I Love the Holidays
I just spent the last 45 minutes reading blog posts from the 2008 holiday season. I love that I can so easily reminisce with the help of my blog. I have the worst memory, so it’s nice to have events and holidays well documented and easy to access. 
As for 2009′s tree decorating extravaganza, Mal, Murphy, and I had a wonderful time. We listened to Christmas carols, baked cookies, and decorated the tree.
I love this photo of Mal! Isn’t my husband handsome? 
It was a lot more difficult to take a nice photo of my dog, however. 
I tried using all sorts of treats and toys to get him to sit still and look at the camera. No luck. I must have taken 20 photos and these were the best of the bunch!
Oh yea, our Christmas tree is easily 10 feet tall! 
Adorable husband + pug! 
Dinner
Mal and I shared leftovers from last night’s dinner at Ristorante Lucia. We also added a couple of side salads to the meal. It was a quick, minimal effort Sunday night dinner. Plus, both of us really wanted to skip right to dessert.
Dessert
Best holiday dessert ever: eggnog and sugar cookies!
I was in heaven tonight! It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!
Holiday Sugar Cookies
Makes approximately 20 cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 cup vanilla Nasoya Silken Style Creations
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- Sprinkles (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375*F.
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well until batter is blended evenly.
- Use a tablespoon to portion cookies on a greased baking sheet, approximately 1-2 inches apart. Decorate with sprinkles.
- Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes.
- Remove cookies from baking sheet and allow to cool on wire rack.
- Eat and enjoy!
12 Days of Giveaways
You have until tomorrow morning to enter these two giveaways!
I’ve got some GREAT giveaways planned for next week. I’m so excited!
Enjoy the evening, bloggies!
Memory Foam Mattress & Black Nightstands.
Karla — December 6, 2009 @ 8:55 pm
Your tree is so cute! And Murphy along side it makes it even better!
Interesting that your sugar cookies have Nasoya Silken Style Creations… does that affect the texture or taste at all?
Tina — December 6, 2009 @ 8:57 pm
@Karla: Yea, they taste great!
Jenny — December 6, 2009 @ 9:22 pm
oh my gosh that dog is adorable!
candice — December 6, 2009 @ 9:25 pm
Beautiful tree!!! We haven’t put ours up yet, but we’re hopefully getting a real one this year!
Those sugar cookies look so festive and yummy~
Lindsay Perrone (goodiesgalore) — December 6, 2009 @ 9:26 pm
Hold the phone, there’s tofu in these cookies!? Never would have thought. I cringe thinking about tofu in anything else but stir fries. Who am I to talk, tonight’s baked tofu turned into bite sized rocks. I should leave the cooking tips to you! Night.
Food Makes Fun Fuel — December 6, 2009 @ 9:26 pm
My dog is the same way with photos.
Such great holiday desserts! I wish I had some sugar cookies around the dorm. Then again, they would be around for long, haha
Jenna — December 6, 2009 @ 9:29 pm
yummm! i love sugar cookies and yours look great!
glad you had a nice sunday night!
jenna
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is — December 6, 2009 @ 9:33 pm
Gorgeous tree!
Jo Stockton — December 6, 2009 @ 9:37 pm
I’m feeling merrier just looking at your photos!
Maria (realfitmama) — December 6, 2009 @ 9:38 pm
Tina – the cookies look really good. My daughter has been begging me to buy the store bought, prepackaged, pop n bake CRAPPY kind, but now I can tell her that we are making our own! That should make her happy. Thanks for all the great recipes and for writing sucha great blog. I am officially addicted (like I wasn’t before!)
Kara — December 6, 2009 @ 9:39 pm
I am VERY excited for eggnog. I’m holding off for a while to build up the excitement. And your tree is just as gorgeous as I knew it would be!
Sam (Merit to the Carrot) — December 6, 2009 @ 9:43 pm
That is a dazzling tree, Tina! I love your pug, he is so darn cute.
And of course, nothing is more festive than egg nog & cookies! yumm
Erin — December 6, 2009 @ 9:45 pm
Everything look so festive and decorated for the holidays. It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Jenna — December 6, 2009 @ 9:46 pm
Looks like such a fun way to spend a Sunday evening. You three make such a cute little family
Jessica (A Fete For Food) — December 6, 2009 @ 9:49 pm
We put our tree up tonight too! I just caught our cat, affectionately named Spicy, drinking the water out of the tree stand. Ahh, pets.
BTW, Silk Nog is to die for. Not sure if that’s what you had, but I bought some today and it’s great!
amanda — December 6, 2009 @ 9:52 pm
Yummmm eggnog and cookies. What better way to spend the evening after decorating your tree. Which by the way, looks great!
Kristen — December 6, 2009 @ 9:58 pm
Will definitely have to try your sugar cookie recipe! I like the fact that it doesn’t have butter in it… But I don’t think sprinkles should be optional! They should be a must! The cookies look so yummy!
Brittany — December 6, 2009 @ 10:06 pm
I love having a blog for the same reason-being able to look up what I did a year or two ago… it’s awesome really.
That sugar cookie sounds delicious!
Mary :: A Merry Life — December 6, 2009 @ 10:10 pm
Mmmm,sugar cookies and holidays! How fun!! I love that my blog helps me look back at times. It’s nice to have a record of fun experiences. I love the pug pics, the little thing is so cute!
rebecca lustig — December 6, 2009 @ 10:11 pm
TOO cute… the pug, that is
hehe, joking!
I hope I’m able to reminisce through my blog in a year, wow I wonder what life will be like!
Have a restful evening!
bec xo
Carolyn — December 6, 2009 @ 10:11 pm
I am making sugar cookies as I write this. I think yours are probably a lot healthier. If I come upon any Nasoya Silken Creations I’ll give it a try. Mine had a TON of butter in them. Not that I care. I don’t really like sugar cookies. I just felt like making cookies. My co-workers are gonna enjoy the results!
Jennifer — December 6, 2009 @ 10:14 pm
Thanks for sharing the photos Tina, the tree, cookies and hubby all look wonderful! Murphy is so darn cute even when he refuses to pose. I have been reading your blog for around seven months now and really enjoy it, so much so that I have started my own! Again, thanks for sharing your world!
Allie — December 6, 2009 @ 10:28 pm
great cookie recipe. was the dough the correct consistency to be able to roll and cut shapes? thanks!!
Christy — December 6, 2009 @ 10:28 pm
Wow, cool recipe! I’ve never seen the vanilla tofu… How does that taste in the cookies? I want to find a recipe that is healthy yet tasty enough to fool my family
Lesley Lifting Life — December 6, 2009 @ 11:03 pm
Your tree looks great!
Emily — December 6, 2009 @ 11:14 pm
Adorable pup! And those cookies look AMAZING!
Brittany — December 6, 2009 @ 11:16 pm
I just love Murphy, he’s so stinkin’ CUTE!!! I HAD to say something about your lil pug ornament on your tree.. love it!
Cynthia (It All Changes) — December 6, 2009 @ 11:23 pm
I love holiday family traditions. Hunni and I are going to start a gingerbread man making tradition thanks to Mama Pea’s post
Ameena — December 6, 2009 @ 11:36 pm
The cookies look delicious as always!
avi — December 6, 2009 @ 11:39 pm
mal has a cute butt! JUST SAYIN’!
Jeanny — December 6, 2009 @ 11:55 pm
Your tree is so pretty! =) And I love your doggy! Hehehehe
And I’m really diggin’ the set-up of your living room… Very cozy and warm yet very modern and contemporary.
Lynn (The Actors Diet) — December 7, 2009 @ 1:30 am
i have a fake tree in my house and i’m wondering….is murphy tempted too pee on the tree?!
Ellen — December 7, 2009 @ 2:50 am
the key to taking photos of dogs (and kids) is to get on their level! nothing can replace moving your body when taking photos, and kneeling or squatting is the best way to capture small beings
it looks like you guys had a ton of fun! now i can’t wait to decorate some christmas cookies!
Amy — December 7, 2009 @ 2:54 am
Just made the cookies (yes, in an ‘I can’t sleep’ moment at 12:30 a.m.!), but I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk instead of soy, added 1/4 cup oats, and subbed 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for the all-purpose – - –
DELICIOUS, and so festive!
Amy — December 7, 2009 @ 2:55 am
and by ‘instead of soy,’ what my 1 a.m. brain REALLY means to say, is ‘instead of tofu!’
Hillary — December 7, 2009 @ 3:09 am
Just wanted to say I love your wall paint color =)
Shelley (Pink House) — December 7, 2009 @ 3:42 am
It looks like your Pug’s harness is getting a bit too small? Time to buy a new one? (I’m a softee for dog photos)
Tamzin — December 7, 2009 @ 7:01 am
You definitely do have a handsome husband, and boy do those cookies look good! x x
Tina — December 7, 2009 @ 7:25 am
@Lynn (The Actors Diet): Haha. No, he’s not.
Tina — December 7, 2009 @ 7:26 am
@Allie: You might have been able to, but it would have taken some work. It was pretty sticky. Maybe if you chilled it in the fridge for awhile first?
Tina — December 7, 2009 @ 7:26 am
@Shelley (Pink House): It’s actually too big for him. I think it’s just a bad photo.
Chelsea (Chelsea's Chew and Run Fun) — December 7, 2009 @ 7:58 am
I decorated the tree yesterday as well. It’s amazing how easily one can get wrapped up in the delightful cheesiness of the season! Your tree looks greatl, made even more adorable with lil’ ole Murphy pup posing next to it.
Man, even the leftovers from the restaurant look great. Yummmmm!
Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg — December 7, 2009 @ 9:14 am
Ha…I love how dogs KNOW when you want to take a picture and purposefully ignore the camera. Mine totally do that too.
Your tree is lovely!
Vera — December 7, 2009 @ 9:26 am
I like the picture of Murphy in front of the Christmas tree. He looks like a Christmas present there, he’s absolutely adorable!
Felicia (Bites of the Apple) — December 7, 2009 @ 9:37 am
The pictures of Murphy are adorable.
The only reason why we could take pictures of my dog by the Christmas tree is because she loved to sleep under it. So cute.
Bridget — December 7, 2009 @ 9:56 am
Awwww Murphy!!! We got our tree this weekend too!
LOVE IT!
Susan — December 7, 2009 @ 10:47 am
Your tree looks gorg and I love the family pics!
Ugh whenever you post your sugar cookie pics I salivate…okay TMI.
Kara — December 7, 2009 @ 11:13 am
I thought of you when I saw this on my google reader this morning
http://cuteoverload.com/2009/12/07/someones-got-a-case-of-the-mondays/
Amanda @ Cakes and Ale — December 7, 2009 @ 11:19 am
We put up our tree this weekend too… it makes me feel so festive!
I love eggnog, but we haven’t made our traditional version yet… it takes hours!
Emily — December 7, 2009 @ 11:42 am
I almost didn’t notice those sugar cookies were vegan! Awesome. I want to make them right now.
Lindsey @ Eat, Read, Run — December 7, 2009 @ 11:56 am
MMmmm eggnog and sugar cookies – what a comfort combo. We still need to put our tree up – we haven’t had the time, but I’ve decided it’s going up tonight (it’s fake).
Cait (Cait's Plate) — December 7, 2009 @ 12:10 pm
Oh what a fun night! My boyfriend and I listened to Christmas music while watching football. Haha. Not as fun as baking cookies and decorating a tree!
JavaChick — December 7, 2009 @ 12:20 pm
Now I want to bake sugar cookies!
We got our first snowfall on Saturday night and I was glad we didn’t have to go anywhere yesterday. Everything looks pretty, and I got to watch a couple of deer running around in the snow which was fun. I admit I wouldn’t be sad to see it all melt though – so messy for driving and walking on sidewalks! And my cats are not impressed.
Yasmin — December 7, 2009 @ 12:21 pm
Those pictures of Murphy totally made me LOL
Theorist — December 7, 2009 @ 2:37 pm
I am sooo going to try this recipe! Love the pic of Murphy by himself with the tree.LOL!
Tara — December 12, 2009 @ 9:46 pm
I just made these cookies — delicious! The only changed I made was 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of canola oil. I think i’m gonna use the leftover silken creations to make the silken yellow cake.