Movies Watched in April 2016

Ant Man

Tomorrowland

I've been making the most of the Starz app and watching all the new movies. Not much for a movie month. It's because we're so behind on our TV on the DVR, that's what we've been concentrating on. Spoiler, next month is even more pathetic (and May has just started, but I don't see any time to watch anything). Still, Ant Man was so much better than I expected, and Tomorrowland had George Clooney. It wasn't bad, but I thought the message was a little heavy-handed. Still, I thought the cast was great at the very least.

Kentucky Derby Time

We did some easy, fast cooking for the party - all repeat food.  However, I had grand plans to make these Butter Cake Cookies. Nobody ever eats cake, but who can resist a cookie?  Turns out, I ran out of time, but I made them the next day.  They are absolutely delicious!

Kentucky Butter Cake Cookies Serves: 24 cookies

Ingredients

Cookies
•1 cup butter, room temperature
•1 cup granulated sugar
•2 eggs
•1 teaspoon vanilla
•2 teaspoons baking powder
•½ tsp salt
•3 cups all purpose flour

Glaze
•¼ cup butter
•½ cup granulated sugar
•1 tablespoon water
•1 teaspoon vanilla
•optional ~ powdered sugar to dust

Instructions
Cookies
1.Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C
2.Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat. Set aside.
3.In the bowl of the stand mixer beat butter and sugar together for 1 minute until mixed. Add in eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated, scraping sides as necessary.
4.Add in baking powder and salt, continuing to mix and finally the flour. Mix until dough just comes together.
5.Using a medium (2 tablespoon) cookie scoop drop the dough onto the lined baking sheet. Alternately you can roll the dough into balls if you want a thicker cookie. 6.Bake for 9-11 minutes until the edges are slightly golden. Don't over-bake.

Glaze
1.While the cookies are baking combine all ingredients into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir continuously until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Do not bring to a boil.
2.Allow the glaze to cool slightly (about 5 minutes) to thicken.
3.When the cookies are done spoon one teaspoon of the glaze onto each cookie while they're warm. If the glaze gets too thick just heat it up a bit more.
4.Dust with powdered sugar after the glaze has set if desired.

Books Read in April 2016

• Yes, Please by Willow Summers (NOTE: This is part of a series. The order of which can be found here.)
• Now, Please by Willow Summers (NOTE: This is part of a series. The order of which can be found here.)
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony DoerrLean
• Because of Miss Bridgertona by Julia Quinn  (NOTE:  This is part of the Rokesby series, but this is the first book and there is no news or information on the website yet.)
• Nobody But You by Jill Shalvis (NOTE: This is part of the Cedar Ridge series, the order of which can be found here.)
• More, Please by Willow Summers (NOTE: This is part of a series. The order of which can be found here.)
• Make Me Stay by Jaci Burton (NOTE: This is part of the Hope series, the order of which can be found here.)
• All Wound Up by Jaci Burton (NOTE: This is part of the Play by Play series, the order of which can be found here.)

I really enjoyed All the Light We Cannot See.  I got to hear the author speak last month, and that was highly enjoyable.  He's such a good speaker, one of the few authors who was just so vibrant yet spent very little time talking about himself or his book(s).  He was generous with Q&A and so very smart and intelligent without making you feel stupid because you weren't as smart as he was.

I enjoyed the always-enjoyable Jill Shalvis and Julia Quinn.  Plus, I found a whole cache of Jaci Burton books.  I read these two plus a third in May and still have a novella before I'm all caught up.  I'm reading the novella out of order, but I do love making progress on books hanging out in my e-reader.  Decent month even if I had more I wanted to get to.

April 2016 Weekend Update

April starts a very busy time for us. The first weekend, Little Miss had hockey. After we changed and went to Fairfax for family pictures. No shock, but Captain cried the entire time until the photographer gave him a baseball. He stopped crying, but he was never happy. On Sunday, Little Miss had her swimming lesson and a birthday party for a friend. They were supposed to go bowling, but the bowling alley lost power so it was at his house.

The second weekend was the Masters.  Husband prearranged a day out of golfing and then watching the Masters at a friend's house.  While he was out, Sister-in-Law and the nephews came over and played.  On Sunday, I took the kids to the library.  They had a blast, but the library didn't have anything we wanted.  We put some items on hold though.

The third weekend, I went out of town for my sister's bachelorette party.  On Friday, we went to her final dress fitting and then drove down to Charlottesville.  We went to a goat farm where we got some goat kisses and ate goat cheese.  We hit up the breweries, distilleries, and wineries.  We had a shuttle take us around, and at one place, the bartender drove us home.  It was a nice, relaxing time.  We capped it off with brunch downtown and a nice walk during the unseasonably warm afternoon.  Back home, Little Miss had hockey and soccer.  She scored her first goal in hockey practice.  Husband sent me a video and, in the background, Captain was shouting her name.  It was so precious. 

The following weekend, we celebrated Captain's second birthday.  I made cupcakes with Where the Wild Things Are cupcake toppers and some cupcakes were little boats.  The big kids watched a movie while the little kids literally ran around in circles.  Captain missed his morning nap so he was slightly cranky and over sensitive, but I think he had fun.  He very much enjoyed the pizza at least.  Right after the party, I showered and drove to the Marine Corps Heritage Museum for the awards gala.  It was a really great event.  I had missed it previously because I had a baby and Captain's first birthday party, but I planned accordingly this year.

Last weekend, I hung out with friends.  It's been so long that we were just celebrating their birthdays - which were in March and the beginning of April.  We had a lovely lunch and caught up.  One just got a new puppy so it was nice to meet her.