Thanksgiving

We had a really quiet Thanksgiving. With the busyness of the Advent and Christmas season right around the corner, I was very thankful for the restful and relaxed atmosphere!

We are incredibly, awesomely, unfathomably blessed!

My menu included cranberry bourbon turkey tenderloin, dressing, mashed potatoes, candied carrots, and brussels sprouts. It was all a hit, except for the brussels sprouts, which no one but me cared for. Oh well. It was worth a try. For dessert, I made pumpkin bread pudding. Yum.

We took the kids down to the Peabody to see the ducks march. It's kind of crazy - you wait and wait and wait and the actual march takes all of 5 seconds. But the kids thought it was the cutest, most exciting thing ever and spent a long time watching the ducks swim in the fountain.

Fail

I'll close with a little Thanksgiving entertainment from turkeys numbers 1 and 2. (It's kind of long - you'll get the idea after the first or second verse.)

Spring inspiration

My friend Brittany is always finding cute inspiration on Pinterest. She does such a great job of doing some of the things she pins. I realized that we had done a few projects around here that I had pinned, so I thought I'd highlight them.

We made large Easter eggs.

 

Source: familyfun.go.com via Emilee on Pinterest

I was certain that the girls would love this project. It was an invitation to make a huge gluey, sticky mess! Nope. They spent about 2 minutes participating. Kevin and I did most of the eggs. We had a great time.

For our Easter lunch dessert the girls helped me make some little bird nests. Yum!

Source: thecurvycarrot.com via Emilee on Pinterest

Here's ours, displayed on one of my most cherished heirlooms, my great-grandmother's Limoges platter:

Helen had to bring a snack to school a couple of weeks ago. It was "R" week, so we made a yummy rainbow. I don't think I officially pinned this idea, but I know my friend Laura made this snack. It was so fun to make and everyone at school loved the idea.

Valentine's recap

We didn't really do anything extraordinary for Valentine's Day, but it was still special in a simple way.

Kevin was off of work, so he got to go to Caroline's class party. They had a great time.

Helen got still for 2 minutes and awkwardly fell asleep.

Dinner was my personal interpretation of surf and turf. I took my friend Laura's advice and made this awesome shrimp chowder recipe. It is ridiculously simple. I kept thinking, "This is too easy. Is this all I have to do?" And it was so delicious. Thanks, Laura!

The girls loved every bite.

And no day is complete without getting a few of these from my smallest valentine.

 

Hope your Valentine's Day was just as sweet!

Cookies

Caroline came home with a paper from school that asked her what her favorite thing to do at Christmas was. She had written, "Make Christmas cookies." I immediately rethought my "no baking" declaration. Luckily, I have a super-easy sugar cookie recipe and I always have all the ingredients to make them.

We had a good time making cookies and then decorating them the next day!

My favorite thing about this recipe is that the dough doesn't have to be chilled. If I'm going to make cookies, I want to roll them out, use cookie cutters, and bake them right then! It's from Southern Living several years ago and I can't find the recipe online anymore. The frosting is a must!

No-Chill Cut Out Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder

Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla. Mix. Sift together flour and baking powder. Gradually add to butter mixture and blend well. Form dough into a smooth ball. Roll out on a lightly floured surface (1/4-1/8" thick). Cut out with cookie cutters. Bake at 400 degrees for 6 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet. Cool and decorate.

Vanilla Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar
1 T melted butter
3 T milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

Mix until smooth. Color if desired. (I love almond flavoring, so most of the time I use 2 tsp of almond extract and no vanilla extract.)