Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Hurricane Sandy

You will need:

 

16 ounces of semi sweet chocolate

8 tablespoons of unsalted butter

1 1/3 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups of brown sugar

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

18 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips

 

Heat your oven to 350 degrees



Heat your semi sweet chocolate (break up the bar's) and butter.  Make sure you don't burn it. You just want a smooth consistency. I heat mine in the microwave at 30 second intervals. Take it out and stir it in between.



In your mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar and vanilla .

 

Beat in the melted chocolate and butter. 

 

Add flour, baking powder and salt.

 

Add your chocolate chips.

 

The batter is will be very liquid for a cookie mix so just be aware of that. I use my scoop to get even cookies.

 

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Start checking them before the 10 minute mark. You want them to be crackly and soft not hard. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for about 3 minutes before removing them.

 

They taste more like brownies than cookies.

 

 

 

I saw someone decorate her cookies like this and I wish I could remember where I saw it so I could give her credit. She used fudge striped cookies and they looked more like witches hats than mine ended up looking. The people at my daughters work still enjoyed them!

 

 

In other news, I will not be going to visit my favorite baby this week. They cancelled my flight for this morning (Tuesday) on Sunday afternoon. The flight they wanted to give me instead of today's flight , just didn't work out for me. I cancelled my whole trip. I will probably not see my little cutie until January. My daughters husband has been deployed for the past 7 months and will be returning soon. They will need their alone time. It will be hard not seeing them for the holidays. That is their decision to make though. I hope they change their mind and want to spend the holidays with their families. Isn't that what it is all about?

It is still raining but the wind has died down. We lost power for about a second during the storm. Other than that, we only had one casualty.

This is the only branch we lost. It is much bigger than it looks. I did not want to go outside and get my slippers wet.

 

 See that deck chair way over there? It got blown away. We were bad, we forgot to secure it.

My front lawn

The neighbors front lawn. The only good thing that came out of Sandy, the wind went in the right direction and blew all of our leaves over there. Sandy had to redeem herself somehow for making me miserable.

 

I need something to cheer me up today, perhaps some shopping? I need to snap out of my funk.

 

Today's sky. Why my flight had to get cancelled is beyond me. 

 

Have a great storm free day!

 

 





The Nail Files 10/26

Today I am linking up with Tara and Vicki for the Nail Files.

OPI "Black Cherry Chutney"

 

This week I really wanted to use this color.

 Black Cherry Chutney is one of my all time favorite OPI colors.

I wanted to do a gel manicure though because I will be visiting my daughter next week.

 Luckily they did have this color in gel. I have only had one gel manicure so far and I did not like the way it grew out. My nails grow really fast.

 Hopefully, I will be happy with the way this color grows out. Last time I had CND gel manicure. This time it was an OPI Axium Gel. Lets see how they match up.

 

 

My nails are so incredibly shiny. I was out last night (owning the dance floor with my daughter in case you wanted to know) and got at least 4 compliments on them. My brother in law noticed my nails right away and commented on them. That is not like him.

I am already finding that the OPI gel is much shinier than the CND.

Now lets see how long it lasts.

 

Have a great weekend!

It's "OK" Thursday 10/25

 

"Its OK"


-That while typing the date, I realized that Thanksgiving is only 4 weeks from today. How did that happen?

-That we are going to trivia tonight at the local tavern. It starts at 8:00. My bedtime is generally 9:00. I am going to need a nap today.

-That tomorrow night we are going out with the kids from my husbands work for drinks and karaoke. My husband and I will be doing a duet. We were going to do Flo Rida but my husband cant talk that fast. Maybe I will take on Flo Rida's lyrics and my husband can have the girl part. Anybody have any song suggestions? Yes I will make sure to get it on video.

-That this was posted on the bulletin board at work. My husband is Lou.

-That my husband is the president. I have to have him schedule me in. And he likes to call me POTUS.....

-That  Hurricane Sandy better not interrupt my travel plans to see my favorite baby next week.

-That they call me the den mother at my daughters work. I made these cupcakes for her to bring in last week and cookies for her to bring in today.  I made spiders with six legs. I couldn't fit the eight. The malted milk ball bodies were too small. Somebody from her work called me out on it.

-That I also made cookies for my husband to bring out to one of his clients. I am now somehow entered into a bake off.  I feel like all I have been doing this week is cooking and unloading the dishwasher. I am trying to have things in the freezer for when I go away. It may all be for naught because when I go away,  they will probably just have salad. They like doing that. I guess its easier.   At least there is food there if they want it.

-That while putting away groceries on Saturday, I had a whole bottle of orange juice explode all over my refrigerator and floor. I am still cleaning up pulp and I swear I have been mopping up the floor all week. Of course the president likes his orange juice with extra pulp. What a mess.

-That I wanted to exchange one of the  Alex and Ani bracelets that my mother got me. It just wasn't me. The lady at the counter didn't want to return it for me because I didn't have a gift receipt. The lady at the cash register said they had to take it back. The lady at the counter was still arguing with her. She needed a less tight wig I think. She had a bad attitude. I got my new bracelet anyway.

-That I just discovered the show Dexter. The concept is creepy but I cant stop watching. I am still on season 1.

-That I have a big stack of magazines that I hope to get to them at some point this weekend. I am tired of looking at the pile.

Have a great Thursday!













Painted Mugs

I painted a few coffee mugs for my parents. My parents are not big drinkers but they do like their coffee. They still perk their coffee on the stove. Forget energy drinks, if you want to stay awake for DAYS, drink coffee that is perked on the stove (that is if you can even find one of those pots anymore).

I have bought them several coffeemakers over the years to break them of their habit. I always find the coffeemakers I have bought them on my sisters counter. Go figure.

 

 My mom loves bling so I thought these would be perfect. I used the same technique that I used to paint my wine glasses.

 

I think these would make great teacher gifts. You could wrap them up with a variety of tea's or coffee and so many different things, depending on what they drink.

They were a big hit. My mom always loves my fancy wine glasses. She comments on them every time she is here.

I did not want my dad's mug to look feminine so I kept it simple. I used my dotting tool to add a touch of silver so that it wasn't boring.

 

I used my special gem glue to make sure the gems stay on through washing.

While I had my paints out, I made this catch all dish for my daughters bureau. Yes I go into her room every day after she leaves for work and I pick it up. I cant help it.

I needed somewhere to put her little junkie things so that I can clean the hairspray/gel general mess she leaves on  her bureau. She wanted me to make her something anyway.

 

I have found that the most important part of the painting process is baking the glassware after the paint is dried. My mom bought my daughter a special glass for graduation with graduation caps and diploma's on it. I think there is only one graduation cap left on that glass. They all came off in the wash.

While making my daughters catch all dish, I had baked it then went back to add some gold paint. I didn't like the way the gold looked on it so I removed it with alcohol. All of the paint that had been previously baked on, stayed on. It would not have had I not baked it on. 

 

The beauty of these projects are that I got all of the above items at the dollar store.

I bought all kinds of other glassware to paint on too. I just need to come up with some different creative concepts.

 

My daughter found some stickers at Michael's with the school logo of the son I never had. I just need to figure out a way to get them to stay on something without it looking sloppy. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

Have a great day!



Game Day

So my daughter and the son I never had are off to the Patriots, Jets game.  They packed so much food etc., that I think they may actually be moving into Gillette Stadium. They are tailgating before and after the game to avoid the traffic jam.

If I had to pick one game to go to, it would be a Jets game. They are a division rival ( I do not even consider them in the same league as the Patriots). I love all of the trash talking before the game. Sure I get upset when we don't win a regular game, but when it is against the Jets, it is so much harder to take.

The people in the pictures below are a few of my favorites. I like to think they are my two biggest fans. They love reading my blog. I know they will like having this post all to themselves.

I really wanted to do the logo stencil that is the same that is on her shirt but the stencil was bigger than her face.

 

 

 

 

Not that I am partial or anything but aren't they the cutest?

 

Have a great time at the game kids!

 

 

GO PATRIOTS!

Its "OK" Thursday 10/18

"Its OK"


-That I told my daughter that while I was visiting I was going to teach my favorite baby to say "Mimi". She said that if my favorite baby says my name before hers, I will be banished. I think she is serious. I am still going to teach her.

-That my brother in law took my husband and I to dinner Saturday night. I did not get into my car until Monday morning.  He left his take home seafood appetizer in my back seat. He is lucky it wasn't hot or that it hadn't been in there too long. Can you only imagine?

 

 

-That I come up with creative ways to have a party/happy hour. This weeks party theme was "I hate frost on the front lawn party".

-That I sat at the salon for 3 hours yesterday. My hair was a mess. Not anymore. I bit the bullet and got long side bangs for something different. So far, so good.

Please excuse the bags under my eyes, they were from too much wine at my "I hate frost on my front lawn party". Next time I will take pictures before, not the morning after.

-That I worked two days this week instead of one. I liked it.

-That my daughter and I went shopping for an "adult" coat for her to wear to work this past weekend.
We stopped in our two story Forever 21 store for fun. When we got in the dressing room to try things on, my daughter said "Mom, where is the charm on your necklace?" It was my monogram necklace I had gotten for my birthday. I was panicked. We spent an hour and a half looking through every nook and cranny of the store. We had been in every section of the store. I finally texted my husband and said "Can you please look in the garage and the driveway for my charm?" He told me to look in my pants. I thought he was being a smart ass. I replied "What would it be doing in my pants?" So...I lift my shirt and look down. Lo and behold there it was, nestled between my pants button and my belly button. How did he know? Do I now have to admit that my husband is a genius? I was so relieved that I found it!

-That while I was at the hairdressers yesterday, one of the other hairdressers came up to me and said "You look so familiar, I am trying to figure out where I know you from". She went up to the front desk to see my name and she kept looking at me. Ten minutes later she said I know where I know you from. Five years ago, you wheeled me out of the hospital after I had my son. I recognized your voice first. (I used to volunteer at the hospital a few days a week when my kids were in school).
I was absolutely floored that she remembered me! I don't even think I knew what day it was when I left the hospital with my kids, let alone who wheeled me out of the hospital! She has a great memory!
I will say that I used to jump at the chance to wheel out the new mothers and babies. That was one of my favorite jobs to do.

-That the son I never had is taking my daughter to the Patriots/Jets game this weekend and I am jealous. She went and got a stencil of the Patriots logo and I am painting her face. I cant wait to use that stencil for other crafts.
She better just hope that I don't add glue and crystals to her face like I do on my wine glasses.  Nothing is complete without crystals.

-That when I went to answer the phone at work on Monday, a stink bug was on the receiver. I jumped up and screamed like a school girl. I wouldn't go near the desk until my friend came out of her room to kill it for me. She is so good to me. Do you have any idea how ugly stink bugs are?  I had the creepy crawlies all day. There was another stink bug perched on the windowsill in the hallway to the bathroom. I wouldn't go to the bathroom for the rest of the day. I am glad I didn't sneeze or cough on my way home or I would have been in trouble.

-That I cant wait to bring this shirt to my favorite baby. How cute is this? It looks like something I would wear. Twelve more days.

-That my daughter sent me this text message last week when she wanted me to go to trivia night with her and my brother in law. She is a funny kid. I am waiting for her text today asking me to go again.

-That today is going to be my first day staying in this week. I will be baking and crafting and not getting out of my pajamas. I am looking forward to it. Two day work weeks are a killer.

Have a great Thursday!







-

Glass Painting

My latest obsession is painting glassware. I will paint anything I can get my hands on. It is a fun way to occupy my time.

It is pretty time consuming. You have to let the paint dry in between coats.

You  have to bake the glass to set the paint. You have to wait at least 48 hours for it to dry before you bake it.

I like to let the paint set up for at least 7 days before I would use the glass or give it to someone. You don't want your hand painted projects coming in contact with water too soon.

 

 This is definitely not a project for someone with little patience.

You need good eyes when adding the small details (which I do not have). I have to give myself a break in between or I start going cross eyed.

 I use acrylic paint. Martha Stewart has a whole line of paints just for glass painting. I have a few of her colors. I  have a few random acrylic palettes as well. Make sure you have plenty of paint brushes if you are using different colors.

I use this dotting tool to give some dimension. You can also use it to pick up crystals.

 Martha Stewart makes a whole line of stencils for glass painting. They cling to the glass nicely, no tape needed. It is definitely harder to get a pattern going all the way around say, a wineglass. It just will not be straight using the stencils. You do need to be able to paint free hand for some things.

I like to get a nice clean line when doing initials.

 I bought this special glue for when I add my crystals. It stands up to washing and water. 

Make sure your glassware is clean and dried. I use rubbing alcohol all around the glass to make sure it is clean.

After I let the paint dry for at least 48 hours, I line a cookie sheet with tin foil. I turn the oven to 350 and put the glass on the cookie sheet and bake it for 40 minutes. You do not let the oven heat up, put it right in. This step is to keep the paint on the glass through washings. I do not put the crystals on until after I have baked my paint on.

I made this glass for my friend for her birthday. I wrapped it up with a nice bottle of wine.

 I found these cute little wine charms at Michael's. I hand painted my initials on instead of using the decals. I thought it would be much nicer. I  used the same colors for the charm as I used on the wine glass.

She can take this wine charm off and use it on a different glass if she wants.

 I am working on this glass for my daughter.

I have so many projects going on right now.

 

 I am sometimes too much of a perfectionist for my own good.

 You have no idea how many times I have taken all of the paint off and started again because it wasn't just right.

 If you don't like the way your project looks, even if it is dry, you can remove paint  with rubbing alcohol before you bake it.

 I like hand made things but I do not like them to look hand made if that makes sense.

If you are looking for a fun project to do, I would recommend this. Make sure you have a steady hand and some patience.

 

Have a great week!