Easy Treats...

We have been busy with lots of parties and gift making...

(This year we did a White Elephant/Yankee Swap gift exchange... and some interesting gifts showed up!)

And I just wanted to share a few very easy treats that are yummy to keep for yourself or give as a gift!

These are Oreo Truffles, and a few of my friends have re-named them "Christmas in your mouth!"

You can find the recipe HERE

We are also making lots of Hot Chocolate to give away as gifts.

You can find the recipe HERE

We altered the mix slightly by grounding a 70% Lindt Dark Chocolate bar in the food processor and added it to the rest of the mix.  Our jars and gift tags are from IKEA.

That's the way the cookie crumbles...

When my mom had her accident several months ago, a friend had made her yummy Madeleine cookies.  Unfortunately, my mom's mouth was too sore to eat anything that wasn't the consistency of mashed potatoes or applesauce~ so that meant that I had to eat them. Torture I tell you!  :)

After my mom was all healed, I was still thinking about those Madeleines.  I asked her if she could ask our friend for the recipe.  Not only did she get me the recipe, she also sent me the special pans that you need to make them.  My momma takes good care of me!

So this morning I was all ready to make the cookies.  I had browned my butter, made cake flour and greased up my new pans.

Well, here are my sweet Madeleines...

THEY ALL STUCK TO THE PANS!  NOT ONE TURNED OUT! UGH... 

(I only greased the pan and did not also flour it like the directions had said to do...lesson learned)

I wasn't about to let these "crumbs" go to waste, so I googled "What to do with cookie crumbs" and this idiom

popped up...

"That's the way the cookie crumbles...something that you say which means that bad things sometimes happen and there is nothing you can do to prevent it, so it is not worth becoming upset about it!"


Wish I could say that I didn't get upset about spending my entire morning for what seemed like nothing...but I redeemed these crumbs by adding them to the top of  ::

CRANBERRY BLISS BARS
(Recipe can be found at www.thegirlwhoateeverything.com)

Redeemed.

Tis the Season...

Tis the Season for all sorts of good things...

For decorating the tree
For Advent Calendars

For sending and receiving Christmas cards...we keep all the photo cards from years past too!

For Kiachl (sort of like a funnel cake- served with powdered sugar, marmalade or sauerkraut)

For Baking

For Clementines

For PHOTO CHALLENGES

And for making Caramels

But most importantly, celebrating the real reason for the Season!

What special things do you do to get ready for Christmas and/or enjoy doing during the Holidays?

Here are a few more ideas that I found on Pinterest...
Perfect gift for your neighbors
THESE are so cute
THIS looks like a fun book
and a Yummy Dessert for a Christmas Party

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

We have been in the States for the last 2 Christmases... (Beech Mountain 2010 and 2011)
so we were very excited to get a tree up in our apartment this year!  When we moved to Vienna 5 years ago, it was hard to find a Christmas tree until the first week of December- but this year we found one right after Thanksgiving!  Here we all are carrying the tree from the car- and since it was so tall, it didn't fit in our tiny elevator, so we had to carry it up to the 5th floor ;)

It's always fun hanging our ornaments that have photos or that the kids made.  We even have a few from when Brad was just a little tike!  Too cute.

Here is the finished tree...

Prepping for the holidays...

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is almost here already!  I have "started" Christmas shopping and even got our Christmas cards ordered...still, I feel the days are flying by as I try to prep for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and not fall too behind!

Yesterday, I posted this picture of Pumpkin Squares on my Instagram account (I am viennahunters if you want to follow me) and a few of you said you wanted the recipe...so HERE it is!  It is one of my favorite things to make for Thanksgiving (and way better than plain ol pumpkin pie)

Here are some other recipes that I like to make for Thanksgiving as well...
Sweet Potato Casserole, Aunt Cheryl's Wine Cranberry Mold, and Chocolate- Pecan Pie

What are some of your favorite recipes for Thanksgiving?  Do Share! :)

Fall Break...Bled, Slovenia

There are many great things about living in Europe- but one of the major benefits is being able to easily travel to other countries.  Austria borders 8 countries, so traveling to another country here is like traveling to another state in the US.  We had a few free days over Fall Break, so we decided to travel to Slovenia.

We stayed in a small town right outside of Bled.  This was a view from the farmhouse we stayed in.

The kids loved playing soccer out on the lawn and exploring nature

The views were pretty spectacular...

The kids loved exploring the castle grounds and trying their hands at ax throwing and archery

We also all enjoyed some traditional creme cake... Delicious!

It was a fun trip for the family- with lots of beautiful sites to see, very nice people and yummy treats!

New...

Sign ::  We have been in our new facility since July, but we just got our new sign up out front.  Looks good right! (Thanks Daniel!)

An Open House :: Last Sunday, we had an Open House to invite our friends and neighbors to come and check out our new facility.  Unfortunately, I didn't get one photo from the evening, but there were so many people there to support us, that I wouldn't of had time to snap any shots anyway!  We were so encouraged by the turnout and thankful for everyone's willingness to serve and bring food.

Haircut ::  I am not good about keeping up with my hair.  My last haircut before today was in May, when I was back in the States to check in on my mom.  I needed to find a good stylist and I think I finally found someone!   She is a young woman who grew up in Vienna, but she is of Scottish/Persian descent.  Her English had the coolest accent, and it really was fun hearing parts of her story as a third culture kid.  And the best thing is, she gave me a great haircut and color!  Hooray for the little things :)

Pumpkin recipe ::  This recipe for Pumpkin Crumb Cake I found on Pinterest, after my friend Melissa pinned it.  It is a new favorite for sure!

Books ::  I just received some new books that I can't wait to start reading over our Fall Break!
 Interrupted, by Jen Hatmaker
Perfectly Unique, by Annie F. Downs
Graceful, by Emily P. Freeman
                                                                   

Recent Days...

:: We took a day trip to Salzburg to visit with one of Brad's college roommates
:: Our bosses came to Vienna for a few days of meetings
:: My mom sent doughnut pans and we made THESE
:: Luke and Abby have had LOTS of soccer games
:: We have had our share of candy corn and peanuts...salty and sweet is a fantastic combo
:: Abby is in the middle school musical, and has been singing around the house non-stop :)

Salad that 2 of my kiddos will eat...

This is a delicious salad that 2 of my kiddos will eat! (2 out of 3 is success in my book)

It is called  Chinese Cabbage Salad and you can find the recipe HERE
I also grate a few carrots and add them to the cabbage and green onions, and I usually serve it with some Honey Teriyaki Chicken

Enjoy!

Apfel-Hof...

Every Fall for the last 4 years, our church family and friends go to Apfel-Hof!  It is a wonderful time of picking apples, roasting meats and potatoes, tractor rides, pumpkin-pickin, s'mores makin and just plain FUN!

I'll let the photos tell the stories of the fun we have had over the years...

Click on the year to see more photos...
2012
2011
2010 (I don't have photos of this year, as we were in the States- but I know fun was had :)
2009