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The Mint Cottage: Christmas Edition!

The Mint Cottage: Christmas Edition!



I absolutely adore ornaments. They're one of those things you don't truly appreciate receiving until your an "adult" and have your own tree to decorate!


Every year for my birthday and/or Christmas, I've received one of these Swarovski crystal ornaments. A collection that was first created the year I was born, so I happen to have each year's edition and I love love love them! This year's was perfect.


A few of my girlfriends and I do an ornament exchange each year. They really nailed it with the ones they gave to me this time around! How precious is this little mixer?!



This is the first time I've gone with a fake tree. I wanted a white one because I wanted my colorful ornaments to really pop, and I found that sometimes they get lost in a not so fake Christmas tree.



Bentley decided she was the only present I need under the tree this year! 




My red nutcracker, pink and white decorative trees, and little candy jar are all from Target!


I can't get enough of this hand towel! It's the first thing you see when walking through my front door, so you're bound to have a smile on your face from the second you walk in!


Y'all know I love my cocktail napkins. I purchased these from Cotswold Marketplace in Charlotte--a place you could do some serious damage in a little amount of time because they have the most adorable things from jewelry to art and everything in between!



Can't have a bar without prosecco, right??



Last year, I decorated my bookcase with mostly neutral-colored decor, but this year I changed it up! 



I tied my bookcase and bar together by decorating both with this ceramic Christmas tree also from Target. I wish it was acceptable to leave it out all year long!


I can never get enough of my snow babies, and I look forward to putting them out each year!






Even my powder room got a little bit of Christmas love this year! I love how the littlest decorations can make a room so festive.



This is what happens when you can't decide on just one kitchen towel to put out! 


Both my "Merry Christmas Y'all!" and my monogrammed tree towels are from Swoozie's.


And of course they're too cute for me to actually use, so they just sit pretty on my oven door!


Only had to read two lines of this towel before I knew I was buying it!


Just continuing my childhood obsession with snow globes with this setup. 



These little guys were the MVP's of the "Sugar Cookie Bowl" this year, and man were they a hit! I made a total of 39 dozen, which is 468 cookies.






Y'all. I started to eat one of the gingerbread men, took one bit of his leg and felt so bad about it that I had to throw the rest of him out...how sad is that??










I had so much fun making these ornaments!



I loved playing with different colored icing and designs. Made them for an ornament exchange and from the sounds of it, they were adored by all!






Next were these puppy dogs! 





I never thought I'd be giving away puppies for Christmas! :) 


Okay, how precious are these socks?! My friend's mom told him all she wanted was socks and 203YP cookies. Little did she know 203YP would be able to give her both!






Merry Christmas y'all! May your holiday be as merry and bright as a 203YP cookie!

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Lgoodstat
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"Naked" Pound Cake Cupcakes

"Naked" Pound Cake Cupcakes



Let me introduce you to my pound cake, just in case y'all didn't get a chance to meet earlier this summer. She goes by Finicky, and she definitely lives up to that name!


Pound cake is my family's absolute favorite dessert that we make, but it's also the easiest to overbake. You have to know your oven very well, so maybe take it out to dinner, grab a drink together, really get to know one another! 



Typically, we leave it up to my Nana to make--she seems to have the magic touch. But today, Mom and I are taking things into our own hands and kitchen!


We decided to change it up a bit, though, and experiment with pound cake cupcakes.

Here we go!


Y'all. I finally taught myself how to crack an egg with one hand, and I'm over-the-moon excited about it! It's the little things, right??




Even though we only live a couple minutes away from each other, Mom and I don't get the chance to bake/cook together nearly as much as we'd like, so it's always extra enjoyable when we're able to slice some time out for it!



I almost forgot how much I love playing in her kitchen. Don't get me wrong, I love my kitchen to pieces, but Mom's is a bit more spacious--plenty more room to make a mess!

Y'all. I LOVE my Kitchenaid mixer. It's such a great tool and doubles as a fab kitchen accessory when not in use! :)

Mom provides the kitchen, I provide the mixer! Teamwork makes the dream work, y'all.




Does it get any bAtter than this?! The answer is no. Batter is probably 70% of why I grew up loving to bake so much. It's arguably tastier than the final product, and honestly if you don't eat leftover batter than I'm not certain you can bake with us...just kidding!

Aunt Susan came by just in time to commence in the batter eating. We cleaned the bowl. She loves her pound cakes undercooked to say the least, we call her version "Pound Cake Pudding!"


We used a silicone cupcake pan (mostly because I left my metal one at home). With this kind of pan, you don't necessarily need cupcake tins, so we did without them. 

We baked two different batches so we could play with baking times. We began checking on the first batch at 15 minutes. They were still raw as all get out, so we popped them back in for another 5 minutes. At the 20 minute mark is when we performed "The Jiggle Test."


"The Jiggle Test" is obviously the scientific way to tell if your cakes are ready to come out of the oven. You just jiggle your pan a little bit this way, a little bit that way, and if none of the cupcake bellies are jiggling around, then they are ready for you to take them out of the oven and put them in your own bellies!

Total, we kept the first batch in for 25 minutes.


Following our taste test, we concluded that Batch #1 was deliciously successful--not too dry, not too undercooked. BUT we still had another batch to play with.


You know the old saying, "A watched pot never boils?" Well, I came up with a similar one: "A watched cake never bakes!"

I am no stranger to parking my behind in front an oven, watching the goods bake. I'll open the oven every now and then to see if whatever is in there looks different than how it appears through the glass. You would think that in my ripe old age of 25 I would've learned by now! Nope.

But I did see what a difference not opening the oven during the baking process makes on your timing! We kept batch #2 in the oven for 20 minutes without opening the oven once. After "The Jiggle Test" we decided to let it sit in there one more minute, for a total of 21 mins.

I felt like we had just won a game of Blackjack because 21 was our winning number!


Sadly, I had to run so couldn't stick around for the icing, but Mom did a pretty sweet job if you ask me!

1. These Karen Walker sunnies are my new favorites and are currently 20% off HERE! 2. A similar version of this sweet pink and white striped top is at Banana Republic!

Ran so fast I forgot to take my apron off, so here's me riding around town embracing it! Not a bad outfit if you ask me.




You can do so much with these cupcakes! Pair them with your favorite icing, fill 'em up with something yummy, or top them with whipped cream and berries. Can't go wrong in my opinion!

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Lgoodstat
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Living The "Pie" Life

Living The "Pie" Life




Mrs. Lacy's Magnolia House is my family's go-to place to have lunch anytime we visit my Nana in Sanford, NC. I could probably count on one hand how many visits we've had there and Mrs. Lacy's wasn't on the agenda. You just can't go wrong with her tea room!


It's also one of the few places we'll order dessert at lunchtime...


...okay, that part may be a lie--dessert is always a necessary to conclusion to any meal!


Anywho, after interviewing a couple other recipes for Chocolate Chess Pie, none came close to Mrs. Lacy's!


What I love about her recipe, is its simplicity. You most likely already have all the necessary ingredients in your kitchen, so this is one you could whip up in a pinch! 


Despite its (super) small town feel, I truly love driving down the road from Greensboro for a visit. For the most part, everything is the same each time I go back, and I think that's what I love most about it. It's where we do Christmas each year, it's where I first loved to ride my bike, it's where I learned how to make all of my favorite recipes, and when I go back I'm reminded of all those things.


My Nana was a schoolteacher for most of her adult life, and as a little girl, when my mom and I would visit during the summers or when her students were on break, we would always take a trip to her classroom and I would have a field day playing with all her school supplies, chalkboard, and dry erase board! If you read my Georgia post then you know I can't resist a good dry erase! With that in mind, it probably wouldn't surprise you that I asked for school/office supplies for various birthdays and Christmases...


Sanford is also where I learned to play all the card games. Nana and I would play on her foyer floor for hours. 


After that we'd most likely move on to battleship, or my mom's Barbies that she played with as a kid.


And in just a few short weeks I'll be back to visit so Nana and I can get all of our holiday baking done. A tradition we started when I turned 16 and got my driver's license!



I'm sure we'll have time to lunch at Mrs. Lacy's and fit in a couple card games while I'm there! :) 


**And for my gluten-free peeps, swap out regular pie crusts for GF ones and you've got yourself a gluten-free dessert!**


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Lgoodstat
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[name=Lindsey] [img=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZo103-X9sb8KV08pHrxb5ET5nWahtRXEkU5-h7Vhk0LP9e7tcu7adeE0wFYSrzV7qAAvFtMP-vBu94ImpKVp4G8BgummdvHxVyvumJVjTTPl9mCq_Sj6DFP5zqPJib8ezjD4m-m_oxtn/s100/DSC_0278.jpg] [description=Thanks so much for stopping by! I'm always always always looking for new recipes, decor ideas, and good company, so please feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me via email. Don't forget to subscribe for 203YP updates! And if you're looking to place an order, head to the "Request A Sweet Order" page!] (facebook=https://www.facebook.com/linds.eli) (instagram=https://www.instagram.com/lgoodstat/) (pinterest=https://www.pinterest.com/lgoodstat/)

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