When I grow up I want to be a professional organizer

I love Christmas and all the trimmings that go along with it.  I also love neatly packing everything away and finding new homes for all the gifts we received. 

There are so many wonderful organizational ideas out there and products for every size of home and style of organizing. 

One of my favorite blogs is  Tatertots and Jello.  She has some of the best crafty link up parties and she also writes a segment called The New Home Ec over on Babble. Check out the series she just started about organizing your home, room by room, and then hop to it!

Happy New Year!

Here is some pertinent reading material to start off your new year,  compliments of my mother. (With special thanks to my dad for his life long subscription to the WSJ!) 

Here's to an  incredibly productive 2012!

Conquering the To-Do List



{Cheers}

Christmas Cookies and Food Gifts for all your friends!

 

We  love Christmas.  We  love baking and decorating.

We  love making gifts and thinking and planning the perfect thing for each and everyone on our gift list.

We  also know that there are so many of you  who enjoy all of these things as well but don’t necessarily have the time it takes to get them all done. 

Create Christmas memories with these homemade gifts. Let us do the making, you do the giving!  Place your order and cross that off your to do list. 

 

Nothing says Christmas like a batch of iced sugar cookies! 

Choose from Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas

or Happy New Year.

$25 per set.

 

Need a cute gift for that friend or neighbor that loves to bake? 

Try a vintage sifter stuffed with a

Cranberry Buttermilk  Muffin Mix!

$15 each.

 

Here is the perfect pick–me-up gift!  Grab a bottled beverage and

top it with one of these handmade cookie collars!

Collar comes with a cranberry orange white chocolate 

cookie tucked inside. 

$3 each. (beverage not included)

 

Give the gift of a  simmering Christmas Aroma. 

Oranges, lemons and Christmas spices all wrapped up in a

vintage enamelware pan! 

$15 each.

 

Little kids and big kids would love to have  these

Christmas Brownie Pops  in their stockings this year! 

Homemade brownies dipped in dark or white chocolate,

wrapped up and tied  with a decorative tag.

$1.50 each or $15 per dozen.

 

Place your order by calling

Kellee at 970-744-0913 or Laura at 970-481-2191

or email us at letitbe.done@yahoo.com

Information regarding delivery or shipping will be discussed  when your order is placed.

Good news from heaven the angels bring,
Glad tidings to the earth they sing:
To us this day a child is given,
To crown us with the joy of heaven.

Martin Luther

Ikea,Pyrex and other fun but unnecessary things

Quite the combo, I know.   This past week was filled with the most interesting mix of projects and tasks I think I have  ever had.   Most of my family will be here today today for Thanksgiving so I have been doing the usual cooking and cleaning to prepare for company. 

Another thing I really like to do before company comes is add lots of unnecessary projects to my list.  It’s like an instant deadline to get everything done I have been putting off  and obviously it runs in our family, right Lauren? And MOM? 

So while I have plenty of things to blog and lots of Thanksgiving recipes to share,  I now have to get up and get back to work.  But you can hop on over to Jan’s blog and check out our trip to Ikea last Friday and see what we did with our time together!

Cookie Cutter Inventory

In an effort to better organize my cookie cutters and in a search for some cutters for a few non cookie projects I have going,  I decided to take a count of how  many cutters  I actually have.

293 is all.

Yes Laura, I counted your new woodland animal set from Ikea as mine.  I think I will count the Star Wars ones too.  That brings the count to 297.  

I personally don’t think that this number qualifies me for an episode of Hoarders but you may beg to differ.

Are you looking to add a few cutters to your collection?  Check out Fancy Flours for some beautiful sets.  

Cookie Cutters 4 Less is good too.  They are out of Fort Wayne. Hello sisters, how did we not know this when you lived there?!

Happy Baking!

My Favorite Cookie Recipe

I often have people ask me for my sugar cookie recipe and my frosting recipe.

This  is my favorite so far and turns out every single time.  It came with this set of Wilton cookie cutters.  


The funny thing is that I have never actually made that tree :)  I think Mom has the same set and has tried it out a few times.

So while my blogging friends are posting menu plans and delicious fall soups, I only have cookie recipes to offer.  How's that for a poor palate Lauren?


Sugar Cookies
3/4 cup butter
3/4 sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add baking powder flour and salt, one cup at a time mixing well after each addition. The dough will be stiff. Divide dough into two balls and work with only one at a time. Do not refrigerate dough.

Roll out to 1/4 inch thick and cut out cookies. Bake on top rack of the oven for 6-7 minutes. Let cool slightly and remove from cookie sheet.

Royal Icing
3 level tablespoons Wilton Meringue Powder Mix
(I actually use 3 egg whites)
4 cups powdered sugar
5-6 tablespoons water

Beat all ingredients at medium speed for 7-10 minutes until icing can form peaks. This icing can be stored in an airtight container and re whipped before using. Yields 3 cups.

Icing can be colored. I use a a small squeeze bottle with a very small #1 tip to pipe onto cookies. For multiple layers of frosting, let first layer dry overnight. Cookies can be frozen after frosting is dry. 2-3 weeks max.