Your Weekend To-Dos

I have a checklist for you this weekend:

1. Go to Home Depot and buy your blue light bulbs so that you can be ready to Light it Up Blue in support of autism awareness starting on Monday. 

This what my house will look like, only less Empire State Building-like.

2. Go buy buttermilk so you can make a Donut Cake. (I'm assuming you've got the other ingredients on-hand, but maybe not.) Doesn't that just sound fun? Not only was it written by the beloved Catherine Newman, but you can eat it for breakfast, which is what I plan to do tomorrow. 

3. Tell me if I should cut my hair or grow it out for, like, the 25th time. This one is time-sensitive because I have my hair appointment in less than 2 hours...quick! What should I do?! I have yet to discern any pattern in when I choose to cut my hair vs. grow it long, so it could really go either way at this point. I'll probably just let my stylist (that's her title, shut up) decide...I think.

4. Plan a vacation - preferably to Las Vegas!* If you watch Boardwalk Empire, maybe you remember when Nucky tells Maggie "It's important to always have something to look forward to." I whole-heartedly agree. And what's more fun to look forward to than Las Vegas?! Have I mentioned we're going in, oh, 36 days? The restaurant reservations have begun.

And that is my list for you today. Happy Saturday!

*The City of Las Vegas does not sponsor this blog, but I think the powers that be might want to consider it.

Baking Christmas

A week from now, Christmas will be over. Even though I've been watching Christmas movies and listening to carols and shopping and wrapping and baking, I still don't know if I've been holly jolly enough.

There's a feeling stored in my mind that I think I'm always trying to recapture, although I'm not entirely sure it was ever captured in the first place. Maybe it's just an amalgamation of all of the things I've ever loved at Christmastime that, when combined, cast a glow over my memories of the season.

In my mind, there's an anonymous snowy windowsill, the only light coming from the colorful, twinkling bulbs strung along the the window frame, and I am sipping hot chocolate while Christmas songs fill the air. And the scene is pink and sweet, like a candy cane. And that's what I think of when I think of Christmas.

But if you want to be more tangible about it, here are a few holly jolly recipes I've compliled for the occasion, which I think you might want to try:

Peppermint Meltaways

Yes, Land O'Lakes is trying to sell you butter with this recipe, but you need butter when baking these delicious bits of Christmas, so it's all good.

Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm thinking about giving these as gifts. Even the most cynical teenager would welcome the gift of bacon cookies, right?

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes

Only Paula Deen would suggest that you use cake mix for the crust. I made these recently for our office potluck and I am now very popular at work.

Salted Caramel Popcorn

This isn't just a great recipe for caramel corn, it's from my favorite momoir author-turned-recipe queen, Catherine Newman.

Rich Chocolate Cupcakes Filled With Chocolate-Mint Ganache Topped With Mint Buttercream

Truthfully, I've only used the mint buttercream part of this recipe so far (it's great with brownies), but perhaps you are feeling ambitious? There's just no way these cupcakes could be anything less than awesome.

So Merry Christmas Week. Stay sane, bake lots and remember that gifts are not actually the point of all this.