Purging Petronilla Part 1: 112 things in 01/2012

Purging part 1 of 2 is happening this morning! If you missed it, you can read about the goal in this post–and I’m so excited to hear from all of you who have joined the purging craze! It does good to a woman’s heart to make her little space in the world a little less cluttered and a little more organized, doesn’t it?

Aaaaaaah.

Our first round of purging happened the other weekend, and we got rid of 60 things. (This was just after the burglary, in which some items were involuntarily “purged”, heh heh. I wouldn’t exactly have chosen to get rid of my engagement ring . . . but anyway.)

Ready to see? First, this little set of espresso cups that I bought my husband in Spain (during our dating years). I have affectionate memories of buying them and surprising him with them, but after 6 years of carting them around, it’s time for me to admit to myself and to the world that we don’t use them anymore.

I mean seriously–you can see the dust on the surface of those cups, right? Yuck. They had to go.

Next up, a few items of clothing that no longer have a place on my body.

That purple shirt does nothing for my, you know, chest. Adios, muchachos.

I have enough trouble making that area look not flat-as-a-board that any shirt who refuses to sign up for the curve-enhancing program must be chucked. It’s a personal policy that I must cling to unswervingly.

Next: a fruit basket that we don’t use (we have a different fruit bowl we like much better).

Some books–duplicates, plus depressing French books that I haven’t read since college. And on top of the pile, a chunky bracelet I just can’t pull off:

A set of silverware (we counted this as 1 item). It was my grandma’s, and after asking my parents and sisters if they wanted it, nobody wants to take it off our hands.

It’s not really valuable, and being silver-plated, it requires special care. Not sure about you, but I’m not a huge fan of things that require special care. I prefer my Target stainless steel ware, so I let go of sentimentalism and purged.

Goodbye, and I hope you find a new and beautiful home.

A cookbook I never use . . .

. . . and VHS tapes! A whole heck of a lot of them.

I ordered 6 of them on DVD (and therefore didn’t count those items as part of the 60 that we purged, since we’re replacing them instead of ridding ourselves of them forever).

Goodbye, you almost-obsolete pieces of technology.

Also going obsolete: this film-based camera. I’ve been a digital girl for years, and it’s just been kicking around, causin’ trouble.

Other items that went: old make-up (into the trash), old cassette tapes (into the trash), and old umbrella (into the trash), an old pair of sneakers from . . . high school? Into the trash! Hoobeddy habbiddy!

Here’s the haul, which made its way out our door in 4 bulging bags:

This is how I felt when it was over:

Hip hip hurrah!

Part 2 and the remaining items next week. Let me know if you want to join in, and if you’ve already blogged about it, feel free to send me your links so that I can include them in my final post!

You can also read about Layla’s Purge, Heather’s purge and Sarah’s purge–thanks for joining in, ladies!

Turtle Cookies

I am the only girl that works in my office. My boss is a dude; the guys in the factory are all, well, guys. So when the time came for us employees to put together a Christmas present for our boss last month, I was called upon.

I think many men assume that females have that magical present-creating touch, so on a Tuesday I was told in no uncertain terms to come up with a present by Thursday. I knew there was no wiggling out of this, so I quickly concoted a plan that has generally pleasing results and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg either: baking. Everyone appreciates a homemade gift, and what do you give to the man who has it all?

Well, chocolate is a start.

Add some pecans and caramel bits, and even better.

Wrap them up in pretty tissue paper, stick them in some cute packaging, and you have a winning gift that everyone is happy with, givers and receiver alike.

Hence, from this recipe by the lovely baking wonder Veronica, an appropriate gift was created, a card was signed, and much happiness reigned. I think I’ll just pop in a quote from Veronica’s blog which accurately describes how great these cookies are: “Soft, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, gooey with caramel and studded with chocolate & pecans.” Thank you for summing it up so concisely, my dear.

And now let’s make ’em!

Ingredients

(Makes 36 cookies)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1TBS vanilla extract
½ tsp white vinegar
2 large eggs
1 ½ tsp baking soda
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup caramel bits
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 F and cover the baking sheets with parchment paper (if not, the caramel bits will stick to the bottom).

Spread the pecans on a microwave-safe plate and microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring with your fingers in between, for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant and toasted.

Chop up the nuts.

In a stand mixer, cream together the softened butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and vinegar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and baking soda, and beat until combined.

Add the flour, mixing until just combined.

Like so!

Feel free to lick your fingers at this point, unless raw eggs wig you out.

Stir in the chocolate chips, pecans, and caramel bits, until evenly mixed.

If you seek perfection in sugared confection . . .

Portion the dough in balls onto the baking sheets, leaving an inch between the cookies.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are just starting to get golden brown around the edges. Remove the sheets from the oven, and let the cookies sit for 5 minutes.

Remove the cookies to a cooling rack.

And that is that, mes amis!

Consume, or give them to your boss for maximum boss-pleasing. Chances are he/she’ll offer you one anyway–and maybe even a raise in the rush of sugar-induced euphoria that’s bound to follow.

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