If I Dream It...

The holidays are nearing and I don't know about you - but with all the gift giving, I like to be able to  give and still make at least a little difference in the world. There are a ton of charities out there and a lot of neat sites that allow you to "donate a chicken" or "buy seeds" or something like that. But if you're feeling the need to buy something tangible for a person other than a donation in their name, there also are lots of sites that offer gifts that give back. This is what I chose to do for the daughter of a few friends of mine. You see, she's a very mature and thoughtful little girl - for her birthday this year, she asked everyone to make donations to a certain charity instead of getting her gifts. So what unique gift could I find for such a thoughtful little girl? Find something neat that also gives back :)   So I searched and searched and am happy to report I think I found a few things that she'll love. However, I figured it

What do I do when I want dessert but don't want to take a lot of time? I grab a box of cake mix and make cookies :) Simple and sweet... and usually prepped and baked in less than 30 minutes. Not to mention - the endless flavor possibilities... the flexibility allows me to take care of any craving I may have. I usually always have cake mix in the pantry - not usually for cakes (surprisingly I prefer those from scratch), but things like cookies and other yummy sweets. I buy random flavors when they're on sale for $1 a box and then when I've got a craving I pick a box and figure out what I want to do with it. Last time I talked about cake mix cookies , I shared a few different types of cake mix cookies... today, I'm sharing a few different flavor profiles. They're simple and quick cookie creations. And they all use the basic ingredients to make the cake mix into cookies, so there is a bit of repetition for each... White Chocolate Coconut Lemon Cookies 1

So for the longest time I've been admiring all the amazing jello shots online - they get so creative, so pretty, and look soooooo good!! And I finally broke and decided it was time to try making some of my own :) They're not gorgeous or amazing - simply my first attempt... some day I will try them again. See if I can make the fancy ones... but these were still good. A few surprisingly strong. However, I must admit I got a little over zealous this time around. Made way too many... But they were still pretty good :) So here were my fun jello shot creations... In the order I made them... Strawberry Pineapple Jello Shots 3          oz      Strawberry Jello 1 1/4    tsp     Unflavored Gelatine 1          Cup   Boiling Water 1 1/4    Cup   Chilled Coconut Rum (divided) 1 1/4    Cup   Pineapple Juice (divided) In medium bowl mix strawberry jello with boiling water until jello is completely dissolved. Mix in 1 cup chilled coconut rum and pour into your baking dish.