Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Here's a fun idea for all of this snow we are getting...yummy!

SNOW ICE CREAM

1 gallon snow
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups milk
Directions

When it starts to snow, place a large, clean bowl outside to collect the flakes. When full, stir in sugar and vanilla to taste, then stir in just enough milk for the desired consistency. Serve at once.

Have fun!

Eat, pray, love,

Brigette

Happy New Year!

The new year is here...and I would like to wish you all a very Happy, Healthy & Prosperous one!  In honor of 2012, I thought I would post something from one of my favorite cookie bloggers...SugarBelle.  She does incredible work and has a blog that not only displays her talents, but has resources to teach anyone how to do it, too.  How awesome is that?!  Below is her 2012 cookie and a link on how you can make it as well.  We plan on making them New Year's Day...I'll keep you posted on ours when they are done.

Happy New Year!

Eat, pray, love,

Brigette

Taste of Home Card Swap!

Hi from chickluvs2cook!

(Not my cookies - but I loved the pic.)

I have so enjoyed getting all of your Christmas cards these past few days...the recipes are awesome, too! I can hardly wait to start trying out some of them.  This is my third year to participate in this card swap, and I have been waiting anxiously for it to start.

If you have found your way here you have probably received my Christmas postcard. I send postcards because I think they are fun and an easy way to mail Christmas wishes to a lot of people (they also can be saved and used as a recipe card.).  All I have to do then is direct the receiver to my blog and they can get all of my info here. So, here goes...

I live in Yorkville, IL, which is a suburb of Chicago and in what they consider the Fox Valley area. I am married to an incredible man named Mike and we have a 2.5 years old puppy named Kiki that we adopted from a shelter. We don't have kids of our own, but love spending time with our nieces and nephews. They range in age from 6 yrs. old to 24 yrs. old ~ 5 boys and 2 girls. We travel a lot to see them b/c they live in IL, IN and AR (at least the younger ones - the older ones actually come to us).

I am the General Manager of an environmental consulting firm located in Geneva, IL and enjoy my job (most of the time). But I really love my "part-time" jobs...selling lia sophia jewelry (www.liasophia.com/brigette) and Wildtree products (www.mywildtree/brigette)! I have so much fun meeting new people, while helping them accessorize their busy lives and feed their families the Wildtree way...simple.healthy.natural.

As for hobbies, the main one is cooking...everything and anything about cooking. I collect cookbooks, watch the FoodNetwork every chance I get, and love to try and develop new recipes. I have even won a couple of local contests and  aspire to winning a big one one day. I have been cooking since I was little and would help my grandmother in the kitchen. She taught me so much in our 16 years together.  (If you like great community cookbooks, you need to check out the one I helped compile and publish for a local women's club that I am the President of here in Yorkville - www.yorkvillejwc.com).    =)


Something that my husband and I like to do together is cake decorating...and if you knew my husband, you'd be even more surprised - he is 6'3" and football player big, but can decorate a cake like you wouldn't believe.  We have taken the 3 main Wilton classes together and had a blast.  We even have a little side business for that, too (www.frosted-sweets-treats.com).  He was recently laid-off from his corporate job of 14 years and is going to be working for a new bakery that is opening up in our area as a baker/decorator a few hours a week until he finds gainful employment again (which will be hopefully soon and he'll only be able to work at the bakery on the weekends).

My other hobby (like I need one more thing to do) is photography. I take pictures of everything...I'm kind of the family historian shall we say. I find it so amazing to capture a moment in time and have it to look back on whenever I want to remember or relive the memory. 

Well, that is about it for me. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Eat, pray, love,

Brigette (TOH BB - chickluvs2cook)

Cookies Across America - Dec. 10th!

Cookies Across America

Making a difference through baking and sharing cookies.

Join Taste of Home on December 10 to "bake a difference." Cookie lovers unite! Whether it's baking and sharing cookies with the needy or donating cookie ingredients to a food bank, you can make a difference in your community this Christmas. Get Involved Host a Cookie Exchange Party More About Cookies Across America Gingerbread Boy Cookies As a Field Editor for Taste of Home, I will be participating on the 10th by baking cookies for the volunteers of Operation Santa that will be sorting toys for the children in need in Kendall Co., IL...I'd love to hear how all of you are also planning to participate. Eat, pray, love, Brigette

Fingers crossed!

What an awesome giveaway from Skip To My Lou.  I would so love to win one of these...it would make live & entertaining much easier!  The possibilities of what could be made are endless.  How fun would it be to try to find that end?!  It makes my head spin just thinking about it.  Wish me luck...fingers crossed! 

Go and enter as well...if I don't win maybe someone I know will and I can use it, too.  ;)

Eat, pray, love,

Brigette

 

$299 Silhouette Cameo {Giveaway}

posted by cindylouh on November 16th, 2011 | Giveaways |

Thanksgiving is next week! Are you ready? You do know what is next, don't you?  Christmas! Are you getting excited for Christmas?  I know I am!
To kick off the holiday season count down next week I'm excited to be sharing a week of advent calendars.
I {adore} advent calendars and I love finding and even creating new one's.
I have been working on a fun one and I can wait to reveal it to you {cheers}.  But first... I want to share with you an amazing giveaway that just might help you create one of my advent calendars next week {stay tuned}.
Get excited readers {squeal}!   I’ve arranged for one of you to get a brand spankin’ new and by new, I mean {newly released}  Silhouette CAMEO!  A lucky reader will receive a FREE Silhouette CAMEO machine. Valued at $299!

 Wait till you see the things you can do with the silhouette cameo -from holiday decorations, paper crafts to make your cupcakes the cutest, glass etching, custom vinyl and as if it that isn't amazing enough..... how about temporary tattoos for your kids! Yes, soon you could be making the cutest cards on the block! The options really are endless.

Exclusive Reader Discount

I’ve officially got you hooked up with an exclusive Skip to my Lou reader discount {use code 'Skip') starting on Black Friday and running through the 28th to get an additional discount on your purchase. It's so exclusive and top secret though (and gives you a sizable percentage off the already discounted prices provided by Silhouette), that I can't reveal it until next week.  Stay tuned!

Click here to make your purchase and save!

Simply comment to enter.
For extra entries: Please make sure to come back and leave a separate comment for each entry. Five entries max.
2. Tweet about the contest! Feel free to use this sample tweet,
Free Silhouette CAMEO cutting machine, a $299 value from @silhouetteam. Comment to enter! http://bit.ly/vwdJqg Pls RT
or just click this button to Tweet Tweet
3. Like Skip to my Lou on facebook.
4. Like  Silhouette on facebook,
5. Like Silhouette on Pinterest.
No purchase necessary.  US Residents Only.  Must be over 18. Giveaway will end on November 23, 2011 at 12am CST. One winner with a valid entry will be selected at random using random.org. Winner will be emailed, the winner  will have 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be selected.  Cindy Hopper and Silhouette are not responsible for lost or undelivered emails.

Happy Halloween!

Today is Halloween...enjoy a little Trick or Treating...and this easy recipe.  What better way is there to get everyone's stomachs ready for all that candy then these Mummies?!
  Eat, pray, love,
BrigetBrigette

Mummies on a Stick

Ingredients

• 1 tube (11 ounces) refrigerated breadsticks
• 10 Popsicle sticks
• 10 hot dogs
• Prepared mustard

Directions

• Separate dough; roll 10 pieces into 24-in. ropes. Insert a Popsicle stick into each hot dog. Starting at the stick end, wrap one dough rope around each hot dog, leaving 2 in. of the hot dog uncovered at the top for the mummy head.
• Place mummies 1 in. apart on a greased baking sheet. Place remaining bread sticks on another baking sheet.
• Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes. Add dots of mustard for eyes. Save leftover bread sticks for another use. Yield: 10 servings.

(Originally published as Mummies on a Stick in Taste of Home Halloween Party Food , p22)

House Cleaning Tips

I did not write this, but wish I had...I would love to work on getting into a daily or semi-daily routine so that I don't have to panic and spend hours when company is coming or it's just time to do it.

If anyone has any other tips or tricks, I'd love to hear them...please share by commenting to this post.

Eat, pray, love,

Brigette

How to Clean Your House in 30 Minutes or Less

Cleaning house can feel like a gargantuan task, especially when you’ve let things slide for a few days too many. But it doesn’t have to be such a time-consuming undertaking. By incorporating these easy tips into your daily routine and prioritizing the areas that have a knack for getting the messiest the quickest, you’ll find that keeping the house in order is as easy as pie. The only drawback is that now you’ll have to figure out what to do with your new-found free time.



Kitchen:

• Do the dishes or place them in the dishwasher after every meal. (5 minutes)
• Wipe down counter tops and stove with an all-purpose cleaner after cooking. (2 minutes)
• Wipe up any spills and sweep up any crumbs after eating. (2 minutes)

Bathroom:

• Keep sanitizing wipes under your bathroom sink so you can quickly wipe the countertop after each time you wash your face or brush your teeth. (2 minutes)
• Once a week, wipe the toilet and seat rim and clean the toilet bowl. By keeping the cleaning products within reach, you’ll be more likely to reach for them even if you’re not doing a major cleaning  (2 minutes)

Bedroom:

• If you’ve already started a load of laundry, don’t consider it finished until you fold and put away clean clothes. Doing it right away ensures you’re less likely to have piles of clean clothes on your bed. (5 minutes)
• Each morning, clear bedside tables of dishes, books, and reading glasses from the night before. (2 minutes)
• Get into the habit of making your bed every morning, the moment you get out of bed. You’ll be happy you made the time when you come home that night. (2 minutes)

Living Room:

• Every few days, wipe the tables with a microfiber cloth to pick up dust while you watch TV. (2 minutes)
• Break out the Dustbuster to swoop up crumbs on the floor and in the couch cushions. By doing this while you watch TV, you’re integrating the chore into your daily routine, instead of waiting for a deep-cleaning session. (2 minutes)
• Before retiring for the evening put away all entertainment gadgets, DVDs, newspapers, and games that have been left out. (4 minutes)

(This came from a post by DivineCaroline, on Mon Oct 10, 2011 - it's not my own, but I thought it was worth sharing.)