Merry, Merry!

this weekend, my siblings & I gave my mom a Christmas surprise.

we realized we hadn't had a night, just the 5 of us, in 20-some years.

{and it was time for that to be fixed!}

she thought we were staying at my sister's house on Friday night, 

but after a couple of hours my sis & I...

...well, we kidnapped her.

as you can see, she was not amused.

"no but seriously, where are we going?"

"guys, tell me."

"guys!"

we drove her to the General Lewis, 

allowed her to remove her blindfold, and led her inside.

we turned the corner and my two brothers 

were standing there holding a bouquet of red roses. 

my mom gasped, held her hands to her face, 

and immediately started crying. 

and then we all started crying.

after dinner, we went to my brother's house. 

we baked brownies, drank wine, played Balderdash, 

and giggled so hard that we cried some more.

we also gave the boys mud masks...

"dude, is yours burning?"

:)

my brother happens to live in an alleged haunted house, 

{just to make the night more interesting!}

but his sweet kitty offered her protection.

oh, and i had another little surprise up my sleeve... 

while I was home in October, 

I collected albums & envelopes of photos

and decided to make a special gift.

using Pinhole Press (incredible company!), I made books for everyone 

filled with nearly 100 pictures - some that they had never seen before. 

here are just a few shots:

(the last pic of the book is the same as the cover, but the back of us)

...many, many memories.

Goodness, I'm so very thankful the surprise-night worked out.
We had a few logistical glitches with the planning process
{planning anything for "a planner" like my mother is nearly impossible!},
but it worked!
...and it was a night I will cherish always.

...

p.s. today, i made Oreo truffles!

my co-worker made them for our office 

and was kind enough to share her recipe.

{...after I admitted that they might be the best thing I've eaten in my 26 years of existence}

thought i'd pass along her recipe to you, too!

Ingredients:

• 1 package OREO Cookies*
• 1 (8 ounce) package Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 (8 ounce) package baking chocolate

1.     Crush the cookies to fine crumbs in food processor; or by spoon – in medium bowl

2.     Add cream cheese; I only used 5oz, or little more than half the package mix until well blended. Can use spoon, but I found digging in with my hands is much faster!

3.     Mix until cream cheese has filtered through to all crumb

4.     Roll cookie mixture into balls, about 1-inch in diameter

5.     Place into freezer for about 15-20 minutes or until hardened

6.     While freezing, melt chocolate in pan.** (can use any chocolate you prefer)

7.     Dip Oreo balls into chocolate and place onto wax paper.

8.     While the chocolate is still warm, sprinkle any kind of garnish you want (ex: red & green sprinkles or left over crumbs)

9.     Cool or keep at room temperature – whatever your preference

10.   ENJOY!

*Can use double stuffed Oreos for more creamy taste or just use regular cookies. Also recommend trying Mint Oreos for a fun new flavor!

**melting chocolate

p.p.s. one final thing to share ~

merry christmas from the little lady!

may you hum "hark! the herald angels sing" 

in your head & heart all day.

xo.

until next time,

g