What is it Wednesday????

Yeah!!!!!!!!! SNOW!!!!! I'm sooooo happy to have a bit of the white stuff!! It hasn't been too snowy around here yet...but I'm hoping this is the start of it. I just love to watch it coming down, to play in it, to feel all tucked in and let the quiet and stillness of it surround me....to see every tree branch loaded up with the beauty of it....I'm heading to Buffalo, N.Y. for the week to visit family and they have a TON up there. I just looooove a good storm and all of my people up there know it. They all keep me updated with phone calls, texts and pictures so I can almost feel like I'm in it!

The Soul Sisters Celebrate Christmas

The Soul Sisters celebrated Christmas this week....We had to re-schedule a few times...but us Sisters couldn't let Christmas slip past without celebrating with each other...Here we all are...and a big THANK YOU to Ms. Joy for sharing her super cute picture of us...the Treatgirl didn't bring her camera :( Anywho...last month we decided to have an ornament exchange...homemade of course!!! We like to do this kind of thing....but I have to say, I must have made ump-teen trips to Michaels and Joannes and I wasn't THAT pleased with my results....



We took this picture on our weekend away in November...and it just cried, "Christmas ornament" to me!...well, it did for a few other sisters too :)



Ms. Joy over at Joybeadworks crafted the MOST EXQUISTE little bird houses for us....complete with tiny glittered pinecones along the bottom. I may just have to find a spot for it for the rest of the winter...it's too pretty to pack away next week :)



Our very own Girl in the Sticks was sooooo sick last week, but her creativity must have been clicking away while she was having chicken noodle soup, because look at this!!!! She printed our picture on the back of glittery paper and created this amazing ornament.



Look at Frosty!!! Jennifer Juniper teased us all week by announcing she linked up to a linky party with our ornaments....but didn't want us to look!! She made this cutie patootie out of a light bulb!!! Isn't he the cuteset??????



Marzipan had no issues with her idea....she used to make these as a little girl with christmas cards....but she embellished ours with pictures from our year of fun! FAB.U.LOUS!!!!!!



I included a little something extra in my treat bag for the girls....I saw this on a blog over the summer and switched it up a bit....just printed out 365 little slips of paper with things to make you happy...each day you can pick one out and smile. Merry Christmas Soul Sisters......You're the best!!!!!

What is it Wednesday????

This Wednesday it's Christmas cards!!! I love getting cards from all of our family and friends....the messages of special wishes, the pictures of families and kids, letters with updates of all of the fun things they did in the past year... it makes me happy to to know we are all so loved.



I get my cards done in November because we always seem to travel the week of Thanksgiving and when I get home the weekend after I always feel overwhelmed with so much to do....so this way I can already cross the cards off my list. This is the picture I used for our card this year...I CAN'T BELIEVE Cindylou is 14!!! and T. is going to be 13 in 13 days!!!!!!!! Cubby is 6 and soooooooooooooo excited!!! Wowza this season has flown by fast!! I wish we had just one more week to have more fun :) Merry Christmas!!

Santa, I Got Myself A Treat!

ummm....I really wasn't planning on getting myself a treat...I've been trying to be good as I've shopped...but I couldn't resist! I was actually looking for a Santa my girlfriend coundn't find at her TJ Maxx.....and look what I found!



This super adorable gingerbread house...I just had to share it with you in all of it's cuteness....



....from every angle! Did you see the cupcake for the chimney????! And that it says, "treats" above the door??! This treatgirl couldn't resist!!



The roof comes off and you can tuck your favorite little treats inside....oh, and did I mention it was 25% off...so it was only $5 dollars!!!!!!! I think it just may be one of my most favorite little things of the season....Thank you, me...for my little treat!

It's A Wonderful Life

Tonight is the night I'm settling in to watch my most favorite movie.....It's A Wonderful Life....I watch it every year without fail....It just isn't Christmas unless I do!



So picture me with just the glow of the tree and sipping a mug of hot Christmas tea.

Gingerbread Whoopie Pies with Lemon Creme

Alrighty then! This is the third cookie I wanted to try....just because. Because they sounded interesting and they were a bit more involved and I wanted to see if I could do it. They turned out amazing and weren't hard at all......I know you'd like them...give them a try!

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. molasses
1 egg
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow cream
4 oz. (1/2 pkg.) cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 cup chopped peppermint candies

Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Beat 3/4 cup of the butter and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add molasses and egg; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture until well mixed. Press dough into a thick flat disk; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. ( I flattend the balls a bit so they made more of a disc when they baked.)

Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

Mix marshmallow cream, remaining 1/4 cup butter, cream cheese and lemon extract until well blended. Place about a tbsp. filling on the flat side of one cookie. Top with a second cookie, pressing gently to spread the filling. Repeat with remaining cookies. Roll edge of cookies in chopped candy. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

Candy Cane Cookies

I have loved these cookies since my sister in law introduced them to me over fifteen years ago. They are not very sweet, and have a hint of almond to them. She knows how much I love them and one year she even made them for me for my anniversary....It's on February 13th and she connected two of them together and made them into hearts. Of course I have tried to make them in the past...and you guessed it... no luck! But YIPPEE for me!! I have to say they taste exactly like my SIL's and I couldn't be happier!!! There's still time to make a few......here's the recipe:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Mix together:
1c. butter
1c. powdered sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla

Stir in 2 1/2 cups flour and 1 tsp. salt. Divide dough in half and add 1/2 tsp. red food coloring to one half. Chill for 1/2 hour. Roll out ropes of each color dough and twist together. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 9 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar on top. I doubled the recipe.