Friday, January 20, 2012

This Moment 1.20.12




{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. (From Soule Mama...love this tradition so I am striving to do this as well...I need to take more time to savor and it will be such a treat to look back and remember these moments)

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Cupcakes! Cupcakes! Cupcakes! "Big Book of Cupcakes"

Big Book of Cupcakes: 150 brilliantly delicious Dreamcakes presented by Southern Living

by Jan Moon

This book includes recipes from the founder/owner of Dreamcakes bakery in Alabama.
My favorite quote from the book..."I learned that you truly taste with your eyes first, so making food beautiful is as important as making it taste good." I formerly posted that looks are nice, but taste is key. Maybe I need to rethink this stance and value the look of my baked goods as well. I am a picky eater and definitely taste with my eyes first. If I don't like the looks of the dish...it is not going in my mouth. I digress, back to the cupcakes.

I came across this book and fell in love with it immediately. The recipes from Dreamcakes are so tantalizing...I couldn't decide on just one. I decided to bake 3 different types of cupcakes for a friend's bridal shower. I only ended up using one recipe from this book: chocolate peanut butter. Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache filling and peanut butter icing. Delicious!



My party co-host, my domestically gifted mother, made key lime cupcakes and red velvet. Oh my gosh...so tasty. Am I making you hungry for some cupcakes yet? No? These photos from the party should do the trick.


Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Cookie Swap Goodness

So this is the second year that I have hosted a small cookie swap for friends from work and church. I love Christmas cookies and it seems like I never have enough time to make all the recipes I want to every year. So I decided to host a swap and increase my cookie variety the easy way.
lots of boxes waiting for the cookies to arrive!

Oatmeal Raisin

Chocolate Ginger Molasses

Spritz
love my sister's Charlie Brown tree

the cookie swappers!
We had a great time at my sister's house (she agreed to co-host with me) and a great variety of cookies. Anyone else host or attend cookie swaps? Any cookies that we must add to our swap next year? Do share the cookie tips! 

Saturday, January 7, 2012

2011 Happy Tree Favorites

So I declared 2011 as my year to "get stuff done"...and am happy to report that I did accomplish quite a bit. My top completed five projects from 2011, in no particular order.

1. Silhouette gifts. I made two silhouette gifts for a Christmas gift for my sister. I was hesitant to use this turquoise color, but I love, love how they turned out. My nieces were so funny when I bugged them to take profile photos...4 and 6 year old girls are used to looking at the camera and plastering smiles on. They looked at me like I was a bit crazy, but thankfully, I got the shots and proceeded with my secret gift project.

2. Blanket projects. I made four knitted blankets this year, which sounds impressive, except that three of the four were actually baby doll blankets for my daughter and nieces. I knitted a whole bunch of squares last year and FINALLY got it together and completed the blanket. My mom also finished my 10 year blanket project from my college t-shirts. I am currently snuggling with this special blanket on the sofa. It holds so many fun memories and turned out just how I imagined it would a decade ago.
 3. Seashell photo frames. We live close to the beach, but also vacationed at the beach with my in-laws this summer. It was quite a week. My teething toddler did not care a bit about the beach, but I loved the time spent in total beach relaxation. I bullied everyone into taking family photos on the beach and I spent several days collecting tiny bits of shells to bring home for this project. I made a large frame for my sister-in-law and smaller gray-toned frame for one of my sisters. They both seemed to like them. 

4. Cozy pink hat. I have a big head and unfortunately for me, big hair as well. This big head/big hair combo makes winter months frustrating because I can't find comfortable beanie hats. I decided to take matters into my own hands and make a big head hat. I love the color, the simplicity of the hat, and most of all, the comfort factor of this hat. Sometimes I just wear it around my condo...it is true hat love.

5. Birthday cards. I love making and sending birthday cards. I love that moment of opening my mailbox to find birthday cards instead of bills. It is nice that loved ones can send well wishes on facebook, emails, and texts, but for me, they don't replace an actual card. I love cards and I had a great time creating cards in 2011.

Not sure what my project list looks like for 2012, but I am sure it will fill up fast. Here's to another great year of patterns, projects, and photos.
Craft Hope Spreading seeds of hope one stitch at a time