Shortbread Cookies

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

It's been a while since I've done some baking, and was rummaging through my cupboards the other day to see what I could pull together. With not much to go in the cookies, I decided on a basic shortbread cookie. I love a good shortbread cookie, and think I have found my favorite recipe.

Foodnetwork was my first stop, and I came across Ina Garten's recipe. I did not do the chocolate dipping, I'm more of a purist when it comes to shortbread. Otherwise though, follow this recipe and you'll be enjoying some shortbread in no time!





3/4 lb unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt








pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
mix butter and sugar in electric mixer until combined ~ add vanilla
sift flour and salt together in medium bowl ~ add to butter/sugar/vanilla mixture until dough forms
on a dusted surface form dough into disc ~ wrap in plastic & refrigerate for 30 minutes
roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick ~ cut into your favorite shape with cookie cutters
place cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet and sprinkle with sugar
bake for 20-25 minutes until edges begin to brown
let cookies cool

ENJOY!

14 Weeks

Saturday, April 21, 2012

So, I thought it would be fun to keep a bit of a log on here as we progress through the months. I follow a blog called Little Baby Garvin and have taken the following "form" from her site.

How far along? 14 weeks.
Total weight gain? Zero.
Maternity clothes? Have bought a couple of items, but haven't incorporated them into my wardrobe quite yet.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep? Better in the past week. Sleeping more through the night now than I did at the beginning.
Best moment this week? Dinner and talking about babies with Mrs. Sipple :) It's fun having friends going through the same things with me!
Miss anything? My appetite.
Movement? Nothing yet.
Food cravings? I've been enjoying fruit more than "normal" but I haven't had much of a taste for anything in the past three months. Ugh.
Anything making you queasy or sick? The pizza I ate the other day which was really sad. I love pizza, but the baby seems to be rebelling.
Gender? I've had some girl dreams, and most people are saying girl. I love hearing people's predictions.
Labor signs? Nope.
Symptoms? Just my loss of appetite mostly. A bit of an upset stomach here and there, but nothing major.
Belly Button in or out? In.
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or moody most of the time? Happy.
Looking forward to? Hearing baby's heartbeat at our 16 week appointment.

As promised, we will keep you posted. Thank you for all of your support and kind words in the past couple weeks! We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family.
xo

Wishing

Thursday, April 19, 2012

I came across a great quote today, and wanted to share it with everyone. 

"The better part of happiness is to wish to be what you are."
Desiderius Erasmus

Back With a Bang

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Well, it has been quite some time since I've written here at all, let alone regularly.

We've had a busy month since spring break. A promotion for me, back to work and school for the hubs, and the most recent news, we're expecting! Our little one will join us in late October, just in time for Halloween, and we'll be able to stop calling it by gender neutral terms in early June.

I've made it through the first trimester, and the weeks are definitely starting to pass more quickly. Hopefully the first trimester symptoms will be gone soon too. I'm ready to have a bit more energy, and to have my appetite back, though I will say I am thankful for no morning sickness.

At eight weeks the little one looked a lot more like a circus peanut than a baby ...
... but thankfully, in just four more weeks (12 week ultrasound) baby's starting
to look like a little human in there!

We're thrilled for the newest addition to our family, and hopefully the creatures are too. I feel very lucky that we are healthy, and am looking forward to that continuing. We have a great support system of family and friends, and will try to enjoy the next six months of being just us as much as possible.