The merry blob of cookie dough in my refrigerator just received a festive festooning of peppermint sprinkles. And the Fixin’ Leeks and Leeks Team approves. To make the merriest of shortbread cookies, I used Ina Garten’s recipe. I shaped the cookies using a cookie dough scoop, placing them on a cookie sheet, and lightly flattening… Continue reading Dashing Through the Dough: Candy-Cane Sprinkled Shortbread Cookies

Splash away, splash away, bourbon and all! The fruitcake cookie is having a ball. Why? Rather than serving as a festive doorstop, gifted and regifted from house to house, the fruitcake is guiding the sleigh this year at the Fixin’ Leaks and Leeks Headquarters. I searched for a fruitcake cookie recipe that would be soft,… Continue reading Fruitcake Cookie Kickoff to a Cookie Countdown to Christmas

When a tree-shaped chunk of wood meets the old pages of a book, romance sparks and develops into one fire of a holiday craft. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to go, according to the Instagram video I watched, which inspired a craft I’ve just now attempted. I figured that the resulting craft would call… Continue reading Craft Alert: Page-Turning Photo Plaque Project

A riotous gaggle of leaves wouldn’t let me pass, unless I took a picture of them. So, I did. You always hear, “Look up if you want to see beautiful things,” but sometimes, you have to look down—often for practical reasons (dog doo, slugs that go squish)—but also because some very threatening fall leaves told… Continue reading Fall Leaves I Can’t Leave Behind

A Sasquatch sighting, on my husband’s socks, derailed my crafting plans. I was tearing through the house, looking for crafting supplies, but I found something better: Nate, holding up a pair of socks he bought. They had a motif of Sasquatch running around with pitchers of beer. And that’s when I thought, to heck with… Continue reading Un-Crafting Day: Why I’m Thankful

A swishy gust of wind tried to whisk the fall leaves from the trees outside our house, but they held fast. And as long as those sassy leaves stayed in the trees, I would help hold them down by whipping something up better than what the wind could whip down (such as the beloved neighborhood… Continue reading Swish Go the ‘Shrooms

Rumors of maggots stuck inside chocolaty treats ran rampant on the internet this week, but they didn’t faze me. What really frightens me is doing math or art in front of other people. The people I work with are super nice, and they’re all artistic. They’re like, incredibly talented and enjoy getting together to create.… Continue reading The Thrills and Spills of Pumpkin Painting

The killer korn maze is no place to look for a cheap thrill. Sure, it might be oozing with horror-filled action, but it’ll cost you at least a week’s worth of groceries. Instead, there’s a much cheaper option, and you’ve found it! The Fixin’ Leaks and Leeks Team has a tradition of making up ghost… Continue reading DIY Ghost Stories: The Haunted Ghost Inspector Pays a Visit

From under the lid of the boiling pot…the pasta came alive, with olive eyes and garlic-basil innards. It formed a blob, picked up a knife, and slashed the bread into ghost and pumpkin shapes. But the Fixin’ Leaks and Leeks Team wrestled the knife from the pasta, ate it all, and breathed on the vampires… Continue reading Trick or Treat Creepy Pasta and Sandwich Night

Transform dessert into a whimsical crime scene! We’re definitely in the Halloween spirit at the Fixin’ Leaks and Leeks Headquarters, though we haven’t gotten our pumpkins yet, and there’s nary a spider web in sight. But I did find a recipe for apple crumble, and with a flick of the pen, it now has a… Continue reading Eerie Apple Crumble with Ghost Foam