Easter Traditions: Bunny Tail in Door

I got this cute idea from my friend Kristen! And I couldn't wait to do it this year! 

Oops... Easter Bunny's tail got stuck in the door on his way out! Oh I just love this! 

Easter Traditions: Hunting for Baskets

The great thing about getting married is that you are able to take traditions that you each grew up with and combine them. This one particular tradition came from Broc's family. I loved it and was excited to keep this tradition going. Broc and I even did this before we started having kids. So much fun! On Easter morning, you not only have to hunt for eggs, but you have to try to find your own basket as well! 

Our kiddos have loved it! And squeal with joy when they find their basket! That funny bunny hides your basket along with your colored egg!

And sometimes that old Bunny hides it inside and sometimes he hides it outside! Anything is fair game! 

He even hides Mom and Dad's baskets! I love it. And it is so much fun to still be surprised, even at 29! 

Happy Easter!

New Name, New Look, New Blog!

Some of you might notice a little change with the name and look of the blog! I can thank my friend Katie Price at Priceless Design Studio for that! Though I probably drove her completely in sane with my indecisiveness, she came up with an amazingly lovely design. I love it! Since the change, I have added a few more posts- so take a look around. It is still a work in progress, but it is done! Yay! I am so excited to have a real home to house my recipes and ideas! Welcome to Lovely!

Gingerbread Men Sugar Cookies

I love a good traditional Christmas. And nothing says Christmas better than decorating gingerbread men! The first Christmas Broc and I were married was my first attempt at gingerbread men cookies. It was a new recipe, and my skills of baking / cooking back then were very lacking. Seven years later, I am still using the same recipe. It is a bit different than the traditional gingerbread recipes, in that there is no molasses. I like to think of these as gingerbread sugar cookies. They are soft, moist, spiced to perfection and when decorated with some cream cheese spice frosting... oooh yummy Christmas goodness! We make these guys every December 23, it has become one of our traditions. It has seemed to work out perfectly. Christmas Eve is always filled with so many things, wrapping, family, dinner parties, etc... so it just makes sense to make them on the 23. Then they are already made and ready to set out for Santa on Christmas Eve night! 

Crew is at the best age! Christmas was so magical for him this year. This was his creation! Just perfect! 

Now onto the recipe:

Gingerbread Men

1 (3.5 ounce) package cook and serve butterscotch pudding mix

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg 

1 1/2 cups all- purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl, cream together the dry butterscotch pudding mix, butter and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in egg. Sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger and cinnamon; and stir into the pudding mixture. Cover and chill dough until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets. On a floured surface roll dough out about 1/4 inch thickness. (Original recipe says 1/8 of an inch, but I like to my men to be a little thicker.) Cut into shapes using cookie cutter. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 8 minutes. Or just until the edges are golden. Do not overbake!!! I promise these guys are much better soft!  Cool on wire rack. Frost using cream cheese spiced frosting. 

This frosting was a first try this year! I usually do a traditional cream cheese frosting to decorate these men. But decided to spruce it up a bit and throw in some spices. It was the perfect addition the gingerbread men needed! Oh I just love this frosting. 

Cream Cheese Spice Frosting

1 (8- ounce) package cream cheese, softened

4 Tbsp. butter (half of a stick), softened

1/8 tespoon salt

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (I never measure, just add until it is tastes right)

2 Tbsp. canned milk, warmed to room temperature (your frosting will curdle if you add it cold)

2 teaspoons Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Vanilla (I promise this vanilla makes all the difference)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

a shake of ground nutmeg

In a bowl, cream together cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in salt and vanilla. Gradually add canned milk and powdered sugar. If you want a stiffer frosting add more powdered sugar or omit the canned milk. If you like it a little more light and creamy add more milk. Always taste as you go! Frosting recipes should just be a base. I always taste and add to my liking. Be creative and try new things. If you have never ventured out to add your touch in cooking/ baking, frostings are a great way to start. Spruce up whatever it is you are making by adding a little hint of something new!

Happy Baking! 

Turkey Cookies!

Turkey Day is coming up! I actually came up with this idea last year as I was in charge of bringing the treat for Crew's Thanksgiving preschool party. It ended up that I procrastinated (typical of me) and was left to come up with something that I already had or could find at the only grocery store where we were living. I found a lot of cute ideas using candy corns, but wouldn't you know they were out of them at the store. So I was forced to come up with my own turkey treat, using what I had. Luckily I made something work!

What you need:

BODY: Fudge Stripped Cookies
HEAD: Mini Chips Ahoy (I actually couldn't find these either, so I used a small round cookie cutter and cut out a small circle out of each cookie)
FEATHERS: Pretzel sticks
BEAK: Pepperidge Farm Gold fish
WADDLE: Twizzler Pull and Peel, cut into small pieces
EYES: Mini Chocolat chips
Chocolate Frosting to glue it all together.

Happy Turkey Day!

Spooky Eats!

Last year, I was in charge of bringing the Halloween snack for Crew's preschool party. On the menu: Mummie Dogs, Oreo Spiders, and Jack-O-Veggies! Super easy to throw together and the kiddos loved it! 

Mummie Dogs: Used recipe from here.

Oreo Spiders:
Oreos (Body)
M&Ms (Eyes)
Twizzler Pull and Peel, cut into 2 inch pieces (for the legs)
Chocolate frosting (to glue on the eyes)

Jack-O-Veggies:
I found the cute little pumpkin holders at Target. And then filled them with Apple slices and carrot sticks!