Oatmeal Goodness

I do not really have a sweet tooth.  I just love a good salty treat.  Most days what I really crave is some cheese and crackers.  And some days I feel like a salt-lick would really hit the spot!  Gross I know but I can't help it.

So you can imagine my surprise when all I wanted this week was a chewy cookie.  Maybe it was all the depressing rain that we have had  Chocolate chip was not going to cut it.  I went old-school and baked oatmeal cookies.  All-Recipes.com had a recipe that looked good so I gave it a whirl.

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup granulated white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour (I always use unbleached flour)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

3 cups quick cooking oats

1 1/2 cups Craisins

1. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats and Craisins. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. *My cookies needed longer to bake* Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

These cookies were awesome and I will definitely make them again.  They were just what I needed as a little rainy day pick me up! (Hubby's note- Two thumbs up for this recipe. These cookies were excellent.)

You can also find me at Savvy Southern Style

I Should Have Known Better

    

M is making his First Holy Communion this weekend.  A bunch of my family is coming into town to stay with us.  I have to get this house clean from top to bottom!  I have more to do than the day has hours yet.....

I got a text message from ML telling me that I had to read Elin Hilderbrand's last book as soon as possible.  Since ML shares my love of summers in New England and we are both big fans of Elin, I knew that I needed to read "Summerland" right away and boy am I glad I did!  This was one of Elin's best books by my count. It was right up there with "Silver Girl" which is one of my all time favorite beach reads.  I simple could not put it down!!!  

Amazon's Book Description: A warm June evening, a local tradition: the students of Nantucket High have gathered for a bonfire on the beach. What begins as a graduation night celebration ends in tragedy after a horrible car crash leaves the driver, Penny Alistair, dead, and her twin brother in a coma. The other passengers, Penny's boyfriend, Jake, and her friend Demeter, are physically unhurt--but the emotional damage is overwhelming. Questions linger about what happened before Penny took the wheel.As summer unfolds, startling truths are revealed about the survivors and their parents--secrets kept, promises broken, hearts betrayed. Elin Hilderbrand explores the power of community, family, and honesty, and proves that even from the ashes of sorrow new love can take flight.

Thank goodness I finished this book so quickly and I can get back to cleaning!  

Wiped Out

We have been running around like crazy trying to get ready for this weekend and our house guests. This nonstop pace might have been too much for L. Poor boy just need a nap. I only wish I had time for one too!

Whirlwind Weekend

I do not think that we could have packed one more activity into this past weekend.  I mean it was not stop action from the moment the kiddos got off the bus this past Friday!  My in-laws kindly came to our house in time to greet the older two off the school bus while I packed the car for B's first ever field hockey travel tournament.  As soon as the car was all packed, B and I were off to Pennsylvania!

The whole car ride up B was bubbling with nervous energy.  It was too cute how she could not stop chatting!  God-willing she will be this chatty with me for years to come!!!  She might have been so willing to talk since I let her pick all of the music.  I listened to more One Direction than one adult should have to in a lifetime.  Honestly I am a little worried since she thinks that they really are good musicians.  Hopefully she will see the error of her ways before she reaches college.

I have to be honest, I was a nervous wreck about this tournament   You see these girls practice together twice a week as well as play on rec teams but they have yet to play a game together as a team.  It is one thing to pratice together, it is another to play a game together.  But this mom had no need to worry, they were great!  The girls won three out of their four games and came in second place.  The best part for me was that my father got to see Betsy play and we both enjoyed her beaming smile every time she came off the field!

While it was nice to get away for a bit with B and enjoy many girly giggles, there was too much to be done at home.  So after B's last game we headed home.  M has a big event coming up and I needed to make sure that he has the proper outfit for his big day.  We might not be Kennedys but look at these two!  How could you not vote for them!?! (Hubby's note: With the lip biting and thumbs up L looks like he is doing a Bill Clinton impression.)

After spending what I am sure Hubby thought was too much money at the mall (Hubby's note: That is the correct assessment) we headed to Lowes.  Since we will be having so many guests for M's big day I felt like our house needed some new accessories too.  I might not be known for having a green thumb but I do think my planters look pretty good if I do say so myself. Hopefully they will look just as pretty next Saturday!

Love Notes

The other day M walked into our bedroom with his hands behind his back.  When I asked him what he was hiding he replied "nothing" with a cute little smile on his face.  Then he asked when I was going downstairs.  So I decided to play along...

His sweet note just melted me heart! I think the picture is supposed to be the desk I painted for him. Thank goodness there are years before his notes are for someone else!!!

Finally Done!

I am happy to finally announce that M's desk is complete!  What I thought would be a simple sand and paint job turned into a big project but I think all of the work was worth it.  Who knew that I could strip the old paint, sand, paint the legs and stain the top?  It was so nice to do more than I thought I could do and to be please with the outcome! 

When the desk was finally dried we moved it up to M's room but we were missing the right chair for the desk.  I knew the look I was going for, old fashioned school issued chair with a modern feel.  I was able to find chairs that fit that description at a number of stores but those chairs did not fit my budget.  I am a mother of three children, two of whom are high energy boys under the age of ten.  I saw no need to spend over $120 on one chair that I was really not sure would last for real long. So the search continued...

After many searches on the internet I found just what I needed at Overstock.com.  I have never order from Overstock before since the reviews can be all over the place but I had a coupon code and could also get a rebate from Ebate's.  So for less than $120 I got not one but two metal "navy style" chairs.  While I was nervous about how they would look when they got here, I was really happy with the chairs.  I got an awesome deal and the chairs seem indestructible.  Win -win if you ask me!

Now all I have to do is find a desk like M's and refinish it for L.  Lucky for me, L has awhile before he needs a desk for his school work!

You can read all about M's desk "journey" here! And you can also find me at No Minimalist Here andSavvy Southern Style.

Deep Clean

We have a big family event coming up so I have started a "deep clean" this week in order to get my house ready.  I fear poor Hubby will have to deal with me smelling like Murphy's Oil Soap for a little while longer.  Is it just me or does everyone else start one project that leads to another project that leads to another?  And before you know it your home looks even worse for the wear, even thought you have been cleaning for eight hours straight!?!  God, I hope it is not just me!!!

One of the many projects that I started yesterday was moving all of my MIL's mother's linens from the sideboard to my Great Aunt Peggy's hope chest.  (I was hoping that this would make more room for my serving dishes.)  When I opened the hope chest I could not help but notice the "aroma sign".  I had never seen that before since when my mother used this chest it was filled to the top.  The hope chest is at least 60 years old and smells of wonderful cedar but I am still not sure what aroma tightness is!

While carefully moving Granny's linens I found an envelop that had three tags in it and I am not sure why.  Two of tags were for table lines from Ireland and one was for a damask set from Japan.  I would love to know why Granny saved these tags.  Were they wedding gifts?  Maybe gifts from Pop-Pop?  Or were they special for some other reason?  And I would really love to know which linens belong to these tags.  Since they meant so much to Granny I would like to make sure that they are well preserved - meaning not used by my children.

Or maybe it best that I don't know!  I would like to think that Granny is happy every time one of her great grandchildren gets chocolate all over her well loved napkins. (Hubby's note- She would have been especially happy if it was from a Tootsie-Roll, a personal favorite of her's. Miss you Granny and Pop-Pop!)

You can also find me at From My Front Porch and No Minimalist Here