A DIY Christmas

It's holiday baking season, y'all.
{And gift-giving season as well, don'tchaknow}.
And if you're anything like me, you LOVE to be in the kitchen.

What I don't love? Spending a small fortune on ingredients.
So *sometimes* I make my own :)

It's super easy-peasy.

You should make some too.
And gift some.
Your friends will love you!
 

 

 

 

 All you need is:

* Vanilla Beans {I use Madagascar from Beanilla }
* Glass Bottles from Amazon
* Vodka
{I use the cheapie kind, and I make Jeremy buy it for me}

Just slice the beans down the middle, throw 'em in the bottle, and fill with Vodka.
You'll want to let them sit for a few weeks, and then give 'em to your bestest besties.
{and keep a few for yourself!}


Talk to me about your favorite homemade gifts! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Baking Season

If it were up to me, it would always be baking season. 
At our house, it pretty much is.
Hello, my name is Liz, and I'm a cookie-aholic.

Have you ever noticed that cookies and, well, everything taste so much better when you use "real" ingredients?  {Real butter, and we're blessed to have fresh eggs daily, and mmmmmm, vanilla}.  A good vanilla makes all the difference, in my opinion.  And I use vanilla in EVERYTHING, whether it calls for it or not ;)

Ever thought about making your own?
Me neither.
Until I started cringing every time I had to fork out lots o' bucks for tiny little bottles of vanilla {which was pretty frequently}, and until I kept reading about how easy it is to make your own!  And until I thought, 'hey, this is a great gift idea!'

All you need are glass bottles, vanilla beans, and vodka ;)

I purchased my glass bottles on Amazon, and I think I got 12 of them for about $10, including shipping.
I got the vanilla beans through Beanilla.  They offer a HUGE assortment of different types of beans.  I chose the Madagascar ones because of their flavor and price.

And I can't even tell you what kind of vodka I used.  A cheap kind.  Jeremy picked it up for me ;)

You just take and slice the beans down the middle, drop a couple of them in each bottle, add the vodka, and voila!  Let it sit for a few weeks, and you have your very own vanilla.  The best part?  When you're running low, top it off with more vodka, and perhaps another bean.  Easy peasy.



Oh, and did I mention they make the cutest gifts?