Snow, Snow, & More Snow

I'm pretty sure our chickens are just as fed up with all this snow as I am. They are also incredibly spoiled and won't come outside to free range unless I shovel paths for them. But then, I do shovel paths for them so what's that say about me? Ha!

I also introduced sunflower seeds as a treat for our chickens and it took them awhile to decide they liked them. Cacciatore was quite upset when I ran out (the new bag was left in the truck - and the hubby drove it to work.

Sunflower seeds have now been replaced and we got another 4" of snow...It's -4 here today and by Sunday it's supposed to hit 40. I usually don't mind the cold or the snow, but this year I am definitely ready for Spring!

Personalize Your Wardrobe

I absolutely love my Silhouette Cameo so I was super stoked when I got this email from Silhouette with a tutorial on how to personalize your wardrobe using fabric ink! It's fun. It's easy. And I can't wait to try it out!

Tools:

• Stencil vinyl 
• Transfer paper 
• A shirt
• Fabric ink 
• Iron
• A design from the Silhouette Design Store

Instructions:

1. Choose any design from the Silhouette Design Store (or one you already have in your collection).
2. Line the design up in Silhouette Studio® the way you want it to appear on the shirt.
3. Make sure to measure the shirt first to decide how big the overall design should be. 
4. Cut the design out of stencil vinyl. Make sure to leave 1–2 inches of vinyl around the design to keep the project clean from stray fabric ink.
5. Use the transfer paper that comes with the stencil vinyl to move the design to your shirt.
6. Apply the fabric ink and let dry.
7. Iron the design when it is dry to set the ink.

That's it!

Is It Spring Yet?!

It's that time of year around the homestead where we start planning our vegetable gardens.Yes, that's plural! I'll be taking over 3 of our flower gardens and converting them into vegetable and herb gardens - so excited! And we also start setting up for peeps!

(ignore all the muck, it's been a pretty messy winter here)

I'm trying to avoid buying peeps this year (although if I see any blue or green egg layers on sale, I may have to grab them) and instead I will be attempting to hatch out some pretty impressive Heinz 57 mixes from our brood. I'm expecting most of the eggs to be from our Cochin roo. We do have 2 roos that we kept from last season that are Buff x Barred mixes but they haven't quite figured out how to woo the ladies so I'm fairly certain they will all be from our Cochin, AJ.

Keep your fingers crossed that we have a good batch!

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

We have finally figure out somewhat of a schedule for us to function on. I really can't complain, he sleeps through the night and I usually have to wake him up to nurse - and he's only a month old! Anyway, I decided to make the family some yummy cookies since all it seems to do is snow or rain lately. I absolutely love this recipe because I'm a huge fan of soft, gooey cookies and these are absolutely delicious and super easy to make!

Ingredients

• ¾ cup Brown Sugar
• ¼ cup Sugar
• ½ cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter (softened)
• 1 – 3.4 oz Package Instant Chocolate Pudding
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Additional Egg Yolk
• 1 tsp Homemade Vanilla Extract
• 2½ cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• ¼ tsp Salt
• 1 cup 60% Cocoa Chips
• 1 cup Milk Chocolate Chips (or if you're like me, I ran out of chocolate chips but we have an overabundance of Hershey Kisses from the holidays, so I spent 20 mins cutting up Kisses - hahaha)

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugars together until smooth.
2. Add pudding, eggs, additional egg yolk and vanilla. Beat for about one minute on medium speed.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a ½ cup at a time and mix until combined.
5. Fold in chocolate chips.
6. Mold into a giant ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
7. Chill for at least two hours.
8. Scoop 1½ tablespoon sized scoops onto a nonstick baking sheet about two inches apart. I use this kind of scoop.
9. Bake at 350 F for 10-13 minutes