Happy 20th Birthday Squirty!

Well, yesterday was a big day for my first baby Squirty. She turned 20! My family adopted her when I was 5, and we’ve been best friends ever since. She’s lived in my parents house for the last 10 years, and I just recently moved her to my apartment. She transitioned swimmingly and is loving her grown-up house. Here she is enjoying the sun and wind on her birthday.

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And here she is trying to eat some mousse cake I made. I mean there were candles…and I was singing to her…so I can see why she thought it was her cake. Her cat-cake was a can of tuna and some special cheesy cat food.

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It’s amazing what a blessing animals can be in our lives. Here’s to another 20 years together!

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How unbearably cute is she here?!

the best oatmeal cookies

I know, I know…I just posted the best cake balls; how could I possibly have the best oatmeal cookie recipe too? Actually, this was probably one of the recipes that got me interested in baking. This was my go-to recipe as a kid, and even though I probably got it off the back of an oatmeal box, it felt like my own and I was always so proud to share it. 

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My cat seemed to know that these are the best oatmeal cookies too, because she was all over the plate during the photo shoot.

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Recipe follows 

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

yields:4 dozen

{1 cup (2 sticks)softened butter | 1 cup brown sugar | 1/3 c granulated sugar | 2 eggs | 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract | 1 1/2 cup flour | 1 tsp baking soda | 2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats | 1 2/3 cups cinnamon chips** | 3/4 cups chocolate chips}

1

. Heat 

oven to 350 F

2. Beat

butter, brown sugar, and sugar until creamy

.

3. A

dd

eggs and vanilla and

beat

well

.

4. A

dd

flour and baking soda and 

beat

well

.

5. 

Stir

in oats and all chips.

6

Drop

balls of batter onto ungreased cookie sheet.

7

Bake

for 10 minutes

.

**The cinnamon chips can be unfortunately hard to find

But I’m sure these would also be good with white chocolate chips

toffee chips

,

 or caramel bits

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