Wednesday, January 21, 2015

My New Favorite Cookies

I have a HUGE sweet tooth. I've been eating all things peppermint since Christmas to satisfy my sweet tooth, but was looking to switch it up recently. Jeremy loves and usually requests my traditional chocolate chip cookies, but when I went to bake this weekend, he suggested I do a chocolate based chocolate chip cookie. Ya know, just for fun. ;)
I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman and had to give it a try. With 2 1/2 sticks of butter and 3 1/2 cups of chocolate chips, how could you go wrong?! Trust me, they did not disappoint! They are rich and decadent and absolutely perfect fresh out of the oven. 
I made the recipe as directed, except I used 1 cup white chocolate chips and 2 1/2 cups of milk chocolate chips since that's what I had on hand and I prefer milk chocolate over semi-sweet. I used Ghirardelli chips and they are amazing! I baked mine on my stoneware and my Air Bake pans because I love how soft they turn out on those pans, so mine took about 13 minutes to bake instead of the suggested 9-11 minutes.

The cookies are soft and chewy and are so rich and chocolaty! Hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

Click HERE for the recipe for Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Monday, January 19, 2015

Ledge Love

Hope you are all back into the swing of things now that we are well into January! We are adjusting to Jeremy's new job. There has been some travel, but man is it nice to get to sleep a little longer in the mornings and see him for lunch when he works from home! It makes every day feel like a holiday!

We have continued cranking out projects over the past couple months, so I'll try to catch you up on those in the next few posts. I immensely needed the project blogging hiatus to slow down and de-stress after our crazy year. Honestly, it was either take a break or hang it up all together. Thankfully, the break did the trick and I've been itching to get back on here and share our projects again. :) Thanks for your support and for coming right back and reading, even after the break! You guys are the best! 

Ready for an easy, inexpensive project? Check out the new ledge Jeremy made me! He's the best!
Ever since we moved into this house, I've been stumped about what to hang on the short wall above the couch. I've tried several things, but nothing has filled the space well. I had pretty much given up when a friend posted a picture of her new shelf and decor that she hung above her couch. This just so happened to be the same friend who has the Melody chair as well and has amazing taste! As soon as I saw her picture, I knew it would be the perfect thing for our living room. I wanted something that I could easily change and felt relaxed and cozy. The ledge did that perfectly. Thankfully, she didn't mind if I straight up copied her, so that's exactly what I did. :) Thanks, Alison!!!!
She got her shelf at Ikea for a great price. If Ikea wasn't three hours away, we totally would have gotten one from Ikea, too, but we weren't making a trip that way any time soon. Jeremy had enough wood left over from Little Girl's board and batten project, so we decided to just build the shelf ourselves. Bonus, it was free that way!


It was a super fast and easy project. You can find plans here on Ana White to build a ledge shelf. We don't have a Kreg Jig, so Jeremy screwed the back piece straight into the shelf, then nailed the front piece in with his nail gun. He gave the ends a good sanding to make them nice and smooth. I filled the nail holes with wood filler and sanded it down smooth, then primed and painted the shelf. To hang the shelf, Jeremy screwed and anchored it straight into the wall. I painted the screws to disguise them, but you could also get screw covers if you wanted. 
I put up some frames I had on hand already. I love that white scrolling frame and the clock!

We are getting so close to finishing the living room! I'm loving the direction it has taken. It is so relaxing and peaceful...well, at least when the toys aren't all over the floor and the clean laundry isn't in a pile on the couch. Ha!

Linking up to Thrifty Decor Chick, Pieced Pastimes, Carrie This Home, Little House of Four, Skip to My Lou, Tabler Party of Two, Dwelling in Happiness, A Bowl Full of LemonsNaptime CreationsSand and SisalHome Stories A-ZThe DIY Dreamer, and Reasons to Skip the Housework!

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Why to Organize and Decorate

A few months ago, I was discussing my blog plans with a friend and she mentioned it would be interesting to see some of the reasons why I make the decorating/design choices that I make. It is a great thought and I've been percolating on it ever since and will try to incorporate those answers in future blog posts.

A lot of my choices are for practical reasons like storage and durability. But, the more I stewed, the more I realized just how much I decorate for a general "feel" in my home. I'm not sure if everyone is this way, but my mood is very influenced by my surroundings. Clutter makes me feel anxious, but a clean house makes me feel calm. Soothing colors help me feel peaceful and relaxed. I love and appreciate lots of different decorating styles and enjoy them in other people's homes. In my home, though, I need calming colors, organized spaces, and simplistic decor choices, otherwise I feel chaotic and anxious...writes the woman staring at a pile of laundry and toys everywhere. Oh! Oh! Guess my mood! Haha! ;)

Anyway, I saw this article floating around this morning and thought Nailed It! This is SO true for me. Check it out!

Image Credit: House Logic

Is your mood influenced by your surroundings, too? What decorating style helps you improve your mood?
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