recipe: oma's german sugar cookies

today's christmas cookie recipe is one of the easiest and yummiest ones you'll ever find. in the southern part of germany I come from we call them "austecherle". now go say that out loud once! awesome right?

with a name like that for a basic but fantastic, cut-out sugar cookie they naturally have to taste great :)

and trust me, they do! they remind me of my childhood and christmases past. great memories and yummy cookies, what more could you want? 

since your 'inner cookie lover self' won't allow you to just turn around and walk away now, I will let you in on all the secret ingredients. they're really extremely secret.

also, let your kiddos help. it's great fun for little helpers to cut out the cookies and decorate them.

bonus yay! (in case you needed more convincing): this is a recipe that requires the dirtying of only one measly mixing bowl and no electric mixer is needed at all. i love me an easy clean-up recipe. you know, just because we all have better things to do than cleaning up the kitchen all day long... (like blog reading, pinterest surfing, daydreaming, nail painting, baby cheeks squeezing... you  get the point.) 

ingredients: 

1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened

2/3 cup of sugar

1 egg

a dash of salt 

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. almond extract

1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

metric measurements:

150g butter

125g sugar

1 egg

a dash of salt

1 package of vanilla sugar or 1/4 tsp. liquid vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. almond extract

250g flour

1/2 tsp backing powder 

in a medium bowl combine all ingredients until they form a smooth dough. i use a wooden spoon to combine and then my hands to get everything mixed well and smooth. if your dough is still extremely sticky, add a little bit more flour. 

place dough in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

remove dough from fridge and roll out on a floured surface to about 1/4 - 3/8" thick. 

cut out cookie shapes and place them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. 

brush some egg yolk over the tops, decorate with sprinkles, nuts or whatever your favorite may be (optional, they are great just plain).

place in a 350F oven (175C) and bake for about 10-12 minutes.

enjoy with some milk or hot cocoa. 

store in a metal tin or other airtight container. 

diy: eucalyptus christmas wreath

i know it may seem a little early for christmas decorating but since most years our family is likely to be traveling right around christmas time, I don't always get to decorate as much as i'd like. 

i'm not really much into decorating for holidays such as easter or halloween but christmas is a different story... lights, candles, music and some sparkly things - sign me up!

so in order to get my christmas decorating fix this year, i am starting early and lucky for you I am sharing a few of my favorite projects during the next few weeks. so get yourself some hot cocoa and settle into your favorite crafting spot.

not only does this eucalyptus christmas wreath look great and is easy to make, it will also make you want to spend more time by the window to get in a good ole' sniff, trust me!

for the wreath itself you will need the following:

eucalyptus (got mine at trader joes for $4.99)

embroidery hoops (or a wreath form from an old wreath like the green one in the picture)

scissors

a glue gun or craft/wood glue

some thin plastic gloves

thin thread in a matching green or whatever contrast color you'd like (metallics would be nice as well)

because eucalyptus contains oils you may want to wear gloves when working with it. otherwise be aware that your fingers will get sticky and it will take a good scrubbing to get back off. 

i ended up not using the gloves and just scrubbed my hands with soap and the scrubby side of a sponge when I was done. no big deal.

use the thread to carefully wrap the pieces of eucalyptus around your embroidery hoop. cover it well so that the hoop isn't obvious anymore but try not to overdo it. these are supposed to be thin wreaths. 

when you're happy with the way it looks, just tie the string and set the wreath aside.

for the stars you will need:

thin wooden star cut outs (bag of 130 at joann's for $3.99)

gold metallic spray paint

take your stars outside and spray paint both sides. do not attempt this if it is windy as the stars are not heavy enough and will blow away. also, try to spray carefully, from far away and preferably from the top as the spray can also flip them if you're not careful. the stars should be dry to the touch within seconds so flip them over and spray the other side. make sure they're nicely coated and let them dry for a few more minutes.

cut some string about 10-12" long, pick out two stars of the same size and place some glue on the inside of one. carefully glue the end of the string between the two stars and press together. do this to however many stars you'd like to use. 

now just tie the stars to your wreath at different heights. this will be super easy if you first tie some string to the top of the wreath and hang it up. 

that's it! super easy and looks so pretty. i think it would also be great to cover the stars in glitter for some extra sparkle.

children's museum pittsburgh

on halloween we took logan to the children's museum because it had been raining for days and there wasn't a change in the forecast for a while. so we put on some warm clothes and rain boots and got out of the house for a few hours. 

he absolutely loved it there and so did we. it's fascinating to see how quickly he learns and how focused he is on a task. he obviously loved the water floor and I could barely contain myself seeing him in that floor length apron he could barely walk in. we had a hard time getting him to go anywhere else after that but then we found the bouncy house and oh my did that little boy put on his running shoes socks. 

i can't wait to take him there as he gets older and able to take advantage of everything they have to offer, like the art studio where you can screen print, paint and even make your own paper. 

can you tell I wanted to spend some time there myself? ;) 

i've got my fur to keep me warm

leather jacket: mango, scarf: target, denim: american eagle, shoes: buffalo

this could easily turn into another one of those posts where I confess my never ending love for the target. you know, like pretty much every other woman/blogger out there. luckily, we won't go there. 

pheew!

ok, nice try but now seriously, have you seen the amazing winter weather accessories like this furry scarf and amazing cable knit sweaters? or how about the new nate berkus line? a little pricier than i'd expected but beautiful nonetheless.

i won't even mention any of the wonderful finds in the toddlers clothing section... 

ahhh target. you and I we have a beautiful thing going on. 

sorrow

I know I should probably write something happy and uplifting with it being Monday and all. You know, the whole beginning of a new week kind of thing...
Unfortunately, I don't really feel very happy tonight.
I really try to keep this blog a happy place for myself and others and I don't write very many posts like this one. It is hard for me to write posts about my feelings and views because somewhere on the inside I fear judgement and disinterest.
However, today I want to share about one thing that has really brought me down this weekend. One that will probably haunt me for a few more days to come.

Sunday started off well with the sun actually peeking through for a few too short minutes in the morning and a happy toddler that did not seem much affected by the one hour time change. We headed out to pick up an order for a friend from a store and get groceries. We had a good time doing these very mundane things just enjoying being together as a family. On the way home I checked my phone and found out that a little boy, barely much older than Logan, had fallen 11 feet down into the painted wild dog exhibit at the Pittsburgh Zoo and tragically been mauled to death.
The same exhibit we just visited not even two weeks ago on the most beautiful warm and sunny autumn day.

I remember a time where surely I found stories like this sad and unsettling but could easily move on from it. These days, stories like this bring me to tears, they make me feel sick to my stomach and make me want to squeeze my baby and not ever let him go. It is another one of those things that make me realize how much becoming a mother has truly changed me. How love can bring us so much joy and suffering at the same time.

So many nights I go to bed thinking about the chance of losing my baby, which makes me sick to my stomach and feel crazy to even mention to anyone I am close to. It makes me wonder if I'm the only one who can't shut off these horrible imaginings her brain comes up with and whether it is normal to have such thoughts? I keep thinking that it must get better once he isn't so tiny anymore. No?

I can only imagine what these parents must be going through right now. It appears that the mother was holding the child up on the barrier where he wiggled out of her grip and fell into the exhibit.
Now of course it is never a good idea to put your child in such an unsafe situation but some of the comments I have read from people on facebook and other places online just make me shake my head in awe as to what insensitive and truly hurtful things people feel the need to share with a mother and father who have just lost their child in such an awful way.

This is a horrible and truly unimaginable pain for someone to have to go though that I do not wish upon  anyone. Let us not judge and place ourselves above these parents but remember the young life lost in this tragic accident. If you don't have anything kind to say then just don't say it at all.

I am sorry if I have just made your Monday a little sad and unhappy. I promise to keep the rest of this week light as it usually is. I just needed to share my thoughts and feelings on this tragedy and how it has affected me. Thanks for understanding :)

500 Follower Giveaway!!!

Friends, today i want to say thanks. I am so happy i surpassed the 500 follower mark :) and to celebrate I am hosting a nice big giveaway for you all!!!
I am very grateful to all of the lovely ladies who are generously sponsoring these giveaways and hope know you will go visit their blogs/shops and leave them some love :)

There are so many fabulous prizes to win you will want to enter all of them!
Please make sure to complete the mandatory entries and unlock some bonus entries for an even better chance at winning.
I would also love and be very grateful for anyone of you willing to give a little shout-out about this giveaway through your blogs or social media.

Thanks a bunch and Good Luck!!!
You're the best readers ever :)

First up we have 3 Head Wraps from Haley at Bloom by HaleyAnne. 

3 wraps means 3 winners :) 

Go check out her Etsy shop here.

US residents 18 or older only! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The lovely Christin and Mel at Spread The Love are offering one of their 2013 Dutch Calendars up for grabs.  This is an actual print and not a digital file :) 

You can also follow their blog Turtle Bunny Love.

US residents 18 or older only! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So I am extremely jealous that I can't win this Handpainted Driftwood Jewelry Holder from Ashley at ThisFictitious myself!! How absolutely gorgeous is it? Ashley's shop is brand new and I want everything in it. Go check it out here or follow her blog here! 

US and Canada residents 18 or older only! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Next we have $30 to Gage Huntley Designs. Check out Amanda's website and fall in love with just about everything she creates.
Thank you for giving my readers another great chance at winning some GHD swag Amanda!

US and Canada residents 18 or older only! 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

One of my favorite girls, Mandy at This Girl's Life is kind enough to give away this unique Wooden Bead Bracelet from her etsy shop Love Squirrels.

US residents 18 or older only! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The adorable Lissa at the Looking Glass wants you to be one of her featured ad (200x300) sponsors for an entire month. That's some great exposure for your blog or business!!

Open to everyone 18 or older :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lovely Amy at The Charming Blog and Charming Life Studio is giving away any 8x10 print from her shop as well as $15 worth of ad space on her blog.

US and Canada residents 18 or older only! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And lastly you can win $30 to Outfit Additions for some awesome jewelry and accessories of your choice. Visit them here.
This giveaway will end this Friday at midnight EST so don't wait :)

Open to US residents 18 or older only!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



All giveaways (except for Outfit Additions) end at midnight EST on Sunday November 11th.
Winners will be notified via email and will have 48h to claim their prize or a new winner will be selected. For full terms&conditions please see rafflecopter widgets.

GOOD LUCK!!!

recipe: cauliflower crust pizza

you lovely instagram friends have asked for it, so here it is. 

a very simple recipe for cauliflower crust pizza. yum! 

for the crust:

one whole head of cauliflower
2 - 2.5 cups of mozzarella cheese, grated (or whatever cheese you prefer)
3 eggs
dried basil
optional: garlic

prepare two cookie/baking sheets by overing them with parchment paper and lightly spraying with cooking spray.

grate the entire head of cauliflower into a large bowl. you could also use a food processor for this.
grate the cheese into the bowl as well, add the eggs and sprinkle in as much basil as you like.
stir everything together well with a wooden spoon.

now divide your "dough" evenly between the two baking sheets and use a pancake turner or something similar to pat it down flat.

bake at 450 degrees for about 10-13 minutes.

now prepare your toppings

I like to just add some marinara sauce, mushrooms, zucchini, onions, spinach and cottage cheese (instead of ricotta). Just depends on what I have on hand. Mix some more basil into the cottage cheese too to make it more flavorful.

when the crust is done, add your toppings and place back into the oven for another 5-8 minutes. Just keep an eye on it so it doesn't get burned.

that's it! super easy and a great way to get some vegetables in your kiddos ;)

500 follower giveaway going up tomorrow!! don't miss it :)