Sweet Saturday and Blog Awards!

Happy Saturday, my dear friends! :o) I hope your weekend is bursting with love and happiness.

Unfortunately I'm still working on my newest card, so I can't include it in this post. But I like posting yummy recipes for my Sweet Saturday feature, so once again it'll just need to be Cricut-less. Maybe one day I won't be the World's Pokiest Crafter. I shall keep hope alive! ;)

Before I post this week's treat, I need to answer a question about last week's gorgeous water fountain picture. Some of you asked where it was from, and if I wasn't in a post-concert haze for so long I would have answered. Oops. That gorgeous fountain is in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Funny town name, but one of my favorite cities in all of Michigan. It has the sweetest main street area (where this fountain bubbles about) and the biggest year-round Christmas store in the world. You know my love of Christmas... so I try to get there once every month or two. I absolutely love it! :o)

Now onto some goodies! Even when it's 100º outside, sometimes you still need to make a homemade treat... such was the case this week. It was an oven outside so I had no interest in turning on the oven inside. No-bakes to the rescue!

The perfect way to get a chocolate fix when it's too hot for anything lengthy or steamy. Plus they're fun to make if you have kiddos racing around the house... they just love baking these things. :o) Despite the ease, there still is conflicting tips out there regarding how to get the perfect no-bake cookie. So I'll tell you how mine reached this perfect texture. Boil for exactly one minute and do not start timing those sixty seconds until a rolling boil has been reached. If you start early and therefore don't boil it long enough, you get cookies that will not set and you'll be eating them with a spoon off of the parchment paper. If you boil too long, they get dry and crumbly. A few people are convinced you need to boil for five minutes... but I couldn't disagree more! These shouldn't be hard and crumbly. Creamy, delicious, and chewy is how these beauties were intended... and I've found that this is reached with one minute of boiling. :o) (And be sure to use quick-cooking oats!)

Also, if you're already a fan of these cookies, you might think mine are a little dark. There is a reason for that. I'm *serious* about my chocolate... so I used European Dutch-Processed cocoa powder, as opposed to regular cocoa powder. I wanted the richer, deeper chocolate flavor this time around. It was absolutely delicious and I'll certainly be making it that way from now on, as long as I have some on hand. :o)

No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Oatmeal Cookies
Yield: 2 to 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
½ cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa powder (I use Dutch-Processed, but regular works beautifully too)
½ cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups quick-cooking oats

Directions:
Add the first four ingredients to a 4-quart saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to a rolling boil. Stop stirring and let boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth, then stir in the oats. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto wax paper. Let cool until set.

Source: Barely adapted from Brown Eyed Baker


And now for some long overdue blog award thanks! :o)  You girls spoil me something silly and I am so grateful and honored that you thought of me. Everyone who passed these on to me has such a creative spirit and their blogs are just bursting with all things beautiful. I encourage you to check out each and every one of them... you will leave their sites full of inspiration and joy, just like I always do. :o) I was so excited to receive them and am still beyond thrilled, despite not having time until now to post this. Thank you girls so much... you made my heart ultra sparkly! :o)

I am so honored to have received the Best Friend Blogger Award from Lisa of A Mermaid's Crafts and Amy of Redheaded Crafter! Thank you both, from the bottom of my heart. What's blogging without making sweet friends along the way? This means so much to me! :o)

I am so ecstatic to have received the Cricut-tastic Award from Sabrina of Scrappin' with Sabrina and Amy of Redheaded Crafter! You both have such fabulous crafty blogs and I'm so excited that you thought of me for this lovely award. :o)

Okay, how adorable is this sweet award?! I'm a lover of all things cute, so I'm tickled pink to have received the Stinkin' Cute Blog Award from five incredible ladies. How could I not be glowing at being thought of as having a cute blog? I'm thrilled! :o) Thank you to the following sweethearts:
Amy of Redheaded Crafter
Lisa of A Mermaid's Crafts
Nita of Nita Notes
Pam of Crafty Cards 4 u 2
Tiffany of Sparkled Memories

The rules for the Best Friend Blogger award are to tell something about myself, pass it along, thank the person who gave it to you (thank you again, Lisa and Amy!), and pass it along to at least 5 friends.

Something about myself is that I absolutely love New York City! I haven't been there in far too long, but some of my favorite (and long-lasting) memories are from there. You just can't beat the overwhelming plethora of artistic brilliance, in so many forms. From Broadway plays and musicals to flawless dancing at Lincoln Center to the incredible museums, I can't help but feel at home when in NYC. Not to mention the beauty that is Central Park and the countless fabulous places to dine. The city just has an energy all its own and I love it. :o)

The rules for the Cricut-tastic award are as follows:
* Your Blog has been deemed as Cricut-tastic!
* Wear this badge proudly on your Blog. Share it with friends! Since Cricut is 5 years old and they have an E2 out, share this award with 10 people who you think have Cricut-tastic blogs!
* Tell 5 Cricut related things about yourself.

Here we go!
1. I received my cricut in April from my super sweet boyfriend. I sometimes still can't believe it!
2. My favorite cartridges are Elegant Edges and Create a Critter. I don't really know how CAC will ever be topped!
3. I'll soon be decorating my Cricut with sparkles to make it a bit more personalized... plus it's an excuse to use more sparkles.
4. I don't yet have a Gypsy... but I am craving one something fierce.
5. When I'm out and about and see something I particularly like, I find myself thinking, "Can I Cricut that?" It makes me giggle. Hehe!

The rules for the Stinkin' Cute award are that there are no rules! Just pass it along. :o)

Thank you all so much, once again! I'm passing along all three awards to the following fabulous crafters! Not to make it simpler or quicker, but because every individual creates beautiful projects, has cute blogs, and has hearts of pure gold and give so much support to their bloggy friends. :o) I encourage you to visit them and show some love. :o)

Amy of Redheaded Crafter
Candace of My Passion 4 Scrappin
Catarina of Docerela Creations
Karen of Crafted With Love By Karen
Lisa of A Mermaid's Crafts
Nita of Nita Notes
Pam of Crafty Cards 4 u 2
Sabrina of Scrappin' with Sabrina
Shen of My Curious Crafts
Tiffany of Sparkled Memories

Thank you so much for dropping by today, friends! I wish I'd had a card for you. Have a beautiful evening, with lots of smiles. :o)