End of School Year Celebration

 

A friend asked for a couple dozen cookies for an end of the school year celebration she is planning.  

 

 

 

A Little Cutie Is About To Arrive

 

A fun theme for a friend's baby shower.  A platter of minis to serve and larger cookies boxed for favors.

 

 

Happy Easter

 

Many, many years ago, I purchased these teeny-tiny crystal bunnies in St. Thomas for 1.00 each.  Buyer's remorse, I should have purchased dozens for gifts.  Of all the things in my home, those bunnies are what people commented on the most.  Over the years countless nieces and nephews played with them, loved making them kiss and they survived it all.  They now happily reside at great-niece Jody's house and have become a family "heirloom."

So, although I keep telling myself to stop buying cookie cutters, when I saw this set from Mike at Semi Sweet Designs, I couldn't resist.

This cute little pair were added to the family cookie platter and boxed as gifts for friends. 

I also finally got around to making this guy that has been on my "to do" list since 2016 when Montreal Confections first posted the design on YouTube.  I couldn't decide if I wanted a fuzzy bunny or not, so this guy is sporting a beard of sorts. 

In addition to cookies, the lamb cake tradition continues.  Great-nieces Leann and Mary Grace are representing the 4th generation to decorate the cakes.  I baked, they decorated!

                        

 

SIX is for Avery

It's been another wonderful year watching dear, sweet, great-niece Avery grow.  She continues to be a foodie. . . 

 

 

still loves fashion .  .  .

 

and wears it all with style and perhaps a bit of attitude.

 

 

Avery has become quite the little helper this year.  No projects are too big or too small for her.

Kindergarten took her to a new school.  .  .

 

 

. . . and on the first day, she once again said she wants to be a doctor just like she did in preschool.  However, with all of the activities she enjoys, I suspect she might change her mind over and over in the years ahead.

One of Avery's goals this year was to use the monkey bars without assistance.  Although she broke her wrist on a failed attempt, her cast did not slow her down.  The little daredevil even added gymnastics and rock climbing to her routine.

Halloween has always been a favorite holiday for the family and she was quite enthusiastic about decorating this year.

Avery is definitely following in Mom and Dad's footsteps when it comes to interest in design.

Avery's earlier birthday celebrations included cookie designs of my choosing, pastel and cute.

 

However, this year was the first time that SHE chose the theme for her birthday party, Wednesday/Barbie, and asked all of her guests to wear pink.

The theme was a new one for me and I had to do a little research on Wednesday Addams, so it seems that she is following the family tradition of challenging me to make some unusual designs.  Her older cousins had some pretty unusual requests at young ages, too.  Elliot asked for numbers for his sixth birthday so his friends could do math problems at his party.  At nine, Mary Grace requested brains and took her friends to the museum to dissect eye balls.  At ten, Leann wanted to serve her guests chicken nuggets.

From Doc McStuffins to Wednesday Addams, I'll never know what to expect from Avery, but I think she is well on her way to changing the world!

S is for sensational and stunning.

 I is for interesting and imaginative.

  X is for eXtraordinary and eXcellent.

Avery is definitely SIX in every way!

 

 

Love, hugs, cookies and happy birthday wishes!

 

 

 

Finding Dorothy

 

 

My friend Bobbie and I recently hosted our Book Club discussion of Finding Dorothy.

We welcomed our guests with images of the characters from the book and photos of L. Frank Baum's connection to Chicago, while Elton John was singing, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."

Since my great-niece Mary Grace was passionate about the Wizard of Oz when she was a little girl, I borrowed from her collection of memorabilia to decorate for the evening. 

We added some sparkling emeralds to her vintage collection and decided to wear our own ruby slippers. 

Mary Grace's books collection also added to the event.

We chose appetizers and desserts related to the theme of the evening, including a yellow brick road of cheese and a rainbow fruit platter.

 

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photograph of our poppy field with Parmesan/poppy seed wrapped mini hot dogs and our green gelato with a mini ruby slipper and a broomstick spoon that was the hit of the night!

As the evening concluded we gave each of our guests a swag bag that included additional information related to the book and of course some cookies.

 

As for Finding Dorothy.  .  . Mary Grace will ALWAYS be my lovable Dorothy!

 

References:

Thank you to Jill FCS for the design inspiration for the character cookies.
 

Christmas 2024

Hundreds and hundreds of cookie cutters can be found at my house and I always say I don't need to buy more, but it never works.  When I saw these designs I knew I wanted to include them in my holiday collection this year.  Dozens and dozens of tree cutters, but not one with a star on top, so another cutter has been added to the cutter closet.  It was worth it, these designs make me smile.

As I was decorating them, I remembered some other non-traditional trees in the past, so here is a look back at some previous designs.

 

In addition, great-niece Avery, received a special collection of cookies reminiscent of paper dolls.

 

Love, hugs, cookies and Merry Christmas to all!

Reference:   Tutorial for the tree designs can be found at Little Cookie Co.

 

Cookies or Toys?

Once upon a time great-niece, Mary Grace, challenged me to make cookies that were "real" toys.

Her sister, Leann, always requested puzzle cookies. 

  

 

Their cousin, Elliot, told me he likes looking at the cookie designs and enjoys the stories I've written about their special cookies.

 

Now that they are getting older, I took inspiration from the three of them to create some special cookies for their younger cousin, Avery, to enjoy on Christmas Eve.

Hopefully, the cousins will read the story together and play with the puzzle pieces (covered in plastic wrap!), but the big kids don't get to eat them because they are Avery's special cookies.

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'Twas the day before Christmas and all through the house, the creatures were stirring, even the mouse!

 

Santa woke up very early, took his shower and strolled into the kitchen in his underwear to drink a cup of coffee and eat the breakfast Mrs. Claus had prepared for him before she went to the barn to feed the reindeer.

After breakfast, Santa got dressed and went to the workshop to help the elves put the final touches on the toys.

Santa worked all day and skipped lunch and dinner because he knew children would leave him lots of treats to eat during his journey.  At last, it was time for Santa to dress up in his special suit, gather the reindeer and start his long trip delivering presents to children all over the world.

Once Santa finished his long journey, he arrived back at the North Pole and donned his special pajamas and slippers, drank a cup of hot chocolate and told Mrs. Claus all about his long trip.

 

So, what does Santa do on Christmas day while all the children are enjoying the surprises he delivered to them?  Well, if you look very closely, you might find him on vacation, enjoying the beach at Riviera Maya in Mexico.  Unfortunately, he won't be there in February when Avery makes her annual trip.  He will be back at the North Pole busy working on toys to deliver next Christmas.

    Merry Christmas to all and a special thank you to Santa!