cookie treats

today was the last day of school ... and i thought i would make a batch of cookies
as a treat for my boys ... i made my christmas anise cookies ... but i gave them a
more summer like twist ... instead of the anise extract, i used raspberry flavoring
that i bought at "bake it pretty" ... and for the sprinkles on top, i used the super
cool technique showed by Jessica here for turning white jimmies into beautiful
pastel colors ... i made mine a very pale shade of blue ... they look so cute ...

son #1 who doesn't really care for the anise version of these cookies ... pronounced
these "delicious" ... son #2 who loves the anise version pronounced these ... and i
quote ... "nasty" ... well, that is so sad ... i guess i will have to eat his share ... LOL ...

"Anise Cookies"

1/4 C butter, softened
1/4 C crisco
3/4 C granulated sugar
2 eggs
3 1/2 C flour
7 tsp baking powder ... yes seven!
1/4 tsp salt
1 TBS anise extract or 6 drops raspberry flavoring
2/3 C light cream

sift dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside ...
cream butter, crisco, and sugar ... add eggs one at a time
... mix well ... add cream and your flavoring of choice ...
mix well ... add your dry ingredients and mix well ... roll
the dough into 1 inch balls and place on your cookie sheet ...
with the palm of your hand, flatten the balls to a 2 inch circle ...

bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes
remove to rack to cool completely before applying glaze

"Cookie Glaze":

1 TBS butter melted
2 1/2 C powdered sugar
1/4 C warm milk
1 1/2 tsp anise or 6 drops raspberry flavor

mix all in a wide bowl ... dip the top of your cookies into the
glaze ... when the excess glaze is finished dripping off, plunge
your cookie top into a dish of jimmies ... enjoy!

it's all good ...

oh, hi ... i am not maimed or otherwise incapacitated ... thank you if you expressed
concern about how the bike ride had gone ... well, the truth is we never went ... our
memorial day plans were altered by two huge thunderstorms that rolled in ... and
ruined my peonies ... still mad about that ... i haven't been doing much of anything,
that is why i haven't had a new post up ... still doing nothing ... most of my time has
been spent trying to de~weed my flower beds ... the poor things have suffered from
neglect the last two years ... and i am trying like anything to summon the joy i once
felt while playing in my flower beds ... here are a few things blooming here now ...


"dianthus" ideal series ... love the ruffled petal edge ...

"geranium macrorrhizum" ... dirty petals ... how embarrassing ...

another "dianthus" ... the petals look like they are made of velvet ... so pretty ...

sunny, yellow "viola" ...

"dianthus doris" ... these girls smell heavenly ...

and "viola tricolor" ... so sweet ...

thank you for stopping over ... tell me what is blooming for you right now ...

wisps ~ gathering beauty

i wanted to share with you a beautiful etsy shop ... it is the shop of my friend Nancy,
called "wisps ~ gathering beauty" ... is that not the sweetest shop name? ... i love it!

Nancy has such a great eye for beauty ... paired with the most exquisite taste ... and
everything in her shop reflects these characteristics ... i have purchased several lovely
things from Nancy ... they are even prettier in person and were a joy to receive ...

the sweetest crocheted victorian bud vase filled with adorable millinery posies ...

isn't is darling? here is a little closer view ...

a set of dainty hand painted coffee cups ... there are three of them in real life ...

a stunning cluster of velvet strawberries ...

and a wee satin pillow sachet with the most darling ribbon flower trim ...

my most favorite beauty in Nancy's shop right now is a fabulous blue floral silk
pincushion ... oh, it is just gorgeous!!! take a look and see for yourself:

click here to visit Nancy's shop ... while you are there, be sure to bookmark her
site ... she has a shop update coming today, i believe ... her last update sold out
very quickly ... you don't want to miss out on her beautiful wisps ...

ps: please say a prayer for:
Amy
Ann
Chris
and
Shauna

it's a nice day for a ...

"white wednesday"

well, i took lots of pics for this post and only three turned out ... here you go ...

yummy white frosted cupcakes from Natasha ...

the sweetest baby shoes ever ... i said EVER ... from Lisa's new shop ...

and my favorite white pitcher ...

well guess what ... even though my pics didn't turn out ... i am feeling like superwoman
today ... oooops, careful there ... don't step on the cape ... it is only 10 am and already i
have supper in the crock pot {creole veggies and chicken }, dessert just came out of the
oven { fudge brownies with butter~cream frosting }, the dishwasher is run, two loads of
laundry are ready to be folded ... and ... best of all ... there is a shining yellow orb in the
sky that i do believe is called the sun ...woo hoo ... i haven't had this kind of energy in a
long while ... i am going to take advantage of that sun and head out to my flower beds to
pull some weeds ... i will get around to visit you tonight ... see you later :) ...