Breakfast Company

Hi! I hope you had a nice Sunday :)

We got a fun start to our morning when I happened to look

 out our kitchen window

and saw this...

As a California girl, we had our nice things

like endless sunshine and yes, wildlife in some forms...

like squirrels ;) But even squirrels we didn't see everyday.

For a while, we would have a visit (here, in OR) 

from a sweet little bunny that would hop into our yard 

and nibble on the grass.

I have to say, though, looking out the window while washing dishes

to see three deer slowly meander into your back yard

and collect their breakfast trumps a bunny rabbit.

So I did the only appropriate thing to do, 

which was squeal with delight/excitement and scream 

for the kids to come and see.

Nate grabbed his camera and took the pics,

while I held the kids up to get a better look.

One came right under the window, which was pretty cool.

Here, deer deer deer. I wish I could've petted one.

Oh well. Someday.

I've been baking a lot lately. I'm one of those people

who is always trying out a new cookie recipe,

mostly because it's fun, but also because I haven't

found one yet that I  truly LOVE.

Well, yesterday I found a recipe for Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip cookies

and it was simply AWESOME.

It was one I found on allrecipes.com, then adjusted slightly.

It made for, in my opinion, the perfect cookie...fat, chewy,

slightly doughy, but still a bit crisp on the edges to make them interesting.

Altogether yummy!

                                             I was seriously so proud I had to take pictures of them

in a vintage cookie jar I purchased recently.

Needless to say, the kids are now well-aquainted with it :)

This recipe makes just enough cookies to fill it to the brim.

Kismet, yes?

Of course that pic was taken after a few samplings ;)

We ended the day with one of our end-of-the-road

beach walks. The kids have become accustomed 

to "going places" a lot, as there is still SO much to explore

around here. On the days we're too tired to really get out,

we go to the "beach they can't play on."

There Addie can pick her flowers, Jake his rocks,

and we all can get some ocean without it getting too involved.

I'll close by sharing the recipe I used.

I think I've chosen my go-to Oatmeal chocolate chip recipe :)

If you decide to try it out, please let me know what you think!

Slightly-Altered-Allrecipes Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.