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White Chocolate Cookies

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Tasty toasty cookies! I generally find white chocolate a bit too sugary so I made this cookie recipe with unsweetened toasted coconut and toasted almonds to temper the sweetness. I pretty much followed a basic cookie recipe, but reduced the amount of brown sugar. Here it is:

  • 2 1/4 c. flour
  • 1 t. baking soda
  • 1/4 t. salt
  • 8 oz. (1 stick) butter
  • 1/2 c. brown sugar
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 10 oz. package of white chocolate chips (the natural brands seem to be less super-sweet)
  • 1 c. toasted unsweetened coconut
  • 1 c. toasted sliced almonds
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toast almonds and coconut (coconut will brown more quickly).
  2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  3. Cream butter, sugars and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time.
  4. Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture. Fold in coconut, chocolate chips, and almonds.
  5. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 9-12 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen.
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Spring Bags

We’re having what I hope is our last burst of cold here in Atlanta, so I’m focused on spring. Here are some nice bags for the soon-to-come warm weather:

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Those of you who know me might recognize this Granny Bag from Sea Breeze Studio. I am on my second bag of this style and love it. You can stuff anything in it and it’s easy to keep clean. Available here in a variety of fabrics for $60.

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This bag is made of cork! Pretty cool, huh? Just wipe clean. The Casablanca Cork Tote is available here from Cork & Cotton for $58.

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Woodsy Bird Tote from The Orange Bicycle, $28. I love that woodgrain fabric.

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Ella Since OSix messenger bag made with vintage fabric, available here for $49.50.

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Stormy Day Dolls

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After seeing this post at Sugar City Journal I’ve been thinking about making some personalized paper dolls, but it seemed like so much work to cut out all of their clothes and my kids get frustrated when the clothes don’t stay on the dolls. We have a toy similar to this one from Woodkins, so we made some personalized dolls from cardboard and card stock. The hardest part was trying to get the kids still for a picture. They drew some hair, but you could add some with yarn or make changeable hair cut-outs. I then cut some fabric scraps and let them change the clothes around. You can make a dress by slipping the fabric over the leg separation. Creating and playing with these dolls occupied them for much of the afternoon!

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New Orleans

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We went to New Orleans over the weekend so that my crazy husband could run his seventh (eighth?) marathon. I haven’t been to New Orleans in over ten years and obviously it’s changed. I took the photo above in the Lower 9th Ward. The devastation from Katrina was vast and although my aunt lost her home in Slidell, I could not have fathomed the scope of this disaster in its present day state until I saw it — miles and miles of homes still damaged or destroyed (satellite images). Yet the history of the city remains with the French Quarter, St. Charles Avenue, and Audubon Park relatively unscathed. The spirit and energy of this cultural intersection are still there in its eclectic mix of people and in the outstanding food, drink and music. If you’d like to see some more of my photos, you can view them here.

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Trying to stay on-topic here on the blog (and desperately trying to avoid the obvious question about why New Orleans still looks like this), here is a link to a café au lait recipe! The beignets were yummy too, but who wants to do all that frying in their kitchen? The café au lait recipe is from Emeril and since he’s from New Orleans I suppose it’s a good recipe, though there seems to be something about chicory in the coffee which is not included.