The Happy Woman Store

That’s the only explanation I can come up with for the reason that the cookies (pictured above) looked incredible when they came out of the oven…and kind of like an 8 year old finished them up (pictured below). What can I say..I guess I didn’t pay attention during frosting class.

The cookies themselves were really delicious - very gingery. I got the recipe from recipezaar.com (gingerkitten)

The Most Wonderful Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional) (I put this in!)
Directions
1 In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended.
2 In a large bowl (KitchenAid’s great for this) beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended.
3 Add molasses, vanilla, and lemon zest and continue to mix until well blended.
4 Gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth.
5 Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.
6 (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but in this case it should be refrigerated. Return to room temp before using.) Preheat oven to 375°.
7 Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
8 Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface.
9 Sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin.
10 Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thick.
11 Use additional flour to avoid sticking.
12 Cut out cookies with desired cutter– the ginger bread man is our favorite of course.
13 Space cookies 1 1/2-inches apart.
14 Bake 1 sheet at a time for 7-10 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies– very good!).
15 Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack.
16 After cookies are cool you may decorate them any way you like.
17 I usually brush them with a powdered sugar glaze when I am in a hurry, but they look wonderful decorated with Royal icing. (Or you can glob the frosting on and sprinkle with sugar, like I did!)

If you live in or near Lubbock, Texas, you know that yesterday was a weird weather day. Here’s how Leigh Anne, a school teacher and our first Spa Giveaway winner, describes it:

At 6:00 a.m. I received a phone call that school would be starting 2 hours late because the streets were all covered with black ice. When I left the house, it was foggy,cold, and icy. Just about the time school started, the ice was beginning to melt. The sun was out. Soon after that, our classroom was caught in rain as we were moving from the portable outside to go into the building. After lunch, we had sleet pounding our windows. About an hour after that, there was a beautiful rainbow outside. Finally at 3:00 p.m. we had a dirt storm with winds blowing up to 60mph.

Then, after school, Leigh Anne’s day got a whole lot better. She and her friend, Mary went to the Woodhouse Spa for warm sugar scrub pedicures, accompanied by glasses of white wine and mimosas. All that was great, but the best part of the day was getting to hang out, spend some quiet time together, and relax.

This could have been YOU! Want to keep in the loop about our giveaways and specials? Sign up for our monthly Newsletter!

My name is Linda….and I used to wear Christmas sweaters. When I unpacked these napkins recently, it brought to mind the fact that not only had I worn tacky Christmas sweaters in the past, but that “the past” was within the last ten years. Big shivery shudder.

So, last night, I combed through old photos to see just exactly what my Christmas sweater fixation had been like. And, in the interest of healing this old wound, I’m sharing these photos with you. I know you’d never share them with anyone else. Right?

This is the most recent. I think I was trying to hip things up a bit. I mean, it IS a vest, not a sweater. And, those giant Christmas trees covering it? Well, those are not really very hip.

This might have been one of my earliest ventures into the world of Christmas sweaters. I kind of had one foot in and one out, so to speak. The sweater is red (a very popular Christmas sweater color) and it is covered with black reindeer (another popular Christmas sweater motif). But, you can tell that I’m just a Christmas sweater newbie here — I haven’t even begun to reach my full Christmas sweater potential. And the other thing? My niece seems better dressed than I.

Here is one of my favorites — the Christmas cardigan. I’m almost positive that I was wearing black stirrup pants with this sweater. See the jazzy Christmas sweater motif? It’s a Christmas sweater…but it’s not quite a Christmas sweater. Stunning.

And, finally, I’m including a photo of my mom. She’s wearing a Christmas sweater, but it’s really her Christmas necklace that takes center stage.

Oh, and, just in case you’re wondering, I’m not talking about the lack of snow around these parts. Oh no siree, no. But, I admit that it has been a little bit of a struggle this year to GET. IN. THE. MOOD. Anybody else having trouble? Last week, I embarked upon the arts and crafts project of my life and created this window display featuring the work of Susan Brown. You know her from the Fairy Godmother, Follow Your Yellow Brick Road and Guardian Angel Boxes that she creates for our site. There’s just something about her artwork that says, “Get happy!” and “Put your big girl panties on”, all at the same time. So I did. And did.

Today (November 30th) Only! Get $5 off shipping (promo code = CYBERSHIP) or 10% off your entire order (promo code = CYBER10). Offer ends at midnight on November 30th!

My family has been making our Thanksgiving turkey this way for years and it turns out moist and delicious every single time. There’s a pretty major maneuver about an hour and a half before the turkey is done, which involves flipping the bird. Be sure you have a glass of wine or two before the flip — it makes the process much more interesting! (You can find this and other great recipes in Spike’s Eats)

UPSIDE DOWN TURKEY

2 cloves garlic, minced
Fresh chopped or dried herbs such as basil, oregano, parsley
6 Tbsp softened butter
1/2 tsp salt & pepper
One fresh turkey
Oven roasting bag
Stuffing

In a small bowl with a fork, combine garlic, herbs, salt and pepper with softened butter.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Starting around the main body cavity, carefully slip your hand under the turkey skin and break the membranes that hold it to the body. With your fingers, smear the herb butter under the skin. If you’re stuffing the bird, place stuffing in the neck and main cavity. Close skin flaps with skewers. Rub the rest of the herb butter over the skin of the turkey.

Set bird breast side down in turkey roasting bag on rack in a roasting pan. Roast turkey for the time suggested. An hour and a half before turkey is done, remove turkey from oven and turn breast side up. Continue roasting until bird is done. If juices run clear when leg joint is pierced and leg wiggles easily in the joint, it is done (USDA recommends internal temp of 165).

We have so many things to be grateful for this year. First of all, we’re still here — that in itself is a source for a great deal of thanks! We owe that to you: our regulars, first-time shoppers, all of you have helped to keep this ship called The Happy Woman store afloat for another year. Our Suttons Bay store set records this summer — thank you to all of the visitors and locals who made that possible.

A year of good health, a supportive husband and family, friends that make a real difference in my life, and a little dog that brings endless joy — these are some of the other things that I’m grateful for this year.

As a way of saying thanks, we’re offering 15% off your total online order through 11/28. Enter Promo Code ‘Gratitude’ when you check out.

Wishing you the happiest of Thanksgivings!

Click here to get the scoop!

Coco’s response when I told her she was getting a haircut this week.

I’ve never been a girl who excelled in sports. While other kids were playing basketball and softball, I was studying the dictionary for the next spelling bee. In 3rd grade, I was scheduled to run the 100 yard dash on Field Day and, right before the race, I fell from the monkey bars and had to disqualify myself because I had a stomach ache. Coincidence? Mmmmm….no. I was a cheerleader for awhile, but that’s not really a sport, right? Right leg out, left leg out. Two claps. Go team.

In high school, I did the bare minimum, which meant attending Gym class whenever I was forced to take it. The one required semester of swimming found me inventing daily excuses for not being able to get in the pool, an exercise in creativity. I also took tennis (stand on court and swing lightly whenever ball threatens to hit you in the face) and ping pong (yes, ping pong is apparently a gym class approved sport).

Cut to one year past high school and my first real summer job: camp counselor at Interlochen’s National Music Camp. As a pianist, I thought this job was going to be a piece of cake: watch some kids, teach some music? Uh, not exactly. You see, they have highly paid professionals to do all the music stuff and I was hired to watch some kids and teach them how to swim. Teach them how to SWIM. During the Advanced Life Saving Exam, I almost drowned MYSELF as I was trying to “rescue” my teacher. I’m 5′ 2″ tall, she was at least 6′, 200 lbs and for some reason, she had greased herself up like a watermelon. I doubt that Arnold Schwarzenegger could have saved her. But, thank God she saved me, so that I could live to swim another day. The ending of the story is sad, but typical for me: I was sent to Arts and Crafts.

So, what does all this have to do with a cupcake? Well, 7 days ago, I decided to issue myself a physical challenge for the first time in about 40 years. I’ve been attending Bikram Yoga for about 2 years and I’ve been going 3 times a week. What if I were to step it up? What if I were to go, say, 30 days in a row? I explained my intention to my husband and, being the achiever he is, he immediately saw the need for goals in order to make this happen. And, the first goal that popped into his head was a cupcake after 5 days. That’s a goal I could get behind. And, that is a goal I achieved. Next stop: massage.