My Cupcake and Cookie Wars

Hey gang,

I just had a week full of baking. Wow, and I had a lot of fun. Here's the catch: I don't really cook...matter of fact I don't remember the last time I actually cooked. My hubby is the chef here. He luuuuuuuvs to cook and he's pretty awesome at it too. Any hoo, I was invited to a recipe party and opted to bake my favorite cookies - chewy pecan supreme cookies.

Hubby even bought me a cute little handheld mixer :o)  .

Here's the recipe:

1. __1-1/2 sticks of butter, softened

2. __1 c. sugar

3. __1 c. flour

4. __1 tsp. cinnamon

5. __1 egg, separated

6. __1 tsp. vanilla extract

7. __1 c. pecans, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS: With your electric mixer, cream butter until light. Add dry ingredients sifted together. Add egg yolk and vanilla, mix well. Spread in 18”x13” dish. Brush tops with egg whites, sprinkle liberally with pecans. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until light brown. Cool, and then cut into desired shape.

I actually started out using my heart shaped cookie cutter, then realized that would waste too much of my yummy cookies. So, I used my handy pizza cutter to cut the big cookie into individual bars.

I actually started out using my heart shaped cookie cutter, then realized that would waste too much of my yummy cookies. So, I used my handy pizza cutter to cut the big cookie into individual bars.

A few days later I had a luncheon at work (yes, I work full-time) and I baked cupcakes. Now, this was fun because I'd been wanting to make cupcakes for a while. I chose to make the mini sized cupcakes (that way I could eat 2 and not feel bad...gotta hold on to this size 6 that I achived over the last few months, LoL).

These are butter pecan (made from the "cake in a box"). I added cream cheese icing and topped some with chopped pecans and others with candy butterflies.  They were actually pretty yummy before I added the icing. 

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Happy Crafting,

Birthday Bash in Savannah

Well, I had a bit more notice about this trip. We left on a Thursday headed to Savannah, GA. What a beautiful drive. I love seeing open fields, farms and animals. Love it! Keep in mind that hubby is very good at keeping secrets, so I had no details. We arrived and checked into the historic Marshall House in downtown Savannah. BEAUTIFUL!

We ate at B&D burgers – I enjoyed a turkey burger and hubby had a veggie burger. It was so good that we ate there 2 days in a row. Then we went out on my b’day date and ate at a Salt Water Grill on the water and we enjoyed tasty seafood. Umm, umm, umm. Of course, I did some shopping at some of the local shops. One that stood out was Nourish, a candle and soap shop. We also dropped by the City Market to shop, it’s more of a tourists type shopping place. Well, hubby disappeared one morning for about 30 minutes and came back with a mountain (yes, a mountain of gifts). But, before I could open any, there was a knock at the door. Who is it? It was a florist from Garden on the Square with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me. Awwww. Now, back to the mountain of gifts.

Mountain of gifts

Like a kid, I got a lot of new clothes and shoes. Why? Because I recently lost about 15 lbs, and hubby wanted to make sure I looked good. I’m tooting my own horn here – beep, beep! I’m officially a size 6 again! Wooohooo, yeah, yippee! I’m so happy. Alrighty! So, the birthday bash in Savannah was a hit. We even tried out this pizza place where you get to make your own pizza from scratch. Yummy! As you can see we ate a lot of good food. Paula Deen’s, a staple in Savannah, is always nice for good eats, too. We dropped by River Street for candy and more site seeing and ate the famous pralines. They are good!

Views of River Street

Views of River Street

Here’s a classic view of the many “Squares” that exist on each block in Savannah – small historic parks.

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Happy Crafting,

Summer Treasures from Chattanooga

Are you wondering where I’ve been?  Well, let me tell you.  My hubby left a sweet little note for me a few weeks ago, after he’d left for work.  It wasn’t just any little note, but he actually purchased a notebook/journal (he knows I love journals).  Anyway, he wrote the note in the journal telling me to “pack a bag” because we were leaving for a trip.  Yipppeeee!  I love traveling.  I proceeded to pack my new 31 gifts bag with clothes for the weekend to a place unknown.  Well, what do you know!  We ended up in one of my favorite cities, Chattanooga.  We stayed at The Chattanoogan hotel, where it is just lovely.  We ate at a nice little restaurant where we had the typical southern, happy foods:  collard greens, macaroni and cheese and salmon.  Deee-lish!  Then we headed over to the fun craft market to shop for different arts and crafts.  So much fun!  My husband is an awesome bar-be-cue genius, so we went to a bar-be-cue competition where there were more arts and crafts, kettle corn (my fave) and a whole pig roasting. Whoa – what a site!  I had a blast!  Finally, we made our way over to the North Shore and visited all of the neat shops – many support local artists.  We had cute cupcakes, good Mexican food and even enjoyed the park.  My favorite stop was Blue Skies – an eclectic artsy shop.  This is where I found my summer treasure.  I got this “Soar” memo board with butterfly magnets.

I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it, so sweet hubby bought it for me.  It’s hanging on the wall in my craft room  and I’ve been putting it to good use –I’ve added all of my craft show dates for the year, upcoming projects and works in progress, too.  Now, that’s just a short breakdown of my summer treasures from Chattanooga.  It was a beautiful trip.  Stay tuned to find out where I went for my birthday bash.  Hint:  its further south than Chattanooga.  I’m a true Southern girl.

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Happy Crafting,

Sweet News for Mother's Day

I have SWEET NEWS to share:

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:30, 31 kjv

Now, that's really good news and worth sharing, too!  This is a "Sweet News" candle and the scent is "Sunny Days", which is an energizing combo of lemongrass, patchouli, black currant and sugar cane.  The beautifully, decorative labels were created by yours truly, me.  This is an awesome Mother's Day gift, birthday gift, bridesmaid or "just because I was thinking about you" gift.  Sweet news and a sweet scent all in one!

Click the candle above to see more "Sweet News".  I'm sure Mom would love it for Mother's Day or any other day that you choose to give.  :o)

 

Visit online for more.





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Happy Crafting,

I Can Do All Things!

Ever wondered if you could really do it?...If you could really accomplish your goal?  Can I really tackle this dream, can I achieve it?  Well, if you can believe it, then you can achieve it.  Sometimes we all need a little encouragement - a little reminder that YES, we can do it!  Here's how I encourage myself - I take a scripture and insert my name.  This makes it personal. 

 

So, now ask yourself again.  Can I do it?  Sure you can.  How do I know?  Because Philippians 4:13 says so.  I, you, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  How so?  Because "we are more than conquerers" (Romans 8:37).

 

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Happy Crafting,