One Crazy Weekend: A Cat, A Concert and A Cookie Party!



FRIENDS! Sarah, Elizabeth, Alyssa and Cassidy. 

A few of Elizabeth's cookies.









 A crazy, hectic weekend was had by all  in the Porter Family! It was

Can you say, "Elton

exceedingly busy and physically tiring. Packed full of  wonderful new  
memories that will be filed away in our minds to enjoy another day. We hit the ground running this past Friday and barely looked up until yesterday afternoon.
 

 They got off on a good start!

Elizabeth hosted her annual Christmas Cookie Decorating Party. Say that three times fast! This was E's 5th year to host this particular party. We all have our assignments. I am the baker and general bus "girl" at this sugar loaded shindig.  Greg is the chauffeur and sanitation duty officer, he takes out the trash, and if Jared  happens to be home he eats what has been left behind. Ha! Yeah right! That never happens! I love to listen to the girls laughing and talking about teachers, boys.."Oh man did you see that awesome looking new guy on the Fear Factor?", talk of new clothes in style, the top  40,

 Elizabeth at far end, Sarah, Cassidy, &Alyssa.

 and the latest drama  unfolding at school, "did you hear about ___and___? They broke up again. That's like the 3rd time", "well I knew it wouldn't last", "they fought all of the time". Mother's you KNOW I'm right! They do all of this while decorating their cookies and singing along with the Christmas music that's playing on the stereo. They are fantastic at multi-tasking!! In years past the girls

 Elizabeth and Alyssa

have gone out caroling in our neighborhood. On occasion they have been given money, hot cocoa and cookies. They have  played Santa's Helpers for the little old man around the corner who dresses up like Santa Clause. Our neighborhood does Christmas proud. I can safely say that 90% of the houses here in our

Scaring Sarah!

little corner of the world are covered in Christmas lights, from their chimney tops all the way down to the side walks. We actually
have "traffic" in the neighborhood every weekend in December. Cars, limos and even buses, it's really insane!

Ms. Bennet made a statement with her holiday outfit.

 The girls enjoy walking around looking at lights, singing and generally being silly. Do you remember 16? This year they dressed up and went to the all night Walmart to find some amusement. Don't ask.

A few of our Debutantes.

Saturday was a joy....E had a Deb event. The girls were asked to meet and greet people that were coming in for the Symphony's Christmas Concert. If you have a daughter you already know these kinds of events are a family

 Miss Elizabeth Morganne Porter

effort. It is not just an evenings obligation to be met by E. It was more like mom and dad putting on a full scale Broadway

musical! I spent the majority of the day sewing flowers on her formal. Then she had to get the big hair to go along with the big make-up, mani-pedi and then in a group effort we helped her in to the formal.

 E and ME!

You think I'm playing but it takes two strong people to zip up that dress. You could say I was warm by the time we got in the car to head out. You could even say I was HOT. I'm mom. To Elizabeth. A Debutante.  We do what we have to do. I can honestly say all of our sacrifice and sweat was well worth our efforts.

Janey and Elizabet

The girls looked beautiful and
the music was a much needed boost of Christmas Spirit. The evening was magical and our expectations were far exceeded.
 Sunday is ALWAYS busy around here, church, lunch and of course a Sunday nap. If you're a Baptist most likely you

This is Jared. Everybody say, "hey Jared"!

take an afternoon nap on Sundays. Jared happened to be home...cookies were ALL gone at this point. He had to work from 12 am to 8 am on Monday. He headed back to Denton in the middle of the night. To our surprise he decided to come back home instead of  going to his apartment. He was home by the time E left for school Monday morning. I love it when he is home.


 Monday finally rolled around and found us settled back into our usual routine, although I need to finish Christmas shopping. And it's raining. That's no fun. There are pies to bake and candy to make, gifts to wrap and stockings to stuff and not a lot of time left. Greg and I are SO ready to sit back and enjoy just being...you know what I mean?
Being with each other, being with our kids, being with our family

Ms. B under the tree.

and friends. Just enjoy being still for awhile. How do you type the sound of a sigh? Christmas. Visiting. Laughing. Reminiscing. Playing. Loving. Being. Bring it on I say....we are SO ready!

Here is the recipe I used for E's Cookie Party. They make THE best base for royal icing. I have tried many recipes over the years and I find this one to be sturdy, crisp on the outside and soft in the middle, and not too sweet. You really don't want a sweet cookie Royal icing is extremely sweet on it's own. This cookie makes the perfect pairing for icing.






CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIES:
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Royal Icing, assorted candies, sprinkles, or colored sugars for decorating

Directions:

 This is the Betty Crocker Cookie Icing we used.

In large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat until combined. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic; freeze until firm, at least 20 minutes, or place in a resealable plastic bag, and freeze up to 3 months (thaw in refrigerator overnight).

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment. Remove one dough disk; let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Roll out 1/8 inch thick between two sheets of floured parchment, dusting dough with flour as needed. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Using a spatula, transfer to prepared baking sheets.  Re-roll scraps; cut shapes. Repeat with remaining dough.
2. Bake, rotating halfway through, until edges are golden, 10 minutes (depending on size). You do not want them brown. Cool completely on wire racks. Ice cookies. Let the icing harden, about 20 minutes, before stacking.

Royal Icing**To make icing, sift 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar into a small bowl. Whisk in 3 to 4 tablespoons milk, water, or lemon juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If too thin, whisk in more sugar; if too thick, add more liquid. Divide into small bowls and add food coloring. I use Wilton's cake icing color.       

 *Best if you pop your cut cookie dough  straight in to the oven from the fridge. E is feeling them to see if they are cold. And yes she washed her hands after playing with the cat! Cookies ready to decorate!!  YUM!

I usually always triple this recipe, freezing the dough not used. I pull it out to make Cookie Hearts for Valentine's Day. One less thing to take care of in February!! 

  ***I'm just going to tell you all the absolute truth, I use Betty Crocker's Cookie Icing. NOT cake icing..there is a difference. Cookie icing hardens cake icing does not. I save myself huge amounts of time by using Betty's icing. It actually tastes as good or better than Martha's and less messy! I don't skip the cookies though. Using a roll of store bought sugar cookie dough will lead to disappointment. They do not hold their defined shapes like Martha's recipe. Just my opinion, do as you wish and ENJOY!

                                          

 Girls Just Want To Have Fun!!!

 MERRY, MERRY!!