Waiting for Nana and Santa’s arrival. The kids made up Nana’s bed with fresh sheets, pillows topped with chocolates. A bottle of water and sweet notes with drawings were placed on her bedside table.
If you look really close, there is a Shelf Elf crammed into the center of the chandelier. How in the world did he get in there? Probably spying on the 11 and 5 year old. It was a little dicey there for awhile.
Making cookies at 9 pm on Christmas Eves’s Eve. Bad idea.
That’s my stocking. Not sure if Santa is trying to tell me something.
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| Nana. Don’t yell. I cropped half your face out. Nobody will know its you in the Pooh Bear Pajamas. Promise. |
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| christmas breakfast. |
I’m not quite ready for the Christmas season to be over.
So I’ve convinced my husband to leave up the decorations until the weekend.
I already miss the music being played 24/7 around my house, and the little voices singing Feliz Navidad incessantly. I miss the whispering about presents, the constant search for the Shelf Elf, and the daily notes left in the fireplace for Santa Clause.
It’s all rather depressing really.
So after mashing through stores of old pictures to remind myself of all the fun things that come after Christmas and New Years, I’ve decided to plunge myself face forward into a steady fury of household projects.
Maybe hanging some curtains.
Finishing Shelbi’s bathroom (that I started in August).
Painting pictures. That I will convince my husband are kin to Van Gogh, and that he should be happy to stare at for the rest of his life.
Organizing.
Making shelves and painting murals and lots of other stuff that I have been wanting to do since we moved into this house 3 1/2 years ago.
Oh. And cooking healthy.
Really healthy.
Because seriously, I ate an entire Pecan Pie over the course of 2 weeks.
Which might not be soooooo bad if it had been a normal pie.
But this was like some mega crazy big dreamy caramelly lusciously nutty pie that served like 50.
So long Christmas.
Welcome New Year.
My butt has been waiting for you.
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Over the break we made these cookies.
They are quite delicious and not too sweet.
Coupled with the icing, divine.
We still have a few left. . . . .
That I think might be calling my name.
Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover and chill for at least one hour or until dough become very firm and cold.
2. Preheat oven to 400 F. Roll out dough onto a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto a lined ungreased baking sheet.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes. Cool before icing.
Sugar Cookie Icing
Super Easy to Make. Use liquid food coloring to make the colors pop. The colors stay rich and the icing glides on smooth and glossy. Add a little more corn syrup if the icing is too thick.
Ingredients
Directions
1. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and milk. Stir until smooth. Stir in corn syrup and almond extract until the icing is smooth and glossy. If it is too thick, add corn syrup until it is the consistency that you would like.
2. Divide icing into separate containers and color with food coloring. Pipe, brush, pour, or dip cookies. Allow to dry and harden.
