Chocolate Snowball Cookies
an easy and delicious Christmas cookie with just the right amount of chocolate
I love a good Christmas cookie exchange! TCHO Chocolate sent me some of their delicious chocolate yesterday, so here's my contribution to the #TCHOCookieExchange -- a virtual celebration of the taste of the season! Just don’t eat these powdered sugar confections while wearing black!
This is my own chocolatey version of a Snowball, but instead of a chocolate surprise in the center, the whole cookie is chocolately-delicious. We jokingly called them "Dirty Snowballs" today while we sampled them -- but the name might stick!
𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀
Makes 36 cookies
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
2 t. vanilla extract
1 3/4 c. flour
2 c. chopped pecans
1/4 c. TCHO unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 c. TCHO drinking chocolate crumbles
1/2 t. salt
Powdered sugar
1. Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl until it is well-mixed. Cover tightly and chill for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 325° F.
2. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or baking mats.
3. Remove dough from the refrigerator. Roll dough into uniform balls of about 1 tablespoon full each. I use a 1 T. measuring spoon to make the balls even. Place balls on prepared cookie sheets evenly spaced apart — about 2 inches.
4. Bake for 12 minutes. Immediately transfer balls to cooling racks.
5. When cooled, fill a small bowl with powdered sugar. Roll each ball in the sugar to coat. You could mix in a few tablespoons full of cocoa powder for even more chocolate deliciousness!
Enjoy these with a little TCHO Drinking Chocolate — they are perfect dipped into the thick chocolate drink!
TCHO Drinking Chocolate
(much like a thick Mexican hot chocolate)
6 tablespoons boiling water
6 tablespoons TCHO Drinking Chocolate Crumbles
Boil the water in a small pan on the stove. When it is boiling, slowly add the TCHO Drinking Chocolate Crumbles while whisking swiftly with a small whisk or a handheld milk frother (my favorite). The boiling water melts the chocolate perfectly!
Serve in espresso cups.
The Nice List 2020: Three Ways to Plan!
This year we have three ways to use The Nice List and get organized for Christmas — plus stickers!
three ways to plan your holiday season this year!
Plus stickers!
So many of you have bought The Nice List over the years, and for that I am so very thankful! I hope The Nice List has become part of your holiday season -- bringing a little order and sanity to a crazy time.
I have been sitting on so many fun secrets this fall, and it is finally time to reveal it all! With the COVID-19 pandemic and all of the challenges of 2020, there have been some changes to The Nice List, but I think these changes will make planning for the holidays even more fun, creative, and simple.
The biggest secret of the year: there are THREE ways to use The Nice List this year! And everything is for sale NOW!
Three Christmas Planners for 2020
Announcing The Nice List Digital Planner!
Holly Kennedy, my graphic design partner-in-crime (@messymamaholly), and I are so excited to announce The Nice List Digital Planner -- a whole new way to make a list and check it twice! The Nice List Digital Planner works on your tablet or computer and is designed to be used with GoodNotes or Noteshelf. Equipped with all of the goodness of the paper version of The Nice List, The Nice List Digital Planner includes pages which can be duplicated and rearranged making the planner customizable and very easy to use.
Available in two different color schemes, the design is clean and cheerful with plenty of room for digital stickers, notes, photographs, and anything else you may want to add. Oh, and we also have digital sticker sets -- read on!
The Nice List PDF: A Christmas Printable Planner
As we have in the past, we are also offering The Nice List 2020 in a printable PDF format. This option is great for those of you who already have a planner system you love or who prefer using a binder. Perhaps you need larger print? Or you really like to customize your planning? Well, this is the version for you!
Both the Digital and Printable PDF versions are updated with some pandemic-specific ideas and tools as well as room for individualizing and personalizing your planning which makes it all even more fun!
The Nice List: the Original Christmas Planner
Maybe you are a paper planner person and love the paper version. Fear not! Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were not able to source the paper versions of The Nice List this year, but we have a limited supply of 2018 and 2019 books which we are selling at a deep discount just for the paper enthusiasts. Adjust the dates on the calendar pages, and you’ll be ready to go. Choose from a red cover or green cover.
But wait! There’s more!
Christmas Planner Stickers
Announcing The Nice List Sticker Shop!
We can’t introduce a digital planner without digital stickers! So we are launching two amazing sets of digital stickers with artwork by Holly Kennedy and Jone Hallmark to make your digital planning all the more festive. If you haven’t used digital stickers before, they are super easy and fun as you plan in GoodNotes or Noteshelf. Using these stickers, you can decorate any page as you like and use the reminder stickers and planning stickers to make your pages even more functional as well as festive. Each sticker set includes three pages of stickers which can be used over and over again in any digital planner -- not just The Nice List.
Coming soon: printed planning stickers & vinyl stickers!
In just a few weeks we will have planner stickers and vinyl stickers available for purchase as well. Stickers for everyone! Stay tuned for that fun announcement, too!
So no matter how you decide to plan this holiday season, we have you covered!
Additionally, the 2020 Nice List Thoughtful Giving Guide will be coming soon with gift suggestions for everyone on your list -- and a whole list of pandemic-specific ideas for making your holidays even better during this strange time.
Questions? Just ask!
Until then, be safe, and wear a mask!
XO
Angela
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The One Room Challenge Begins!
Exciting news! The Fall 2020 One Room Challenge has begun! Check out all of the details!
You can get all the details on the One Room Challenge and my projects here:
I hope you will stop by!
XOXO
A
Hello, Fall!
Fall is my favorite season! Check out the projects and ideas I have for this coziest of seasons!
Friends,
It’s been a minute — or a month! I hope you are well and are staying safe wherever you are. If you are new here, and there are a bunch of you, WELCOME! I don’t email often, and I always try to make it worth your time to read. So, thanks for following along, and always feel free to ask questions!
My favorite season is here! We are still staying home and staying safe — that’s not going to change for a long time. We have spent the last six months or so living outside. It has been truly wonderful, actually. A few weeks ago on Instagram, I did a look back on all the projects we have taken on this summer. It was eye-opening!
Here are some of our summer highlights:
We did four major backyard construction projects this summer: putting in a Stock Tank Pool, building a stage with a screen, putting a tree house in our Maple tree, and building a deck off of the workshop.
This was also the first summer that I have truly gardened in this house. We put in a vegetable garden — my first successful veggie garden ever! And I have had cut flowers all summer long which makes me incredibly happy. We even saved the garden from our freakish cold snap and SNOW at the beginning of September. Oh, Colorado! You always keep us guessing!
During this pandemic period, I have also taken up embroidery — it keeps me from doomscrolling at night! I’ve done several patterns and ventured out into creating my own free-form patterns, too.
Now it is time to celebrate Fall and bring the beauty of the season into our home! I have lots of easy, DIY fall projects that don’t require leaving the house — or even spending much money at all.
I didn’t spend any money to decorate this year. I used some old books, feathers, and paper grocery bags. Seriously. Click the link to see what came together!
DIY Fall Decorating Ideas
If you or someone you know is struggling with school at home, don’t forget I put together some tips and ideas to help make that a little easier. It isn’t perfect, but our school at home experience is SO MUCH BETTER than last spring! I hope you feel the same!
Successful School at Home
And finally, I am getting ready for the Fall 2020 One Room Challenge! It starts on October 7 which is somehow NEXT WEEK! Yikes!
The One Room Challenge is a super-fun event where hundreds of people around the world commit to truly finishing one room in their home over six weeks. Some people are very ambitious and gut and redo kitchens or bathrooms. Others tackle those rooms that just never seem to take shape or style without a real deadline. There are designers and professionals as well as DIY’ers — and everything in between — who participate. It is a ton of fun!
Next week I’ll be able to tell you what I am taking on. I have some really fun projects planned for this round, and I know there will be lots of people doing amazing work.
Until then, check out my rooms from the 2019 ORCs. I love doing this — and actually finishing a room in my house!
Stay safe! Stay home and wear a mask!
Cheers!
Angela
DIY Workroom Makeover
Fall 2019 One Room Challenge
DIY Guest
Room Refresh
Spring 2019 One Room Challenge
Ah, the End of Summer!
Tips for at-home learning, a tutorial for comfortable face masks, and more!
Hello, friends! Here we are at the end of August. It’s a bittersweet time made more so by the fact that we are in the midst of a pandemic.
Many of you have children and teens in your life: children, grandchildren, friends. Those children are headed back to school in one form or another — and it is likely they will have a very disrupted year this year. So I offer these words as a former teacher and now parent: it is ok that this year is different. To expect anything else just isn’t fair to anyone. It is different, and we must bend, adjust, and adapt accordingly. It isn’t going to be easy, but we can do it.
And to all of you teachers out there: I am thinking of you and praying for you. This isn’t the career you imagined, I know.
As for us: we will be doing school at home, online, for the foreseeable future. I’m comfortable with this and hope it will be a good experience for Bambino. With that in mind, I have created a range of resources for families doing school at home. Whether your children start out at home or transition to at-home learning, I hope these resources will be helpful for the children and families in your life.
And since kids of all ages, and adults, too, need comfortable face masks, here’s my face mask guide as well as a video tutorial on how to make any face mask more comfortable for all-day wear.
Be safe out there, friends! I hope you are well! Wear a mask, stay home, and take care of yourself!
Hugs!
Angela
Make Any Face Mask More Comfortable
Make any face mask more comfortable with this easy, no-sew hack! All you need is elastic!
Great for Kids at School | Keep Any Face Mask on All Day
Simple no-sew tutorial to convert face masks with ear loops into a mask that will stay on and is much more comfortable.
For anyone who is looking for a comfortable way to wear a face mask for a long time: here's a quick fix solution. In our family, we can’t stand ear loops, and personally I can't imagine a whole classroom of kids with ear loops constantly coming off! So here's an easy no-sew solution to convert the ear loops using elastic. We all wear masks like this, and they are quite comfortable!
I hope this is helpful for you and your family! It’s so important that we all wear face masks to slow the spread of COVID-19, and making them as comfortable as possible makes this even easier!
Be safe!
Angela
Some other posts you might enjoy:
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School Supplies for School at Home
School at home is a new experience for us all! Check out this list of school supplies to make sure your children have what they need at home to start the school year off right!
It’s almost time for school again, and as many of us face school from home, lots of people are asking: what do I need to buy for my kids? Your school may send home a supply list. If so: buy the supplies! Being prepared for school is important, and during a pandemic we need to limit our trips to the store for that last forgotten item as much as possible!
If your school has not provided a supply list, however, here are the standard supplies we keep around the house for school work and creative activities, too.
For more on organizing your school supplies and doing school successfully at home, click this link:
Planners
I am a big believer in a good planner. Planning work and tracking progress can be the difference between success and struggle. For parents, tracking the work and expectations for one child or several can be a bit overwhelming. I turned to the Whaley Planbook to track Bambino’s assignments. It is simple, straightforward, and inexpensive. It can be used for multiple students — or just one. For middle and high school students who can learn to do their own planning, I like the Passion Planner. This is the planner I use in my daily life, but there is an Academic edition which is perfect for older students.
For more on planners, how to use them, and my favorite planner tools, check out this link:
All Ages
These are the supplies we keep in the house for school and other projects. Your school may have previously supplied a lot of these things, so keeping them on hand and organized can help make school a lot smoother at home.
Elementary School
Many of these items may have been supplied by your child’s school. They may expect you to have these things at home to complete assignments.
Middle & High School
Depending on you child’s school requirements, they may ask for more specialized items. But this is a good general starting place for middle and high school grades.
However you and your family are embarking on school for the year, I wish you all the best. Remember, it can’t possibly all be the same, so give yourself and your child some grace as you begin this unprecedented voyage.
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The Best Pool Toys for a Stock Tank Pool
We have all the best toys! Here’s what we love to play with in our stock tank pool!
Stock tank pools are smaller than a standard pool. On our first day of stock tanking, we watched Bambino playing with his favorite pool float and realized it was just too big to be safe! So I’ve rounded up a few of our favorite toys for our smaller pool — think smaller kids toys and creative play.
This post is part of a whole series on building your own stock tank pool. Find it all here:
Smaller Inflatables
There are so many fun inflatables out there, now! And you just have to hunt a bit for the smaller sizes which are both fun and safe in a stock tank pool.
I love the rainbow drink holder. Don’t just think of it as a drink holder! It makes a great place for other toys to float and to play. Ours is often inhabited by dinosaurs! And the inflatable llama is filled with glitter which is super-fun!
Games
At just about 2 feet deep, a stock tank pool is still plenty big for games and play. These diving gems are great — especially for little ones learning to go under water. Bambino received a basketball hoop for his birthday, and epic games have ensued. And who doesn’t like a good squirter fight!
Bath Toys in the Pool
We moved a bunch of our bath toys outside to the pool. They are a great size, and they open up a lot of imaginative play possibilities. The pool is like a giant bath tub! Even older kids rediscover the fun of their smaller toys in a new and different context. The Munchkin Ocean Squirts are a favorite in our house!
Whether you are buying toys for your own pool or as a gift for someone else, remember that in a stock tank pool, smaller is safer. But there’s a ton of fun play to be done!
Maybe don’t put ALL of the toys in the pool at the same time!
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Order Now!
a review of the new My Sutro pool monitor