Peppermint Sugar Cookies

Merry Christmas!! Oh wait sorry its not Christmas yet.. but it is going to be here soooo soon! It's only a week away which is absolutely crazy to me. I feel like I haven't done anything Christmassy and all I've done is work. So for the next week I'm going to try and slow down and relax a bit so I can try and enjoy the season.

But anyways! I recently made some Christmas cookies and I thought this would be the perfect recipe to share with you all so you can make them too!

The sugar cookie recipe was from Two Sisters and I cut the recipe in half because ain't nobody got time to make THAT many cookies. And besides I have like 2 other cookie recipes to make within the next week so I can't be having a billion of them at once!

Because I linked the recipe I'm not going to bore you and write it all out! But I will share the recipe for the peppermint buttercream frosting that was on top of them!

Ingredients

• 2 sticks of butter, salted (room temp)
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract (to taste) 
• 2 tablespoons milk 
• vanilla extract

Directions

• Cream the butter in a mixing bowl
• Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing well after each one. 
• Add the milk and the peppermint extract
• Taste and add more peppermint or vanilla depending on the taste you want. I added a splash of vanilla (the leftover vanilla I had left in the bottle) and it was the perfect mix of minty and sweet. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this recipe and let me know if you make it yourself! I want to see your creations!! 

San Diego Photo Diary

First off I want to apologize for the lack of posts this past week. After going on vacation I needed time to relax and do some other things (that I was supposed to do before I left on my trip but didn't). And I've just been working a lot and was exhausted!

But I'm back and will be continuing to post every Tuesday and Thursday until Christmas. Then I think I'll either go back to one post a week or I'll just change the days so they're spread out more evenly! Posts will keep coming into the new year so don't worry!

Now onto the actual blog. Today I'm sharing some photos I took from my trip to San Diego last weekend. I didn't take too many on my phone and we didn't do too much. Just wanted to relax and recharge for the most part.

BUT we did go to the San Diego Automotive Museum which was SUPER cool and interesting! They had the same car from Back to the Future!!!! (Not the exact car but same model and everything). They even had THE car that the Rat Pack rode around in. Like, this was literally Frank Sinatra's cab. So amazing.

Here are the pictures I took from the museum!

These next pictures were taken by my extremely talented photographer boyfriend. You can see his other photos and videos over on his instagram. @ohmygodmark

We also went to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park which was so beautiful. I love the ocean and it was so peaceful to just sit there and watch the waves while the sun was going down.

Along with all the pictures I took on my phone, I took some with my camera but I won't be able to share those until I get my film developed. I've got 5 rolls to get developed so it might be a bit before I get around to doing that. Hopefully I won't be lazy and can drop those off sometime this week.

This trip was much needed and I feel so much better now. My mind is clear and I finally feel like I'm heading in the right direction. I know exactly what I want to do and how I'm going to get there and it just feels good. Sure I came back home to a few stressful situations but it's all solved now (for the most part) but I pushed through and here I am!

Cheers to great and exciting things to come!

As always, thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Hey guys! Today I'm sharing my favorite cookie recipe of all time. I love desserts and baking and everything about the holidays (because it's baking season duh) and these cookies are no exception. I make these cookies multiple times during the holidays because I love them so much and I've made them so many times I remember the recipe by heart.

After trying a few other ones, this one from Taste of Home is definitely the best for this type of cookie. It's super simple. Like only 4 ingredients simple. It seriously takes like 5 minutes to put together before you throw them in the oven. This doesn't make a lot so if you want a bunch double the recipe!

This is what it will look like before you roll it into balls!

Ingredients

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• Hershey kiss 

Yeah. That's it. Like are you kidding???? Who doesn't love quick and easy recipes like this. 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350℉.
• Cream the peanut butter and sugar. 
• Add egg and vanilla and mix well. 
• Roll into 1 1/4 inch balls and place on cookie sheet. 
• Cook for 10-12 minutes until tops start cracking.
• Take out and immediately press Hershey kiss on top. 

Well there ya go! Enjoy the best holiday cookies and don't forget to leave some for Santa! 

Also if you've noticed, I've been posting A LOT lately. Well you better get used to it because I'm going to be posting holiday themed posts ALL MONTH LONG!! Check back every Tuesday and Thursday and sometimes Saturday for a new post! 

See ya soon! ♡

Devine Jayne's 25 Days of Christmas Movie List

Merry Christmas!!!!!!! I grew up watching Christmas movies every single year. I still very much enjoy watching the classics and even the cheesy lifetime/Hallmark holiday movies too.

Which is why this year, I'm sharing my holiday MUST WATCH movie list with you all! I've got the classics, some cheesy stuff, some TV show specials. I've got a little bit of everything on here.

I honestly can't get through the month of December without watching at least one Christmas movie a day.. in fact I may watch multiple a day.. and the same ones more than once.

Alright. That's enough about my Christmas obsession. Back to the movie list. I have 28 movies on this list so you can watch them all or skip some you aren't too interested in!

Here's the list! Merry Christmas + Happy Holidays ♡

Ho Ho Holiday Playlist

Hey y'all! Today is the first official day of the Christmas season which means it is now socially acceptable to start listening to Christmas music. Unless of course you're like me and have been listening since June. :-) hehehe

If you know me then you know that I love anything and everything Christmas. I decorate my house, my bedroom (keep those eyes peeled for a lil post about my holiday decor) and even my bathroom. I make holiday treats, I listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies all day every day. I just love it all so much. Now if only it snowed here so I could enjoy it even more.

So to get you all in the Christmas spirit alongside me, I'm sharing my Christmas playlist. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be listening to this on repeat and baking cookies! See ya!!

Enjoy these holiday tunes and get ready for all of my holiday themed posts coming next month! It's gonna be a busy one.

Cinnamon Apple Topper Recipe

Now I'm a big breakfast fan. I don't necessarily like making breakfast, but I sure do like eating it. This recipe is one of my faves for a quick breakfast. It can be used for many different things, but my favorite way to eat them is on top of oatmeal.

You could also use it on top of pancakes or waffles, ice cream, hell even throw it on top of a pork chop for some savory sweet goodness!

Here's the recipe.

Ingredients

• 5 apples peeled and sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1/2 cup tightly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (you can just use nutmeg if you want)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

Before you start, make sure you mix all of the dry ingredients before hand so your apples don't get too brown!

Next you're going to peel and slice the apples and put them in a ziploc bag (or a container) and toss them in the coating you made earlier. Make sure all of the apples are coated. 

They'll look like this after you toss them! After you finish coating them, fill a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of butter. Do this on medium heat. After the butter has melted a tiny bit I pour the apples in and stir. Cook them for about 10 minutes or until soft. You'll want to keep stirring every once in a while to make sure the apples cook evenly. 

Voila! Your cinnamon apples are cooked and ready to eat or ready to store for a treat later! I like to keep mine in a mason jar in the fridge. 

Now beware! Your house will smell INCREDIBLE while these are cooking. It smells like fall. They also are probably going to take more than 10 minutes btw. It's different every time I make them so 10 minutes it's just the minimum amount I would do. 

Tropical Beachy Popsicles Perfect for Summer!

As the title of this post states, we're going to be making popsicles today.  I've been eating soooooo badly lately and I've been struggling to eat anything at all. Thanks hot weather!!!!

These are super super SUPER easy to make. All you need is a blender and some fruit. (and popsicle molds. If you don't have those you can make tiny little pops in an ice cube tray!) These honestly make me feel like I'm on some tropical vacation so I really recommend making these! A cool beachy treat! Or should I say.. peachy... :-)

So I got these popsicle molds from Target. They also have these ones, and these ones as well. 

Now you can use whatever kind of fruit you like, but today I used peaches, pineapples and bananas (and oranges with the orange juice). I didn't measure anything but I used

• a whole banana
• 2 handfuls of peaches
• 1 handful of pineapple 
• like 1/2 - 1 cup of orange juice

If I was making berry popsicles I would've added spinach because that's how I always make berry smoothies!! You won't be able to taste the spinach at all so it's an easy way to get some greens in for the day! 

Like I said before, I didn't measure anything so the amount you use of each fruit is going to be based on your personal preference! If you're using frozen fruit I would recommend using a bit more liquid than normal so that it will blend better. 

Also keep in mind that there are only 6 popsicle molds so be wary of how much you're making. Or you know just make a lot so you can have a yummy fruit smoothie while you wait for the popsicles to freeze!

Once you pour the smoothie mix into the molds, they will take around three-ish hours to freeze completely. When you want to eat one, try holding the popsicle under hot water for around 30 seconds to remove it from the container.

That's all!! This is the perfect summer treat to be honest. Easy to make and will cool you down in this gross weather!

Cold weather plz come back!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for reading everyone! 

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Birthday Festivities and THREE DESSERTS????

This weekend was allll about my boyfriend because it was his birthday the other day and we finally got to celebrate together!

We had a cute little picnic and played video games all day and it was perfect.

So for his birthday, I made him an apple pie and chocolate covered strawberries! I'm going to share those recipes as well as a brownie recipe that is so good it just needs to be shared with you all.

Okay y'all let's not waste any time getting into this. These brownies are the best brownies I've ever had. I've tried countless recipes and I always come crawling back to this one.

I make these at least once a month. Probably even more than that.

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and it's by someone named Angie. That's all the information there is unfortunately.

Here's the ingredients!

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1-2 cups candy 

It also gives you a recipe for frosting to put on the brownies but I don't ever make that so If you would like to, just click on the recipe in the link above :-) 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease and flour an 8 inch pan (I use a round one) 
2. In a saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. I find it's easier to heat up the butter in the microwave in a little ramekin! Stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Make sure the butter isn't too hot when you add the eggs or it will start to cook them!
3. Mix in cocoa, flour, salt, and baking powder.
4. Now this is where I like to add a little something to my batter. CANDY. Reeses Pieces or peanut butter M&M's are really good in these. Today I'll be adding just regular M&M's which are just as great! Mix in a cup or 2 of your candy of choice. 
5. Pour batter into greased pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. 
6. Let cool before cutting! ENJOY. 

Now for the birthday dessert! The apple pie recipe is from Taste of Home.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning (instead of 1/4 tsp ginger and nutmeg)
• 6 to 7 cups peeled and sliced apples
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• pastry for double crust (9 inches)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large egg white
• additional sugar (for crust)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine sugars, flour and spices. In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice. Add sugar mixture and toss to coat. 
2. Line 9 inch pie plate with bottom crust, trim to b even with edge. Fill with apple mixture and dot with butter. Roll out remaining dough for the top crust. Place over filling, trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in pastry. 
3. Beat egg white until foamy; brush over pastry. Sprinkle with sugar and cover edges loosely with foil. 
4. Bake at 375℉ for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. 
5. Cool on wire rack. 

The chocolate covered strawberries are pretty self explanatory! All you need are some strawberries and some semi sweet chocolate.

I also (of course) forgot to take a picture after they were dipped but they sure do look pretty when they're drying!

 Directions:

1. Wash and lay out strawberries. (they need to be completely dry before you dip them into the chocolate)
2. Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a simmer. Put a bowl of the chocolate on top of that and stir until chocolate has melted. 
3. Dip strawberries in chocolate and lay on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Let them set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 

Thank's for reading! I hope you enjoy these delicious, (mainly) chocolatey treats as much as I do! 

July Favorites + some light reflections

Hey everyone! Today I'm going to talk about all of the things I've loved this past July. This year has been flying by! I can barely keep track on what day it is to be honest.. Except for Thursday's obviously since that's when I post on here :-)

So before I get into my favorites, I just want to reflect a bit on the past month. My work schedule was pretty hectic and I wasn't getting much sleep so I've been running on empty all month.

I've been so tired and out of whack but things are calming down a bit and I'm excited to be able to put in more time on the blog and with my other endeavors!

I also recently went on a little much needed vacation (which I just posted a blog about! Check it out here if you missed it!!).

I absolutely love the mountains and being able to be there with my boyfriend and our friends was so incredible. Even though it was totally hot and there was 10 of us staying in a two bedroom cabin, I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

Anyways, I won't bore you with everything that happened in July, but just know that I feel recharged, extremely grateful, and almost as if I had an epiphany. Or an epiphery, as Michael Scott would say.

On to the favorites!!!

• Fruit - this feels so weird to put as a favorite but it's true. I've been eating so much fruit lately and I can't get enough of it! I put it on oatmeal, I make tons of smoothies, I'm eating it by itself. I just can't stop. 
• Living Proof by State Champs - THIS ALBUM RULES. THIS IS. THE BEST ALBUM OF 2018. POSSIBLY EVEN EVER. this shit SLAPS. 
• Animal Crossing 'New Leaf' - okay I know this game is like super old but ??? It's incredible. I bought a 3DS a few months ago and I'm not kidding when I say I play this game every. single. day. 
• Amali Multi Strap Sandals - These slide sandals are so friction cute I can't even stand it. They are from Target and they have them in red (the color I got) and in black. The straps are sometimes annoying because you have to fix them if your foot slips out even the slightest bit. I purchased these for Fourth of July and they were perfection!!
• Cooking - I've just really been loving cooking lately! I want to cook all the time and I want to create new recipes and try other people's recipes as well! It's very relaxing to me (even though I get frazzled while I'm actually cooking.) I love learning new things and I love eating so this has been a really fun thing for me to explore. Of course I'll be sharing my cooking journey here on the blog with all of you as well!
• Mamma Mia - This is one is kind of embarrassing honestly. I've watched this movie (the first one) more times this month than I care to admit. Sometimes even watching it more than once a day.. I'm so obsessed with it and the soundtrack. And if I'm being honest, the movie itself is all over the place. It's not even like a 5 star movie, but I just can not stop watching it. Here I go again! 

Sorry if this is boring y'all! I got more to come to the blog soon so keep an eye out! 

As always thanks for reading!!

Camping Photo Diary + Essentials

Hey guys! Over the weekend I went on a little trip with my boyfriend and a group of his friends!! We stayed in a cabin up in Big Bear and it was such a much needed break from work and from the interwebz. It felt so nice to not use my phone and just relax.

Now originally this was going to be two separate posts, but between work and things I needed to get done before we went on our trip, everything just got away from me. I didn't have much time to take any pictures of my bag with the exception of a few outfits (that I didn't even bring).

So below I included those pictures and some photos I took while we were up in the mountains! Now again I didn't take much pictures because we were only up there for a day and I kind of just wanted to enjoy my time without any cell service!

First things first, some of the clothes I brought with me.

Some camping trip must haves;

• Baby wipes for cleaning, wiping down tables, your body if theres no shower. 
• Sunglasses + a hat - gotta keep that face protected from the sun
• Snacks - for the car ride up there and back 
• A cooler - for in the car to hold food/water if it's going to be hot on the car ride
• First Aid Kit - my boyfriend sliced his foot open literally an hour after we got there so it's good to be prepared

Now here's all the photos I took while we were there! My boyfriend also got some cool shots of our trip so go check out the video he posted on his instagram!!

Thanks for reading! New post up on Thursday!!