The Best Sugar Cookies

The title of this post and recipe is not a brag in anyway.  That is simply what they were called when the recipe was given to me at my bridal shower almost 17 years ago.  Wait... seventeen?  That can't be right ::counting on fingers from April 1996::  Holy cow.  That IS right.  Yikes!  I obviously have some denial issues to deal with here but I'll take those off line and spare you all the stages of greif I'm about to go through.

Anyway, my beloved mother-in-law threw me a neighborhood bridal shower waaay back when and the "theme" of the party was to bring something related to the month you were born.  One of the ladies was born in December so she gave me cookie sheets, hot pads, a spatula and this amazing cookie recipe.  I have made these cookies every Christmas since then and my daughter now requests them for her class when it's time to celebrate her birthday.  Her birthday was last week so I thought this was the perfect time to share the recipe with you!

I love them because they are a great texture (the perfect mix between chewy and cakey) and nice base to whatever frosting you might want to put on them (my favorite is a cream cheese frosting of any kind).  They hold their shape and bake up nicely.

The BEST Sugar Cookies

1 C. butter

1.5 C. sugar

3 eggs

2 T. milk

4 C. flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and beat well.  Add other ingredients and mix well.  Chill overnight.

I like to divide the dough into two parts and roll them into freezer paper and flatten the rolls a little before refrigerating.  This dough sets up very firm and can be a little hard to roll out when you first get it out of the fridge the next day.  Having smaller and somewhat flattened pieces of dough to work with makes it a lot easier!

Roll dough into 1/4 inch thickness and cut to desired shape with a cookie cutter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes.  They will be soft and white.

Cool and frost if desired.

Like I said, I love a good cream cheese frosting on these! 

Enjoy!

PS If you'd like to see what my husband looked like when growing up in this neighborhood where the bridal shower was thrown, you can see it on my Facebook.  That photo is now my phone's wallpaper because I was getting tired of going to my camera roll to look at it. :)

Link parties I participate in: Tip Junkie, Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime, Be Different Act Normal, Craftomaniac,  Thrifty Decor Chick

Valentine's Day Ribbon Wreath

The little hook on the door leading to my basement was looking very sad and lonely since I took Christmas down.  So I decided to re-create my Halloween Ribbon Wreath for Valentine's Day!

Through the complicated trick of using different ribbons I created a whole new look! :)

You can find the whole tutorial HERE but basically you just wrap a straw wreath with ribbon and then tie ribbon pieces all around.  I then cut the ends of the ribbons in a "V" for a little more fun detail but that is optional.

Quick and easy and now my basement door isn't quite so sad.  Love it!

Link parties I participate in: Tip Junkie, Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime, Be Different Act Normal, Craftomaniac,  Thrifty Decor Chick

Valentine's Day Ideas of Yore

I was looking back through my Valentine's Day posts from last year and I noticed I had done quite a few!  I think I was smitten by the Valentine's Day spirit last year and couldn't get enough!  So I thought I'd re-post those ideas for those of you who might not have been around then for a little more inspiration for this year.

Click on each photo to go to the original post.

Decorating with Photos

No Sew Burlap Banner

Valentine's Day Printable

(available in the 4 different colors shown above)

Valentine's Day Mantel

Valentine Photo Card Ideas

Heart Specimen Art: A Silhouette Tip

And a couple that weren't for Valentine's Day necessarily but might come in handy!  Why not transform a cheap breakfast tray from Ikea into something fun for your spouse this Valentine's Day?  Bring him/her breakfast in bed on something personalized and watch them smile.  :)

Ikea Hack: Breakfast Tray

And this printable I made for a wedding shower but I see no reason to not have it up during Valentine's Day!   Available in a few different colors.

More Than Yesterday Printable

I'm working on some new projects for this year and can't wait to share!

Valentine Heart Garland

Looking for an inexpensive and quick way to add some Valentine love to your home?  Landee has got you covered!

Here is what you need for your very own Valentine Heart Garland:

• Red & grey heart printables found HERE.
• White cardstock
• Twine or string (I used red & white baker's twine)
• miniature clothes pins (found at any craft store)

STEP ONE: Print out hearts on white cardstock and then cut them out leaving a 1/4 inch white border around the edges.
STEP TWO: Hang your twine.
STEP THREE: Using the miniature clothes pins, clip the hearts along the twine any way you'd like!

If you don't have a mantel you can string them across a window or a shelf or a large mirror.  Endless possibilities!  And its length depends on how many hearts you have so print off as many as you need to fill your space!

I strung it across my mantel and I luhrve it! (full mantel post HERE)

Enjoy!




  Link parties I participate in: Tip Junkie, Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime, Be Different Act Normal, Craftomaniac,  Thrifty Decor Chick

Valentine's Day Mantel Decor and Printable

Wow.  When I said I'd be back "after the holidays" I really meant it, didn't I?  I guess what I really meant is "after the holidays and a couple days after the kids go back to school so I can recover."  So the kids went back on Monday and here I am!

We are now heading into one of my favorite holidays to decorate for.... Valentine's Day!  So many fun options and directions to go with Valentine's Day.  And what I love about it is no one expects much for as far as Valentine's Day goes so you can go as simple as you want and anything is a bonus!  I like to decorate my mantel and maybe one other area and call it good.

Today I'm sharing my Valentine's Day mantel decorations I pulled together this year (you can see last year's decor HERE).

In addition to putting up a family photo and pulling out a wedding photo, I made an easy heart garland which I'll be sharing soon (plus a free printable for the hearts!).  It took me about... oh... 10 minutes or so to do once I got going.  Love those kinds of projects!

I also have been wanting to make this saying I had pinned a long time ago into a board and this Valentine's Day seemed the perfect opportunity!  "You are pretty much my most favorite of all time in the history of ever" basically sums up how I feel about my husband and kids... I'm guessing you feel the same! Um, about your significant other and kids, not mine. :)

It's available in my Etsy shop HERE if you'd like one too!

And love my frame from Orange Blossom Shop!  I just taped on one of my extra hearts to tie it all in.

I also created this printable that you can download in several sizes HERE!  Just a little sumpin-sumpin to Valentine up a picture frame you might have laying around.

I'm a fan of how it all came together!  Now with all this "love decor" I'm guessing we will all just sit around and love each other... no fighting because someone is sitting in their spot on the couch, no screaming because someone looked at them and they "don't want them to look at them!" and no complaining because they don't like the dinner I fixed.  Ah yes, this is going to be nice.  :)

Link parties I participate in: Tip Junkie, Tatertots & Jello, I Heart Naptime, Be Different Act Normal, Craftomaniac,  Thrifty Decor Chick