Winter Wreath Inspiration

I've written before that we have a "no Christmas decorations until December" rule in our house - my husband's idea, I assure you! I don't mind waiting until December 1 but I do find that the house looks a little bare during November once I've taken all the fall decorations down so I've been working on a pretty winter wreath to dress up our front door. I had hoped to have it completed to share with you today but I got sidetracked painting the baby's dresser yesterday and ran out of time. Instead I bring you some winter wreath inspiration courtesy of Pinterest.

1. Yarn Ball Wreath 2. Wrapped Winter Wreath 3. Red & White Wreath
4. Snowflake Wreath 5. Pine Cone Wreath 6. Sweet Gum Wreath

Aren't they pretty? The effort to make a winter wreath is well worth it as you can use it leading up to the Christmas season and then again during January and into February before you put up your cute Valentine's Day wreath. I'm crossing my fingers that mine will be finished this week!

By the Batch - Hot Chocolate Cookies

This coming weekend my husband and I are competing in a cook-off competition. It's Christmas themed and we have to make an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert. The trick is that it all has to be done outdoors on a Traeger wood pellet grill! If you're a regular reader you'll have guessed that appetizer and entrée have fallen to Chris to prepare while the dessert is my time to shine. I decided pretty quickly that I wanted to make cookies since that's my Christmas tradition and I thought these Hot Chocolate Cookies were just right for the holidays. Last weekend I made up a test batch to see how the recipe would work on the grill and I was so pleased with the results!

Ingredients:
1 cup Salted Butter, softened
1 cup White Sugar
⅔ cups Packed Light Brown Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla
3-¼ cups All-purpose Flour
4 packages (1 Oz. Packets, NOT Sugar-free) Hot Chocolate Mix
1 teaspoon Salt
1-¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
1 cup Each White, Milk, And Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions:
Cream butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. In a separate bowl, combine flour, hot chocolate mix, salt and baking soda. Add to wet ingredients in 3 to 4 parts, making sure all is incorporated.  Fold in chips. Chill the dough for an hour or so.  
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spoon dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.   Bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.


According to Sarah:
These cookies are delicious! You might think 3 cups of chocolate chips is overkill but you would be wrong - yes they are chocolate heavy but they still manage to be not too sweet. To make mine look ever more hot chocolatey I added mini marshmallows a minute or two before the cookies were finished baking. This gives the marshmallows time to puff up a bit but not time to melt.


So what do you think? Do they look award winning?

Lest We Forget

Today, November 11, is Remembrance Day here in Canada and throughout the British Commonwealth. On this day each year we honour the memory of the members of our armed forces who fought and lost their lives in the line of duty. In Canada, the poppy is the official symbol of remembrance and we wear them pinned to our left lapels, close to our hearts. But it doesn't have to stop at your lapel. I've found some Remembrance Day themed ideas that can help you express your remembrance, thanks and pride.

You could try making your own poppy to wear like this one from I Could Make That. This one would last you through the years and is safer for children since it doesn't employ a straight pin. Just remember to make a donation to the Royal Canadian Legion even if you're not buying one of their poppies.

I love this Poppy Wreath by How Does She? Amy didn't make hers for Remembrance Day but it could definitely work as a memorial wreath.

These Lemon Poppy Sugar Cookies from The Endless Meal are certainly a different way to commemorate the day but I'm thinking that anything that gets you thinking and participating in remembrance is a good idea.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

-John McCrae

Lest we forget.

By the Batch - Triple Chocolate Cookies

Baked goods have been noticeably absent from our house for the last couple of weeks while we've been getting our sweet fix from Halloween candy. But now that all the good stuff is gone and I can barely bring myself to look at another Tootsie Roll, I figured it was time to get back in the kitchen. Yesterday I had a craving for chocolate cookies. A quick search on Pinterest (seriously my new Google when it comes to recipes and craft ideas) turned up these delicious Triple Chocolate Cookies.

Ingredients:
1 cup of butter, softned
1 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla
2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until creamy. Add the vanilla and one egg at a time until well beaten.Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt then mix thoroughly. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and gently stir until evenly mixed.

Drop dough by heaping spoonful on to the baking sheet, two inches apart. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Cool on trays before moving to a rack

According to Sarah:

These cookies definitely satisfied my chocolate craving. They are moist and delicious and super gooey if you eat them straight out of the oven - after letting them cool for a few minutes, of course! I found I had to bake mine for about 12 minutes but since the recipe doesn't specify how many cookies it yields it could be that I made mine bigger. My only tip would be to follow the instruction that says to let them cool on the pan - when first removed from the oven these cookies are really soft and delicate and they'll fall apart if you try to move them too soon. Other than that, this recipe is quick and easy and the results are fantastic!

50 Days Until Christmas - Holiday Pinning

This week has been a busy one and I'm a little disappointed because I still had some Halloween projects to share with you but just never got the chance to post. I'm calling November 4th too late for Halloween stuff so I guess I'll just have to hang on to the photos until next year. In the meantime, did your realize there are only 50 days left until Christmas?! My husband is not into the decorating quite as much as me so we have an agreement that no Christmas décor sees the light of day until December 1. But that doesn't mean I'm not already planning my Christmas crafting on Pinterest! Here's a sample of some of the great ideas I've found.

1. Ribbon Wreath 2. Glitter Dollar Store Deer 3. Fairy Light Vases 4. Rolled Paper Card
5. Origami Wreath 6. Paper Trees 7.Winter Jars 8. Advent Calendar 9. Paper Pinecone 

Have you started your holiday to-do list yet? My next task is to get started on determining this year's Christmas cookies!

Last Minute Glamour Pumpkin

Does your front porch need a little last minute Halloween flair? Nothing is easier than this pumpkin project. And with Halloween supplies on sale at craft stores this week you can make it on the super cheap too!

I started with a black craft pumpkin that I got for 50% off at Michaels. I gave it a thin coat of silver craft paint to make it streaky and let the black come through a bit. Then I hot glued some sparkly black ribbon around it, topping it with a big bow. The whole thing took about 15 minutes including the time it took the paint to dry.

The best thing about decorating craft pumpkins versus real ones is that I can use this year after year. It adds just a bit of glamour to our Halloween decor :)

DIY Grapevine Halloween Wreath

The people in our neighbourhood have really ramped up the Halloween decorating this year. I certainly couldn't have the barest front door on the block so I threw together this easy Grapevine Halloween Wreath over the weekend.

I started with a bunch of orange and black paper pinwheels that I made using this tutorial from Striving to be More. They are super easy to make if you have a scoring board. Mine is from Martha Stewart and I got it when it was on sale for 50% off at Michaels. I would definitely recommend using a coupon and getting one of your own as these pinwheels can be used for a bunch of different projects.

I finished each of my pinwheels with a sparkly foam sticker. I bought these on clearance at Winners a week ago. I knew I'd find a use for them!

Next I painted a wooden S with black craft paint. The S stands for our last name and it used to be white spring décor. I decided to paint it figuring I could always paint it back next year! I hot glued a pinwheel on for some extra Halloween flair.

The last step was to put it all together. I hot glued the pinwheels along one side of the wreath, hung the S in the middle using some striped ribbon and then tied a big bow and hot glued that on as well. I'm pretty happy with the results and even happier that it only cost me about $10 to put the whole thing together!