Secret Santa + Other Toddler Mischeif


A cute group of mamas and their babies participated in a Secret Santa gift exchange this past month and I wanted to show off {and thank!} our Secret Santa for Ethan's fun gifts!

Ethan's Secret Santa {and future girlfriend} was the sweet Arden {and mama Vanessa} from a Sunflower State of Mind.  They got Ethan this fun Classic Doodler with 2 stampers, which Ethan just adores!




He's even gotten good at his cursive skills...impressive, I know!  ;)

They also got us Where is Baby's Christmas Present? which Ethan goes crazy over.  He absolutely loves lifting the flaps on each page.  

Thank you for our sweet gifts Arden and Vanessa...it was such a pleasant surprise to receive in the mail!

And if you want to check out Ethan's gift to Sofia {his other future girlfriend}, see it here.  We got Sofia the cutest headbands from Bub & Bug Studio.


You can check out more fun gift ideas and exchanges at the other participating blogs:

Michelle at Ten June
Jessica at Little Baby Garvin
Veronika at Veronika's Blushing
Erin at Hello Erin
Emily at Dear Owen
Colleen at Meet the Sullivans
Natasha at Hello Happiness

And as a last note, I had to share these photos of our mischievous little toddler.


He recently discovered he could climb up on the back of his truck.


And sometimes, he's not quite sure of what to do once he climbs up there.


He's such a little stinker!


And clearly not lacking in the toy department!!


I can hardly believe that he'll be a year and a half a week from today.  Seriously...that's almost harder to believe than me turning THIRTY a week from today.  Where does the time go!??!

Happy Thursday!!

xo natasha

Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa Cookies + Recipe Link Party!


Today I am SO excited to be co-hosting our final party with Heather at The Lovely Cupboard!  Our party is all about holiday recipes...whether it be baked goods, cocktails, or savory dishes.  

Today I'm sharing the cookies that I made for our cookie party last weekend...they're dark chocolate hot cocoa cookies!


These yummy little morsels are super moist and the marshmallows give it a fun twist!  They have chocolate chips cookies in them as well, which gives them great texture!

Recipe adapted from A Few Short Cuts

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1.5 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended.
Mix in the chocolate chips
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set.
Immediately top with three mini marshmallows when you remove the cookies from the oven.
If more gooey marshmallow is desired place marshmallow topped cookies back in the oven for 1 mintute.
Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

***

We served our cookies as part of a Hot Cocoa Bar, which I totally recommend whipping up at your next party!




Oh and another great recipe to check out is these browned butter + sea salt chocolate chip cookies...they are DIVINE!


And just to give you a taste of all the other cookies that our guests brought by...


Someone was being a little piggy!!

Ok, now I am dying to see what you've whipped up!  Be sure to link up below and join in on the fun!!

If you're not sure how to link up, simply click the link at the bottom of this post that says "click here to enter" and paste the exact URL of your recipe post into the prompted field.  From there, it will allow you to enter your info and select your image and then voila!  You've linked up.  We appreciate a link back to either my site or A Lovely Cupboard!  Cheers!




My 25 Favorite Christmas Books


First, I want to say thank you for all of your sweet and kind comments on our Christmas card.  You all just made my day...so thank you!  :)

My 25 Favorite Christmas Books

If there is one thing I love more than collecting books...it's collecting Christmas books!  We grew up reading all of the classics and it really makes me nostalgic to be able to start collecting them for Ethan.  There was nothing I loved more than curling up with my brothers and listening to my dad read us The Night Before Christmas or The Polar Express.  Regardless of all the distractions around Christmas, this one ritual really grounded me...so I hope to pass the same joy of reading to Ethan.

Here are some of our old and new favorites...and the list just keeps on growing!

24. Snow

What are your favorite Christmas books?  I'd love to hear in the comments below!

And be sure to get your foodie or drink photos ready for tomorrow's link up!  I can't wait to see what everyone whipped up!

Oh and one last thought...Christmas is officially one week from tomorrow...so exciting!!

xo natasha

Our 2013 Christmas Card!



Can you believe Christmas is NEXT week?!  Ahhh!  I can't believe how quickly time is flying!

Fortunately, I got my Christmas cards out right after Thanksgiving thanks to Darcy at Artyard Photography.  She snapped this photo right out by our house and I love how it turned out.

I also love Minted's holiday card designs...if you haven't ordered yours yet, they're offering free overnight shipping, which still allows plenty of time to get your cards mailed before Christmas.

And just for fun...here's a look back on our past cards...






I hope you're able to slow down and savor the season!


xo natasha