snow days!

not in nashville, of course. where we apparently no longer have seasons! um - please don't be teasing me, spring. 65º and sunny in february!

w + i spent the weekend w/ 20 rowdy kids from calvin house ministries. we enjoyed a day of skiing and 3 days retreating @ lake junaluska, nc. needless to say - today i'm pooped! i hit my snooze alarm a whopping 10x this morning. that has to be a record.

 

{my small group girls + raven}

hopefully i can muster up a little energy tonight to unpack. :)

until then - hope you had a great weekend.

want to help send my girls to camp? we're running a half marathon to raise money for camp scholarships. email me {click here} for details!

what's cookin: snow day cookies ...

stuck at home because of the snow? then if you're anything like me, you've got the itch to bake cookies! there's nothing more cozy then fresh baked cookies & a cup of tea - seriously! only 1 problem ... limited supplies! :) and you can't drive to the store if you "can't drive to the office".

solution: snow day cookies

ingredients:
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter - room temperature
1 1/4 cup brown sugar*
1 tsp almond extract
1 egg
1 cup chopped almonds

*some bakers will tell you that the secret to a good cookie recipe is brown sugar instead of white. for me ... it was my only option! the truth about brown sugar: it's basically white sugar w/ molasses added. this gives your cookies a deeper flavor and the molasses helps to keep the cookies moist!

directions:
1) preheat the over to 350ºf.
2) in a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda & salt.
3) in a large bowl, cream the butter & brown sugar for about 2 minutes.
4) beat in the almond extract & egg until smooth.
5) with the mixer on low, gradually add in all the flour mixture.
6) fold in the chopped almonds.
7) place slightly rounded tablespoons of the cookie dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
8) bake for 10 minutes - until just golden around the edges.

makes about 3 dozen

ps - i walked to work. so these cookies are just as delicious on non-snow days. ;)

broken ...

last night wade and i woke to a crash in the kitchen. actually 2 crashes: the first was the ladle falling from the built-in. the second was the dish that originally bumped the ladle off the built-in. i guess the foam strips i had used to prop up our plates aren't weatherproof. {sadly - this was the SECOND plate we have lost in the cold.} so now i've removed all the plates from display until i can figure out a safer method to prop them up ... any suggestions?

then, this morning i went to do my hair - and my chi wouldn't turn on.

wade sweetly reminded me that the plates and the straightening iron are just things ... and i agreed.

thankfully that is all that is broken. not any legs or arms or ribs from our spontaneous snowboard capitol hill adventure last night. wade has had the snowboarding itch for a while ... so we called up sean, whitney, david and ethan and we hit the "slopes":

{they were off ...}

{he has been wanting to do this for YEARS!}

{not only were wade's socks from his last snowboarding trip still in his bag - but taped to his snowboard was a reminder of his accident last year on 1.9.10!}

it's "snow" lovely outside ...

... and "snow" quiet in the office this morning.

wade and i went to the pancake pantry for a quick breakfast - and then he dropped me off at work. i am 1 of 3 that made it in {make that 2 - one just decided to head back home!}. the only disadvantage to a 6 block commute? i have no excuse!

the cold has me daydream about ...

1) these fluffy mittens:

2) this ginormous scarf:

3) this over-sized sweater:

4) these adorable knit leggings:

5) this darling sweater inspired purse:

all this to say ... i'd rather be knitting. ;)

my sock progress:

snow day!!!

last night it snowed ... lots and lots and lots. well for tennessee. ;)

{photo courtesy: we ♥ it}

remember how exciting it was when you were little and the weather report called for snow? a couple weeks ago there were fluries - the kind that barely reached the ground before melting. i giggled as i watched the neighborhood kids attempt to play in the "snow". so excited. they must really be having a ball today!

the boss called this am to tell me not to attempt driving in. the roads were pretty bad and tennessee drivers ... even worse. but i live 6 blocks from the office. i couldn't really use that as an excuse. {besides i had 2 year end ads due.}

but for a moment i was pretty excited at the idea of a snow day. there's so much that i still need to do before holiday. i feel a bit lazy ... no new updates. no new crafts.

but it's been busy! friday - we hosted a little dinner party. saturday, wade helped a friend with a photo shoot (in the cold cold rain) ... then after defrosting, we went to a tacky sweater party. sunday - we spent the majority of the day at ugly mugs - a coffee shop in east. wade had work to do - and i finished up our christmas card! {pretty excited about it too!} finally we ended the weekend by having wade's former roommate & his wife over for dinner.

i do have a couple of fun projects i've been working! and i should snap a couple of pictures of our tree! it's finally decorated.

hope you're surviving this busy time of the year.