Bright Bazaar by Will Taylor
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Holiday Housekeeping

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bissell crosswave vaccumI think the one conversation I almost always have with all my NYC friends (after lamenting about subway horrors/rent prices/the weather, obviously!) is how we keep our relatively small NYC apartments clean and organized. We’re always sharing tales about our various tricks for keeping the small spaces we live in tidy and respectable. There are two spaces in my new NYC apartment that I had been continually fighting to keep on top of: the entryway and the kitchen. In fact, these two spaces see even heavier foot traffic during the busy holiday season as guests come and go, and I’m in the kitchen more baking cookies for swap parties and dinners for friends. So, I was thrilled when Bissell kindly invited me to try out their new Bissell CrossWave vacuum as I was keen to see if it would help me keep these areas of my apartment cleaner. After the jump I’m sharing my thoughts and a fun last-minute cookie recipe that are perfect to take to loved ones as little host/hostess gifts.

bissell crosswave vaccumTwo-tone Holiday Cookies

What you need:
– 1 cup unsalted butter
– 1 cup granulated sugar
– 2 large eggs
– 4 cups all-purpose flour
– 0.5 cup cornstarch
– 1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 1 teaspoon salt

How to make:
Heat your oven to 375 F and then grease two baking sheets and line them with parchment paper. Next, cream the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy.  Then, mix the eggs and vanilla until they are combined before adding the flour, cornstarch, and salt – mix everything slowly until the mixture comes together. Divide the dough in half and take one half of the dough and place it onto a piece of parchment paper. Next, put on gloves before adding 20 drops of food colouring (or more as required) and knead into the dough using your hands. Between two  pieces of parchment paper use a rolling pin to roll both halves of dough out to your desired cookie thickness. Then, cut the dough into shapes using a large circle and then a smaller holiday shape in the middle of the cookie. Cut out identical cookies in each colour, and then swap over the middle parts using a palette knife. Place on baking sheet and bake for 9 to 12 minutes.bissell crosswave vaccumAren’t they so cute?! These two-tone holiday cookies are the perfect last-minute bake because they take hardly anytime at all but come out the oven looking like amazing store bought cookies. Ideal, right?bissell crosswave vaccumRemember when I shared a look at my kitchen recently? Well, as you can see it’s small but perfectly formed. Still, as it’s open plan with the rest of the apartment I like to make sure that I can efficiently clean up as soon as I finish baking or cooking. Normally, I would have to vacuum and then mop afterwards but since I started cleaning with the Bissell CrossWave vacuum that’s all changed. The best thing about the Bissell CrossWave vacuum is that it mops and vacuum’s at the same time. Seriously, how awesome is that?! It’s such a timesaver and it leaves my floors looking so clean. As my heartmate said when he came home: “The floors look like they did the day we moved in!” And, well, I’ve always said that a happy home leads to a happy heart so I think it’s a winner! I also love how the Bissell CrossWave vacuum cleans area rugs – the multi-surface brush changes automatically at the quick touch of a button without having to change attachments etc. On that note, I’m off to do some last minute baking (and cleaning!) before friends come over to our apartment. Happy Holidays, everyone!bissell crosswave vaccum// Photography by Will Taylor | Posted in partnership with Bissell; all views my own

Author

Will Taylor

Will lives in NYC and is an interior design author and content creator. He's been blogging about his love of design, style and travel since 2009. His #MakeYouSmileStyle approach to decorating and dressing has inspired over one million Instagram uploads to the hashtag from followers across the world.

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11 Comments

  1. Jessie Reply

    I need this vacuum! Sounds ideal for all the dog hair in our place! lol

  2. Christina Reply

    Thanks for this recipe Will it looks delicious. xx P.S. I also have a Bissell and love it.

  3. Lauren Reply

    Perfect timing as we are heading out to find a new vacuum today because our old one broke and we have 19 guests coming for Christmas!!! Thanks Will!!

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Hey, I'm Will

Welcome to Bright.Bazaar, my make-you-smile style corner of the internet. I’ve been sharing my love of beautiful design, feel-good homes, everyday style, inspiring travel and, pretty much everything in between, since 2009. As well as working as a content creator, I write interior design books and edit a bi-weekly e-newsletter called Smile Mail. I live in New York City with my heartmate and can often be found listening to Madonna’s Confessions album and dreaming up my next home renovation project.