25 Days of Christmas: Days 22-25

Posted in Challenges by

This is the last installation of my 25 Days of Christmas challenge!  The last four topics are cookies, sparkle, Christmas eve, and unwrapped:

Day 22 – Cookies – Matt’s mom bakes a huge assortment of sugar and gingerbread cookies and his family gathers before Christmas to frost and decorate them.  Matt frosted this ornament cookie.

Day 23 – Sparkle – One of our sparkly snowflake ornaments.

Day 24 – Christmas Eve – We had our parents over for Christmas Eve dinner last night.  We made bruschetta and Giada’s Penne with Shrimp in Herbed Cream Sauce… yum!

Day 25 – Unwrapped – I’m cheating and using two photos for this final topic…  The top photo shows pile of unwrapped wrapping paper on Matt’s new step stool and the bottom photo shows Bailey with her freshly-unwrapped bone!

25 Day Photo Challenge

Would you like to see more 25 Days of Christmas fun?  Visti Pa-BLAM to see Pami’s days 22-25 post and visit Katie at Kitchen Notes and Other Sundries to see her challenge photos.

Related Posts:

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Cookie Sticks

Posted in Recipes by

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!  🙂  Matt and I kicked off our holiday cooking last week by baking dozens of Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Cookie Sticks.  We chose coconut cookies because I have fond memories of making a similar cookie with my mom years ago so I thought it would be fun to recreate them this year.  I don’t have my mom’s original recipe so I used this recipe from Vesta Vamps and it was perfect!  The cookies turned out buttery, crisp and chocolatey and they looked great “wrapped” in mason jars with red bows.  We shared several jars with friends and family and still have a couple dozen left over for ourselves.

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Sticks

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Cookie Sticks (from Vesta Vamps)

You will need…
1 pound (4 sticks) Butter, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups Sugar
3/4 teaspoon Salt
3 Egg Yolks
2 teaspoons Vanilla
4 2/3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 bag (approx. 5 1/2 cups) Sweeted Coconut Flakes
16 oz. Semisweet Chocolate, roughly chopped

Directions:
In a stand mixer beat together the butter, sugar and salt until light a fluffy, approximately 3-4 minutes.  Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time and add the vanilla.  Beat until smooth, then add in the flour in small increments and mix until combined.  Scoop the dough out of the bowl with your hands and form into two dough balls.

Row after row of cooling cookies

Meanwhile, empty the bag of coconut out onto a large rimmed cookie sheet and place in a preheated 350° oven.  Toast the coconut for 15-18 minutes until golden brown, stirring frequently.  Remove the toasted coconut from the oven and allow to cool.

Place one of the dough balls and half of the toasted coconut into the mixer bowl.  Mix until combined and then remove the dough from the bowl and divide in half.  Use your hands to form each dough half into rectangles that measure approximately 18 in. long by 5 in. wide and 1/2-3/4 in. tall.  Place the dough rectangles onto parchment paper and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.  Repeat this step with the second half of the dough; you should end up with 4 chilled rectangles.

Slicing the dough into sticks

Cut the chilled dough into cookie sticks that are approximately 1/2 inch wide.  Roll the dough slightly between your palms to create a round cookie (or leave it flat to create more of a biscotti-type shape) and place the dough sticks onto a non-stick cookie sheet.  Bake each batch of sticks in a preheated 350° oven for 12-14 minutes until golden brown.  Allow the cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes and then carefully transfer them to cooling racks until they cool completely.

Cooling cookies

Place the chopped chocolate in a double boiler bowl over simmering water and stir until it melts.  Dip the end of each cookie into the chocolate mixture, scrape any excess chocolate off on the side of the bowl, and place each of the cookies on parchment paper to cool.

This makes about 120 cookies and they are perfect to share with friends and family around the holidays!

These cookies make great gifts!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Surprise

Posted in Bailey, Challenges by

This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is surprise:

That rock is alive!

 

Just for fun, feel free to leave a caption for this photo in the comments section.  I think Bailey is thinking “Whoa! That rock is alive!”

25 Days of Christmas: Days 15-21

Posted in Challenges by

This week’s 25 Days of Christmas topics are warmth, ornaments, wreath, giving, reindeer, memories, and bells:

Day 15 – Warmth – Our wonderful, warm, easy-to-use propane stove!

Day 16 – Ornaments – Our tree doesn’t have a specific theme, but I’ve noticed that we seem to gravitate towards animal ornaments and apparently we have a thing for squirrels! Next year we really need to get a black squirrel ornament.

Day 17 – Wreath – We have a double front door which means that we need these double wreathes!

Day 18 – Giving – These chocolate-dipped coconut stick cookies are all packed up and ready to give to friends and family. I’ll post the recipe soon!

Day 19 – Reindeer – This reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh was always one of my favorite Christmas decorations growing up.

Day 20 – Memories – My dad passed away in 2005 but I fondly remember him always sitting in this chair on Christmas morning while we opened presents. We’d have to wait for what seemed like hours until we were allowed to come downstairs and see what Santa had brought for us!

Day 21 – Bells – This ornate bell is part of an indoor display at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. Longwood is a great place to visit at Christmas time!

25 Day Photo Challenge

Would you like to see more 25 Days of Christmas fun? Visit Pami at Pa-BLAM and Katie at Kitchen Notes and Other Sundries to see their photos!

Related Posts:

Weekly Photo Challenge: Delicate

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This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is “delicate.”  When I saw this topic get posted last Friday I immediately started searching through my Flickr photo collection to find a suitable image.  Unfortunately I quickly realized that a vast majority of my photos are of Bailey, food, and landscapes… not exactly subjects that evoke delicacy!  I did however find these three photos of Bailey looking rather gentle:


That’s Bailey daintily handing me her frisbee, Bailey nosing the turtle she found in the backyard, and Bailey gingerly saying hello to 8-week-old Barrett the Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Bailey delicately sniffs Barrett's head

Pretty delicate, wouldn’t you say?  Thanks for stopping by!  🙂

25 Days of Christmas: Days 8-14

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It’s time for another installation of my 25 Days of Christmas challenge!

Day 8 – Tree – This was an easy one because I love our tree this year! As usual, we picked it out at Linvilla Orchards the Sunday after Thanksgiving. You’ll get to see some of the ornaments on Day 16…

Day 9 – Treats – OK, not a Christmas photo per se, but to me this photo screams “treat.” We taught Bailey this trick a few years ago but juding by the look on her face I don’t think that she likes it very much!

Day 10 – Joy – This photo is from Christmas morning last year. It was our first Christmas in our new house and Bailey was having fun trying to lick our faces mid-photo.

Day 11 – Carols – This is my mom’s piano with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” ready to be played by someone (not me!). I spent countless hours of my childhood sitting in front of this piano. Now I’m glad just to photograph it and move on!

Day 12 – Vintage – I don’t know what year this Santa is from, but he’s been around since as long as I can remember so that makes him vintage as far as I’m concerned!

Day 13 – Festive – A nice holiday beverage with an orange peel “twist.” We made these last year for New Year’s Eve.

Day 14 – Glitter – These glittery candles belonged to my wonderful grandma, “Mimi Betty.” Mimi passed away a few years ago but my mom and I each have several of her Christmas decorations and I often think about her at this time of year. Mimi was fond of – no, obsessed with! – the color gold and had dozens of glittery ornaments and candles including these lovely Christmas trees.

25 Day Photo Challenge

Would you like to see more 25 Days of Christmas fun? Visit Pami at Pa-BLAM and Katie at Kitchen Notes and Other Sundries to see their photos!

Ridley Creek State Park

Posted in Hikes by

In honor of my 100th post (yes, it’s my 100th post!) I’m going to feature one of my very favorite hiking spots ever:  Ridley Creek State Park.  “Ridley Creek,” as we call it, is a 2,600 acre park located in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, approximately 15 miles west of Philadelphia.  It also happens to be about 2 miles from our house which makes it a very convenient place to enjoy nature while getting some exercise!

Ridley Creek State Park Map (TheLittleGSP.com)

Matt and I both grew up in this area so we’ve been coming to Ridley Creek State Park with our families since long before we met one another in college.  Come to think of it, we both spent SO much time here as kids that it’s actually pretty likely that we unknowingly passed each other on the bike trail or splashed around in the creek together at some point in our childhoods.

Ridley Creek features miles of secluded hiking trails, multiple family-friendly picnic areas, and a 4.5 mile paved trail.  The paved trail is popular with walkers, runners, and bikers.  The trail has mile-markers every tenth of a mile and the scenery along the way includes thick woods, cornfields, deserted 19th century stone houses, and, of course, Ridley Creek itself.  Matt, Bailey, and I walk this trail fairly often.  Most recently we went on Day 14 of my mile-a-day “Streak” and the next day I was definitely feeling the combined effects of the hilly 4.5 mile walk and my morning mile!

In addition to the paved trail, Matt and I also enjoy hiking in the much more secluded northern section of the park.  This area is usually utilized by horseback riders but we started to frequent it after discovering an off-road hunter’s parking lot (1) near our house last February.  The 4.25 mile trail can be a bit difficult to follow if you don’t know where you’re going but I love how sections of it makes you feel like you’re 100 miles away from civilization or, better yet, like you’ve gone back in time.  In fact, if you follow the gas pipeline right-of-way up the (very steep) hill you’ll actually come across a forgotten cemetery that hails back to the 1800s.  Cool!

If you’re ever in Delaware County looking for a good place to take a hike I’d definitely recommend stopping by Ridley Creek State Park.  If you have been to Ridley Creek before please let me know what your favorite trail is in the comments section below!  🙂

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Changing Seasons

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This week’s WordPress Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge is “Changing Seasons.”  I recently decided that my favorite time of year is in fact the transition period between seasons so I think this topic is fantastic!

Matt and I have lived in our house for nearly two years now and I often find myself taking photos of the view from the north-facing edge of our tiny deck.  I have amassed quite a collection of photos throughout the changing seasons so I’ll use this Photo Challenge as an excuse to share some of them!

Changing Seasons: Looking out over Willistown Township

Do you have any favorite photos that illustrate “Changing Seasons” ?  Please feel free to link to them below or link to your blog if you are also participating in the Weekly Photo Challenge!

25 Days of Christmas: Days 1-7

Posted in Challenges by

Here are my photos for Days 1-7 of the 25 Days of Christmas Challenge!

Day 1 – Lights – Looking up through a light tree at Longwood Gardens
Day 2 – Decorations – I know, more lights! But this is how we have decorated our house this year.  Icicle lights all around!
Day 3 – Gifts – We haven’t wrapped any presents yet this year so these are some gifts from two years ago.
Day 4 – Tradition – This is our advent calendar!  We stash candy and goodies behind each little door for each other.  Matt gets the odd days and I get the even!
Day 5 – Santa – Our snazzy, sparkly Santa ornament.
Day 6 – Stockings – We don’t have stockings but we do have these awesome red boots!
Day 7 – Snow – I couldn’t decide on this so I chose two.  One shows Bailey on a huge snow drift during the winter of 2010 and the other is a road that we take on our drive to work.

Craving more 25 Days of Christmas fun?  Go visit Pami at Pa-BLAM and Katie at Kitchen Notes and Other Sundries… they are doing the 25 Days of Christmas Challenge, too!

25 Day Photo Challenge

Streaking, Reflections, and Other December Challenges

Posted in Challenges by

I don’t usually take part in online challenges but I am making several exceptions this month!  Here’s a quick run down of the fun challenges that I will be participating in for December:

1.  I’m Going Streaking!!

As a part of the Runner’s World “Streak,”  I have committed to run, walk, or elliptical at least 1 mile every day between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.  I completed my mile for day 12 of the streak this morning and I feel great!

“Streaking” is a big deal for me because, although I was a runner in college, I’ve really done very, very little running since graduating in 2007.  I am usually quite content to come home from work and make dinner/watch TV/blog/do anything besides exercise.  But all of that has changed since I started my streak on Thanksgiving.  Now I actually wake up BEFORE work (something I never would have believed that I’d ever do!) and I elliptical my mile while groggily watching the morning traffic and news.  It’s an awesome feeling to come home from work and know that I have already finished my exercising for the day.  🙂

I have to give a quick shout out to Jocelyn from Running Noodle because without Jocelyn I never would have known that the Streak challenge existed.  I read Jocelyn’s “Streaking” Post last winter and decided then and there that I would try streaking myself this year.  I learned this weekend that streaking is actually a whole blog/twitter/social media “thing” with it’s own hashtag (#RWStreak) so I guess I’ll start tagging my streaking posts from now on!

weekly photo contest - "reflection"

2.  Weekly Photo Challenge: REFLECTION

I kept seeing posts with beautiful “reflection” photos featured in my WordPress reader so I did some investigating and learned that WordPress sponsors a Weekly Photo Challenge.  It’s easy to participate so I thought this would be a fun way to add to my December challenges.  I think to actually join the challenge properly I need to create a brand new post titled “Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflection” but this post will have to suffice for week 1.

I have two photos featuring reflections for this week.  The first (above) is a rare self-portrait of me taking a photo of Bailey via the car’s rear view mirror.  She loves car rides!  (Ignore my wrinkly forehead… I was thinking hard!)  The second (below) is a photo of a Delmarva DockDog named Sam.  I love how Sam and his toy are converging with their reflections!

weekly photo contest - "reflection"

3.  25 Days of Christmas Photo Challenge

Yes, another photo challenge.  (When I decide to do something I go all out!)  I learned about this photo challenge from Pami at Pa-BLAM.  There’s a nice holiday-themed topic for each day and, like Pami, I will probably do a post every 7 days or so with the photos from the previous week.  I’m going to have to rely on some holiday photo archives for a few of these though… I mean, I HOPE that I see snow on December 7th but at this point that’s not looking too likely!

25 Day Photo Challenge

OK, well that just about sums up my December challenges.  I think that #3 is going to be really fun but overall I am most excited about Streaking.  Wish me luck!   🙂