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July 9th was National Sugar Cookie Day, and it inspired me to dig out my favorite recipe for sugar cookies. I was a little late in celebrating (I think I baked these July 11th) but my husband enjoyed them all the same.

Sugar cookies remind me of the holidays, and though I find it strange that I am thinking of Christmas cookies in July, I am sure that these will be my main attraction this season.

They are fluffy, sugary and uncomplicated, everything a good sugar cookie should be. This recipe takes about 10 minutes to whip together, and another 22 minutes to bake (11 minutes per sheet). From start to finish you looking at a total of 40 minutes, and you will receive about 2 dozen fantastic cookies for your effort. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 14 tablespoons of butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Supplies:

• 2 mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Measuring cups/spoons
• Cookie sheet
• Wax paper/Non stick baking spray/Crisco
• Electric mixer
• Pie dish or other shallow dish

Making and Baking the Sugar Cookies:

1. First preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Set aside 1 cup of sugar in the shallow dish.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in one mixing bowl.
4. In the other mixing bowl, beat the remaining sugar and the butter together for 5 minutes (this is important!).
5. Beat the vanilla and the eggs into the sugar and butter until combined.
6. Slowly mix in the flour.
7. Roll the dough into golf sized balls, and roll through the sugar, coating the dough completely.
8. Place the balls on a cookie sheet that has been either greased or lined with wax paper, at least 2 inches apart.
9. Press the palm of your hand onto the cookies to flatten them a little.
10. Bake them for about 11 minutes, one sheet at a time.
11. When the edges start to brown they are done.
12. Let them sit for a few minutes on a cooling rack before serving.

Additional tips:

• For really fantastic cookies, roll the dough in coarse sugar instead of granulated.
• Every oven is different, so watch your cookies carefully.
• These will stay soft for about 7 days if stored in a plastic zipper bag. We usually eat them much more quickly though
• Rolling the sugar cookies in colored sugar is a great way to add a little pizazz.

Create a great play list for your Christmas Party with my list of classic Christmas music. A great mix will add to the enjoyment of your guests at your holiday gathering.

42 Fantastic Songs to play at a Christmas Party:

1. A Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives
2. White Christmas - Bing Crosby
3. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
4. Here Comes Santa Claus - Gene Autry
5. Greensleeves - Vince Guaraldi Trio
6. Carol Of The Bells - The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
7. Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt
8. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town - Burl Ives
9. Winter Wonderland - Louis Armstrong
10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland
11. Sleigh Ride - Boston Pops Orchestra (instrumental) or Johnny Mathis with Percy Faith & His Orchestra
12. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Burl Ives (or Gene Autry)
13. Cantique De Noel (O Holy Night) - Luciano Pavarotti
14. (There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays - Perry Como
15. I’ll Be Home for Christmas - Bing Crosby
16. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John Lennon and Yoko Ono
17. Silver Bells - Dean Martin
18. Mistletoe and Holly - Frank Sinatra
19. You’re a Mean One, Mr Grinch - Thurl Ravenscroft
20. Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms
21. Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley
22. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Vaughn Monroe (1945 original) or Doris Day
23. Feliz Navidad - Jose Feliciano
24. Rockin Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
25. ‘Zat You, Santa Claus? - Louis Armstrong
26. Frosty the Snowman - Jimmy Durante
27. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - The Ronettes
28. Jingle Bells - Frank Sinatra
29. It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Andy Williams
30. It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas - Perry Como and The Fontaine Sisters
31. Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) - Alvin and the Chipmunks
32. We Need A Little Christmas - The Muppets (my favorite!)
33. Merry Christmas Baby - B.B. King
34. Run Rudolph Run - Chuck Berry
35. O come, O come, Emmanuel - The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
36. Christmas Time Is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio
37. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
38. Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms
39. Adeste Fideles (O, Come All Ye Faithful) - Frank Sinatra
40. Christmas Canon - Trans-Siberian Orchestra
41. Baby, It’s Cold Outside - Dean Martin
42. Little Drummer Boy - Bing Crosby

If you would rather just pop in a few CDs instead, here are a few recommendations:

Dinner Music

• A Charlie Brown Christmas
• Christmas Songs - Diana Krall
• Rocky Mountain Christmas - John Denver

Party Music

• White Christmas - Bing Crosby
• Christmas with the Rat Pack
• The Best of Burl Ives - The Christmas Collection
• Time-Life Music: Treasury of Christmas
• Now That’s What I Call Christmas!

Have a wonderful Christmas Party!

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Many people are planning to invite friends over to watch the results of the election. If you are planning on having an Election Night Party, following songs are perfect to play as the results come in. I tried for a mix of patriotic, protest, and a few that are just fitting.

28 Fantastic Songs to play at an Election Night Party:

1. Fortunate Son – Credence Clearwater Revival
2. A Change is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke
3. What’s Goin’ On - Marvin Gaye
4. Imagine - John Lennon
5. We didn’t Start the Fire - Billy Joel
6. Sunday Bloody Sunday – U2
7. Redemption Song - Bob Marley
8. Sympathy for the Devil – Rolling Stones
9. The Times They Are A-Changing - Bob Dylan
10. All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
11. Rockin’ in the Free World – Neil Young
12. (What’s so Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding - Nick Lowe
13. Taxman - The Beatles
14. Beds are Burning - Midnight Oil
15. Devil Inside - INXS
16. This Land is Your Land - Woody Guthrie
17. For What It’s Worth - Buffalo Springfield
18. Born in the U.S.A.- Bruce Springsteen
19. The Star-Spangled Banner - Jimi Hendrix
20. God Bless the USA - Lee Greenwood
21. Beautiful Day - U2
22. I Ain’t Marching Anymore - Phil Ochs
23. Where Have all the Flowers Gone - Pete Seeger
24. Country Roads - John Denver
25. Turn, Turn, Turn (To Everything There is a Season) - The Byrds
26. Freedom - The Isley Brothers
27. My Country ‘Tis Of Thee - Crosby & Nash
28. War (What Is It Good For) - War

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Add the scent of cinnamon to your holiday with homemade cinnamon Christmas ornaments. These ornaments can be hung from the Christmas tree, used to decorate packages, strung together to make a beautifully scented garland, or as great holiday gifts. Since the recipe is simple these are a great Christmas craft project to do with kids!

This recipe makes 12 - 14 medium sized Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments. It takes about 15 minutes to make and knead the dough, and 2 1/2 hours to bake, for a total time of 2 hours, 45 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. ground cloves
• 1 tbsp. nutmeg
• 3/4 cup applesauce

Making the Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments:

1. Preheat oven to 150°.
2. In medium bowl, combine cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg.
3. Add applesauce, stir to combine.
4. Work the dough with your hands for 3 or 4 minutes until dough is smooth and ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
5. If the dough is a little crumbly, add a tablespoon of applesause at a time to it until it is smooth and a bit sticky.
6. Roll out dough to 1/3 inch thickness. It will be sticky, so be careful with it. You can use cinnamon like flour on your pin and rolling surface to stop it from sticking.
7. Cut dough with cookie cutters. Simple shapes like hearts, bells, trees and gingermen are easier to work with than cutters with complicated shapes.
8. Using straw make small hole in top of ornament.
9. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 150 degrees for 2 1/2 hours
10. Remove from the cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack.
11. Loop a ribbon through the top.

Additional tips:

• You can dry ornaments without the oven. Set them on the wire rack at room temperature, and let them stand 2 days or until completely dry. Turn them a few times throughout the process so they dry even and flat.
• If you have a food dehydrator you could also dry them in that.
• You can use acrylic paints to decorate the ornaments once they are dry.

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I saw a really cute dog Halloween costumes the other day

(Cowboy Riding Dog, and Headless Horseman Riding Dog)

and I wanted to try to make my own version, with a monkey (of course!) It was really simple to make, and I wanted to share it with you all!

First gather a few supplies:

• Wide piece of flat elastic 6″ longer than the girth of your dog’s chest (my dog was 26″, so I bought 32″ inches)
• 3″ of Velcro (do not buy the stick-on kind, it will be harder to sew!)
• Long armed stuffed monkey
• Needle and thread
• Thick floral wire

How to make your Homemade Dog Halloween Costume:

1. Start by making sure the elastic is the right size to go around your dogs chest with about 3 inches of overhang on each side. Sew the Velcro onto the flat elastic, making sure that the pieces are on opposite ends and on opposite sides.

2. To get the monkey to sit up you need to give it a wire skeleton. I cut a small hole in the butt of my monkey, and inserted several (maybe 5 or six) L-shaped pieces of floral wire into the body so he would sit up straight. I wanted my monkey to be holding up one arm like he was riding a bull, so I also inserted an extra long piece through his body and up through his arm. Make sure none of the floral wire is sticking out of the monkey; you don’t want it poking your puppy!

3. It is critical that you secure the butt of the monkey to the elastic band so that he is sitting upright! First, measure to the middle of the band, mark it, and start sewing the monkey to this spot. Try to catch some of the wire in your stitches. Another good way to securely attach Mr Monkey is by sewing the side area around the butt to the elastic. I went a good inch up his sides to get him to sit up straight. Try and loop the elastic around your leg to see if you have the monkey on tight enough so he sits straight up. Once he is sitting pretty, secure the legs to the elastic as well.

4. Now you just have to get Monkey on the back of you dog. Attach the band around the wide part of his chest, and loop the monkey’s other hand around your dog’s collar, and you’re all set! If your pup is anything like mine, there will be a period of agitated bucking. I used lots of treats to distract Basil, and he didn’t even notice it after a few minutes. But in the interest of your doggie’s safety, make sure you supervise them when they are wearing their costume!

Have fun, and if you make your own, send me a picture because I would love to see your creation! – mevsthehouse at gmail dot com

Happy Halloween!

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I have a big, destructive dog. So when I saw these Halloween costumes I almost died. They are frickin cute, and he would actually wear them (versus eating them).

I would get the Headless Horseman. It is only $20, and completely worth it.

If you are feeling particularly crafty and you want to make your own, you should see my tutorial – Monkey on My Back Dog Costume. It is inspired by this design.

If you have a dog that will wear costumes for you without ripping them to shreds, you may be interested in a few more I was drooling over, but I wouldn’t dare to try:

The Slick:

The Sweet:

Matching Costumes for You & Your Dog:

and the Pun costumes:

Have a Happy Halloween!