I recently went to a Favorite Things party. Have you ever been to one? I think I need to throw one myself! I wanted to bring a treat to the party, which had a Christmas theme, so I made these Christmas shortbread bars. And they were delicious! Plus, it didn't take me long to make them! Here's what you'll need: Butter Powdered sugar Eggs Vanilla Salt Flour Dark chocolate chips Shortening Christmas sprinkles Peppermint candy pieces How to Make Christmas Shortbread Bars To make the shortbread, you take softened butter and cream it together with the powdered sugar. I used Continue Reading
Christmas Decorations 2015
This year I considered not even putting up our Christmas tree. At the time I didn't think Travis was going to be able to come home for Christmas. I asked ya'll on Instagram and Facebook, and everyone said to put it up! Then I found out my husband was going to get to come home, and suddenly I wanted all the Christmas decorations I could get my hands on. I wanted the house to be very welcoming and cheery and warm for his arrival. I got the Christmas tree up and decorated with the help of my mama and soon-to-be sister-in-law. Thanks so much for your help! I loved putting together the rest of Continue Reading
A Holiday Gift Guide for Bloggers
I've been a blogger for ... jeez, how many years now? I think I started my first blog in 2010 and moved to Seeing Sunshine in 2012. So I'm going on six years of blogging. Over that time, I've figured out what helps me with my blog and some things that I would love to have for my blogging "career." Do you have a friend who's a blogger? Or perhaps someone trying to get into the blogging world? This is my list of gift ideas for bloggers. Blogging Holiday Gift Guide Coschedule I just recently started my free trial of Coschedule -- you can get a 14-day free trial to see if you like it Continue Reading
Christmas Decor and Cards
This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting my blog. The Christmas season is fully upon us! We have the house decorated, I've made Christmas cookies, and the Christmas cards are in the mail! Now, to just finish the Christmas shopping. This year we decorated our tree with even more ornaments than last year. Now, we have ornaments from our cruise, our Disney World vacation, our trip to Sea World, and the ones we got for Christmas last year. Our tree is looking a little more full, although we still used a few dollar store ornaments to finish it off. By next year, we probably Continue Reading
10+ Chocolate Mint Recipes
Peanut butter + Jelly. Chips + Salsa. Macaroni + Cheese. Some combos just go together like Batman and Robin. And one of my favorite combos is Chocolate + Mint. I love mint chocolate chip ice cream. I love chocolate with mint creme. Andes chocolate mints are the best part of Olive Garden! Raise your hand if you love chocolate and mint together. Well for all those with hands in the air, I've compiled a list of some of the best chocolate mint recipes for you to make this holiday season. Let me know which is your favorite! Peppermint Chocolate Cake Cookies -- Just Us Continue Reading
Holiday Roundup: Munchies
It's my final holiday roundup! Today, I'm sharing lots of recipes for snacks and munchies to enjoy at: parties, game nights, movie nights, and get-togethers. These snacks are great for munching on while traveling or you can even bottle them up and give them as gifts! So many options ... and so many snacks! Let's recap the yummy munchies I've shared with you. Garlic Ranch Pretzels Goldfish Snack Mix Crock Pot Chex Mix Ranch Oyster Crackers Those were all delicious! Travis has already been asking me to make more. But there are tons of other yummy snacks too. Here are some recipes from Continue Reading
Holiday Roundup: Cookies
Christmas Day might be over, but I know there are lots of us who still have Christmas celebrations to attend. Plus, New Year's Eve is right around the corner! I've complied a list of all kinds of holiday cookie recipes, so you'll never run out of ideas! Be sure to pin it for next year too! Let's start with a recap of the cookie recipes I've shared. Grasshoppers Swirl Butter Cookies Surprise Brownies Christmas Stars Snowflake Oreos Have you seen the other cookie recipes I've made? They turned out fantastic! Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Mint Chocolate Continue Reading
Holiday Cookies: Christmas Stars
I've made these holiday treats several times because they are one of my mom's favorites. They are simple to make and look so dainty and sweet -- perfect for a holiday party. Here's what you'll need: Pie dough (refrigerated and thawed) Hershey's Kisses (I used Hugs, but you can use whichever you like best!) Egg white Sugar Powdered sugar Roll the pie dough out on your lightly floured table. You can make your own dough, but I buy the pre-made kind to make it easier. Place a kiss on the dough, and cut a circle around it. You want the circle to be about 2.5 inches around the Continue Reading
Holiday Munchies: Goldfish Snack Mix
The holidays are a time of playing games and bonding as a family, and everybody knows all that quality time makes you hungry. I love having munchies around to snack on during a great game of canasta. Not to mention snacks for traveling and the fun New Year's Eve party. That's why I'm doing a series called Holiday Munchies. Last week in the series, I shared a Garlic Ranch Pretzels recipe. But ya'll know how much I love goldfish (the snack not the kind that actually swims!), so this week I'm sharing a Goldfish Snack Mix with you. These little fishies have a great flavor! And even though they Continue Reading
Our Christmas Decorating
Once Christmas rolls around, Travis and I will have been married for six months. Half a year people! One of my prayers going into this military marriage was that we would be able to spend our first Christmas together. I prayed that Travis wouldn't get deployed within that first year. So far, my prayers are being answered and we will definitely be able to spend our first Christmas together. I'm very thankful and my heart goes out to those couples who won't get that privilege. Travis and I both love Christmas -- the decorations, the music, the baking, the church services, the festivities, Continue Reading
Holiday Cookies: Surprise Brownies
Have you been following along with all my holiday series? In the Holiday Cookie series, I've shared recipes for Grasshoppers and Swirl Butter Cookies. Today is Surprise Brownies! The best part about these cookies is that you can make them for all sorts of holidays! I made them last year for Halloween, and now I'm making them for Christmas. The surprise? Oreos! Each brownie has an Oreo inside! I'm using the holiday Oreos (with red creme) inside my Christmas cookies. For Halloween, I used the Oreos with orange filling. You can make them for Valentine's Day or St. Patrick's Day -- whenever Continue Reading
Holiday Munchies: Garlic Ranch Pretzels
For the holidays, I'm doing several series for ya'll. First, I wrote about my three favorite soups for those cold winter days: potato, vegetable and chili. Second, I'm posting a recipe for holiday cookies every Monday for five weeks -- so far you've seen grasshoppers and swirl butter cookies. My third series is all about the munchies! I love having snack food around for the holidays because its great to nibble on while playing games with family or (in our case this year) for traveling to see family. To start off this snack series, I'm sharing a recipe for garlic ranch pretzels! These babies Continue Reading