Thursday, December 18, 2014

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Monday, December 15, 2014

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!


Thursday, December 11, 2014

Single Serve Cookies

You are home alone, but you still want something sweet around the holidays. Check out these single serve cookie recipes from The Kitchn. These are great when you are having a craving for sweets.


You know the feeling: it's late at night, you have the place to yourself, and you just want something sweet. But just a little something. You don't want to make an entire cake, or a dozen cookies, or anything that you'll be tempted to eat the entire thing. Instead of busting out a pint of ice cream or a candy bar, treat yourself! Make one of these single-serve warm, gooey homemade cookies.
Yes, of course you could just prepare the whole batch and just freeze the rest of the dough if you have that kind of self-restraint. If, however, you just have one egg or you know yourself well enough that you couldn't resist making the whole batch, these recipes are here to help.


1. Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie for One - Good Life Eats 2. XXL Buttery Sugar Cookie - Sally's Baking Addiction 3. XXL Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Brownie Cookie - My Happy Place 4. Single-Serve Peanut Butter Cookie - Chocolate Covered Katie 5. Single-Serving Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies - Chocolate Moosey
6. One Giant Snickerdoodle Cookie - Sally's Baking Addiction 7. Jumbo Cinnamon Butterscotch Oatmeal - Bake Your Day

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Houseguest for the Holidays


Are you traveling for the holidays? If you are staying with a friend or family member, it is very important to be a respectful houseguest. Hosting guests is very stressful, but you can help make it easier for your loved one. Read over these tips, and you can comment below with some tips of your own. You can learn more at Apartment Therapy.



Keep your belongings, neatly, in your room.

As someone who aspires, at least, to keep her house in order, I really appreciate it when my guests do their best to keep their suitcases and extra belongings in their designated areas. Of course, items like coats and shoes (which we don't wear in the house), are left out, and I am happy when guests take it upon themselves to notice where they belong and put them there.


Take care of your own special needs.

If your hostess asks about things you can't (or prefer not to) eat, it's okay to be honest— to a point. But if you have specific dietary or health needs, it's nice to take care of them yourself rather than expecting your hostess to learn about and provide for your needs. For instance, before I was more familiar with gluten-free diets and before gluten-free alternatives were ubiquitous, a houseguest of mine brought her own gluten-free pasta. I appreciated her foresight and consideration — and that, for the sake of my preparations, she told me she would do this beforehand.


Fit in.

Try to notice the rhythms and rituals of your hosts. If their habit is to sit and eat around the table together, join them rather than grazing, even if that's what you're used to. If your hosts enjoy conversation once all the kids are down, spend some time with them even if all you want to do is go to bed yourself! On the other hand, if you know your hosts go to bed earlier than you do, assure them that you're fine up on your own or even retreat to your space so your hosts feel comfortable leaving the common area as well.


Strip the sheets.

This could depend on how well you know your hosts, but this act, to me, shows a thoughtfulness about the practical side of having houseguests and a willingness to help however possible — and this means a lot. If you're not on a do-my-laundry-in-your-washer level of familiarity, leave the bed linens and towels in a tidy pile. Otherwise, if you can swing it, do the sheets and put them back on the bed. My mother always does this, and recent houseguests did this for me and what a relief! How nice to leave your host's place even better than when you got there.
Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Stumbleupon Favorites More