i’m listening to my “laid back beach music” pandora station this morning.

how rebellious of me, for there’s an inch of fresh snow on the ground outside reminding me that i’m in wisconsin–where march can still mean winter. WHAT THE WHAT. that’s okay, it’ll be gone before we know it, right? right. okay, now that we’ve got the weather chit-chat out of the way, make these cookies. they’re chewy, a little bit gooey, and a lot ugly. but looks aren’t everything, friends. remember that.

i honestly don’t even know what to say about these cookies other than THEY ARE AWESOME. it must be the unconventional addition of marshmallows and super extra amount of add-ins. because it’s always about the add-ins, amiright? like the fro-yo places popping up everywhere… you get to the checkout and realize you forgot to put any ice cream in your bowl because you were too busy loading up on fruity pebbles, graham crackers, heath, gummy bears and grapes. or something like that.

moral of the story. you need these cookies in your life. and so do i. i’ll be making them again today. and i don’t often make something twice.

 ugly monster cookies

makes 5-6 dozen

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon corn syrup
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
4 1/2 cups rolled oats (i used half rolled and half quick oats)
1 mounding cup each of: plain m&m’s, dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and marshmallows

preheat the oven. 350 degrees, please.

mix the dough. cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. add one egg at a time, mixing completely before adding the next. mix in the vanilla, corn syrup and baking soda.

add the goods. slowly add the oats, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. add the 4 cups of candy and incorporate completely.

bake the cookies. roll 2 tablespoons of dough into a ball and arrange onto parchment on a baking sheet. they spread quite a bit, so keep them about 3 inches away from each other. bake 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.

let cool and store. or eat. they need about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before you’re able to safely get them to a cooling rack in one piece. i put them straight into a container in the freezer and they held up very well in there.

recipe from Cooking With My Kid

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mint seems to be trendy on Etsy right now. rightfully so, considering its the perfect color to welcome spring with. it’s so fresh and clean! and spring MUST be hiding around the corner somewhere because i start work this week. i can’t even believe it myself; a full 3 months has passed without me even knowing where it went. enjoy these etsy picks on this beautiful (but really really cold) monday morning.

click on any photo to be directed to its Etsy listing

pot with air plant from birdandfeatherco

necklace from lalilajewelry

hand stitched card from sarahkbenning

hat from helloquiettiger

dipped earrings from cutiecottage

porcelain trinket dish from urbancartel

ring from pleiadesromance

measuring cup set from graydecember

necktie from tieobsessed

oxfords from thedrifterleather

embroidery hoop from makenziandmadilyn

necklace from smafactory

scented drawer satchets from gardenmis

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i’ve been keeping something from you.

i’ve had the recipe for these delicious cookies sitting on my desk for weeks, just waiting to be shared with the world. and i ignored it. i’ve been a little preoccupied lately with the remodeling of our bathroom. like, everything is outta here– except the wonderful enamel tub that is original to our 1929 home. how cool is it to have a piece of history like that? anyone else have something special that’s maintained its beauty through the years?

mr cogs has been showering at work and i at the ymca while the tile is setting in our bathtub area. this has us thinking that we don’t even need to shower at home, or at least care so passionately about what it looks like and be the cause of a marital war. remodeling brings out the ugly in me…i’m SUCH a perfectionist. but i refuse to believe that all our tiling efforts (it ain’t easy, friends) were wasted. i’ll spend all my waking hours in that bathroom when it’s done– it’s going to be absolutely beautiful! plus, the teenage girls that hang out in the locker room at the Y are starting to annoy me. why are they hanging out in the locker room, anyway? that’s weird.

so finally, if you’ve made it this far, i want to share these cookies with you. they’re so so good, a nice twist on your traditional snickerdoodle. while you do need to refrigerate them overnight to get the ideal texture (crispy on the outside, soft in the middle) i’m sure it’s not necessary to achieve “delicious cookie” status. bake away!

white chocolate chip snickerdoodles

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1-1/2 cup white flour
1-1/4 cup bread flour (or white flour)
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon sugar

preheat the oven. preheat your oven to 375.

mix the wet ingredients. cream the butter and shortening together until smooth. add the sugars and beat until mixed. add one egg at a time, incorporating completely.

mix the dry ingredients. in a separate bowl, mix the cream of tartar, baking soda, baking powder and flours.

combine wet and dry ingredients. add flour mixture, half at a time, to the wet mixture. add the white chocolate chips.

refrigerate. cover the dough and refrigerate overnight, or up to 24 hours.

make the dough balls. mix the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. roll dough the size of a golf ball with your hands and roll them in the sugar mixture. drop them on a lined cookie sheet. press them down slightly (so they’re about 2/3 the original height) with your fingers.

bake those cookies! make the dough balls. bake at 375 for 11-13 minutes. you don’t really want them to brown at all!

recipe adapted from Heidi’s cookies at Foodie Crush

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i just love christmas lights. and doilies aren’t just for your grandma anymore. that’s the moral of this story.

when i say i love lights, i mean LOVE. i really shouldn’t call them christmas lights considering i have them in various places around the house and yard…year round. they give off such a good, soft light. it makes things feel fancier. we have round bulb lights around the window in our living room and i call them the “broadway lights;” they really do make me feel like i’m on broadway.

so instead of having the same old boring lights up all year long, i thought i’d spruce ‘em up for valentine’s day. because you KNOW i love valentine’s day. this is a minimal-work project, friends. and it has a huge impact. i’m so so serious. if you don’t have a string of lights up somewhere in your house, put one up right now. plug it in tonight and you’ll know what i’m talking about. i’m going to start sounding like a crazy lady if i keep going here.

i think these would be gorgeous at a wedding or engagement party, too. i have so many fantastic ideas for the next time i get married. which will be never, by the way. but still…i have a lot of it planned out, courtesy of pinterest.

do you have any creative places you put string lights? do you know the magic i’m talking about when you plug them in at night? tell me i’m not alone!

doily string lights

what you’ll need:

tape
a set of string lights
doilies* – found at just about any craft store around valentine’s day, otherwise online
extension cord (if you need it to reach an outlet)

*i used a package of (24) 4 inch hearts and a package of (18) 6 inch hearts

hang the lights. fold the string of lights in half so you have a double strand of lights. hang the looped end on one nail and the end with the plugs on another nail.

attach the doilies. for the bigger hearts, i simply pushed a light through the doily. most of the smaller ones are taped on. it was easier to get a little dimension (some back further, some forward further) this way.

plug those babies in. attach the extension cord if you need it. plug in. bam– romantic mood lighting,with flair.

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as i begin the daunting task of sprucing up our thrifted dining table, i’m thinking pink and coral. it’s probably because i’m wishing so hard for spring. please, spring…come faster. the only thing getting me through these cold days is the forecast of temps in the 30′s (YES 30′s!!) later this week. when’s the last time we saw 30 degrees? so while we impatiently wait for our pink and coral spring flowers, let’s check out these awesome etsy finds. and check back soon for my think-spring table makeover!

click on any photo to be directed to the etsy listing

faux vintage clock from DesignAtelierArticle

flower hair pins from PiggleAndPop

heart earrings from Dariami

ipad mini case from GalaBorn

footstool knitting pattern from ErinBlacksDesigns

clutch from ziazia

copper mobile from HRUSKAA

wood bead necklace from prettywhimsical

clock from TheThingsThatWere

industrial basket from lovintagefinds

planter from thegoodmachinery

beaded necklace from SilverLinesJewelry

want more awesome etsy finds? take a look at my favorites!

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we finally cleaned our basement.

does anyone else have a basement that acts as “the pit?” where things go to get out of your sight? only one day you walk down there and trip over 173 things on your way to the washing machine? it was time to take action. good thing i did, because i found a bundle of dishtowels my mother-in-law gave to me (a year ago) to screen print on. only that never happened.

and since i was in the dying mood (dye not die) from dip-dying our ombre curtains a few weeks ago, i got this idea. batik. batik is the art of using wax to create patterns or shapes on dyed fabric. where there is wax, dye will not go. simple as that.

as you may know, valentine’s day is quickly approaching (can someone hint to my husband that I really want this typography book?!) and i LOVE valentine’s day. the hearts. the pink. the candy. it almost kills me to know how many of my favorite things can be represented with one holiday. so while i used a heart cookie cutter, you can really use anything to apply the wax. drag the prongs of a fork, dot with a dowel, splatter with a spoon, or just use a stamp or other cookie-cutter shape!

oh, did i mention you can do 4 of these for around $10 if you’re smart with coupons? i got the soy wax from michael’s for 5 dollars with their 40% off coupon, the dye was on sale for $1.15, and you can get flour sack towels from target for $4. perfect!

batik dishtowels

what you’ll need:

plastic cover to a storage bin
1 package RIT dye powder
soy wax*
white dish towels
objects to apply wax with: cookie cutter, fork, stamps, dowel, brush
piece of paper to test on
plastic tub to hold dye
dish soap

*soy wax melts at a much lower temperature than traditional wax, making it MUCH easier to use. drips don’t burn you or any of your surfaces and can be cleaned up with warm water!

heat the wax. i put about an inch of wax shavings into a pot and heated it until it started to form some bubbles at the bottom. i didn’t heat it up enough on my first try and this is what resulted (below). the wax wasn’t completely going through the fabric and i tried to “redo” which only made it worse and globby. if you apply the wax and it doesn’t soak into the fabric (instead it dries as a bump on top) your wax is not hot enough! just throw it  back on the burner for a minute and you’ll be set.

test your application method. my cookie cutter had a low side and a high side, so testing it showed me how hard i needed to press in certain places for the whole heart to be applied. just do a little experimenting first to see what you like and don’t like about the way your object applies the wax.

apply the wax to the fabric. get creative! use several different objects if you want! drips and mistakes are okay. don’t look too closely at mine if you don’t agree.

mix the dye. follow the directions on the inside of the dye box. i boiled a few cups of water to dissolve the dye in, then used hot water to fill my plastic tub.

dye the fabric. carefully run the towels under cold water. try not to disturb the wax since dye will get in any cracks you make. throw the towels into the dye for about a half hour, stirring every 5 minutes to make sure the fabric is evenly dyed.

rinse the fabric and remove wax. rinse the fabric in cold water until the water runs clear. fill your sink with very hot water (alternatively, you can use a pot on the stove but i don’t have a pot that large) and add about a tablespoon of dish soap. put the towels into the hot water and stir them around/agitate them until the wax has been removed. rinse them once again just to get some of the soap out.

dry the towels. hang the towels to dry. once dry, any wax you missed can be removed by laying kraft paper on top of the wax and ironing. the kraft paper will draw the wax out of the towel.

if you want to get really fancy. you can do multiple color shapes if you dye for short periods in between wax applications. just rinse and let the towel air-dry before you apply more wax! it takes some time, but i like the result (you can see multi-color towels in the collage above) here’s how i did it (though the colors are off because the first one was done in the morning and the last was at dusk):

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it’s finally february. we can legally talk about valentine’s day.

yes– heart-shaped treats and crafts have been flooding your pinterest feed for weeks, but did it feel right?

i’m glad we can openly discuss it now, because i LOVE LOVE LOVE valentine’s day. glitter? hearts? chocolate? pretty much my favorite things (maybe or maybe not in that order)

speaking of glitter, hearts and chocolate… these cookie dough bites. so easy, so delicious. i got rave reviews. but maybe it’s because i probably helped everyone ditch their new years resolution of a strict diet of steamed vegetables or the like. anything with calories would taste good at that point.

and who puts glitter on their food, you ask? well. me. it wouldn’t be the same without it. may i recommend it be edible glitter, though. no martha stewart craft glitter here, friends. her glitter, as the best glitter of all time, has it’s own place for appropriate use. like everywhere in my house, all the time.

heart-shaped cookie dough truffles

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1 pound chocolate coating, chopped into 1 inch pieces
optional garnishes like sprinkles, extra chocolate chips, GLITTER, etc.

make the cookie dough. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in the vanilla extract. Gradually add the flour while also adding the milk. Mix until fully combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. At this point, it’s going to be pretty sticky. Put the dough in the refrigerator for an hour or so, until cold and a bit firmer.

make the hearts. {diagram below} Roll about two tablespoons of dough into a ball. Roll it out into a two inch log. Fold in half and shape to be more heart-like. Place on parchment and freeze on a cookie sheet until hard, about 15 minutes.

dip the hearts. follow the melting directions on the package of your chocolate. I’ve found that using two forks works best to dip these. Lower a heart into the chocolate and make sure it’s completely covered. Lift it out and tap your fork on the side of your bowl/pot. Using the other fork, scrape the excess chocolate off the bottom of the fork. Then use that fork to slide the truffle onto parchment paper to harden. If you’re garnishing them, be sure to sprinkle that on top before it hardens!

cookie dough bite recipe from Taste of Home

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i’ve picked up knitting AND sewing again. it’s so addicting and the internet world has so many fun patterns available at the click of my mouse! today’s etsy finds are all beautiful things that inspire me. someday i’ll be good enough to make a few of these.

click on any photo to be directed to the etsy listing!

sequin party dress from ouma

knit cowl from irismint

tea towels from annajoyce

demin and leather apron from americannative

knit mittens from unlimitedcraftworks

wool zipper pouch from frankieandcocopdx

cozy from thecozyproject

lace and cotton wedding dress from leanimal

panda mask from blamotoys

supply basket lovejoycreate

embroidered cuff from sidereal

apron from rosebudoriginals

crochet pattern from rubysubmarine

Wanna see more Etsy favorites?  Click here.

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in honor of national peanut butter day, i bring you this crazy-good bread.

you don’t even need to waste time putting anything on this. just eat it naked. it’s like a pastry with little crunchy bits of peanut buttery granola goodness

speaking of granola. this stuff is my new favoritest granola ever. KIND Peanut Butter Healthy Grain Clusters. sounds healthy AND tastes like it could be dessert. win. but here’s how i do it– i save chocolate indulgent gooey things for dessert and reserve KIND granola for snacking straight out of the bag all. day. long. the ingredient list is short and wholesome, and has all kinds of whole grains (even quinoa!) so i put it on my pretty-much-good-for-you list. but don’t be fooled by the word ‘healthy’- this stuff is addicting, people! keep it in a drawer at work for a afternoon pick-me-up. but don’t hold me responsible if you eat the whole bag.

back to this bread. i’m not lying when i say i’d compare it to a pastry. the top is brushed with a honey-butter mixture that puts it into the “insanely delicious” category. not to mention the incredible peanut butter swirl. peanut butter lovers- rejoice. i considered throwing chocolate chips into the swirl but decided that sometimes PB is enough. can you imagine making french toast with this bread and topping it with chocolate maple syrup? OH MY YUM.

what are you doing to celebrate national peanut butter day?

peanut butter swirl KIND granola bread

time: about 2 hours 45 minutes, 2 1/4 hours inactive

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
1-1/4 cups warm whole milk (110° to 115°)
1/4 cup honey + 1/2 tablespoon reserved for brushing on top
3 tablespoons butter, melted + 1/2 tablespoon reserved for greasing bowl and brushing on top
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
3.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups Peanut Butter KIND granola
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

dissolve the yeast. getting the milk temperature right doesn’t have to be rocket science. just make sure it feels warm on your most sensitive finger. if its too hot to touch you’ll kill your precious yeast friends. combine the milk and honey in the bowl of a stand mixer. pour in yeast and swirl it around with your finger to dissolve. let it sit for about 5 minutes, until it’s a little foamy.

make the dough. add the butter, salt and 2 cups of the flour. mix until smooth. add the remaining 1-1/2 cups of flour and mix on medium to slow speed for about 5 minutes (i mix on speed 2 or 3 on my kitchenaid). your dough should be tacky, but not sticky. if it’s sticky, just add a tablespoon more flour at a time.

let the dough rise. turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead 10 times. form a nice little ball and put into a clean, greased bowl (i just washed my stand mixer bowl and buttered it), turning once so that the top of the dough is also greased. cover with a damp dishcloth and leave somewhere warm (a sunny window works great!) to rise for about an hour, until doubled.

make the log. transfer the dough back onto a floured surface. make a well in the center and add half the granola. mix until combined, then add the other half of granola in the same way. roll the dough into a 9×18 inch square, using your hands the stretch it if you need to. sometimes if you just leave it to relax for a minute it’s easier to continue stretching. spread the peanut butter across the top of the rectangle. then roll it up the long way, so you have a 9-inch long log. place it in a greased 9×5 inch bread pan.

add the glaze. melt the 1/2 tablespoon of butter and honey together and brush it on the dough. cover with a damp dishcloth and leave to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, until doubled.

bake the bread. heat the oven to 350 degrees if you’re using a dark pan (or the original recipe recommends 375 degrees for glass and light colored pans). bake for 30-35 minutes, uncovered.

let it cool. good luck with that. but the peanut butter may need some time to solidify before you cut it. this bread is most definitely the best on the first day, but can last 2 days. after that, it’d be great for french toast!

base bread recipe slightly adapted from the slow roasted italian.
disclosure- this post is in partnership with KIND but all opinions are my own.

also for national peanut butter day…

peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies

peanut butter pancakes with chocolate maple syrup

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the start to a new week. a productive week, hopefully. our bedroom is officially done, so i get to move on to another yet-to-be-determined project. mr. cogs tells me his new rule is to furnish and decorate only with things made of natural, exposed materials. naturally (hehe) i turn to etsy for ideas. and i found a ton of awesome stuff. take a look!

click on any photo to be directed to the etsy listing

tapered rolling pin from INGUZstudios

 …….

cat combs from ArtGiftStore

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geometric shelf from The807

  ……

linen tea towels from HouseOfBalticLinen

 …….

wood vase from WoodenTextures

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cherry wood owl pencil holder from ShopDululu

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leather coasters from ArtMadeForYou

 …….

peppermill and salt grinder from TealAndGold

 …….

wood grain concrete planter LAbCFurniture

 …….

wood and grass pendant from MrLentz

Wanna see more Etsy favorites?  Click here.

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