all is right with the world

The cookie jar has been filled, the moon and stars have aligned and all is right with the world. A full cookie jar is a quick way to make Dreamy James a happy camper. And I figured that since he has gutted and is redoing our bathroom, he deserves some cookie goodness. According to Dreamy James there is only ONE type of cookie and that is the classic Chocolate Chip Cookies. In fact, he loves them so much that instead of cake at our wedding we had chocolate chip cookies. That's right folks....I made roughly 45 DOZEN chocolate chip cookies. The freezer was packed and Dreamy James had a very difficult time staying out of it. Little did he know I had planned on his weakness and made several extra dozen just for him....but shhhhh...don't tell him!



The recipe I always use comes from a book called, Alpha-Bakery Children's Cook Book, which is produced by Gold Medal flour. The inside cover of the book says "1988 Happy 5th Birthday Danae and Happy Cooking, with Love, Grandpa & Grandma Unruh" It makes my heart happy every time I pull this cookbook out and use it. It's filled with sweet memories of hours spent with my Grandma baking up a storm. So...in the spirit of cookie goodness, let me pass this recipe on!



Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup margarine or butter (but I always use butter flavored crisco - try it, trust me it makes all the difference)

1 egg

1- 1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I never put them in, but feel free if ya fancy that sort of thing!)

1 package (6 oz) chocolate chips (I always eyeball this, sometimes you just need more than 6 oz of chocolate in your life)



1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Mix the sugars, crisco and egg, next mix in the flour, baking soda and salt. Last mix in the chocolate chips.

3. The dough should be stiff enough that you can roll the dough into balls.

4. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until golden brown

5. One recipe will make about 24 cookies.

6. Scarf them down and enjoy! :)

nothing says Christmas like....

a table decked out in Christmas cheer! I love this time of year, everyone seems to be in a good mood and everyone seems to try and behave since Santa is watching. Another thing I love about this time of year are the decorations! This is the only time you can deck the house out in fun decorations and go over the top. The first thing I love to fix up is the dinning room table. I try to keep the table cleaned off and neatly decorated throughout the year while keeping it functional. Well, at Christmas time that theory flies out the window - I dress that table up good!

I'm a sucker for table linens and then on top of that I'm a sucker for anything vintage, so when something is vintage AND table linens, well....I'm a goner! I found this tablecloth in an antique store in Texas and I just decided my life could not go on if it didn't come home with me...ok well that's probably a little extreme but I did fall in love with it. It reminds me of something my Grandma would have had on her table and that makes me happy so I decided it needed to be in my life!

Enjoy the wonderful and beautiful season of Christmas and New Years- many blessings to you all!

oh my stars...where have I been?!

Well...let me tell you! I've embarked on my first year of teaching and it's be one heck of a ride. I've never been so tired, done something so rewarding and oh so entertaining. I'm teaching 3rd grade in a small town and I'm loving it. On one hand it's felt like years have passed since I started in August and in a lot of other ways it feels like I only blinked and it's already Christmas break! I'll be sure to start updating this on a regular basis, I promise. :) I've got some great kiddo stories from school, parties, puke, and a bunch of other stuff!

BUT...before I get into all of that, I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed Christmas and New Years!

dreamy james....

This is Dreamy James....he's been gone....gone for awhile...and I'm ready for him to come home! This picture was taken on our honeymoon while driving through Yellowstone and let me tell ya, it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Anyways...back to Dreamy James...I like him and I think he's rather dreamy.

I wonder how many more times I can squeeze in the word dreamy into this dreamy post....ha!

a great thing about mom...

A few weeks ago I found myself with an abundance of zucchini, so I decided to make some zucchini bread! I had several loaves made and decided to share with my mom. Before I handed the loaf over I thought I'd better do a taste test...dang I just hate when I have to do a taste test! Anyways, I took a slice and it was pretty tasty. Here's the great thing about mom...even though there was a chunk of bread missing out of her loaf, she was still excited and happy and couldn't have cared less. It's just one of the things that I love about my mom...she is usually one of the most positive and happy people I know. She can put a positive spin on any situation, which can be annoying at times, but in the end I always appreciate it.

two peas in a pod...er...on a couch....

This is Aiden and his Papa...Papa and his Aiden...they are thick as thieves, best friends, pals, amigos, partners in crime, buddies...well you get it they get along, they get into trouble and they have a great time doing it!

baking with a two year old....

This is Aiden, my nephew, who always keeps things interesting. Recently, we did a little baking together and I learned a few things....

1 - Even though he's only two, he's still gonna get hacked when you don't let him use the scissors to open the package of mix.

2 - All kids, no matter what the age, know exactly what to do when you hand them a spatula covered in batter.

3 - A batter covered spatula is one of the few things that he will take his pacifier out of his mouth for.

4 - He likes to move the lever on the mixer, don't try to help him, don't even think about trying to help him...he'll get hacked.

5 - Even when he gets hacked, throws a little bit of a fit because I tried to help him, gets covered in batter, drips batter all over the kitchen floor....he's still, hands down the best and cutest help I've had in the kitchen for a long time!