Santa Cookies!!!

Let me do you a favor and make you the hit of your next Christmas party. I feel as though the holiday celebrations have been non-stop for me and Ander. It's been pretty insane around here this last week, but I was able to pull off some of my mom's Santa Nutter Butter cookies for my clients. They are always a hit! Allow me to share:

One of the great things about these cookies is you can make them in serious bulk. A whole package of Nutter Butters will be perfect for any gathering. We'll start by first melting your white chocolate. This is tricky because the consistency has to be right or the cookies won't dip smoothly. I add some shortening to my chocolate a little at a time until I have the right consistency. You don't want your chocolate soupy, but you also want it easily dippable. The consistency you are looking for is for the chocolate to stream off of a fork after you've dipped the fork into it. It should't be watery, and it shouldn't come off in globs.

So dip your nutter butters about a third of the way into your white chocolate and line them all up on your wax paper.

Let those dry for about 15 minutes or so, or until the chocolate is hardened. Dip the other side of the nutter butter in the chocolate as well, but this time you'll have to be quick, because you'll be adding your sugar crystals.

I've found that you get a more even line when you take the plastic shaker top off of your bottle. I just tapped the sugar gently in a horizontal line leaving a small stripe of white where the fuzz should be on a santa hat. You can tap off the excess later after the cookie has dried.

Once your cookies are dry and you've tapped off the excess sugar crystals, it's time to add his cute little Santa face. I used mini chocolate chips for his eyes and a red hot for his nose.

Spoon your excess white chocolate into a ziploc bag spread over a cup. Snip the corner off so you can pipe the chocolate for the face.

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Dab two small dots for the chocolate chips, and a small dot for the red hot.

And last but not least, put one more small dot of white chocolate on top of the sugar crystals to make his Santa hat pom pom.

You're welcome, I just made you the star of your next Christmas party.

Thank you to my mom who has been making these cute little guys every Christmas for the past year. She found the recipe somewhere years ago and I've just become her copy cat.

I can't believe Thanksgiving is in less than two weeks

I totally dropped the Halloween treat bomb this Halloween. I never made any Halloween treats for my clients, and that made me feel badly, since last Halloween I made them all Mummy Pops:

Yeah, I never actually took the time to make any spooky treats this year. I was busy and just couldn't find anything I really loved that I wanted to make.

Fast forward to November 2012:

I decided I had to make a little somethin' somethin' for Thanksgiving....

 Little baby cornucopias!!!!!!

Aren't they so cute?? I found them on Pinterest and just HAD to make them. And I have to say, they were so much more difficult than I ever imagined they would be. But THEY MAKE ME SMILE BECAUSE THEY ARE SO STINKING CUTE!

I used waffle cones, M&Ms, plastic wrap and ribbon. 

To get the waffle cone to curl I had to steam them until they completely went flat, and then quickly roll them up again and curl the bottom. My first few were disastrous... but by the end of my box of cones I had gotten the hang of it.

Seriously... these were just too cute to pass up. Yay for Thanksgiving treats!

My new obsession

It all started with Pinterest... which, of course is everybody's obsession these days. But I found a picture of a "T-shirt scarf" that required such little effort I thought, "I could totally do that."

I now have about 12 T-shirt scarves hanging in my closet.

They are so easy to make, and so stylish that I had to share.

I bought my T-shirts at Goodwill. I made sure that there wasn't too much stuff on the front and the back. And the scarf will never look as good if the logo on the front is that really thick plastic, just FYI. Also, for this scarf I'm using a MEDIUM sized men's shirt.

1. Cut your shirt from armpit to armpit

(Save the top part, we'll be using it later)

2. Make sure the shirt is lined up properly and cut off the bottom hem. 

3. Begin to cut your shirt into strips.

4. Stretch each your strips out so they curl around the edges. I found that the strips stretch better when you stretch them one by one.

 Once you have all your strips stretched out to the length you like, cut a piece off the top part of the shirt and tie it around all the strips to hold them in place.

Aaaaaaand presto! You have a scarf! I like to wear my scarf doubled up like the picture above, but you can also let it hang loose like below.

Consider yourself a pro. Way to go! I seriously made about twelve of these the other day when I had nothing to do. They are my new favorite accessory! Easy too!

Husband shaming

Did you know Wal Mart doesn't carry sugar cubes?

A couple of weeks ago I was in charge of our Young Women activity for my Mia Maids (ages 14 and 15) and I decided we were going to make temples out of sugar cubes. I found the idea online somewhere, probably sugardoodle.net, which is an amazing site for activity ideas.

I had the HARDEST time finding sugar cubes. I mean, really, no one uses sugar cubes anymore because the sweeteners come in those little packages now. I went to three different stores and FINALLY found them. 200 count for about a $1.50. Deal.

Also, I chose to use the yellow/clear gummy bears for our Angel Moronis. That was my own idea. I did not find that on the internet. Just wanted to throw that out there...

 There is a gummy bear couple inside getting sealed for time and all eternity. These girls crack me up.

They totally look like little temples! Don't they?

I put this here for comparison. This is the temple that Ander and I were married in.

My girls! Naomi, Jordan, Brittany, and Mary. Becky is in the back but she refuses to be in any of my pictures. Look at those beautiful ladies! I love them so much.

 Jordan. As always, the peace sign. She was the one that put the gummy bear couple inside her temple.

 Mary told me that after this activity, she knows she is not an architect.

 There's Becky!! All the way in the back! Apparently she had no clue I was taking a picture.

 Naomi. Reminds me of me when I was this age.

This activity turned out great. All the girls enjoyed themselves, while getting to eat sugar cubes and gummy bears. I thought all of their temples were darling. 

I consider myself so incredibly lucky to be able to spend my Tuesday nights with these lovely sisters. They have brought so much joy to my life in the past year. I hope I stay in Young Women's for a while.

We didn't get a single trick-or-treater last night for Halloween

Here's that Thriller video I promised you all. It's much better than the one at the dance. Better lighting and such. Ander went the wrong way halfway through the line dance in the middle, but that's okay. After all, neither of us had done the dance in over two weeks...

October 27th is not Halloween

Although it was according to our ward.

We had our ward Trunk or Treat last night at a park nearby our apartment, and it was so much fun! I love going to these things to see all the darling little children with they're darling little costumes. I saw bumblebees and pumpkins, Thing 1 and Thing 2, a whole family circus, zombie pirates, and of course all the most famous characters from the Hunger Games. I was so glad we were able to attend and see everyone. Even our bishop dressed up as a knight. It was so fun all around!! Ander and I went as a guitar hero and a peacock. I borrowed a stunning peacock costume from a client/friend of mine and it was a big hit. It was complete with a tail, a hair plume, tutu and corset. I don't think I've ever had such an easy time acquiring a Halloween costume.

We brought May-May along as well since the whole party was outside. Of course she was either terrified by all the small children that were screaming, "DOGGY!" while pointing at her, or completely stoked when being loved by all the adults. It's not that May-May doesn't like little kids, they just make her very nervous. Little hands usually equal pain.

I also decided to make our car trunk a gaping maw of a mouth. That was really fun. I found that idea on Pinterest.

After the party started winding down, we were asked to perform our now famous Thriller that we had done at the youth dance we had chaperoned a week prior. With my car volume cranked to the max we busted out MJ's moves in the parking lot much to the delight of all the kids (and adults) around us. And this was wonderful because one of my friends got a great video of the performance, which I will acquire shortly, so you will actually be able to see us this time!

But our wonderful evening did not end with the goodbyes at the Trunk or Treat. After we took our furry child home we headed to downtown Austin to spend time with my sweet cousin Eliza and he beau Rick. They had been busy at the Austin Comi-con all day long, so we all ordered in Chinese food and shot the breeze in their little hotel suite. 

It. Was. So. Fabulous. I hadn't seen Eliza in so long!! She was radiant and happy, albeit she was as sore as ever from her personal trainer. She and Rick are so happy together and I was so proud. They are a hilarious couple, and we were cracking up all night. Eliza and Rick told us all about their "boring" lives in LA, awesome Comi-con moments of the day, Eliza's sweet Golden Retriever and the hoops both Eliza and Rick jump through to get their eyebrows waxed with the "Star Plucker" Anastasia. According to Eliza, she's a magician. She even worked wonders on my Auntie Judy's tiny little eyebrows!! Eliza seemed incredibly interested in my eyelash extensions until she found out I can't use oil on them. Oil breaks down the glue on the lashes, so her magic cleansing oil would be out, and she would have none of it. Apparently Rick also likes to use emoticons in his text messages, which is something I never would have guessed. We really had so much fun. Rick is a total cornball and Eliza is as animated as ever. She and I are a lot alike... it's awesome.

My favorite thing all night long was when Eliza told me she thought that May-May was a Shih Tzu named "Doodles." Priceless.

When Ander and I got home we were sooooo tired. We slept like babies. But I just can't get over what a wonderful evening we had last night. And a big thanks to Eliza and Rick for having us over and chatting with us all night. I really appreciated it. Sometimes a night comes around when you can't believe how perfect everything is. Well, that night was October 27th, 2012. Such a refresher from the mundane lives we've been leading here in Austin lately.

And I want to send you all off with the fortune that Rick got last night from his fortune cookie. "Good thing are being said about you." See y'all next time!!

This very moment

There was something on my mind today.

I couldn't quite think of what it was until one of the clients I saw today asked me where I was from and how long we'd lived here in Austin. I had to pause.

Four years ago at this very time my brother Joseph, my husband Ander, and I all drove into Austin Texas. Joe came to leave, and Ander and I came to stay. The next four years have brought us some amazing and some not-so-amazing times.

I miss my family greatly. I wish every day that I could see their faces and feel their arms around me. Moving here was one of the biggest decisions I've ever made in my life, but it was also one of the best. Being here in Austin just makes our visits home to see family all the more important and memorable. Austin has offered us some amazing opportunities, and who could forget that we got our adorable May-May here too!? Yes, Austin has treated us very well over the last four years... from giant bugs to giant bass, I think we can finally call ourselves Texans.

Here's to another great year!

This is Thriller

Ander and I chaperoned the Stake Halloween youth dance last night... and we had a surprise in store for them...

(If for some reason the video isn't working, you can also find the video here)

I know it's kind of crappy quality. It was really dark and I had to try to lighten up the contrast with some software. But the kids got a big kick out of it. Ander and I practiced this dance for weeks before we actually performed it at this dance. It was a blast. Although one of my Mia Maids tried to do it with us at the beginning, and she kept asking me to teach it to her until I finally told her she had to just let us do our thing. I felt badly telling her to leave us alone, but if she hadn't have moved I probably would have hit her with my crazy stylish moves. Oh well. I apologized after we finished.

DIY Quiznos Mesquite Chicken Sandwiches

When I was about seventeen I worked at a Quiznos sandwich shop for about nine months. I somehow became an assistant manager, and actually had a pretty good run there. I love their sandwiches and I could still eat one every day if my stomach and wallet could handle it.

So the other day while looking for something to make for dinner, I realized I had all the ingredients to make a mesquite chicken sandwich just like I used to make at Quiznos! And I have to tell you, mine tasted almost the exact same!! So I decided to share this recipe with all of you just in case you get a hankering for Quiznos, but can't get there.

These are the things you'll need:

1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breast (this can obviously be changed for how many people you're feeding.)

Mesquite seasoning

cheddar cheese

real bacon bits

tomato

onion

ranch dressing

hogie rolls

lettuce

Let's get started:

Preheat your oven to about 250-300 degrees. We don't want the sandwiches cooking to crisps, we just want them to get a little crispy and warm.

Cut your chicken into short strips and season the tar out of it with Mesquite seasoning. My favorite is McCormick's.

Remember, chicken shrinks a bit when you cook it, so choose your amount of chicken accordingly.

Cut your rolls completely in half. I find that if you cut the top completely separately from the bottom it's easier to build your sandwich, and your sandwich will be easier to close.

Put your ranch dressing on one or both sides of each sandwich. I chose to only put the dressing on the top of the sandwiches.

Tomatos and onions go on the top, chicken on the bottom side of the bread. My sandwich has tomatoes, Ander's had onions. He's such a weirdo. He doesn't even like tomatoes!!!

Put your sliced cheddar on top of the veggies

Add your bacon bits on top of your cheese

Here's what your sandwiches should look like before you put them into the oven:

Cook your sandwiches for about 10 minutes or so, or until the bread edges become crispy but the middle of the sandwich is still slightly soft.

Add your lettuce after taking your sandwiches out of the over. No one likes warm lettuce!

And finally, put your tops and bottoms together and slice down the middle. Ta dah! We ate french fries with ours but you can have whatever you like as a side.

Woo hoo! Now you can make a Mesquite Chicken sandwich like a Quiznos pro!!