More cookies

I don't know why we have been so fixated on cookies lately, but we have been experimenting with all sorts of new recipes.

Because of a surplus in cake mixes, I tried out a couple variations of Cake Mix Cookies, first with chocolate mix and second with swirled chocolate/caramel chips:

After these inital first successes, we excitedly made more batches, only to yield completely disappointing results. We don't know what we did differently, but now we cannot get this recipe to work! So I've basically thrown out this recipe and have gone back to the standard Tollhouse recipe.

K

Crafting as of late

I haven't read a single book since finishing The Rest of Her Life. I tried reading Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, but I knew I didn't want to waste my time reading a million pages about how kids so picked on this one student that he lashed out in a school shooting. Just too much.

So instead of reading being my stress relief, I have returned to the yarn. I've completed several projects and keep buying the yarn for more!

First, I greatly expanded my knitting skills by making my first knitted garment, a baby bolero from OneSkein. I totally messed up the edging, so the fronts do not match. It's so wonky I can't even give it as a gift. Oh well, it was good practice.

Next, I finished a baby blanket for the newest Baby Riley two and a half years after buying the yarn with the intention of making it for her older brother. I really like how this turned out. A couple of days ago, I finished a crocheted cardigan for Baby Brooklyn. It is a 3-6 month size (the only size the pattern was written in), so I hope it still fits! Even though it took me many tries to get the neckline right, I liked this pattern and would totally make it again.

And now I'm working on a cardigan for Addie. It's going to be light blue and edged in a contrast color (but I don't know which one yet). I'm crocheting it with alpaca yarn and it is so soft!

Even though it seems like most people prefer knitting, I feel like crochet comes so much more naturally to me. I can do both, but I guess I just have more confidence in my crochet skills. Next in the lineup is a knitted toddler dress for Addie in some pink alpaca yarn. I'm getting the right sized needles today after work, so I hope to cast on tonight.

K

Christmas baking--a bit late

Although we didn't decorate for Christmas besides putting up the tree, we did quite a lot of baking around Christmastime.

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies and Three Layer Bars for Mother's Day Out teachers:

Shaped Chocolate Pretzel Rods (using Wilton candy molds) for Aaron's work colleagues:

Somehow we didn't take pictures of our favorite new recipe, Caramel Chocolate Drops. These take a bit of work, but they are awesome cookies!!

K