The Most Amazing Cookie Ever Eaten

If you are making cookies this year, you just have to try these.  The rich chocolate, just the right touch of peppermint and a dusting of powdered sugar that gets all over your black pants but you don't care.  You're reaching for another cookie.

Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies from Naomi at Bakers Royale have a surprise in every bite.  She's amazing!

I have been craving the ultimate comfort food.  I can't imagine one more satisfying than cookie dough. Dip it in chocolate and it is totally decadent.  I don't know about you, but I have scraped the last bits from the bottom of many a bowl and licked the spoon clean, so imagine if I had a private cache like this one from Joy, the Baker, tucked in the freezer for just the right moment?  Heaven!  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls

The Siren of the Sea

The ocean has been calling me. Sinewy sea grasses, rocks tumbled smooth be eons of waves and undercurrents...some are perfect ovals in varying shades - Easter eggs from the sea. Hundreds reside on a secluded beach in Gloucester. Rocky shores to the north and south, this unique spot had been the source for the rounded stones used as ballast for whaling ships heading out to hunt far from shore.

I found this outdoor dining room at Sia Home Fashion and it feels so invitingly coastal. Refreshing and cool - inviting cushions close to the ground and plates uneven like polished seashells open and ready for an exquisite meal. Sea urchins play as being vases for tiny blossoms.

We are cooking a birthday dinner this Sunday for a close friend and, if the weather warms up just a bit more, I can create a waterside setting on the back patio for our meal. I came across my seashell collection one night this week - extra scallop and clam shells that would be perfect for making candles to gather down the center of the table. My fairy house in the garden with its shell roof needs a bit of housekeping and repair, but will only take a few minutes. Hmmm...what else can I do to make the meal special?