Runs on Coffee and Cream

2015 is almost over. This Friday is January 1st, which means a new year will be upon us. At the end of the year I enjoy looking back at what happened over the last 12 months - the good and bad. I like to see how I've grown, what mistakes I've learnt from, and how things have changed. From this I find inspiration for the new year. Motivation, inspiration, life lessons. I don't necessarily set goals for myself for the new year, but I do jot down ideas, dreams, and things I'd like to try during the upcoming year.

This is my list:

Baking

Baking is a huge passion of mine. I've definitely grown and become more adventurous but I have so many more ideas that I'm excited to start working on in 2016. I started a notebook a little over a month ago where I've been writing down all my ideas for treats. I'm beyond excited to start baking and decorating which is a really good thing. Though, I'll have a lot of sweets on hand, so please come over and eat some!



Crafts

This past year I attended a few new conventions and craft shows where I sold my products. I really enjoyed myself and did well at these events which means I'm planning on selling at these shows again in 2016. Because I was selling to a new crowd or at a different type of event, I made note of what was selling better than other things so I definitely have some ideas on how to properly stock for these shows next year.


Home

We worked on our house and yard a lot over this last year. But for the upcoming year we already have plans to paint 3 rooms and replace some of the flooring. It's super exciting for me because I've been itching to start on this process and it seems like it's finally going to be happening in the first half of the year. I cannot wait to have freshly painted walls where I can finally hang art and photographs.



Health

I'm starting off the new year having my carpal tunnel checked out. It scares me so much since I rely on my hands for everything I do and love. But I cannot keep waking up at night due to pain in my hand and pins and needles in my fingers that make me cry. I'm hoping getting this looked at will be the start of a positive and healthy year for me.

I also made fruitcake cookies for Adam since he's a big fan of them. I could do without them.


I consumed a decent amount of eggnog - plain and in coffee.


I squeezed in quite a few Christmas movies, but I had the most fun watching Home Alone and tweeting along with Rosa.


I spent a night watching Christmas movies and wrapping gifts. All of Adam's gifts got wrapped in this amazing Star Wars paper.


Animal Crossing: New Leaf was very festive this month. I'm so in love with the snow and colourful lights in the trees. I tried to play as much as I could. And as usual, Seymore always found a way to snuggle with me while I played.


How was December for you? Did you have a good holiday?
xo Jen

Christmas is two days away and I'm feeling pretty excited about it - all the family visits, eating yummy food, exchanging gifts with Adam, stockings... it's always a fun couple of days.

Now, if I could pick out my ideal Christmas Day outfit, all of these items would top my list!

A couple of weeks ago we had a nice evening in. We turned on the Christmas lights, put on Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and decorated our gingerbread house. It was a nice evening and I ended up with a great sugar high.  



 
We bought a smaller than normal gingerbread kit this year since we always have too many sweets during December. I was excited to find those gingerbread men gummies at the Bulk Barn to add to our house. But I can't figure out why they picked 'cookies and cream' as the flavour. Why not gingerbread?

It's insane we're now counting down the days until Christmas, and not weeks!
xo Jen

I have to share the most amazing and creative gingerbread creations I've ever seen. My fellow IGGPPC staff member, Rosa, is a whiz at gingerbread creations. Don't believe me? Take a look at some of her finished work. If you click on each title you can see more photos from these finished projects.

Hogsmeade at Christmas



Jurassic World



This Is Halloween



Crazy, right? Go and check out more of her gingerbread creations at Gingerbread Sagas.

xo Jen

December can be summarized in a few words: work, Christmas activities, kitty snuggles, Star Wars, and sleep. I guess add in 'sewing' during the first week before my last craft show. It's been a really busy month but with Christmas being my favourite holiday, I'm also finding comfort in holiday movies and activities whenever I can.

The Walking Dead captured my attention for a good chunk of the Fall and I'm sad we have to wait a couple months for it to be back on again.


I am so excited to own one of the Star Wars lipsticks from Covergirl. They pulled it from coming to Canada but I'm lucky to have some amazing U.S. friends that will send me American-only products.


How do you make Rice Krispie treats Christmasy? Add sprinkles!



Kitties snuggling bum to bum. They haven't snuggled together in a while but our basement is cold so when it happens, it's down there.


Add a Christmas tree and add instant coziness <3


How's December been treating you?
xo Jen

Gingerbread Biscotti:
2 cups and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
7 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons molasses
1 cup white chocolate chips


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease baking sheet.
2. Mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
3. In a different bowl, whisk together sugars, butter, eggs, vanilla, and molasses.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the the dry mixture. Add in white chocolate chips and combine.
5. On a floured surface, take half the dough and form it into a flattened brick. I try my best to flatten all the sides of the dough. I aim for a brick about 10" x 4" and an inch thick. Place this log on the baking sheet and do the same with the other half of dough.
6. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Place the biscotti bricks on a cutting board, and using a serrated knife, cut them into slices, approximately an inch thick, maybe a bit less.
7. Place the biscotti back on the baking sheet, cut side down. Bake for another 10 minutes. Flip each biscotti over so the other cut side is faced down. Bake for a final 8 minutes (or until golden brown). Let cool on a wire rack.


There was definitely a learning curve when I first started making biscotti. My first batch turned out more like scones. It was difficult finding an easy enough recipe and figuring out how to work the dough but after a couple of batches and recipes, I believe I've finally got it down.

Do you have a favourite biscotti recipe? I know not everyone is a fan of these crunchy cookies, but we enjoy them in this household.

xo Jen

You can find my other ginger recipes here:
Ginger Cookies
Gingerbread Cupcakes

So Christmas is less than two weeks away which is kind of crazy. I'm feeling the last minute stress to get things done on time - wrapping gifts, filling out Christmas cards, squeezing in as much baking as I can.

Star Wars

Not only do I have a big Christmas to-do list, but I also gave myself a to-watch list this month as well. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, comes out next week so we decided to rewatch all of the other Star Wars movies. We watched Episodes 1-3 over the last couple of weeks. I never realized how whiny and annoying Anakin is. But Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi definitely makes up for the creepiness of Anakin. Last night we watched 'A New Hope' and will be fitting in the last two movies during the upcoming week. I'm sure there's other households feeling the normal Christmas stress and excitement but also itching to finally see The Force Awakens. It's pulling my emotions and excitement in different directions!

I read a wide variety of comic books, but all the X-Men comic book series top my favourites list. However, I am loving some other titles and characters - DC Bombshells, Catwoman, Star Wars, and Spider-Gwen just to name a few.


I'm particularly fond of the Star Wars Jedi Cowl Dress, the R2-D2 teapot, and the X-Men cardigan. But all of these items are amazing. I still need a calendar for 2016 so I may have to look for the DC Bombshells one.

What would be on your comic book fandom wish list?
xo Jen

Every December there are a few things that I just have to squeeze in because they've become Christmas traditions. Some of these things are done with my family, some just with Adam, and some things are just for me. 

It's no secret that I'm a cat lady. I have two furbabies that I love more than I thought possible. Being a cat lady is like being apart of some not-so-secret club. If you meet a fellow cat lady it's like you're instant BFFs. You tell stories about your cats; the cute stories and the ones where your cat is being a total jerk. The reality is, once you're a cat lady, you're one for life.

I've been on a ginger recipe kick since I purchased a container of molasses recently. I had my parents up to visit a couple of weeks ago so I thought gingerbread cupcakes would be a fun and festive treat to make.

As usual, I manipulated a boxed cake mix for this recipe. It was super easy and the cupcakes, even without frosting, are so moist and yummy! I feel like if I threw some chocolate chips in the batter, it'd be a tasty muffin.


Gingerbread Cupcakes:
1 box of yellow or golden cake mix
1 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (or oil if you like)
1/4 cup molasses
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place cupcake liners in your muffin tray.
2. Mix all your ingredients together in a mixing bowl using a hand mixer. Mix for approximately 2 minutes.
3. Using a spoon or ladle, add cupcake batter to cupcake liners. Fill liners approximately 3/4 full.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until top is springy to the touch.
5. Let cupcakes cool completely.

Frosting:
Cream cheese frosting is sometimes recommended for gingerbread cakes but we're not huge fans of cream cheese frosting in our house so I stuck with buttercream.

I made a basic cinnamon buttercream using 1/2 cup butter, 4 cups of icing sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and teaspoons of water as needed to get the right consistency. I blend my buttercream in my stand-up mixer to prevent my hand mixer from over-heating.

I absolutely love how the cupcakes turned out. The cake itself has a bit of spice to it which is nice. I'm a fan of spicy gingerbread. But the sweet frosting definitely helps with the spice. I added white decorative sugar to the tops to add a bit of sparkle.


These cupcakes would be a hit for any holiday event! I will definitely make these again.

Are you a big fan of gingerbead?
xo Jen

You can find my other ginger recipe here:
Ginger Cookies