A Little Bit of Princess Pampering

     This week I watched my Facebook newsfeed fill up with images of everyone's baby going back to school, and I realized with a sort of sadness that this is the last year I won't be posting "First Day of School" pictures of Monkey.  That's right; next year Monkey will be joining the flocks of tiny people headed off for some learning, and I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about it.  So to celebrate my ability to keep her home with me for one more year, we had a Princess Day.  We started the day off with Princess Pancakes, cooked by yours truly of course.

Then Monkey picked out her favorite Princess dress, the one I sewed last year for her Rapunzel costume.  Then I did her makeup, curled her hair, and painted her nails.

Ready to get her hair did

My beautiful little princess.

She requested that I wear a dress too, and she even painted my nails in return.  Next we made princess crowns before settling in for a princess movie.  She picked Brave, which is perfect since it's the only Disney movie with a Mommy/Daughter theme.

She was tired of pictures, so she started making goofy faces at the camera.  This was the best one lol

     It was a really good day.  Then J came home, and he quickly got bored with the role of Prince Charming and grabbed the Nerf gun.  That's when my pretty little princess became my Ninja Nerf gun warrior, and I transformed back into a hard-working peasant.  But it was fun while it lasted.  And what would a Princess Day be without some yummy Princess cookies?

These rich chocolatey cookies will have you feeling like you're getting the royal treatment too.

These were so easy and delicious!

Gooey Rich Chocolate Cookies
Makes about 40 cookies
4 squares Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks (I chopped up some Baker's Semi-sweet chocolate bars)
1 cup walnuts, if desired

Melt butter and chocolate in microwave in 30 second intervals, for a total of about 2 minutes.  Be careful not to let the chocolate burn.  Stir together once completely melted, then add the sugar, and stir to combine.  Stir in eggs and vanilla.  Add flour, a little at a time.  Add in chocolate chunks and walnuts if desired.  Roll into 1 inch balls, and place on a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for about 8 minutes,  or until the edges are crisp and the middle is just set.  (It will look a little undercooked, but that'll ensure they stay nice and chewy.) Cool on a cooling rack.  Enjoy!