Boys, Buildings, Books and Berries: blogging

I did not intend for this to be a food blog, and I promise to get to the architectural critique that I am sure you are all (umm...3 of you...) waiting for. I actually have a building in mind in my own neighborhood that I would very much like to discuss, but I am waiting for it to progress a little further before I go take pictures. The problem with blogging about local architecture is that I usually notice it when I am in my car and don't have my camera. While I might make a mental note to get back there, my life does not always allow me that privilege.
Anyway. Food. I have noticed that blogging about food is really popular right now. I confess to not being much of a foodie, although my husband and I do get great pleasure out of trying out new and interesting ethnic restaurants. I mostly view food as a vehicle to repower me so that I can get through the next few hours. If there was a "food pill" I'd probably be all over it. With my two little boys, I really don't have time to be a dinner-gourmet. I am lucky to get through cooking a meal without wanting to run far away from my kitchen. (Why is it that all children become whiny and attention-starved at exactly 5pm?) However, I do like to bake and I love to try new recipes and experiment so lately I have spent a little more time perusing food-ish blogs than I used to. One of these blogs is Picky Palate. She has some pretty amazing cookies/desserts on there and they are all quite accessible, one recently had only 3 ingredients - peanut butter, marshmallow cream and eggs. Yum.
My favorite treat is a chocolate chip cookie. I have always used the same tried-and-true recipe since I was a kid, but lately I have experimented with a couple of new ones. I had no idea what I was missing! My friend Heather has a lovely food blog and seems to like chocolate chip cookies as much as I do, so I tried out the Alton Brown recipe she posted. They were amazing! We loved them! Tonight I tried out an intriguing one I found on Picky Palate that uses vanilla ice cream. Since my husband had been a little grumbly about my grabbing low-fat ice cream, I decided to use it up. They turned out great. I particularly enjoyed eating way too much cookie dough. It was so creamy and had a really nice burst of vanilla flavor. The only critique I can give is that it disappears when they are baked. Here is a little photo-trip of my cookie-making evening...(her photos are WAY better than mine, by the way)