"Fancified" Butter Cookies (for the Holidays)

Today, I wanted to share with you all some cookies that I made for a friend's birthday dinner party a few months ago.  Although this is just a bit early, these cookies are perfect for the holidays because they are pretty, delicious, and just a little bit more special than your average butter cookie.

Not only that, but they are VERY easy and quick to bake.  That is a definite recipe requirement for me during the busy holiday season!  I had to get these done very fast and with my friend's help, they were in the oven in a flash.

P.S. - The recipient of these cookies told me that these reminded her of the cookies her Italian grandmother made around holiday time, which is how I got the idea to post the recipe.  Needless to say that she and her brother ended up finishing these cookies in a jiffy!

This recipe uses a cookie press, which is very affordable and sooo worth the results.  You could make them without, but the little kid in you (or your actual kids) will love pushing out the discs of perfect little cookies, just like Play-Doh!

"Fancified" Butter Cookies
Inspired by Vanilla Cookies recipe in instruction booklet

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Saturday Synopsis!

After a weekend in New Orleans, I am slowly recovering from my food and activity hangover.  Not alcohol-related though, since I only had the one delicious cherry Fizz drink at Stella!  Also, there was a guy sniffling and sneezing next to me the whole flight home.  Yuck!

Luckily, I have this weekend pretty wide open for recovery.  Then, there are all sorts of plans for the next few weekends.  Whew!!!

Another picture of Lil Miss last weekend in New Orleans!

Here are last week's posts in case you missed any.  :)

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Triple Chocolate Stuffed Monkey Bread (with Milky Way Bites Centers!)

Oh. Em. Gee.  I'm not typically one for superlatives, but I have made the most delicious, gooey, chocolaty, creamy, and caramel-y monkey bread of my life.  It's so easy to prepare that you'll HAVE to make it immediately.  Honestly, I made it in practically no time, which is perfect for the tailgaiting parties that we're doing every Sunday (now that I'm into football).  And best of all, not only is the bread itself delish, there's a secret weapon inside...  Milky Way Bites!  And lucky you, I'm sharing the recipe AND a coupon for up to $2 off these bites that put the triple in my Triple Chocolate Stuffed Monkey Bread!

Really, it's the perfect dessert for game day because your guests can just pop off a piece and enjoy all of the deliciousness with just one hand.  If you don't want to include the sticky chocolate glaze (what's wrong with you?) because it might be too messy for your home (oh yeah...), then it is still ooey-gooey in the middle of each piece of monkey bread.

Really, don't hate me because there is the possibility that you might need to bake two: one for you, and one for your guests... and then let out your pants.  It's a good thing I sew!

Bon appetit!

Triple Chocolate Stuffed Monkey Bread (with Milky Way Bites Centers!)
A Vintage Zest original

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How to Regrow Green Onions!

If you didn't know by now, I'm a city slicker through and through.  It was only after college that I started to sew, craft, cook from scratch, and DIY things myself.  Thus, it is no wonder that I never learned how to grow fruits, veggies, or herbs, although now it is totally at the top of my list of things that I would love to learn.

Even though my mom has a great garden, I did not inherit her green thumb.  Also, it's only now that I'm older that she started growing all of her tomatoes and everything!  However, I have one advantage over her.  I love to recycle and will try to find a use for everything that I can!  Vegetable scraps become vegetable broth, destroyed camisoles become maxi dresses, etc.  Basically, I hate throwing things away that may one day have a use.  That's how this post came about!

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This is possibly my easiest tip ever and a great one to do with kids!  Learn how to regrow green onions lickety split!

On Instagram a couple of weeks back, I shared this picture with you.  It was a set of green onions that I placed in an old takeout container, growing some fresh green shoots!  Exciting!  How did I do this?

There really isn't too much of a process here, just a few tips to help you start growing!

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Weekly Wrap-Up: New Orleans, LA!

Honestly, I sat down to write this and got a little sad thinking about how I'm no longer in New Orleans.  It's probably my favorite city that I've travelled to as a tourist, and I feel like I could go back over and over again.  Bonus: it was Lil Miss' first time in New Orleans, so she'll be making an appearance.  :)

Here are a bunch of my favorite pictures in the city, with a little bit of my commentary in between.  Really, the pictures speak for themselves!!!


Precap (jump to):

• Sights:  Bourbon Street, Cemetery Tour, Garden District, Jackson Square, French Market, World War II Museum
• Eats:  Mother's Restaurant, Jacques Imo's, Cafe Beignet, Mother's Restaurant #2, Morning Call, Antoine's, Cafe du Monde, Meals From the Heart, Stella!, Cafe Adelaide

Hiya Lil Miss!

This was one of the clues in my crossword puzzle on the plane.  What a coincidence!

Welcomed to New Orleans (from my Instagram feed!)

First thing to do after checking in?  Eat a roast beef po' boy with debris and bread pudding at Mother's.  Getting it started off right...

Went for a little walk, then dinnertime came around quick!  We went to Jacques Imo's, which was cute inside and out!  They served us yummy cornbread (unlimited!) to start and baby spinach before the main event.

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Refashioned Pink Portrait Blouse (for the Refashioning the 1960s Challenge!)

Shame on me for being late, but I had a bit of a "trip hangover" and also forgot that we would be out of town through Monday, not Sunday.  Thus, the garment's photoshop needed to be pushed back until today.  Oops!

As you know from this post, I planned to refashion a large pink button-down shirt with swiss dots using the portrait blouse pattern from Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing.  After a lot of hemming (not literally) and hawing, I FINALLY dove in and got my garment done!.

Here is my Refashioned Pink Portrait Blouse!

This was a part of our Refashioning the 1960s Challenge and with this 1960's inspired pattern and starting materials, I think I did a pretty good job.  :)

First of all, I obviously turned the blouse around and reworked the shirt from there.  That means that I was left with a lovely row of buttons all along the back of the shirt!  I think it's lovely, and it made the construction much easier.  Of course, I still had some difficult items to contend with along the way, which I plan to share in a post about how to refashion garments.

As for the pattern itself, I found that it was easy to use, even though I was apprehensive about it.  I traced the pattern, for which I will share a tutorial some time next week.  It was my first time sewing tucks, which I think are very feminine and unique!  Here is a close-up of the dart, tuck, and the Swiss dot fabric.

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