Chippy Peanut Butter Cookies

I don't really remember where I found this recipe (maybe www.myrecipes.com), but these cookies are so easy to make. If you need a quick, sweet treat, you can whip these up in no time. Don't they look delicious?  I can honestly tell you they were.

 

Chippy Peanut Butter Cookies

 

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. baking soda.

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels (I sometimes add more)

 

Mix first 5 ingredients together in a large bowl until well combined.

Stir in chocolate morsels

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place rounded tablespoons of the mixture 2 inches apart. I think I got 6 on a 9x15 sheet.

I baked my for 12 minutes @ 350 degrees on the first batch, and they were a little soft. I did the remainder at 16 minutes and they were perfect. You will have to find your magic number.

 

I am going to try these with brown sugar next time. I also sometimes add 1/2 tsp. vanilla. I love vanilla flavoring.

 

 

Something to look forward to...

When we moved in it was November and nothing was in bloom. Actually, that's not true. We have three really great camelia trees that bloomed all winter. This is the one on the front of the house. I don't know that I have ever seen a camelia tree this tall.

I am enjoying all of the beautiful flowers that have bloomed this year so far. But when I look back at these photos, it makes me excited about the fall and winter. Here are a few up close shots.

I have not posted anything in more than six months! We have finished what projects we had going, but I haven't shared anything on the blog. I can't decide which room is my favorite.  Here are some before and after photos of the library.

How boring was this room? Yellow walls and white bookshelves. I think you will see in the photos below that this room found its personality.

Wouldn't you like to sit in here and read? Hmmm, that give me a great idea. See ya!

Island Cabinets Have Arrived...Houston, We Have A Problem

As many may know, the cabinets that make up the island in the kitchen arrived last Saturday.  It was truly a great Christmas surprise.  Obviously, all we have done so far is to place the cabinets in the general area we believe they will end up.  The cabinet closest in the picture has a few problems.  The rep from Home Depot and the cabinet rep both came to the house today to inspect this piece.  A new end cabinet is on its way, and should be here in about twelve business days.  The cabinet with the problems is a bookshelf.  I am so glad Keith thought of this small, but important detail.  A girl needs her cookbooks in her kitchen, if at all possible!

The island will definitely change the whole look of the kitchen.  It will really finish it off.

We also hung this in the foyer.

Getting Closer

The cabinets are painted.  All the new appliances we wanted are in place.  Now, all we are waiting for is the island.  With Christmas next Monday, it will probably be January before we have it in installed.  The island cabinets take four weeks from the day you order them.  Christmas Eve will be exactly four weeks.  Maybe by some Christmas miracle the cabinets will arrive this week.  I won't be holding my breath though.  In the meantime, enjoy these photos of our progress so far.

 I am still debating on what to do with the open space at the top of the cabinets.  I am thinking uniform size baskets to finish off that space.  What color? I don't know. We are also going to update the back splash to add some color.  There are still a lot of "finishing touches" needed, but I don't want to do too much until I see how the island is going to change things.

You can already tell how much adding the island is going to change the whole look of the kitchen.  I can't wait for it to be installed.  

Still a work in progress

The painters came on Thursday to paint the kitchen cabinets and walls.  They finished Friday evening, but we are not quite done.  We started putting the doors and new hardware back on today.  Here is a peak:

Remember before:

Now, here is a partial after:

We have to install the new light over the sink.  We may also be changing the main lighting that you see in the before picture.  It is new, but we think we may switch it out with a different color.  It will be the same fixture, though.  The new cook top will be here Thursday.  I can't wait.

Also, I finished another small project this weekend.  A really sweet friend gave me a beautiful twin headboard a few weeks back.  Isn't it really pretty? The quilt is probably as old as the bed.

This room is a work in progress, also.  I definitely have to paint the walls a different color.  The paint color actually detracts from how beautiful the bed really is!

Early Christmas

I waited all day, and it finally arrived.  My new french door refrigerator.  I did not know a new kitchen appliance could make me so happy.  Here is a picture of what we started with:

As you can see, we have banished this one to the garage for overflow.  Here is what we upgraded to:

Nice difference, right?  I did not believe that I would have more freezer space, but I really do.  I put everything from the old freezer in, and I have plenty of space left for more.  If anybody is thinking about new fridge, forget the old side by side! 

I also want to share that we ordered the island and countertop today from Home Depot.  The island is going to be solid black.  And thanks to Keith, I am going to have a bookshelf in one end for my cookbooks.  The painters are coming this Thursday to paint the kitchen.  We finally decided on colors.

The sample of counter top shown is what will be on top of the new island.  It is granite.  The color is called "ornamental".  It will compliment the existing quartz countertop nicely (which you can see a little sliver of in this picture).  The wall color is Martha Stewart "Natural Twine".  The cabinets will be painted in Martha Stewart "Gray Squirel".  If you remember the floor (look back at the pictures from the new lighting project), you will see that this gray will look great with the existing floor.