Rootbeer Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. rootbeer extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup water (optional--only use if dough is too dry)

Cream butter and dark brown sugar until very light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the rootbeer extract.

Whisk dry ingredients together. Add a little at a time to the creamed mixture. Add the water only if the dough is too dry.

Chill for at least an hour. Roll into small balls (about 1" diameter).

Place them far enough apart so they can spread without touching each other.

Whether you roll them or scoop them, flatten the tops a bit before you bake them if you like the cookies to be flatter. If not, it's fine. They are good a little thicker, too.

Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes, rotating cookie sheet halfway through.


Rootbeer Frosting:

1 cup butter
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. rootbeer extract
a few tablespoons hot water

Beat butter on high with an electric mixer until it is fluffy. Add a little powdered sugar and the rootbeer extract. Beat until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar alternately with a little hot water until a nice spreading consistency has been reached.

Frost the cooled cookies and let stand for the frosting to set up. (It should dry a bit on the top.)

Found this recipe on a blog I read, Cafe Johnsonia, please go to her website for beautiful pictures along with the recipe. The cookies were so good. The picture at the top is her picture, mine turned out ok, (pictured below). The coloring is obviously better in hers, but I bet mine were just as good! They were so yummy, I will definitely add it to my list of desserts I make. They are so easy too, I'm loving that there aren't all these wacky ingredients, I could just whip them up on a Sunday afternoon unplanned (once I have the rootbeer extract in stock of course).

David Copperfield

So Saturday night we are sitting around the house, I'm in sweats lounging, Juan's on the computer. He exclaims, That's what I wanted to do tonight. Yes Juan is a closet David Copperfield lover and really really wanted to go see him in Salt Lake. (David Copperfield is an illusionist for those who don't know). So I say, oh too bad, we missed it (I wasn't as excited as Juan for this event). He follows with, we can still make the 9 o'clock showing. It was 7:44, we live an hour outside of Salt Lake, and I was in my lounge-wear glory. I said, ok let's do it! Juan and I have made a habit of last minute events: Disney on Ice, Vegas, and now David Copperfield.

I was pleasantly surprised by the show. He is a comedian on top of the whole magician thing. We were both extremely entertained and super curious as to how he pulls off all of the illusions!!! It turned out to be such a fun night.

Glee = Happy Cami

For those who missed the sneak peak of Glee, the new tv show, after American Idol last night:

Was there a permanent grin on my face the last 20 minutes of the show?
Will I keep it on my tivo and play it over and over until the series for real premieres this fall?
Did I buy Glee's 'Don't Stop Believing' on iTunes and do I play it on loop?

YES!

Without Friends...

Life just wouldn't be as fun, now would it?

I realize that the following pictures are scary and all with the masks. Last weekend we went paintballing with some friends and it was so much fun!!! I am not miss sporty by any means, so I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun it was to duck and run and hide and shoot. The welts and bruises the paintballs left really looked worse than they felt. It doesn't hurt that bad.

Thanks to Megan and Dave for putting all together!

The weekend before our friends Heidi and Janelle put together a black & white dinner.

We had to dress up and wear only black and white. Very cute idea and the photo shoot in front of a black sheet hung on the wall was an added bonus.

We went from house to house for each course, so it was a progressive dinner. We ended with playing games at Heidi and Nate's. I felt like an adult going to a grown up dinner party! Ha ha.

Book and Movie

I've enjoyed a few good books lately, but this one is one I cannot stop thinking about:

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult.

It has been on my list of ones to read for a while, but the cover of the book threw me off. I felt like it was going to be super boring, like Atlas Shrugged seems like it would be so boring (haven't read that one either, guess I judge books by their covers). Finally I got it from the library and read the first 3 pages and was sucked in and hooked all the way to the end. Everyone I saw, I told them about the book I was reading. It's now been a few weeks and I still can't stop thinking about it.

It's about a newborn baby found hidden and dead in an Amish community. A high-powered lawyer comes into to to defend the 18-year-old accused. The writing is intriguing and I will read other books by this writer. But the story is just so interesting. I love learning about other cultures and ways of life. I love opening my mind to other people out there who are different, but good people.

I just googled the book to find a picture for the blog, and turns out there was a lifetime movie in 2004 based on this book. Consider it added to my netflix.

Also, we went and saw State of Play. I had to see it because I adore Rachel McAdams and wish that she was in more movies. Not just because of the Notebook, I love her in every movie I've ever seen her in - Red Eye, The Family Stone, Mean Girls even. She is a fantastic actress.

The movie was great! I was biting my nails, on the edge of my seat through more than half of it. Russell Crowe is the main star (could you tell in the movie poster?) but there are so many other good actors. It is a reporter thriller, they are investigating a story and unveil the mystery piece by piece. Not my favorite type of movie usually, but this one I highly recommend.

Semester Break

Juan had a 5 day break between semesters, so what did we do? Go to Vegas! We stayed at this place:


So much free stuff to do in Vegas, and we hit it all.

We visited the Bellagio Conservatory:




We ate at a fancy food buffet at the Bellagio (not free):

An asian pear
(I love how it looks like I eat like a bird in this picture)

Juan got in a fight:

We brought home 1 souvenir from M&M world:

Green m&m is my fave. Favorite color, and favorite kind-peanut butter.

We saw the flamingos at the Flamingo Hotel (and many other animals):

Also, not pictured, we went to MGM Grand, New York New York (my favorite hotel), saw the circus act at Circus Circus. And best of the trip:

Bellagio fountains, but even better, the view from the Eiffel Tower. We went up on the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel. It was spectacular! We saw the view of the strip and to think it's only half the size of the real Eiffel Tower... one day.

We slipped back into town for my nephew Benjamin's blessing:

Juan kept giving these creepy smiles as Sadie was taking the picture. Then he came out with this one, which is still creepy by the way.

Better than imagined

It was so good! Thank you to my sister Heather for getting the tickets for us, and for thinking of me. I got the Wicked soundtrack a few years ago and never imagined I'd being seeing the play for years and years. Well it happened. The actors were so perfect. They were everything I pictured and more. I didn't realize it was going to be so funny, but there were several laugh out loud moments.

We got yelled at for taking this picture inside the theater, but I thought I'd post it anyway. I'm such a rebel.