“Bonk! Bonk!”

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Okay. I had to fit those words in somehow. I cannot recall a time I have ever actually said those words before this week. My husband and I were laying in bed after the kids had gone to school (I selfishly love his crazy hours). And he proceeded to tickle me. I think I scared him silly when to get him to stop, I started yelling, “Bonk!” But it sounded more like a “honk” from a semi-truck being blasted through the horn of a fifty year old bouncer at the end of a long shift guarding the door to a room full of frogs that he had spent years trying to imitate.

Tickle.

“BONK!”

Tickle.

“BONK!”

Tickle.

“BONK!”

It was at this point that one of us erupted into a fit of laughter. And for the first time in history, it wasn’t the person being tickled.

“I think you broke my laugh box,” he said to me.

“Yea, well, that’ll teach you.”

Teach him what? That somewhere in the depths of my soul a semi-truck bred with a crazy clown and the only offspring they managed to produce was a terrifying sound?

I have to wonder what other freaky infant noises are being harbored in my soul.

“BONK!”

That baby might just be the most annoying creation in history. I need to quiet the urge.

Tickle.

“BO-“

Nutella Whoopie Pie Cookies

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I know.

It is at this point that you are probably wondering if I am sticking to my diet. The answer is, “yes.”

“How?” I can hear you wonder.

Well, I do not recommend that you do what I do. But let’s just say, a cookie for lunch ain’t somethin’ I’m new to.

You, of course, could eat some carrots, too.

I won’t.

But you could.

Priorities, peeps.

I recently shared my Peanut Butter Nutella Cookie recipe here. These are very similar. One day, I thought, Hey, Jenni. Why don’t you add all Nutella and skip the peanut butter?

So I did.

Only… While the rest of my family liked the cookies just fine. Well, I thought to myself, Self. These are still needin’ somethin’.

What if you added frosting? Self, what if you made a cookie sandwich and put the frosting in the middle?

Then when someone asks you what you had for lunch, you can say, ‘a sandwich.’ And nobody will be the wiser.

So I did.

If you cannot tell by now, that voice pretty much makes all of the decisions in my life. I am not sure… But, you guys, I think it is coming from my thighs.

The voice is booming. And it’s kinda shaky.

And that is why I am writing this recipe and not doing laundry.

And that is why I had a sandwich for lunch.

And that is why I am happy.

On to the happiness:

Ingredients:

1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 stick (1/2 cup) softened salted butter
1 egg
1 and 3/4 cups flour
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. Milk
2/3 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (I use Nutella)
Caviar from one vanilla bean (if you do not have this, you can use 1/2 more tsp. vanilla extract)
1/2 cup melted semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 Tbsp. Cold brewed coffee
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup organic brown sugar (organic brown sugar is so much better. I am not part of the organic movement, but I will not buy anything else.)

Ingredients for frosting (you have options here):

1 can of cream cheese or vanilla frosting

Or

Nutella

Or my favorite: I chose to use this recipe for most of my cookies. You will need: 5 Tbsp. Flour, 1 cup milk, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 cup butter, 1 cup granulated sugar. It is a surprisingly easy and delicious frosting.

Or

Marshmallow fluff

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Or 325 degrees Convect Bake if you have a convection oven.

Pour the 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a separate bowl and set aside while you work on the following.

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In a bowl with a hand mixer or in your bowl on your stand mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light. Stop mixer and add in your vanilla and vanilla bean caviar. Mix.

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Now add Nutella, melted chocolate chips and coffee and mix together until completely incorporated.

Add the milk and mix.

Add the egg and mix until light and fluffy.

Turn mixer to low and add in salt, cocoa powder and baking soda. Mix until incorporated.

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Add flour and mix.

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Turn off mixer. Now take a small ball of cookie dough and roll it on your hands. Drop the ball into the bowl of granulated sugar and gently roll it around.

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Place the ball of dough on a baking sheet. Repeat this step until your baking sheet is filled with cookie dough balls evenly spaced apart.

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With a fork, make two flat indentations onto each cookie.

With a spoon, scoop up some of the granulated sugar and pour a little sugar over marks left from the fork.

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Place baking sheet into the oven and bake for 10-11 minutes until edges are just a little brown. Do not cook longer. You do not want these overcooked.

Transfer baked cookies to a cooling rack.

Repeat with remaining dough. Turn oven off.

Let the cookies cool.

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For these cookies, I opted to make the best frosting to put between them. This version tasted like a homemade Oreo. Frost one backside of a cookie. Place the backside of another cookie against the frosting.

You made a sandwich!

Now eat your lunch!

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I also did a pure Nutella Whoopie Pie (the cookie appears lighter because I forgot the melted chocolate chips in this batch. Doh!) by spreading Nutella in between the cookie layers.

Gosh. I love that voice inside my thighs head.

And that voice loves…

Ryan Gosling Sandwiches.

Oh! But what about a Ryan Gosling Sandwich?

Self. You’ve gone too far. Eat your cookie.

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P.S. I shared this on Savvy Southern Style.

And My Romantic Home.

It’s The Little Things: Etsy Necklaces

I wanted to do a quick little post today highlighting some of my favorite necklaces that I own from Etsy. I have many more items I love from Etsy. And I will highlight those on another day. I just love the creativity that goes on at Etsy. It blows my mind how talented so many people are! I also love that you can purchase from all over the world.

I will admit to being an Etsy addict. I love the whole idea and concept of it. And all of the people I have purchased from been lovely. I do not have the artistic talent to create objects. I admire those who do.

On to the necklaces:

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First up is my Simply Livly Turquoise Necklace. It goes with everything. I have even bought some as gifts for friends. I love the jersey tie that can make it longer or shorter. The seller is wonderful. The sweetest.

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My mother gifted me with this Animal Totem Necklace from KnitKnit for one of my Christmas presents. I always seem to wear it when my husband is not home and therefore I have no one to take pictures of me wearing it. But I do wear it and I love it!

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I just wore my Lunahoo Moon Necklace, yesterday. It is the perfect length. The chain is a gorgeous color. I like that I can pair this necklace with other gold necklaces or even bronzy ones.

Have you ever purchased jewelry from Etsy? Do you make jewelry? Are there other artisans you would recommend that sell jewelry there? Please share.

I will be doing more posts in the next few months highlighting artists, home accessories, more jewelry and vintage items from sellers that I have personally purchased from.

It’s The Little Things: little accessories. And the talent to make them. I love it!

Hippie At Home

I know I promised pictures of me not in front of my fireplace (Sunday, I have some outdoor outfit pictures to post) , but I wanted to show what I look like on a day when I am kicking back at home. And I actually have clothes on and not pajamas.

Wrinkled. Shoeless. Beltless. Happy. Cooking.

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I knew the moment I took my apron off, I was going to get flack from my husband. You think he would not give the woman making him his favorite meal grief, but you would think wrong. ; )

You see, he hates long denim skirts. Hates them. And, well, I… I love them!

So, never the two shall meet.

But I wanted to share my Forever 21 Peasant Top that I adore. And I thought it fit perfectly with my Citizens of Humanity Aja Skirt I purchased from a seller on eBay last year. I had it tailored for my body, so I know it fits the way it is supposed to… Big!

Here is the commentary coming from my photographer as I tried to smile for the camera:

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“That skirt is ginormous!”

I was not phased.

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“That skirt is Duggarific!”

An explanation of this word my husband gleefully made up, derives from one of my favorite shows on t.v., “Nineteen Kids And Counting” (their last name is Duggar. I love the Little House On The Prairie vibe to it even though their lifestyle and choices are very far from mine). My husband is sometimes trapped in the room when I watch the show. The women all wear long skirts. A lot of the time they are denim, because they do not wear pants. Or short skirts.

This brings this question to my mind, “If a long denim skirt is the opposite of sexy, how the heck did they have nineteen kids?”

Hmmmmmm.

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“Be careful, you might expose your ankles!”

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To which I did this.

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And then this.

Yep. It was a typical day in the Gnome Lover household. And this model is going to go add a little something extra to that meat on the stove.

Just kidding. That little somethin’ would just be love. My husband and I have a good time. Just don’t tell him that.

Do you have an item in your closet your partner does not like? Do you wear it anyway? Do you wear shoes at home?

* Please excuse my wild hair! It was a day at home. And, yes, I see that hair brush on my fireplace. It is my daughter’s. It never occurred to me to use it. ; ). It’s hard to think when you’re bein’ heckled.