Wildcard Wednesday: More Signs of Spring ......In My Kitchen

As I've previously shared, rather than completely changing my decor with each changing season, I like to just slightly alter my existing decor, adding subtle touches of the current season here & there.  (The only exception to this is Christmas, where I tend to "flood" my home with decorations!) 

Two weeks ago I shared my egg & nest-filled glass canisters, & last week I shared the "nesting" I had done on my entry table.  This week I want to share with you my Gracious Goods cake stand that rests year-around on my kitchen countertop. 

Here is how she looks "in-between" seasons.  (Yes, it's a she.)

 I could store her, hidden away in a cabinet somewhere, but she's so pretty that I think she deserves a place of honor.  {Not to mention that it would take up a good chunk of my storage space......space that is so desperately needed for other dishes!} 

While the cake stand is beautiful in & of itself, uhh herself, I like to add a little touch of the season to it when it's not in use. 

This year I'm having a little difficulty deciding how I best like it, though, so I would love to have your feedback!

Here's what she looked like last spring with a moss-covered bunny, some faux greenery, and a few eggs: 

I could repeat this look again, but I tend to like to change things from year-to-year.

So here are my options for this year:

First is the more natural look.  A brown & cream bird rests on a sheet of moss, while a nest and a few eggs gather around.



{I love the touches of blue on the bird!}

Here's the second option:

I kept the sheet of moss and simply added two turquoise birds, one of them perched on a rock.  (I absolutely love anything turquoise, especially this time of year.)  I love the pop of color this option adds.  At the end, I also decided to tie on a little burlap ribbon.

 

 

 Finally, there's this option, somewhat of a combination of the two.  A turquoise bird rests on a nest, while a few eggs are scattered about.

 

So what do you think: natural-looking, pair of turquoise birds, or bird resting on nest?  Or I'm open to other ideas as well! 

{I plan to link with A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday, This Blessed Nest for Spring Fling, & Between Naps on the Porch for Met. Monday.}

Tutorial Tuesday: Vanilla Sugar Cookies & Best White Icing Ever

Last Friday, I shared about the fun sugar cookies that Mr. Dishaholic & I often make together.

 So here's the recipes I promised.........

~VANILLA SUGAR COOKIES~

What you'll need:

1 cup butter (softened)

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

3 cups flour

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400*.

2) Cream softened butter & sugar with an electric mixer.

3) Beat in egg & vanilla.

4) Add baking powder.

5) Mix in flour - one cup at a time (mixing after each cup).

Blend last of flour by hand.

(If dough becomes too stiff, add water - a teaspoon at a time).

6) If desired, roll out dough on floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick & use desired cookie cutters. 

(It's helpful to chill the dough for a few minutes before).

7) Bake on greased cookie sheet (or on a foil lined cookie sheet) for 8-10 minutes or until slightly brown.

8) Allow to cool before icing.

Other options:

 1) For chocolate sugar cookies, mix in 3 ounces melted, unsweetened chocolate.

2) For colored cookies, tint dough with Wilton Icing coloring.  Knead in small amounts until desired color is reached.

**************************************************************

 To decorate the cookies, you can either use store bought icing (in cans or tubes), or you can try out this recipe:

~Best White Icing Ever~

What you'll need:

4 cups confectioner's sugar

1 cup shortening

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon clear imitation vanilla extract

3 tablespoons corn syrup (optional)

food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1) In a large bowl combine sugar, shortening, water, & vanilla.

2) Beat on low speed until combined, then beat on medium for 5 minutes.

3) If not used for decorating (just icing), add 3 tablespoons corn syrup or water to icing.

4) Add food coloring as desired.

(If it will be sitting out a while, cover bowl with wet cloth to keep mixture from drying out).

I'm linking to Mosaic Monday at Little Red House.

Scripture Sunday: Faith + God's Grace = Righteousness

Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.  Genesis 15: 6 (NIV)

And he believed!  Believed God! God declared him "Set-Right-with-God."  Genesis 15:6 (The Message)

Today's passage is short, only one verse, but it has a powerful message!

First, Abram believed God.  I looked up the definition of "believe" in several dictionaries, and repeatedly found that it means "to accept something as true or real."  So in other words, Abram believed everything about God, including all that God had spoken to him, to be true and real.

Secondly, God credited him.  Here are a few definitions I found for "credited":
1) to regard as having performed an action or being endowed with a quality
2) recognition or approval for an act, ability, or quality
3) giving something of value to someone (usually with their agreement to repay)
4) the balance in a person's favor
5) reliance on the truth or reality of something 

In other words, God regarded Abram as having done what it requires ("performed an action") to be considered righteous, and gave Abram His stamp of approval!  God "loaned" Abram His righteousness, although Abram had done nothing to earn it, and the only repayment Abram had to make was to continue believing and following God.  And I love the last definition, which implies that when God credit Abram as righteous, He now sees that as the truth! 

An alternative to "credited" is "declared,"  which means to state emphatically.  In other words, once God declared Abram to be righteous, there was no question!

Finally, God credited Abram with righteousness.  So what does "righteousness" mean?  It means free from guilt or sin, & the state of being right with God!

So Abram simply had to believe God, and he was declared by God to be innocent and in right standing with Him!  How amazing is that?

Well, guess what? It's that simple for us as well!  We must simply believe that Jesus bore our sin on the cross &  rose from the dead, giving us victory over sin and death, & ask God to forgive us, and God declares us to be right with Him!  It's that easy!

Belief (Faith) + God's Credit (Grace) = Righteousness!

Friday Favorites: Creating Custom Cookies

This past weekend I was asked to make some cookies for a friend's baby shower.  Ordinarily, this might not seem like any big deal......but as I was preparing the cookies, I begin to reminisce a little......to be reminded of all the times in the past I've made these cookies.  You see, these cookies have become part of mine & my husband's story..... 

{cookies for baby shower}

{notice the cookies mimic the circles on the shower invitation}

It's been almost 10 years since my husband & I started dating.  At the time, I was still living at home, and to be perfectly honest, didn't really know a thing about cooking or baking (spoiled, I know). 

But one day, I decided I wanted to try my hand at some decorated sugar cookies. 

The cookies were delicious......my decorating skills, not so much!  

Despite my lack of artistic ability, I continued to make & decorate the cookies......they became somewhat of a creative outlet for me.......making different shapes for different occasions.......mostly for my soon-to-be-husband......but sometimes for family & friends.

There were Christmas ones & Easter ones........

.......patriotic ones & Halloween ones......

...... cookies on a stick......

......why, I even made some golf & airplane cookies for the guys in my life.....

(Sorry the quality of these pre-digital photos are so bad!!  But you get the idea!)

Despite all of my best efforts, the decorating never quite turned out like I hoped.

Then one day, my husband (well, boyfriend at the time) offered to help me decorate some cookies for a very important upcoming event......
the OU/Texas game!

(Hey, that's like a holiday around these parts!)

He even made his own cookie cutters, bending the metal from a couple other cookie cutters, until he achieved the shapes he wanted.

So we worked together on the cookies.......

Little did we know that it was the beginning of a tradition.....one that we would enjoy doing together many times.......one that would become one of my FAVORITES!

But anyway, back to my story.....as we continued on our dating journey, we continued making cookies together for special occasions......typically I'd bake & he'd decorate.

Not only did we make these fun cookies for our engagement party.......

{these may be my all-time favorite!}

......but we even went so far as to give our wedding guests cookie cutters!

As time went on, we  began to get a few requests from family & friends.....

{ducks, butterflies, bunnies, flowers, and hummingbirds for a baby shower - I absolutely love the green hummingbirds!}

.......a baby shower here, a birthday party there......

{turtles, fish, seashells, starfish, lobsters, & seahorses for an "Under the Sea" birthday party}

.......not to mention the holidays.......



{flowers, bunnies, & eggs for Easter}



{Valentine's Day hearts}

{toy soldiers}





{snowmen}



{snowflakes}

{peacocks for a Christmas open house to go with our "peacock" Christmas tree}



I even talked him into helping with some high heel cookies for my "girl's night" last December. 

{Aren't these the cutest?}


So while these are just a "taste" of the many designs we've done together (unfortunately, we don't have pictures of some of them), it's easy to see that these cookies have become more than just cookies to us......
they've become a FAVORITE tradition!

(Check back Tuesday for the recipe to these sweet cookies, as well as a wonderful icing recipe!)

I'm linking up with Between Naps on the Porch for Met. Monday.