I am a sucker for anything handwritten (go figure). Cards sent to me from friends, old thank you notes, love sticky notes Travis hides in places for me to find, I treasure all of these and have quite a collection of them. I even still have the note cards Travis wrote out to use in case he froze during our proposal, so sweet!

So when we were planning our wedding it was a no brainer that I really wanted to write our own set of vows in addition to the traditional ones we would be saying. I have a weird love of public speaking so I was excited to do this, Travis was not super thrilled about the idea but once again, did it to make me happy. His were obviously way sweeter and lovey than mine (story of our relationship) but we are both so happy we did this.

I kept the papers that we read off of on our wedding day, mine tear stained from my bridesmaids (thanks ladies) and Travis's from himself. This is really making me sound like I'm heartless and unemotional... I just kept telling myself not to cry and mess-up my makeup for photos.

I have been trying to think of a fun way to display these in our house for over three years but have not come up with a great idea yet other than a shadow box which I did not want to do. I decided to keep these in Travis and my memory box and transfer the text to beautiful wall art instead.

I love the way these turned out and am currently looking for the perfect place in our house to display them!

With summer coming up, so will many anniversaries. These would make the perfect anniversary gift. If you are into traditional gifts, paper is for a first year anniversary and cotton (think cotton paper) is for a second year anniversary. Personally I think these would be lovely for any anniversary or as a wedding gift. OR how special would it be to surprise your fiance with a beautiful handwritten marriage proposal *hint, hint, guys*

In honor of our anniversary yesterday I thought I would share my recipe for Travis's favorite cookie, chocolate and peanut butter chip.

When Travis and I first started dating he proudly proclaimed that he did not really like sweets or baked goods. What?!? How is this relationship ever going to work out??

I brushed his comment aside and continued to bake and began to use Travis as my recipe taster, because he loved me and would try anything I made just to make me happy, awww. And then overtime a miracle happened! Magically,Travis's mindset changed and he began to frequently ask when I was going to be baking something next. Selfishly, I like to give myself all of the credit for this.

Travis's favorite flavor combination is chocolate/peanut butter and his favorite baked item is a cookie. I have made batches and batches of cookies and after combining and tweeking many recipes, I have finally came up with Travis's favorite cookie, chocolate and peanut butter chip. These are exactly everything that a cookie should be; soft and chewy with a thick golden crumb and the perfect ratio of chips to dough.

These cookies speak many languages.

They can say, "I love you."

"I'm sorry."

"Tomorrow will be a better day"

"Congratulations!"

Or maybe just, "I want a damn cookie."

I hope you all enjoy these as much as Travis does! What is your favorite cookie?

Travis's Favorite Cookie | Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip

Yield: 2 Dozen

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. shortening

3/4 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. white sugar

2 eggs.

1 tbsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

2 1/2 c. flour

1 c. peanut butter chips

1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

Cream together butter, shortening and sugars, beating on medium to high speed for 3 minutes. Mix in eggs and vanilla on medium speed. Sift together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. On low speed slowly mix in 1/2 cup of the dry ingredient mixture at a time, being careful to not over mix. Lastly, slowly mix in chips until they are just incorporated in the dough. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl. Cover with saran wrap and chill for an hour in the fridge or 30 minutes in the freezer.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Scoop approximately two tablespoons of dough out onto the cookie sheet (3 cookies x 4 cookies). Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown, the very middle should look a tiny under cooked. Remove from oven and immediately place cookies on a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough. Enjoy!

The butter and shortening combo create the right texture for the cookie.
Do not substitute one for the other.

Whenever making cookies make sure to always properly
cream your fats and sugars together.

Farm fresh eggs are the best eggs.

Travis agreed to be my hand model for this recipe since these are HIS cookies after all.

Make sure your baking soda is fresh or it won't properly do its magic!

I have a thing for cute measuring spoons.
In case you are needing a gift idea for me...

Slowly add in your dry ingredients so they do not explode everywhere!

Gently mix in the chocolate and peanut butter chips.

You should probably try the dough to make sure it is good...just in case.
Side note- has anyone actually ever REALLY gotten sick from eating
cookie dough out the mixer?

Go ahead and preheat your oven while your cookies are chillaxin'.

Scoop them out onto your sheet.
Buy an ice cream scoop for scooping out cookies if you haven't already done so.

Transfer to a cooling rack as soon as you take them out of the oven.
Let cool and try to not eat more than just one!