I read the reviews and followed some of the comments to freeze the peanut butter balls before assembling.  I definitely recommend that step.
 Then make the chocolate cookie dough and form into balls.
 Flatten and fill with one of the peanut butter balls.
 Surround the entire peanut butter ball and roll back into a ball.
See how some of the cookies are smooth and some are cracked.  The cracked cookies are the ones where I followed the recipe.  But then before I baked the second cookie sheet, I decided that perhaps my dough was too dry and I added 1/8 cup of softened butter.  (By the way, I only ever use butter.  Never margarine.)  They definitely contained the peanut butter better, but they were also a little crisper.  Both were amazing.  Honestly, amazing.   I was able to make 28 cookies today.  We have 8 left.

I'm thinking you should remove your butter from the fridge now.  So it will be soft for your weekend of knitting.  And baking.

I have been waiting to make these cookies.  But something was always happening to the ingredients.  First, I accidentally grabbed dates at the store instead of figs.  Then, someone (Andrew) drank the apple juice.  Hey, who ate the orange!

Homemade Fig Newtons. Libby and Andrew both scrunched their noses.  But the adults in the house made "mmmmm" noises.  Time consuming, yes.  Something to try if you like fig newtons?  Heck yes.

I'm making a little progress on my sweater.  If only I would have noticed that I was knitting the neck increases out of the armhole.  Just ripped it back.  I'm not going to sleep until I join the fronts.

 I was in a hurry this week because of our Chicago trip, so I used the recipe box in my brain.  We never tire of this bite of deliciousness.
And finally I have cast on once again for a sweater.  It feels so good to be working on smaller needles and a bigger project.

Have a wonderful weekend!

We took an overnight trip to Chicago.  And while shopping on Michigan Avenue (who am I kidding... b-lined straight for Crate and Barrel) spotted B. A. Friend chalkboard place mats.  To say I was thrilled is an understatement.  They have been carrying them for a few years, but this was the first time I saw them in the store. You can always still purchase them here and here.

P. S.  My bag is a Kelly Moore Bag.  And I LOVE it.  It's a camera bag that fits everything! The bag is only 2 pounds which makes it PERFECT for traveling. I didn't take my camera with me on this trip but still carried the bag.  Cause it just so happens, to fit all the yarn you need.  What could be better!

Happy Friday!

The Only Thing That is Constant is Change.  -Heraclitus

Different window, different house, same girl.  I just can't believe how the time goes.   So grateful for the photos.  Going to recreate some for the boys, too.  

 I knit a hat.
And a dinner that hit the spot on a freezing winter night.
Grateful to be at home.

Happy weekend, friends!

When traveling I alway fill my bag (although, not as much as my sister does) with snacks.  Usually nuts, bars and various trail mixes.  (I love taking a trip with my sister.  Hello, cheese.  Hello, crackers.)
This time, I decided to play around with a recipe and make bars to take on our trip.

But first I wrapped up Toasty.  And past around a little love.
Hope your day was happy.  And you feel it not only on the 14th of February, but every day of your wonderful life.
xx,
leslie
P.S.  I scrolled down to the February 1st post and now I'm headed to the kitchen to make Chocolate Chip cookies.  Don't do it... unless you want to end up in the kitchen making cookies for dinner.

So, I took about 3 cups of peanuts.  Maybe 3 1/2.  I forgot to measure.  And I plopped it into the Vitamix.
 I ended up with about 1 3/4 cups of delicious peanut butter.
Eighteen non crumbly cookies came out of the oven.  Not nearly enough.
Especially when you eat two while knitting thumbs and finishing each pair of toasty.

Happy weekend, friends!

Well, I mentioned that I was working on Toasty.
Just Toasty.
All out of this yarn.  Love this yarn for this project.  Hello machine washable and dry-able.  I love the big wide stripes and playing with color combos.  I'm trying a new thumb technique.   I'll share after I finish.  It might just be our new favorite.
The pairs with only two colors, I knit 21 rows of one color and then changed to a contrasting color knitting for 55 rows.
The pairs with three colors, I knit 2 different colors of 21 rows each and then changed to a third color for 34 rows.
This still makes them 11 inches long.
These will all be Valentine gifts.  I have one more pair to knit.
And THEN I'm on to that sweater!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Batter.
Brownie Batter.
First layer.
Second layer.
Sprinkled with delicious chopped pecans.
Makes one, yummy Brookie.

My friend Suzanne shared the recipe.  They have become a favorite in her home and now a favorite in mine.
The recipe makes 36 2 inch squares.
They lasted 3 days.

Other delicious looking Brookies!

Happy February!

But paired with Somoas ice cream?  Tasted like a little bit of summer on a cold January day.

The yarn in the header is wool-ease.  My sisters and I bought a truck load while in Florida last month.   (Well, mom treated.  She knows the importance of soul soothing.)  Truly, toasty is the only thing that I have been working on.  Combining colors, creating wide stripes.  It's been fun.  I have a couple more combinations I'd like to knit and then I'm on to a sweater.  It's calling my name.

This recipe came from a grocery store in Florida years ago.  My sisters and mom and I love them with coffee and yarn for breakfast.   It's been a long time since I have started my day that way.  It sure felt good.
I've been on a toasty kick lately.  This yarn seems to be perfect for this project.  Washable, dry-able, with little investment? I'm in!

 It felt so weird to be throwing a party for him and not have him be there.  
But that's what he wanted.
And you know, he was there.
And he was smiling.
We celebrated a life that was well lived and well loved.
He had us smiling, too.

I'll find old favorites and hopefully incorporate a bunch of new recipes into the mix.
I made these once and we have talked about them ever since.  So, they were first on the list.
Lemon Sugar Cookies.
The perfect little companion to knitting.

So, after seeing Erin's hats, I instantly thought THAT was the gift i wanted the six kids to have.
3 boys +
3 girls =

Happy New Year sweet friends!
I wish you all health, love and happiness.
And a stockpile of yarn, of course.

Cheers to 2015!

xx,
leslie