I really dislike online focus groups. It’s hard to stay awake, it’s hard to keep my eyes focused on the screen for 5 hours, and you miss the facial expressions and interactions between participants that make focus groups interesting. BUT… I can decorate cookies during online focus groups! These cookies are brought to you by 15 hours of focus groups (and a few house of staff meetings… shhh!)
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My husband’s aunt (my aunt in-law?) is a real cook and baker. I’m a hobby cookie decorator. She is the real deal. Nate eats all of my cast off rejected cookies. During the holidays, this means a lot of cookies. By the time we get to Christmas, Nate declares that he cannot eat another cookie. And then his aunt hands him a bag of sugary buttery baked goods and suddenly he can actually eat another cookie (or ten.)
With an 18 month old, it is getting harder and harder to make time for cookies. My plan was to dramatically scale back on holiday baking this year. It was a plan. I was going to stick to it. And then I realized that, for me, cookies are the whole point. Read more…
I have a friend who dazzles me with her ability to be amazing all of the time. She wears cute clothes, her house is spectacular, and she throws fabulous parties (large and small.) She can make a gathering of 3 people feel like a special event. When I went to meet her new baby, she had a beautiful spread on her dining room table. I asked her how she managed to be a new mom and a perfect hostess. She replied, “We became parents, not Neanderthals.” Read more…
I love the smell of gingerbread. Gingerbread in the oven fills my kitchen with Christmasy happiness. After the warm gingerbread-scented air subsides, I sniff the cookies. I’m not proud… but it is soooo good. Read more…
Here’s a secret that every winter cookier should know: piping pine/ coniferous needles is crazy easy. The end result looks like it requires way more skill and effort than it actually does. It’s like getting a really good deal– this design is the 40% off coupon code of cookies. Read more…
I love men’s ties. I secretly wish the 1980s women’s necktie trend would come back in fashion. I openly wish my husband were a necktie kind of guy. But alas, microbiologists dress like college freshmen. Read more…
I have such a difficult time transitioning to cozy winter colors this time of year. I’m still thinking summer can’t possibly be over. When I was cruising the internet for holiday inspiration, I was more drawn to Pantone’s Spring 2015 palette than to Pottery Barn’s current holiday color trends (I passed over a lot of buffalo plaid on my way to making these cookies.) Read more…
I try to pace my posts this time of year, but inevitably, I end up doing a Christmas Eve blog dump. Read more…
I am a big time doodler. I doodle during meetings at work. I doodle during conference calls. I doodle during regular calls. I doodle a lot, and mostly cookie patterns. Read more…
I got a jump start on holiday cookies this year. Last weekend, I started to make Thanksgiving cookies. I cut out a bunch of circles, intending to revisit the pie cookies I made last year. Read more…
Snickerdoodledoo 