Yes, I’ve been tinkering around with the blogger templates. They really dumb it down for us website-design impaired :) This is no big blog make-over, I just decided to play for 15-20 minutes and see what happened…so far I like it, so I’m going with it for now! I also just realized I can add TABS and ORGANIZE my posts/recipes! I feel like I’m graduating to a big-girl blog ;) (now if only I can get those cool real smiley faces)
Apparently I’ve thrown my “healthy living” attributes out the window this week. Working late everyday = zero time to work out.
Isn’t it ironic that sitting in front of a computer for a few extra hours each day makes you more tired, even though your physically doing basically nothing?! Urg. I miss my sweat sessions!!
That, combined with 2 deliciously food-filled blogger events this weekend…well, lets just say I won’t be weighing myself anytime soon ;)
It was worth it though…
Last year, Shannon came up with the BRILLIANT idea to have a blogger cookie swap. It was in January as it's generally impossible to get a group together before the holidays. It was a blogger success and I came home with a plethora of delicious cookies!
Of course now it’s a tradition, and the 2nd annual Blogger Cookie Swap was Saturday afternoon.
What to bring, what to bring??
I needed something easy and fast because I just had no extra time. My first idea was Mounds bars! They are a family favorite ever since I can remember, and basically consist of a graham cracker crust, a layer of coconut + sweetened condensed milk, and a chocolate layer on top!
Well, it just wasn’t my morning, and I decided to throw in the towel when my crust was just not cooperating!
Wasn’t a total loss though… I used that extra crumbly crust and sweet gooey coconut mixture to make a kick-ass bowl of oats for breakfast!
A typical banana oat mix, and also added some PB, Almond butter, and granola 
Out of time, I had to get dressed and head to a (Saturday!) work meeting…blah :/. I almost thought I’d have to just forgo the swap, but I racked my brain to think of a recipe for cookies I could whip up in the 1 hr time frame I’d have after getting home and before the swap started!
Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who will help prep ingredients for me. He zested and juiced 2 lemons while I was gone, because I decided to make these:
Giada’s Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze
My friend made these once, so I knew the recipe was good. Then after reading the recipe, I was confident I could get these babies done with my given time constraint.
The batter came together super fast.
And the baking time wasn’t long
The only thing left was the glaze. Hmmm, the directions say to let the glaze sit for 2 hours to harden. Not gonna happen..so I just glazed, ran out the door, and let the glaze harden en route.
I had to put them on a big tray since they couldn’t be stacked
Phew. I started these cookies at 3pm, and made it Shannon’s around 4:30. Go me.
Oh heavenly cookies.
Shannon’s Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls
Jen’s Meyer Lemon Shortbread
(you know, Project Food Blog winner Jen!!)
(how cute are those!!? I need to get one of those letter stamps!)
Elina’s Almond Macaroons with Chocolate Ganache
Kerstin’s Pretzel and Graham Cracker Chocolate Bars
and finally…
Cara’s Butterscotch Peanut Butter Crispy Treats with chocolate filling…AKA THE Rice Crispy Treats.
Obviously, they were all phenomenal and I can’t wait to snack on them all week! Cookies and coffee anyone?
Shannon also prepared some snacks for when we needed a break from the sugar
That green dip in the back, is peas with a smoky tahini dressing (a la Smitten Kitchen)…I was obsessed. Must make this.
Spent most of the evening chatting away with these lovely ladies!
I came home from the swap, and crashed. Fell asleep for about 30min on the couch, still in my coat. Then went to bed.
The fun continued this morning when I awoke to NO WATER! Yep, we had a frozen pipe which turned into a leaking pipe. Fantastic. I had a special blogger brunch to get to, so I high tailed it to the gym to get ready, while the husband tracked down a plumber on a Sunday.
Should of been a plumber. 1 hr of labor to fix an 8” piece of pipe = $180 (and only $15 was for materials….)
Anyways, the good news is that we have water! And I’m STILL full from brunch. Can’t wait to share that with you!
‘Til then…Good Night!
