Life Above the Clouds

I know you might think this is a little weird, but I used to have hedgehogs...as pets. Long story. Anyway, I still love all things hedgehog and like to collect a few things here and there. Usually hedgehog items are pretty hard to find, but I guess hipsters are starting to like them because I'm seeing them more often. 

First up are these super adorable measuring cups from Anthropologie for $36. They're way to cute for any actual baking in my opinion, but how great would they look lined up on your counter? Or maybe you could use them to hold knick knacks or jewelry... 

Save money on dryer sheets and soften your laundry naturally with these Kikkerland Hedgehog Dryer Balls available from Amazon. They're only $12.99 for a set of 2, and think of all the money you'll be saving on energy since these will help dry your clothes faster.

Etsy always has the best stuff like this hedgehog pin cushion. Plus, if you're not super into sewing you can always look at it as just a small stuffed animal. This one is a little over $9 and is coming all the way from England, so you better order yours now!

Here's another great Etsy find. It might be a little impractical to spend $240 on a hedgehog ring, but the eyes are black diamonds and the crown is made with 18ct gold. If you're worried that the crown might snag your clothes, never fear! A less regal hedgehog can be ordered without a crown.

Finally, if you're looking for something a little more useful, you can go for this Koziol Kasimir Cheese Grater from Amazon for $14.40. These guys look a little less cute and cuddly, but hey, they grate cheese.

Let me know if you stumble across any other hedgehog related items!

My friend had a holiday party last weekend and asked us all to bring ornaments. I figured it was the perfect occasion to try out this recipe I spotted on Pinterest. Plus, bringing something homemade always adds a nice personal touch.

• 1 cup of applesauce
• 1 1/2 cups cinnamon
• 2 tbsp. cloves (optional)
• cookie cutters (I used a heart)
• string for hanging

1. Mix 1 cup of applesauce with 1 cup of cinnamon in a large bowl.
2. Add cloves and the leftover cinnamon a tablespoon at a time until you get the desired consitency. You want something that resembles play-dough. Be sure to mix well!
3. Roll dough to 1/4" thick.
4. Preheat oven to 200°F.
5. Use your cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes and place on a lined cookie sheet. 
6. Carefully use a skewer or chopstick to make a hole through each ornament.
7. Bake 1-2 hours until applesauce has evaporated and let dry in the oven overnight.
8. Loop string through each hole and hang on your tree! These smell so good I might put one in my car too.

(Inspired by Katy Elliot)

There's something so inviting about a spicy, chewy molasses cookie. They're extremely easy to make, store well and even freeze well so they're perfect for holiday gift giving. I'm sure I'll be making quite a few batches this season. Here we go...

• 3/4 cup margerine (1 and a half sticks)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 cup white sugar

1. Cream the margarine and 1 cup sugar. Add egg and stir until smooth. Stir in the molasses.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.
3. Gradually add dry ingredients into the molasses mixture.
4. Cover and chill dough for 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 375° F.
6. Roll dough into tablespoon sized balls and roll them in remaning white sugar.
7. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until tops are cracked.
9. Cool on wire rack.

(Inspired by Allrecipes)

Sorry you didn't get a post last Thursday. Since I accidentally posted twice on Tuesday, I figured it was ok if I skipped a day. For the past week, I've been trying to get in the holiday spirit. I guess the year has gone by too fast, because even after Thanksgiving, I'm still not ready for the nonstop Christmas songs. I have started decorating the house a little with these super easy magazine trees. I have a slight pack rat problem and have a shelf of old magazines that won't read again, but don't want to throw away, so this is a perfect way to reuse them! (I also roll them up and put them inside my boots to keep their shape) Here, I used an old Backstage with an awesome picture of Kristen Stewart on the cover...

1. Open magazine and bend to break spine.

2. Fold individual page from top right corner to inside seam. Fold same page from bottom right edge to gutter.

3. Fold bottom triangle of each additional magazine page up, making the bottom of the tree flat. Then, tuck the triangle in between the folded page.

4. If desired, spray-paint folded tree or use spray adhesive in a well ventilated area. Immediately sprinkle glitter over wet paint. Let dry.

(Inspired by Martha Stewart)

Through Pinterest, I found a link to a website called Sammy Dress. Everything is unbelievably cheap and actually pretty stylish once you sift through some of the extra trendy stuff. I recently bought a pair of khaki leggings for only 6.16 plus flat rate shipping which was about $5. It took nearly a month to get here, but I can justify the wait with how cheap it was. Besides, it did come all the way from China.

Anyway, last week on Outblush, one of my favorite blogs, I saw this "Slim White Lace Dress" for $33 and thought it looked extremely familiar. Thanks to my incredible online shopping spidey-sense, I recognized it from Sammy Dress where they have the exact same dress for only $7.78! With flat rate shipping, your total would still only come out to 12.99. Who knows where the dress is really coming from, but both websites are using the exact same pictures, so chances are it's the exact same dress. 

Moral of the story, check Sammy Dress before you buy something or buy things from Sammy Dress because it's cheaper, or only buy cheap clothes...I don't know what the moral of the story is. Just have fun shopping at Sammy Dress...

Have you noticed that I use my KitchenAid for every baking project? I love it! But one thing I don't love is the bowl it comes with. It's a stainless steel bowl that's extremely hard to hold on to when trying to pour, scoop, or whatever. 

I'd love to get this 5 quart glass bowl with a pour spout and lid. It's also microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe, but I'm not sure why it's so expensive. This one is on sale at Amazon for $69.95.

At half the price, this stainless steel mixing bowl is on sale right now for only $32.75 plus $5.99 for shipping! This is a dishwasher safe 5 quart bowl for Artisan mixers only. I'll have to check which model I have. It's probably not an Artisan though...

So here's a 4.5 quart bowl that fits a wide variety of models. This one is $43.95 plus $4.49 for shipping.

Happy Thanksgiving friends! I hope you're all stuffing your faces right now. I know I am! Before you carve up that turkey, here are some fun facts about that tasty sucker.

• Turkeys can drown if they look up while it's raining.
• Oddly enough, the best time to see a turkey is during a light rain or a warm clear day.
• Turkeys have excellent vision and hearing...not so good in the smelling department.
• They can run up to 20 mph and fly between 50-55 mph.
• Males "gobble" to attract females, but turkeys also "purr," "yelp," and "kee-kee."
• Males and females look different but you can also tell them apart by their poop. Males produce spiral-shaped poop and females’ poop is shaped like the letter J.

(Inspired by Aristotle's Thanksgiving on the Web and Smithsonian.com)

Wowie kazowie these are delicious! They're little clouds of pumpkin cookie (that are so soft I'll almost call it cake) with Nutella swirled throughout. And let's face it, Nutella makes anything better, but it's not too sweet or overwhelming. Yum yum yum!