Our gloomy January weather here in Kentucky has left me feeling completely unmotivated to pick up my camera. Or to do much of anything, really. (Except bake and consume cookies. Seriously, last week I baked iced oatmeal cookies, and I’m pretty sure I ate the entire batch myself.) 

So, today I’m sharing one of my favorite shots from our trip to Ireland last year, when I couldn’t seem to put my camera down. We were somewhere along the Wild Atlantic Way, in County Kerry near Dingle. The brilliant turquoise of the water took my breath away. It was nothing at all like the iron gray I’d always expected of the North Atlantic.

We stopped at an overlook to get a better view of the beautiful waves crashing below, and the sight of my two babies, an ocean away from home and all they’d ever known, seeing the world for the first time, stopped me in my tracks. They looked so very small there at the edge of that big sea. Of all the blessings on our trip, I think the one I’m most grateful for was being able to see it through their eyes. This picture brings all those feelings back every time I see it. I think it may have to go on the wall.

I can’t wait until we get swept away again.

Merry Christmas Eve! I hope you’re spending today relaxing by a twinkling tree, sipping hot cocoa while admiring your beautifully wrapped gifts and clean house, as your perfectly dressed children play quietly on the hearth. Because that’s totally what I’m doing—in some alternate universe. In reality, I’ll be doing some last-minute baking, cleaning, and gift wrapping. Oh, except for that one gift that still. hasn’t. shipped.

There’s always one. Either I waited too long to order it (not me! never!), or the gift that I ordered weeks ago in spite of a sketchy shipping projection is still sitting in a warehouse somewhere gathering dust. This year that gift is for my dad, and my brother and I have been anxiously waiting for a shipping notification that never came. Best case scenario now looks like a December 27 arrival. Perfect.

My dad is impossible to surprise. The man can pick up any package under the tree that has his name on it, look at it for a second, then tell you exactly what’s in it. It’s infuriating. This year, we were sure we had him. He would never guess this one. But as the 25th got closer and closer, we started to suspect we needed a plan B.

While debating on whether or not to wrap a picture of the soon-to-be-here-I-promise gift, and thereby ruin the surprise, I decided that what we really needed was a rain check. Or a reindeer check. Because really, it’s the reindeer delivery system that’s at fault here.

Free Christmas Printable

So I came up with something to print out for those times when Santa’s elves are hopelessly behind, and that gift just isn’t going to make it under the tree. Just in case you ever find yourself in the same predicament (but you won’t, because you are always organized and on top of these things, right?), here’s a free download for you.

If you want, you could even include a hint about what the gift might be. But not us. This year we are going to surprise you, Dad! Well, beyond the fact that your Christmas gift is, in fact, not going to be here on Christmas. Surprise!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year full of only the best kind of surprises!

Is it just me, or has this winter seemed like THE WINTER THAT WOULD NEVER END? I’m excited to see March for lots of reasons, but these top the list.

1 | Daylight Savings Time

Because even though I’m going to lose an hour of sleep (oh the humanity!), I’ll finally be able to walk again in the evenings when my husband gets home from work. I can’t overstate how much I need that hour of solitude every day.

2 | Shamrock Shakes

I feel like I should preface this with I don’t normally eat at McDonalds. I haven’t enjoyed their food since I was a small child and thought that Chicken McNuggets were the best. thing. ever. But y’all—Shamrock Shakes? They are the best. thing. ever. I break my McDonalds ban every year in March so I can have them at least once.

3 | January and February are over, baby!

I struggle with a Seasonal Affective Disorder, which means that January and February are always varying degrees of miserable, but this year those two months were brutal. I have a surprisingly strong hibernation instinct for a human—I must have been a bear in a previous life. But that March sunshine makes us all a little brighter.

4 | St. Patrick’s Day

I ♥ all things Irish. I have Irish roots on both sides of my family, but WAY back. Like 18th century way back. So I’ve always had a little fascination with the Emerald Isle and it’s been #1 on my Places I Want To See Someday list for as long as I can remember. This year, my brother and his fiancée will be getting married there, so our whole family will be going! It’s equal parts exciting and terrifying. I don’t love to fly and I’ve never been out of the country, but I finally get to visit Ireland! I can. not. wait. And what an amazing adventure for the kids! I’ll be spending a lot of time on one of my favorite blogs to prepare for the trip. If you haven’t checked out the Irish American Mom blog, do yourself a favor and hop over there today. She’s an Irish-born Kentuckian who blogs about all things Ireland, including recipes! Try her roasties—I promise you’ll thank me!

Free Printable

In honor of our upcoming trip and St. Patrick’s Day, I’m sharing a free printable of one my favorite Irish blessings.

How about you—what are your favorite things about March?

We get excited for the Super Bowl around here. We don’t have a big party, and 3/4 of us could care less about football. But we do make snacks and watch the commercials—I mean, the game! The kids look forward all year to a meal composed entirely of snacks.

Every year I throw in something new for us to try—last year it was Mocha Valencia Cupcakes (look for those coming up next month for Valentine’s Day!), but we also have some old standards that I have to make to avoid an uprising. Chex Mix and sausage balls, for example. And this cheese ball dip.

My sister-in-law gave me this recipe years ago, and it has been one of our favorites ever since. It makes a lot of dip, so unless you are having a big party, be prepared for leftovers. But that’s okay, because cheese and crackers is a legit lunch option, right?

Don’t forget to check out what the rest of the On Our Plates ladies have cooking this month. Next up is Kathy with Super Bowl goodies!

Super Bowl Cheese Ball Dip

Tangy cheese ball dip that goes perfectly with Ritz crackers. This recipe makes plenty of dip for a big group. 

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

  

• 2 blocks Cream cheese
• 1 C Sour Cream
• 8 oz Sharp Cheddar (shredded)
• 1 envelope Italian Dressing Mix

Instructions

 

• Heat cream cheese in a large pan over medium-low heat, stirring often to prevent scorching.
• When cream cheese is softened, add sour cream & stir until blended.
• Add Italian Dressing Mix & stir until blended.
• Add sharp cheddar & continue to stir over medium-low heat until cheddar is completely melted & mixture is smooth.
• Pour into serving bowl and refrigerate until cold.
• Serve with crackers & enjoy!

Seven days! Are you ready for Christmas? I’m not. Not even close. I don’t have a single gift wrapped, and only a few bought. Cards aren’t mailed (but they are at least on their way to me), and envelopes aren’t addressed. So what did I do today? Made cookies, of course.

Two years ago, I had a great gift idea for my mom. She worked in a school cafeteria for years and had mentioned several times since she retired how much she loved the commercial grade KitchenAid mixer she used at work. So I rounded up my dad and brother to go in on it with us, and we got her her very own KitchenAid mixer for Christmas. Little did I know, she had already had the same idea—for me! My dad was the only one who was in on both plans. Pretty sneaky, Dad.

These Iced Oatmeal Cookies from Mother Thyme were the first thing I made with my shiny new mixer. (It’s still pretty shiny—it’s my other baby and gets a lot of TLC!) You know those iced oatmeal cookies you can buy at the grocery? We bought the Walmart brand for years (shhh!). These cookies look just like those, but they are so. much. better.

After baking, cool the cookies completely on a wire rack before dipping in the glaze. This recipe should give you a solid 4 dozen cookies, using a 1/8-cup cookie scoop. I pay a cookie dough tax to my assistant, so I ended up with 47 cookies.

The glaze will be nice and thick—drop the cookie in upside down, mush it down into the glaze a little, and pull it out, letting the excess drizzle off before flipping the cookies over and putting them back on the rack to let the glaze dry. If you want to add sprinkles, now is the time to do it, while the glaze is still tacky. The glaze should dry hard enough that you can stack the cookies for storage.

If they last that long . . .

For more Christmas cookie fun, follow the blog circle over to Jennifer Carr’s blog to see what she is whipping up for the holidays.

Iced Oatmeal Cookies

These iced oatmeal cookies are just like those you can get at the grocery store—but better. Perfect with a cold glass of milk on a cold winter day.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings 48 cookies

Ingredients

  

Cookies:

• 2 C Old-fashioned oats
• 2 C All-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 C Unsalted butter softened
• 1 C Light brown sugar
• 1/2 C Granulated sugar
• 2 Large eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

Glaze:

• 2 C Powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp Milk

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350° & line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Pulse oats briefly in a food processor, just to break them up a little. Do not over process, or your batter won’t spread!
• Mix oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, & cinnamon & set aside.*
• Cream butter & sugars together until fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating until combined after each addition.
• Add vanilla & continue to beat until combined.
• Add dry ingredient mixture a little at a time until fully combined.
• Using a 1/8 cup cookie scoop, place batter on lined cookie sheets, about 12 balls per cookie sheet to allow room for spreading.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.
• Allow to cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
• While the cookies are cooling, mix powdered sugar and milk with a fork until smooth. The glaze will be very thick, like a paste.
• When cookies are completely cool, dip each cookie into the glaze, shaking the excess off, and return to wire racks or paper towels to let the icing set up.

Notes

• The original recipe also calls for 1/2 tsp nutmeg, which I left out because I don’t like nutmeg!
• Seriously—don’t over-process the oats. Just pulse them once or twice to break them up a little. This step is key to getting the cookies to spread as they should.

This week’s P52 prompt was Street Photography. Now, I am very much an introvert. Street photography scares me to death. Unfortunately, this week has also been incredibly rainy. The few opportunities I had to get out of the house, it was pouring. So I had to break down & use a shot from the archives.

I grew up near Metropolis, IL, which proudly claims to be the Metropolis. You know, of Superman fame. And every year this tiny Metropolis holds the Superman Festival. It’s kind of like a mini Comic-Con. And these people are serious about their Superman fetish. There’s a big street fair and all kinds of costume awards. It is actually really fun. This shot is from a couple of years ago when we crossed the river to mingle with the superheroes.

I loved how they were all posing for the crowd full of photographers. I think there might have been a newspaper photographer setting this shot up, but they got the full-on paparazzi treatment, so I focused on the crowd instead of the . . . Justice League?

Sidenote: Do you see that guy on the back row that is black & white? I swear I didn’t do that and it’s kind of freaking me out. Was he wearing makeup to look like that? I wish I remembered!

Next on the blog circle this week is Michele. Go check out her street photography & leave her some love! Thanks for stopping by!