I was hoping to get my 19-Week update posted yesterday, but on the way home from Washington DC this weekend, and our flight back got delayed because of snow and ice, and by the time we got home from the airport, all I could do was eat pizza and fall asleep. SO I’ll try to get it up tomorrow instead!
We had a blast, but I am thrilled to be back in Texas for the rest of the holiday season! Depending on whether I go to NYFW in February (which will mainly be up to my doctor), this could be our last real pre-baby trip! We’re sticking close to home for the holidays, and I’m excited to show my parents the joys of a seventy-two degree Christmas.
And speaking of the holidays, this was my Thanksgiving outfit! We kept it pretty casual this year, so I went with this faux fur vest from Juicy Couture from two holiday seasons ago (seen on Sugarlaws here — an oldie!), and this amazing striped-and-sequin LOFT top from this summer (last seen here)! About 10% of the items in my closet currently fit me, so I’m always excited to find some cute options!
And a word on this necklace — it was sent to me by the lovely girls at Dogeared Jewelry, who suggested that I pick out a letter in honor of our future son’s name! I’m not telling yet what the “B” stands for, so for now, just pretend it’s Baby Boy!
You guys, I don’t know where this fall went — it seemed like I blinked and it was suddenly mid-December! As of today, I’m in the second half of my pregnancy — how did that happen? — and I find myself thinking more about how our lives are going to change this April than ever.
On the other hand, whenever I get nervous, there’s an eleven-week-old puppy to distract me, or a new case or client to focus on! In some ways, it’s kind of exciting to have everything change all at once — you can’t get too bogged down in any one detail, because there are a hundred others demanding your attention at every given moment! (Kind of good practice for having a baby, right?)
I’ve been living in leggings this fall — the elastic waistband is basically my new best friend. And I actually bought this sweater for February Fashion Week, and then got really bummed because sweater-weather is largely over in Houston by February, so I didn’t get as much use out of it as I wanted to! Fortunately, I’m breaking it out nice and early this winter, and look forward to wearing it to death!
So, I don’t want to sound all melodramatic or anything, but here is the deal.
These are the BEST. HOLIDAY. COOKIE. EVER.
Seriously, I kid you not. When it comes to baking, I love the classics. There’s nothing better than those recipes that you make year after year, party after party, because they’re just so delicious that you can’t imagine the holidays without them. Which is exactly these: the perfect, gooey sugar cookie, topped with some melty, chocolatey M&Ms.
And even cuter: these custom holiday MY M&M’s designs! You can create your own custom designs on MyMMs.com — in keeping with the classic theme of these cookies, I went with the quintessential holiday picks, red, green and white, with little snowmen and Happy Holidays messages! But I’ll be repeating this recipe with little blue and white ones when the new baby comes along (you can order those too)!
MY M&M’s Holiday Cookies
INGREDIENTS
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cups personalized MY M&M’s
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, mix the sugar, eggs, shortening, and vanilla. Add flour, salt, and baking soda to the creamed mixture and blend until smooth.
Drop dough by teaspoonful onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or silipat. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 9 minutes. When the cookies are out of the oven, but before they’ve cooled, gently press three M&Ms into the top of each cookie. Serve!
