House/Nursery Tour

It's that magical time between Christmas and New Year's, we have a new little baby, and it's been over a year since we've been in our house and I'm FINALLY sharing a photo tour of the place! It's decorated for Christmas in the pictures and still a bit of a work in progress (but aren't all houses?) but we totally love it :) 

^ Our first day that we had possession of the house! ^

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours <3

Something Saturdays (12/23/17)

A couple weekends ago was a great mix of fun/relaxation and doing stuff. Saturday we saw Justice League with Michael's little sister (all of us loved it and Michael and Shannan are HUGE DC nerds) and then all got some food at Table 6 (aka one of my absolute favorite spots). Sunday Michael worked on some baby-proofing stuff (I know, it's early, we like to get things done ahead of time lol) and we also just sort of relaxed.

Monday and Tuesday (two weeks ago) I got some stuff done around the house and did some cooking and baking. Wednesday I went to the hospital and began the long week of stuff that led up to the birth of my sweet baby James-I'll give you the whole story later. Ever since we've sort of just been figuring out this whole life with a baby thing and spending ridiculous  amounts of time just staring at his cute little face. We've had a good amount of visitors, and all of his grandparents start to get withdrawal when it's been more than a few days since they've seen him. Life is pretty great :)

Butterfinger Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

If you like super rich desserts, then great news! I've got a super dense and fudgy brownie with peanut butter swirled in to the top and then lots of crunchy crushed Butterfingers on top of that. They're awesome-people love them. Michael enjoyed them with ice cream too (apparently it added a refreshing element to the richness :P).

May I suggest these as a potential option for your holiday baking? They're super tasty and are sure to be a huge hit with any non-peanut allergy crowd. They're also kind of ridiculously easy to throw together, so really none of us have any excuse to not be eating one of these ASAP. 

NO EXCUSE!

Introducing...

James Michael

Our sweet sweet little boy was born December 10 at 3:08 PM, weighing 7 lbs 11 oz and measuring 20 inches long, after over 60 hours of (mostly natural) labor and we are absolutely in love. I'll be sharing my birth story at some point with you guys but for now I just wanted to share why I've been MIA and give you some adorable baby smudginess to gaze upon. <3

Oh-and check back tomorrow, I have one last recipe for you to help with your holiday baking!

30 Favorite Holiday Desserts

The holiday season is essentially here! And that means lots of super fun baking and delicious treats. 

Now, I've already shared with you some of my favorite cookies for the holidays as well as a bunch of holiday gift guides, but this is 30 of my favorite dessert recipes (not just cookies) for all the celebrations at this time of year!

These are tried and true total favorites, I love them and I know you will too!

(Top to bottom, left to right)

The Baked Brownie
This is the absolute perfectly decadent and delicious brownie.

Mint Cocoa Brownies
A super simple and easy brownie base that you can jazz up with any mix-ins you like, but crushed mint candies are perfect for Christmas!

{Easy} Salted Praline Pecan Clusters
Easy candy for the holidays is a must!

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Pecan Truffles
These are delicious and actually fairly healthy!

Butter Cracker Toffee Easy, Nut-free}
Another easy treat that is a total crowd pleaser, and is great for gifting!

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Cups
Instead of PB cups, surprise people with salted caramel cups :)

Dark Chocolate Truffles
A total classic that, again, you can customize in how you decide to cover the truffles (roll them in coconut, nuts, sprinkles, dip them in chocolate, whatever you'd like!)

Salted Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
These are super sophisticated and extra delicious so they're a showstopper.

Chocolate Covered Potato Chips with Salted Caramel Drizzle
I know it's unexpected, but once you've tried them they make so much sense!

"Snickers" Peanut Butter Caramel Corn
Bags of tasty popcorn are another perfect gift! Or a big bowl is amazing for servings at parties.

Sweet & Salty Kitchen Sink Cookies{Panera Copycat}
This is one of my family's favorites of my cookies and they're fun because you can totally use whatever mix-ins you like or have on hand to customize the recipe. Crushed candies, peanut butter chips, whatever suits your fancy!

Pecan Pie Cookies
Pecan pie is a classic dessert during this season and making it in cookie form is even better!

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies 
This happens to be my favorite CCC recipe-it has browned butter and is so gooey and perfect.

Flourless Dark Chocolate Cookies 
These cookies are SO fudgy and chocolatey and are perfect for anyone who needs gluten-free and dairy free options. Plus the powdered sugar on them looks like snow sooo...festive!>

Pecan Laceys 
They're just super different from your typical cookie but so so yummy, and they're a great addition to a holiday cookie tray!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies 
This is my absolute favorite chocolate + peanut butter cookie recipe!

Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 
And this is my favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies 
A fun twist on the traditional thumbprint cookies these have safe-to-eat chocolate peanut butter cookie dough in the middle.

Brown Butter Cinnamon Coconut Cookies 
For the non-chocolate lovers! Plus, the cinnamon tastes very Christmas-y.

Brown Butter Chocolate Stuffed Toffee Chip Cookies 
Another family favorite! These are super amazing as is but you can also sort of play around with what you stuff in them and such also.

{No Spread, No Chill} Vanilla Cutout Cookies 
THE BEST SUGAR COOKIE/CUTOUT COOKIE RECIPE! Seriously...it's all you need.

Salted Caramel Creme Brulee 
Regular creme brulee is so dull compared to the rich decadence of this salted caramel version.

Homemade Mocha Pudding 
Mini chocolate puddings (with a hint of coffee flavor) are a super classy holiday treat.

Mini Raspberry Swirl Cheesecakes 
These little cheesecakes are so pretty and would be a hit with anyone you'd serve them to.

Chocolate Decadence {Flourless Chocolate Torte} 
One of the most delicious things I've ever made-it will seriously impress anyone who tries it.

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake 
And who doesn't love lava cake???

Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Pie 
This is a surprisingly easy one considering how darned fancy it looks!

{No Bake} Chocolate Hazelnut Tart 
Again, deceptively easy but freaking gorgeous!

Salted Caramel Pecan Pie 
Why have normal pecan pie when you can have SALTED CARAMEL pecan pie??!

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
Aaaand one of the most delicious pies ever.

Something Saturdays (12/2/17)

2 weeks left until due date, still no baby.

BUT! Last Sunday was super amazing because it was the grand opening of Perfectly Planned (for whom I work as an event planner) and The Pine Needle Calligraphy-it was SO gorgeous and super fun.

And then I woke up on Monday to the best surprise-a bunch of my blog buddies threw me a virtual baby shower!!! It seriously made my day and I love these phenomenal ladies. Plus-the theme was "milk and cookies"--pretty darn fitting, I'd say! Clearly, they know me. I wish it could have been an in person shower because I'd love to try each and every recipe they shared--but we can just make them and then it'll be like we were all there! Check them out:

Turtle Thumbprint Cookies – by Confessions of a Confectionista
Cookie Dough Billionaire Bars – by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Derby Pie – by The Spiffy Cookie
Chocolate Chip Rice Krispies Treat Cookies – by Pies and Plots
Eggnog Crinkle Cookies – by The Domestic Rebel
Cookie Dough Cups – by The Pajama Chef
Homemade Salted Caramel Oreos – by Eats with With Others
Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies – by Blahnik Baker

Tuesday I had an uneventful doctor's appointment (everything is good!) and ran a few errands, plus made some food. I did some cleaning and baking on Wednesday and visited for a bit with my mom and grandma (my grandma came over to see the nursery). Thursday I was pretty lazy but then Michael and I went to his mom's house to help with her computer (she got hacked. PSA--if a popup takes over your computer telling you to call a number...DON'T CALL IT. And definitely don't give them your IP address....and don't keep scanned copies of birth certificates on your computer either. Learn from my MIL's mistakes.) We were there super late but it all got fixed so yay!