Knock Knock Blog

I love that Knock Knock has a blog now. Given the bizarre sense of humor that must be required to come up with their products, I hope it doesn't disappoint. I love their Personal Library Kits and think they'd be great for any bookworm for Christmas.

With checklist pads titled "Things You Do That Really Piss Me Off", "Don't Kill The Pets", and "Fashion Citation" you have to be at least a little curious.

Pumpkin Cookies

Kelly over at Buzzville just posted what sounds like a delicious pumpkin bar recipe and requested a pumpkin cookie recipe. So I shared mine. Fall has arrived and isn't shy about making itself known. The air is getting crisp and quite cold in the evenings here in Grand Forks, and the leaves are turning a creamy butternut squash color. So thanks to her post I'll be making pumpkin cookies this weekend.

Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients
Cookies:
1 c sugar
1 c canned pumpkin
1/2 c butter softened
1 Tbsp grated orange peel
2 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c golden raisins
1/2 c chopped nuts (your choice)

Glaze:
1/4 c butter
2 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 Tbsp milk

Cookies:
Preheat oven to 375
Cream sugar, pumpkin, butter and orange peel
Sift together dry ingredients
Add pumpkin mixture to dry ingredients and mix until blended
Fold in raisins and nuts
Drop by teaspoonful on ungreased cookie sheet
Bake for 8-10 minutes

Glaze:
Heat butter in saucepan until delicately brown
Stir in vanilla and powdered sugar (I sift mine into the pot to remove clumps)
Add milk until smooth
Dip cookie tops in, or drizzle on top.

*UPDATE* I've cross-posted this to Kitchen Comforts and will put any future recipe cooking type posts over there instead.

My niece would die, they are giving away a Dooney & Burke purse over at Pinks and Blues! I really need to update my blogroll. Maybe this afternoon...

Mixtapes...

One of the blogs that I read had a post recently referring to mixtapes. Which reminded me of a challenge, per se, that my sister put forth about a month ago. A friend of hers issued the challenge of creating a soundtrack to her life. My sister sent me her mixtape song choice compilation a few days after telling me about it. I've mulled it over off and on for about a month now and have chosen a few must have favorites. However, I still have quite a bit to choose. Mixtapes that go beyond a specific mood are always such a process for me.

So I'm just a bit curious now, what songs would you include as must have's on your life's soundtrack? Which approach would you take, a birth to current list of favorites? or songs that illustrate what you've gone through in life? pick favorite artists and find appropriate songs to fit, even if they aren't song favorites? or an entirely different approach?

I've got about half of my songs chosen, and I've been working on the rest this weekend. I'll post it when I have it done.