and so when I finally took the plunge the poor cookies had a lot to live up to.

Did they meet my expectations?



YES! In more than one way, too.

They are delish, but they are also so easy to make. Best of all, they don't need any special ingredients. Perfect.


I used this snickerdoodle recipe, but added a little cinnamon into the dough, too. I also cooked it as a slightly higher temperature (about 180C). This time, I cooked them perhaps a minute or two too long, because they should be moister and chewier than this, but they were still wonderful.  

This one is bleeding :(
The dough is like heaven, too! Ah! Couldn't stop eating it!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Christmas has Landed

So! Today was awesome!

I did some volunteering in a friend's classroom (which I've enjoyed so much) and that led to me getting to decorate a gingerbread house! I had to do it super quickly as it was almost lunch time (and the kids were using all the lollies I wanted!), but I think it's cute.


That's the door - notice the two hinges!
After supervising several groups of children, I knew that for a gingerbread house to be successful (and look extremely tempting) a huge amound of icing is crucial!

A bird's eye view.
After volunteering (I was only there from 9 until 1), my husband and I went to Mitre10 (a hardware store) to find a real, live, prickly, conical and cute Christmas tree. I love the one we chose - a White Spruce, still very much a baby.


It's decorated with bells (red and while), angels with glitterly wings, and a starry garland. We think it's too small for the lights, though I may add them. It would be nice to have it lit up.


I also wrapped a silver and red ribbon around the pot, to make it look a little nicer.

As we now had a Christmas tree, it meant that decorating could happen, and now the house is decked out. 

I'm pleasantly surprised at how many times I've already posted this month, I half expected to get to Christmas and realise I hadn't posted at all!

I'm planning on being back soon to share about my snickerdoodle making venture and the recipe for the yule log I plan to make for boxing day!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Wedding Anniversary Number Six!

I've been looking at wedding photos for the last few days (preparing to finally get them printed!) and so now it is finally my wedding anniversary and I'm so excited!



Tonight we are going out for dinner and then a movie - nice and relaxed, just like our wedding day was! I can't wait! Wood fired pizza, here I come!

Also, honey, if you finally catch up on reading my blog, the last six years have been wonderful, and I'm looking forward to the next 60! 

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Summer is Here! Hence the Rain!

In typical Tasmanian fashion the first day of December - and of summer - was cold and drizzly. Not that I'm complaining, becuase I LoVe this sort of weather! But it would be nice to have warm toes!

The "Christmas Month" has started off slowly. Today I did the dishes and some present making, and that's pretty much it. The yarn for one of my husband's presents (a beanie) arrived today, which is a relief - I was starting to get concerned I'd run out of time to make it.

I've been thinking about trying to post every day in the lead up to Christmas, but I'm not going to be too strict on myself. I will try to post every other day though. Be forewarned: it will mostly be crochet and food and house rearranging and decorating. 

And because I don't want a pictureless post, here are some snapshots of a sunshower we had just the other week: 

I love how the rays of sunlight are visible, there's something so magical about it.


See you back here soon!!