Just Hangin' With The Girls

One of the things I love to do around the holidays is have a girlfriend brunch at my house. I love to decorate my house and the table and have all the holiday foods and cookies to share.

We usually all bring a dish and a gift to pass. Of course the first thing we do is eat and eat then we play the game where you exchange and steal each others' gifts.

It never happened this Christmas though. One of the girls had Shingles. Then another had knee surgery the day after Christmas. Then one got sick and it kept getting pushed further into the new year.

It is mid-January and we finally got together today. On a spontaneous whim sparked by Tree, we decided to forget the homemade holiday foods and the decorations and on a Tuesday just get together and have take-out pizza and brownies. We kept the gift part in though!

Let me introduce you to my girlfriends....

L to R.....Kim, Colleen, Tree, Lora

Kim is my confidant and my comrade in aging! She and I share similar ailments and so we are making our way through the aches and pains of our 50's together! She loves people and is always upbeat and fun.

Colleen is a stitch. For those that are not familiar with that saying, it means she is always making us laugh. She has the best one-liners. My face hurts from laughing after I get off the phone with her.  She is always smiling and she is seriously sweet.

Tree (Theresa) is fun-loving and spunky. She is the youngest of the group and keeps us all going. She actually got a group of us women to get our picture taken on Santa's lap at the mall....more than once! It's always a fun time with Tree there.

Lora is sweet.....her picture is next to the word in the dictionary! She would do anything for anyone. She actually brought her Kitchen Aid mixer (it is HEAVY) to an event to make and then bake the dessert she didn't have time to make at home. And she has been known to just drop by your house with one of her fabulous homemade apple pies.

So while we were waiting for the pizza to arrive, we ate dessert first!  Coffee and "you will want to eat the whole pan" Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Brownies (see recipe below). After pizza and salad we played the gift game.

With two dice on a plate and a timer on for 5 minutes, the plate gets passed around and everyone rolls for a chance at doubles. If you get doubles you pick a gift. When everyone has a gift and there is still time on the clock, you keep rolling for doubles and then you can steal someone else's gift or keep what you've got. We're talking some nice gifts here!

I got that fabulous bowl that Tree brought....

 

and Tree got the gift I brought....lotion from Bath and BodyWorks and a lotion
sponge thingy to put it on your back.Works great!





We fooled around taking lots of pictures and the day was complete. Another fun time with the girls....

 

 

 

 Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Brownies

 

 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 cup baking cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

 

Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 9 x 13 pan.

 

In a large bowl using wire whisk ( I use my mixer), cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg, then sour cream and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Gradually blend dry ingredients into creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Batter will be stiff. Spread in pan.

 

Bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Frost with powdered sugar or chocolate buttercream frosting.

 

AnnMarie :)