secrets to an award winning cookie

at work each year we make cookies, have a cookie swap for ourselves and then box up goodies for faculty and staff to be nice/bribe them to be nice to us the rest of the year. we also have a contest to see who baked the best cookie, fun is had by all and you get to go home with an assortment of goodies.

two years ago i made these reese's peanut butter cup cookies that one first place! if you know me, this was a feat two years ago because that was probably the first thing in 2008 i cooked.

1st place winners

last year we didn't have the cookie exchange, but this year we did. i decided to go for my old standard. call me a cheater, i call myself resourceful :) one slight problem, i couldn't find the recipe! i looked for literally hours, sad i know, but couldn't find it!

i settled on this peanut butter cup cookie recipe from allrecipes.com, with 1,600 5 star reviews i thought i couldn't go wrong, so i thought. when they were done they didn't look as good as the other ones but they would have to do. well, what do you know these cookies took 3rd place overall and were the only cookie in the top three so i say they won first in the cookie division :)

i'm still looking for that first place recipe and i am determined to find it, but until then i will share my secrets on how to bake award winning cookies:

1) choose an easy recipe. don't spend hours breaking candy canes to make perfect peppermint fudge. go with easy favorites, for some reason at christmas it get's peoples attention.

2) put candy in your cookies. people will be distracted by the candy goodness and won't notice if you didn't put the right amount of flour in them.

3) use a kitchen aid mixer if you are lucky enough to have one. it does all the work and you get all the credit

my secret weapon

the first place winner was a brickle made out of saltines and chocolate, i'm telling you go with easy favorites and you are sure to win!

the best way to spread christmas cheer...

is singing loud for all to hear of course! that, and an ornament swap!

i stumbled upon southern weddings when i was engaged and it was love at first sight. this creative team knows weddings, are full of charm, and somehow keep me checking their blog daily even though i've been married for a year and a half :)

not only do they highlight the prettiest weddings you've ever seen, they take southern hospitality to the next step, enter an ornament swap! all interested sent in their addresses then you receive addresses of 3 others to send an ornament to. handmade or store bought you get to spread christmas cheer!

i decided to go the martha stewart route. if anyone knows homemade ornaments it's martha!

i used beaucoup coupons at michael's to get a ridiculous assortment of glitter and the snowflake punch. oh, and martha makes glue with a brush included which is cheaper than buying glue and brush separately, this woman knows her audience! instructions courtesy of martha stewart living.

a work in progress. in true lauren fashion i did not read the instructions carefully and glittered each side separately which caused uneven glitter. also i didn't use colored cardstock as instructed. oh well, no two snowflakes are alike right?

the finished product! i used ribbon instead of string to add my own little touch. it was so fun mailing these off to people i don't know! something about spreading cheer is pretty cheery itself :)

o tannenbaum

i love christmas trees. while there are different thoughts to their meaning and origination, they originated in germany so that's enough for me.

to me they represent tradition, continuity, and remembrance. remembrance literally by the memories each ornaments bring or family traditions around them, but also a reminder of continuity and hope. that year after year you can see them during this time of year where we remember not only the first coming of our King, but the second.

either way you look at it, i love them. i am a colored lights girl myself, i like a tree with as much color and handmade ornaments as possible. one day i do hope to have a two tree house, in which one can be elegant and one forever childlike as i like it.

my aunt has two trees up this year, one white lighted, one colored, for me to enjoy. the highlight of my week however, was when my sweet husband bought me a tabletop tree for our room because he knows how much i love them, and we made that little tree as tacky as possible :) to quote mr. d "i like this tree. it's a little lost, kind of like us right now."

colored or white lighted, o christmas tree, o christmas tree, your branches green delight us.

in everything give thanks

i just love thanksgiving. there is always good food, family, friends, and no pressure to find the perfect gift for everyone :) but really i do love it.

this year was very unique for us. sadly we did not get the house that we thought we were going to. it was sold out from under us because there was a problem with the appraisal and the process was taking too long. we were crushed, but we are trusting that the Lord has something even better for us. in the mean time we are staying with family, which is a huge blessing, and trusting and waiting. we also totaled our car in august so currently i have no address and no car to my name. i'm sort of nomadic. in the past three nights i have slept on a futon, a bed, and now a sleeper sofa. it's comical but it really does make you thankful for a place to sleep!

not being in a house we thought would be ours, or an apartment of our own, during the christmas season makes me really sad. i love the holidays and i felt like it was being taken away from me. yes i will decorate a tree with my family here but i will not have my own decorations, use my christmas dishes, etc.

it took a few days of me refusing to see the lesson in all this when i felt a quiet tug in my spirit. this could be my best christmas yet. christmas is not about stuff, or decorations, or gifts, but about anticipation and celebrating the best gift that has ever been given. so this year, i'm choosing to do something every day to enjoy this season for what it represents both secularly and spiritually. i have a few crafts up my sleeve and an advent guide sitting next to me which starts today.

so many times our expectations lead to disappointment. this year i'm learning to let go, trust, and in everything give thanks.

in the meantime, check out craft #1: a christmas wreath my mom and i made for sweet friends who let us use their apartment while they were away for the week!

michaels had all their christmas decorations 50-75% of this weekend! my crafty mama knew all the supplies we would need. she is a wreath making pro. here is bravo showing his appreciation for our crafts.

the finished product! because i am who i am, i took a picture of a wreath i liked in the store. not the same elements but the design of the ribbon. twenty tries and one quarter of the uga/ga tech game later it was perfected!

we are so, so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family to take care of us during this season. our sweet friends let us use their apartment for the week and it's just what these weary souls needed with ten people staying at my aunt and uncles! when they came home they saw this on their door, just thinking about coming home to something like this made me feel like santa's helper :)

i also took advantage of some other sales at michaels so many more craft projects to come!

maple makes one and a little life lagniappe

our sweet maple made one a few weeks ago. for those living outside of orleans parish, no i haven't lost all sense of grammar that ms. adkins taught me in highschool (hands raised for ohs please erin :) it's just what you say here in new orleans...you make one, make groceries (shopping to the layperson) and you can also make a doctor (meaning you graduate from medical school). i digress, maple went to petco to pick out some toys and the most fun thing was...

i made pupcakes to celebrate the occasion! don't you just love the name pupcakes?

yes, those are dog food sprinkles and a candle.

in other dunaway news things have been in disarray for about a month around here because we bought a house! (yays! from the crowd of two still reading my blog :) our boxes have been packed and we have been ready to move for a month now...notice i said ready. something went wrong with the appraisal which is delaying the closing date for a while. we have to be out of our apartment this weekend and luckily we have family here to stay with. we know this house is from the Lord and we are trusting Him if it is His will. let me say though it takes patience! everyday though i get a glimpse of His faithfulness and His provision. like today my mom sent me a verse and then i read another verse on a great blog i frequent.

Be at rest once more, oh my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. Psalm 116:7

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you. Because he trusts in You, Trust in the Lord forever.For in YOU, the Lord, is everlasting strength. Isaiah 26:3

we are learning to trust, to rely on the Lord to provide, learning to be flexible and spending time with my family here with free rent and meals is a plus! in the meantime we will be relishing in this lagniappe (another nola term for 'a little something extra') that brings joys to our days.

puppy birthday parties



bouquets of basil. way better than flowers in my book, although i like those too.

and cheering on this new dawg who i'm sure will bring good luck to his team. i think wrinkles never looked so good.

guacamole!

one of the many foods i love are avocados. i could eat one every day! approximately once a week i have a craving for guacamole. instead of rushing out to my favorite taqueria down the street i decided i would make it myself. i've tried MANY recipes, but this is my favorite one from alice waters, 'the art of simple food.' you should all run out and get a copy of this cookbook. it's wonderful. the recipe is simple, but delicious. as my friend corinne says "make this and you will be the hit of every party!" you should try and see for yourself!

2 ripe avocados (cut in half and remove pits...I think this is pretty self explanatory :)

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (this is about the juice from 1/2 of one lime)

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

salt

the recipe also calls for 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion, which we don't put in because we think it is delicious without!

you will want to try this. i recommend it with el milagro tortilla chips from whole foods. it just completes the perfection.

the fruit, literally, of our labor

one hot day in june we travelled to the northshore to go blueberry picking. although it was a while ago, this endeavor definitely deserves a post! i just love picking, harvesting, gathering, collecting...food that is :) maybe it was getting to spend time on my grandmothers farm as a kid, but to me berry picking is a favorite!

two of my faves joined in on the fun. my brother and i are proud of our hard work!

immediately (he insisted the minute we walked in the door!) when we got home it was time to make a blueberry cobbler.

maple was accidentally floured in the process of rolling out the crust. she didn't seem to mind.

delicious! recipe here. and yes, that is mounding piles of sugar on the top.

the next recipe, blueberry ice cream! some of the best ice cream i've had (and that's saying a lot if you know me!) recipe here.

the next few days were spent eating blueberries by the cupful. don't worry my gathering self froze some and saved them for winter :)

any favorite berries or berrylicious recipes? i'd love to hear!