Happy Valentine's Day

Hello out there!!

Yes, I know, long time no see....read...whatever.

Let's catch up shall we?  July last year I made a sudden move back to Texas (Howdy Y'all!).  Got a job in commission sales,,,,new home sales to be exact...and I love my new job.  Husband came back from his work in California and started school learning high end automotive tuning (I think that sounds right)....Sophie is in Kindergarten and John is just the sweetest funniest little guy EVER!  (Naturally.... )

Anyway....I made these a while back....and it's nothing new....just a throwback to one of my earliest and most favorite designs...

These are Ecrandal lingerie cutters.....I have had this cutter for like 5 years at least now and it still looks practically new.  Love these cutter.  Love the shop. Love the people.

Anyway, back to life....

I am going to try really hard to get on here and do more posts...be more active.  It's going to be hard....Full time job, husband, kids, new place...it takes up time.  But hey, I'm back in Texas which means...

I CAN TAKE ORDERS AGAIN!!

Double Chocolate Cookies

I like drop cookies...a lot.

I mean don't get me wrong...I love decorating...but there's something in the oh so instant gratification of just dropping dough on the cookie sheet and puting it in the oven.....

And then doin' NOTHING with it.

Ahhhhhh.....the simple life.

Ok so I couldn't leave them COMPLETELY alone....just a few...little eyeballs....

Anyway,  these cookies are AMAZING!  Like a delicious brownie. I kid you not.  The perfect texture, the perfect size, not cakey, not too dense, not too chewy...soft and light.... DELICIOUS.  And so easy to make!!!

Giving Thanks: Doves

As some of you know, 3 months ago my father passed away suddenly of a heart attack on his 60th birthday.  I had just had a baby 5 weeks before.  3 weeks before that my husband had to leave for 3 months for work.  It was a lot of stress and big life changes in short succession...all within a month about.  After all of this I held it together pretty well.  But as it all sunk in, it began to take it's toll and I started to become ill.  I'm ok now, thanks to family and friends who have been there for me.

It's been a very difficult 3 months.

I wanted to take the opportunity to publicly thank all of the people who have lent me so much support through these last few months.  People have sent me flowers, taken my kids for play dates, made me dinner, sent me gifts....it's really been amazing.  What touched me the most were the things sent to me from people I don't even know that well.  I think I received cards, gifts, sweets, books, baby things just about every day for a month.  In fact it's been so overwhelming that I haven't even had the time to keep up with it and thank everyone properly.  I WILL get to that.  I mean it.

I just want you to know that each card, book, gift, box of hand made cookies.....each one made me cry.  Not in the bad way, but in the way that I was so grateful.  I felt so loved it couldn't be helped.  I just wept every day for a month...and happy tears for a change.  To think that you would go through the trouble to do something so nice for someone you may not have ever met in person.... it meant something to me.

I also want to thank everyone who left comments of comfort on the blog.  It was good to hear so much positive from so many.  There are some of you who have gone through similar experiences and for a while there, when it was really important, I didn't feel so alone.

I'm going to post a tutorial or two pretty soon.  I'm edging my way back into work and daily life.  Sorry for the hermiting.  I hermit.  But I'll be back.

Thank you for your patience.  And thank you for reading.

Key Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream Sandwiches

So I don't know if any of y'all know this about me, but I'm a native Floridian.  Lived there till I was 8 then became all Texified.  But still southern y'all.....always southern.

Anyway....it's fair to say I've had my share of key lime pie.  I LOVE key lime pie....it's way better than lemon meringue if you ask my taste buds.  Which no one really does....and my taste buds get hurt about that....taste buds have feelings too ya know.

So to make an effort to appease my taste buds, who get a little blue in the summer when they realize they aren't in Florida, we usually make a key lime pie out of an old cookbook our family has.  For some reason this year I couldn't place said cookbook.  Le Disaster.  So I didn't know what to do...taste buds were starting to complain and get all whiny.....nothing worse than whiny taste buds ya know.....we all know....

So I had to wing it....and experiment....and I finally came up with these!!

Key Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream Sandwiches!!

Seriously, these have everything that I was missing about our favorite lost key lime recipe.  Except now it's cool, refreshing and portable!  A real tropical frozen treat.

Sugar Cookie Recipe

I've oddly had a tone of requests for my sugar cookie recipe.  Which I think is interesting because a sugar cookie is a sugar cookie right?  But I still get requests.

Now I really like my recipe.  It isn't too sweet, in fact it's rather buttery which I love.  And has a soft texture. Not a super soft cookie but not a crisp cookie.  So if you like 'em crisp you wont like mine.

I warn you, it isn't ground breaking...I mean there's only so many ways to make sugar cut outs.  And it isn't diet friendly.  But it is delicious.

So here it is....

My sugar cookie recipe.

From the vault: Colorful Butterflies

So I have been a little short on time for cookies lately.  Weird right?  I mean the lady has a baby and suddenly she doesn't have time to do cookies?  Who needs a shower right?  There's cookies.

Anyway, so I'm going to be posting cookies here and there that I made a while back that I've been saving for  times like this...where I'm too tired to remember if I brushed my hair today...just to run my fingers through it and think " Have I even brushed it this week?  What is this in it?  Is that a Cheeto?"

Nice huh?

Anyway....here's some pretty butterflies I made a while back that are so colorful you can't help but cheer up and think, "ah, who cares if you haven't had a pedicure in so long that your toes look like raptor talons....see the pretty rainbow colors!"

Tutorial: Stadium Cookies

Ok... So I made these stadium cookies like I don't know how many years ago for a college football playoff.  At the time I was just kinda getting in my groove and I had no idea how popular they would become.  Well, they are now one of my most copied cookies.  Not complaining.  I'm happy people seem to like them.  Just one of those things where you don't know how something is going to go over until years pass and you do a Google search.

Anyway, I thought I would show y'all how I made them years ago.  Or kinda how I made them.  A quicker and smaller scale version of them anyway.  The ones I made years ago were like 5 inch cookies and had this rather unnecessary scalloped edge on them.  Anyway....here's a toned down version of them that's super super easy.  And I think the cookie I used is like 3 inches or something.  So there you go...party sized.  Just in time for the Super Bowl.....

Tutorial: Edible (OR Storable) Christmas Cookie Ornaments

This year, I think I've done more cookie decorating than ever before...which is ironic because I haven't taken any cookie orders this season....

I had this plan (last year) to make a whole cookie tree...not a tree made of cookies, but you know, our little 2 foot tree covered in cookies.

The 2 foot tree....it's our first tree as a married couple.  We still have it....

Anyway, best laid plans blah blah blah.... you know how it goes.  Didn't happen this year.  Of course.

But that didn't stop me from trying.  At least trying to kick the cookie ornament urge.

So I made a few and put them on the big tree :)

Wanna learn how to make them?  They're super easy.  And the best part is I only had to make one color of icing...woot!

Tutorial: Christmas Bow

So like so many people this season, my schedule looks like this:

go go go...to-do to-do to-do....shopping shopping shopping...work work work...party party party...

Christmas.

Did I mention party?  I think there's something going on every weekend for the next month... maybe more.  Who knows.  Anyway, with all these parties going on (which I love btw....I mean who doesn't love a good party around Christmas?) I get asked to make a lot of cookies.

Yesterday I went to my first cookie exchange party.  And I had to bring cookies (duh).  4 dozen of them.  Well, with everything else going on this month, I don't have a ton of time to make really exquisite Christmas cookies in large batches.  And I would imagine neither do a lot of people...I mean we have to get everything done to get ready for Christmas.  There's social engagements, the shopping, the cooking, decorating.... and of course we want to spend time with our family.  So when it comes to cookies like these....I keep them old school simple.

Classic simple and festive.  Does the job.  And it's cute to boot.

12 Days Guest Post: 5 Golden Rings

I am participating in Sweet Sugar Belle's 12 Days Countdown today!

I was given 5 Golden Rings...

Wanna see how I made it?  Head over to Callye's blog RIGHT MEOW and check it out!

The posts so far have been amazing!  If you aren't stalking her daily at this point then get on it!  You don't want to miss the rest of the countdown!!

Christmas Card Inspiration: Hot Cocoa

Thanksgiving is over so I can start talking about Christmas now right??

I love Christmas.  I love decorating, making cookies, listening to music, and doing those cool fun neighborhood activities like cookie swaps and Christmas parties.  

Thanks to the internet, it's possible to include all my cookie friends from around the world into traditions now.  I love it!  So now on my list of favorite things about Christmas, are cookie link ups and challenges.  :)

Pumpkin Macarons: Recipe and Linky Party!

I enjoy trying new things.  Really...even when they turn out pretty crappy.

I also enjoy pumpkin.  A lot.

So when I get the opportunity to combine the two I do.  And since it's so close to Thanksgiving the opportunity to experiment with pumpkin has been frequent.

I've been playing with macarons lately.  And while I certainly have a LONG way to go....I think most of what I need is practice.  Technique practice.  So while these macarons might be less than perfect, they sure are tasty.

My Post Cookie Con Hand Painting Attempt

Also known as, my week trying to be as cool as Arty.

Well, I'm back from Cookie Con, and still not even kind of caught up on all the excitement.  I'm reeling.  It was AWESOME....with a capital AWE.

I'll do a Cookie Con recap later this week (or next), but for now I wanted to talk about something particular.

So Arty McGoo was there teaching in our little troupe that weekend.  And she did her all famous hand painting.  Really, if you enjoy damp dark places and have decided to live under a rock, and don't know who I'm talking about.... CLICK HERE.

Anyway, she did her demo on hand painting and somewhere during her presentation I said (aloud...why did I say it aloud?) "I think I can do that".

Then after Liz and I chatted, and she told me how fast and easy it was to paint on cookies.  I'm all for fast and easy....

And I came home.....and had a deadline to meet...and thought....quick and easy....ok... let's do this!

And after a WEEK this is what I came up with

Surprise...

**Ok, well if your a friend of mine on Facebook this might not be such a surprise.... but I'm getting ahead of myself....**

You may have noticed my absence....or maybe not.  I'm not THAT important...just saying...I've been fairly unparticipative on the inter-web for the last...uh...4...5 months??  I have valid reasons....I think so anyway.

Firstly, and probably the most influential reason, is that my computer bit the dust.  I mean crash and burn.  Crash being that I was carrying it and tripped...*crash*.  I had a small service.  There were a few attendants...ok, so my husband and me really.... and that's only because I dragged him to the living room to pay his respects before it was shelved.  Shelved with all of my data trapped inside....*sigh*...sorry, it's still a little rough.

I'll be fine...

Anyway, without the good old technology, posting was well.....difficult.  So that's that.

On happier notes...a lot of good stuff has been going on since I rejoined the living here in the real world (where I tell people I run a cookie decorating blog - "I decorate cookies" - and they look at me very perplexed...."You do what?").  August has been birthday month.  My birthday was on the 14th.  The big 3-0.

30.....I don't want to talk about it....

But it was also my grandma's 75th birthday and she was here to celebrate with me in Joplin :)  Not to mention my sister in law and my father in law...it was their birthdays in August too.  So basically it's been a month long party.

I'm tired....and fatter.

Birthday present:  a new computer....yay!!!!  So it took a little while to catch up with everything I missed and get back in the swing of things.  Get all the work uploaded and edited that I have been making over the last who knows how long....  But basically, I'm feeling pretty good.  I'm caught up (as best I can) and I should be back to regular posting.

And you know, life isn't all about cookies and food (blasphemy!!!)
....look what else happened while I was busy living...
( this is the surprise ).....on the way...

We're due in March 2013 with kiddo #2!   :)

Beautiful Bridal Shower

 So there isn't going to be toooooo much talking in this post.  Basically, I made cookies for a local wedding shower.  And there's not too much to say about it.  Tho, I am going to show you, in one photo, my general inspiration to design process.  Exciting, yes?  Ok well maybe not thrilling....

 

Patriotic Pool Party - Star TUTORIAL

So, I know, I've been gone FOR-EV-VER!  My computer broke...for good this time.  Bye-Bye hand-me-down Dell laptop.  I would get a new one and get straight back to work but you know...there's a mourning period.  I've been moping about my house for a month, wearing black, crying at random moments, scaring my family with my mood swings.....but never mind my personal life....my computer moved on to a better place, namely the bottom shelf of my book case.  I find comfort in knowing that it will make an excellent makeshift coloring table for Sophie....  *sigh*

Anyway, I stole borrowed my husbands laptop while he was sleeping with permission to do this very special tutorial.