New Blog & Shop Announcement

Hi all!

Firstly, thank you so much for following Living with Annie! This blog was a wonderful project I undertook from 2009-2010 and an amazing experience.

I'm delighted to announce that I have begun a new blog and opened a new online store called anniemade.

When you have a moment, I invite you to visit and check us out! 

You'll find a lot of the same things you enjoyed about Living with Annie, just kicked up a notch with better photography and more DIY fun. And in our shop, you'll find thoughtful gifts for your loved ones.

Hope you come to visit and subscribe! And thanks again for all your support on this crazy journey of life. 

Find us online at
www.somethinganniemade.com

Facebook at
www.facebook.com/somethinganniemade

Pinterest at
www.pinterest.com/anniemadepins

Peeps and Up!

A Peep Diorama - I kid you not.

A real-life Up house!

The amazing folks at National Geographic have managed to float a house using balloons just like the movie, "Up!"

Check it out- pretty incredible stuff.
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2011/03/up-inspired_flying_house.html
http://blog.craftzine.com/NationalGeographicChannel7.jpg

New Wedding Blog - Planning with Annie

I'm very excited to announce I'll be shifting gears to a new blog all about wedding planning. Bridal magazines, beautiful blogs, crazy DIY ideas and more are dominating my mind these days so I figured I might as well share them with you. Hop on over if you're so inclined.

{http://planningwithannie.blogspot.com}

I'll still update LwA from time to time but for the next year or so- my heart's with my fiance and planning our big day! Here's hoping that Gus doesn't mind a year of intense crafting and ensuing craziness.

Too good to be true

Hi all,

Lately, I've had so much to celebrate and be grateful for in my life. This past weekend, I've become even more incredibly lucky.

For those of you who enjoy a great surprise proposal, I invite you to check out what I've been up to lately and the latest in my life via the video below!

Cookie Dough... Dip

Scientists have done many important things, admittedly, but their latest discovery is one I wish I'd thought of long ago - CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH DIP! All the great things about cookie dough - the texture, the flavor, the sinfulness - without all the health hazards of cookie dough - i.e. raw eggs and wheat flour (for Gus)!


I stumbled upon this recipe while perusing Tastespotting and made my own modifications. Create, enjoy, improve and mangia people! This is some deliciously awesome stuff.


Ingredients:
- 1 pkg of cream cheese (8 oz)
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup big granule white sugar (if you have it, otherwise increase powdered)
- 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) 
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Any additional mix-ins you'd like!


Directions:
1. Melt butter on medium-low heat in a skillet. Add brown sugar and stir until butter browns and has a nutty aroma (you're creating brown butter). 
2. Set butter and brown sugar aside to cool. Combine cream cheese and remaining white and powdered sugar.
3. Add butter/brown sugar mixture to the cream cheese mixture. Combine and add chocolate chips/any other mix-ins.
4. Serve with sliced granny smith apples, graham crackers, or even a bagel! Hey, it's basically Cookie dough cream cheese after all! Nom!

Om Nom Pumpkin Chip Cookies

Hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season! I've got a few treats in store including the news that I now have a blog-worthy DSLR camera to capture all my memorable moments.


For Christmas Day this year, we managed to make some pretty amazing and somewhat healthy (cough, cough) cookies that were both gluten-free and DELICIOUS. They're very cake-y and moist and stay that way for days on end! The pumpkin flavor isn't too overpowering either. I mixed cinnamon chips in half the batch, chocolate chunks from Ghiradelli in another. Om nom, indeed.

Here's the recipe if you guys want to make these- I've adapted it slightly from this one at All Recipes and it can be made gluten-free or with regular wheat flour. I didn't make the icing glaze- it didn't need it!
 
Another great thing to note- these cookie did not spread when I baked them! So feel free to shape em how you please and they won't get all thin and run into one another all sloppy like.

Happy Baking!

 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour mix that has xantham gum in it) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, softened 3/4 cup white sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, spice, and salt; set aside. 2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly. 3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.

1 cup canned pumpkin puree 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup of cinnamon chips or chocolate chips (your choice or mix-it-up!)