Okay, so we are not so great at taking photos (closeup without mad flash!) but we are adventurous bakers!

Last night our two oldest nephews came over for a hang out. They pretty much know that when they come over two things are going to happen: 1) there will be video games and 2) there will be baking. Now most often, we will do cookies, but this time, I decided to catch them off guard and try something new: DONUTS!

I have never made donuts before last night so it was an adventure for us all. My hubs probably thought I was crazy, but he didn’t fight it. I looked up a few recipes to get a feel for what I was getting myself into and ended up having to mesh several recipes together to get the perfect (and most easy) recipe together (Recipe below).

Follow along!

First I made the dough (ingredients below). I chose this recipe because it had basic ingredients that I had in the pantry ready to go and I didn’t have to let the dough refrigerate at all. I pulled out my round cookie cutter set and grabbed the 3″ and 1″ cutters — the boys went to town cutting it all out for me!

While we were cutting the dough, I had a pot of oil heating up to 350 degrees. This was the most important part — so watch carefully everytime you add donuts because you do not want the oil to get above or below that temp. This is where your patience will come in handy. I was sure to check the temp with my candy thermometer after every two batches, just in case. TIP: If you don’t have a candy thermometer, simply check the heat by throwing in a small piece of bread… if it browns up within 40 seconds you are ready to go, but be sure to lower the fire so it doesnt get much hotter.

Frying the donuts took a little bit of time but nothing gruesome! The boys played some games while I continued the work in the kitchen (after the initial excitement of watching the donuts fry had faded a bit!). I recommend using a slotted spoon to flip your donuts and a small pot for frying. I used my large pot and way too much oil. I wasnt sure how the donuts would fluff up and wanted to be sure I had enough in there. I used 1 and a half bottles of vegetable oil! I could have easily cut that in half considering how thin I cut the donuts (1/4″); near the end of the batch, I felt more comfortable doing them about 1/2″ thick and frying them at about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. Once you see it golden, you should be good – dont want to overcook!

I did a quick vanilla icing recipe that is pretty common for sugar cookies — Powdered Sugar and Milk (and a bit of Vanilla or Cocoa). MmmMmmm, Can you say SUGAR!? That is exactly what my nephews were saying as they snuck little licks when it “accidentally” got on their hands (smirk). Kiddos are pretty darn smart! We started with some spreaders but then realized that spoons would be much easier!

QUICK TIP: Place some wax paper on a cookie sheet for quick clean up! Trust me, 100% worth it… as you can see below, it was a very messy (but delicious) task for the boys! I also laid out a piece of wax paper underneath a cooling rack so that we could let the icing set and the drippings had a place to go. Wanna know how long it took for us to clean up?! 10 minutes! That is including all dishes, woo hoo!

Final step was to take photos of our creations and then pick out which donut we wanted to eat!

Was this post long enough for you? heh, I just couldn’t eliminate any fun photos! I hope that they help you when you decide to try out some homemade donuts! Enjoy the recipe below:

Homemade Donuts:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon ** I used 1/2 tsp and probably would use a bit more next time
• 1 dash ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 Qt. Vegetable Oil

1. Heat oil in deep-fryer to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C) ** Remember that keeping it at this temp is VERY important for it to cook through
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix in butter until crumbly. Stir in milk and egg until smooth. Knead lightly, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat to 1/4 – 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a doughnut cutter, or use two round biscuit cutters of different sizes. ** I used a 3″ and 1″ cookie cutter
3. Carefully drop doughnuts into hot oil, a few at a time. Do not overcrowd pan or oil may overflow. Fry, turning once, for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Drain and cool on paper towels.

Icing:

1 c. powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp. Milk
*Add 1/2 tsp. vanilla for Vanilla Icing
*Add 1 Tbsp. (+/-) Cocoa for Chocolate Icing

WARNING: Be ready to be stressed — especially if you are a baker and know what it is like to bake a ton of cupcakes on a schedule! I get so tense when I watch the show (and my hubby thinks I need to stop watching) but I love the show and the results. Enjoy this short clip of it:

Now if you love cupcakes the way I do and live near Malibu, you have got to check out Crumbs Bakery! It is a donut shop gone cupcakes and they taste wonderfully homemade and delicious! You can see my review on Yelp HERE.

And before I leave you HAVE to go visit Lucy’s Cards to view this amazing card! Do it… Now!

Here’s a little sneak peak of what you will see…

On another note, the hubby and I went on a little date to Malibu yesterday. Stopped in at Howdy’s for a delicious burrito (and yes, you can find my review on Yelp!) and then off to the Art Festival. This festival was amazing; so many artists of all types and we loved strolling through the streets filled with color and beauty. We ran into an artist that we immediately fell in love with. What an inspiration! His name is Andy Ann Ha and below is a photo of my hubs looking at one of his display walls. We were oh so tempted to purchase a piece because we loved his work so much — we will save up for something a little later (though we were also impressed by his prices).

We also stumbled upon a gorgeous display of orchids. Art? maybe not; Beauty? absolutely! Orchids happen to be one of my favorite flowers, they are just so intriguing. They are so similar to humans in that they are sensitive to their surroundings and demand a good atmosphere to thrive (and survive). I wanted to buy a little beauty to bring home with me, but I just know she would pass away very quickly in our little home. Orchids need indirect light and fresh air all of the time. That is the last thing that our apartment would provide. And so I walked away in hopes that they would find themselves some good homes where they could live to their fullest. Don’t worry though, we didn’t leave without some lovely photos (are you kidding me? never!).

Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon for some of my latest card creations!

Hi friends!

I would truly appreciate it if you would take the time to take a quick poll for me!

I have been asked to create cards for many people lately, and I LOVE it! However, I want to make sure that I am doing what people want and need when they come to me for this service. Your answers to these few questions could greatly help me and help those that purchase from me in the future! I want to thank those who participate with a little something special, so everyone who leaves a COMMENT ON THIS POST by FRIDAY, 7/9/10, answering all of my questions (other comments are also welcome) will be entered in a drawing to win a 8 card/envelope set specially made by me!

Again, thank you so much for your time, opinions and support! I will announce the winner on Saturday 7/10/10 on Facebook, as well as on this post… so check back soon so that I can get your information and send you the set! Please see the Poll Questions below:

**Feel free to copy & paste the questions below into the comment section and eliminate the selections that do not pertain to you**

Poll Questions

Feel free to forward this Poll to any friends that may be interested in winning a card set! And thank you again!

1. On a scale from 1-5 I mostly purchase cards for:
   (Thank You)   1   2   3   4   5
   (Birthdays)     1   2   3   4   5
   (Holidays)       1   2   3   4   5
   (Celebrations)   1   2   3   4   5
   (Friends/Encouragement) 1   2   3   4   5
2. For a single card, the most I prefer to pay is:
   ($1-2) ($3-4) ($5+)
3. For a set of 8 to 12 cards, the most I prefer to pay is:
   (5-7) ($8-10) ($12-15) ($16+ for more detailed cards)
4. For Invitations or Announcements (30+), the most I prefer to pay is:
   ($20) ($30) ($40+ for more detailed sets)
5. I prefer my cards to be:
   (Simple) (Detailed)
6. My favorite style for cards is:
   (Modern) (Themed) (Elegant) (Vintage/Shabby Chic)

Thank you for your time, and be sure to check back to see if you won on Thursday!

The shower theme was Ladybug — and her sisters did a great job putting everything together perfectly. The only thing I did was bake 9 dozen cupcakes and decorate them for the party! They were fun, delicious and oh so cute if I dont say so myself :) Check out all of the fun photos in the following slideshow and I will share a few more details & resources after that!

Shower Inspiration: Baby Room Set from Babies R Us

We were expecting close to 100 guests! So simplicity was key… Margaret decorated the tables beautifully with black table clothes and fun flower pots adorned with ladybug ribbon and cute little ladybug signs! Talk about the perfect find! I think that potted plants/flowers are the perfect centerpiece for a ladybug (or any insect, for that matter) shower. For Favors, she lucked out an was able to get some candy at discount right after Valentine’s day (with almost 100 guests… frugality is key!) and filled some cute little baggies.

As for my cupcake venture — I decided to make them simple and cute. And since I had to make so many, I decided not to try to make them look like ladybugs as many would for the theme. The fun part for me, was hopping onto Photoshop and creating some adorable little cupcake toppers. Contact me if you ever need these, because I LOVE doing them and sell them in my Etsy shop.

I don’t have resources for you, in regards to throwing a ladybug themed shower or products … but for Baby Shower Resources in general, check out my Resource Guide. My main idea is to Google away! Look in the Google images for some great ideas and resources. I also suggest not going too over the top with the theme, to keep it’s elegance versus little girl birthday party style (if that makes sense). We had a great time and hope you enjoyed the photos :)

Baby Felicity was born March 25th, 2010 and both baby and mama are healthy!

This year, I decided on a Mustache Party! Did I know that this theme existed? No. But it sounded pretty hilarious and what better reason to grow a mustache than the fact that it is ‘Mustache March!’ I definitely wanted to share some of the fun photos but also some of my favorite inspirations and products that helped make this party a huge success (see below)! Enjoy!

We had the party Sunday afternoon (and it was the perfect day for a pool party in March! yay!) and had an amazing spread of delicious Mexican appetizers and sweet treats. I made a bunch of milk chocolate and dark chocolate Mustache lollipops (link below) and stuck them into some styrofoam that I had placed in some mini bowls. They were the perfect touch to the chocolate section of our spread (right next to the chocolate covered strawberries!). I also hopped onto Photoshop and created some fun name tags for the drink cups — I simply grabbed some images of different mustaches from the internet and made them gray on the tags, printed them onto mailing labels and chopped em up. Easy Peasy!

Another fun thing I did was I created a few mini signs to place around the house and the food spread to reinforce the mustache theme. The sayings were: ‘Never transport leftovers with your mustache,’ ‘With great mustache, comes great responsibility,’ ‘ Don’t get caught in public with a naked upper lip,’ and ‘Savor the Flavor.’ Simple and fun. I printed them up on green cardstock and matted them with black cardstock — here is the thing though… I NEVER USED THEM! Amongst all of the craziness of preparing and trying to keep everything a surprise, I totally forgot to set them out :(

I know that there are a ton of other fun ideas for a mustache party, but I wanted to keep it fairly simple; didn’t want it to be too childish for my big man! Here are a few other ideas I had (or found):

• Pin the mustache on Burt Reynolds,
• Print names of all of the famous people (list below) that were known for their ’stache and have each person wear one on their back when they get there (everyone has to guess who they are by asking others Qs about their own character — great ice breaker!),
• Play Pictionary with the list of Famous ’stache wearers,
• Mustache Trivia of some sorts (ask questions about different styles, famous staches, etc). Fun stuff!

My Mustache Inspiration:

• Fashion in Motion Mag: Movember ‘09 Post
• Erin Conrad Photography: Stache Bash ‘09 Post
• Hostess with the Mostess: Mr. Man Party
• Deal Extreme: Fake Mustaches
• Bake It Pretty: Mustache Lollipop Mold
• Martha Stewart: How to make a Mustache on a Stick
• How Nice Etsy: Mustache Magnets (photo below)
• LittletJane Etsy: Mustache Stamps (photo below)
• BirdofaFeather Etsy: Mustache Chapstick (photo below)

Fun Garland for an added touch (unfortunately, I ran out of time to make one :(

Fun little saying (again, didnt save the source! To put around the house/food spread!)

Adorable Mustache Card (Sorry, I didnt save the source! Too cute not to share!)

Too dang cute: Mustache Chapstick!!Fun Magnets (or buttons if you want)… I used these as the prize for ‘Best Stache’

Fun homemade Mustache Stamps

‘Stache Character List: (I am sure there are more that you could come up with!)

Yosemite Sam
Captain Hook
Burt Reynolds
Gomez Addams
Mario
Luigi (Mario)
Wimpey (Popeye)
Ned Flanders (Simpsons)
Hulk Hogan
Nacho Libre
Charlie Chaplin
Clark Gable
Jacques Clouseau (Pink Panther)
Adolf Hitler
Alex Trebek (Wheel of Fortune)
Prince
Ron Burgundy (Anchor Man)
Capt’n Crunch
the Burger King
Cheech Marin
Sonny Bono
Albert Einstein
Magnum PI – Tom Selleck
Robin Hood
Wyatt Earp
Teddy Roosevelt
Mike Ditka (Coach for Chicago Bears)
Mr. Moneybags (Monopoly Mascot)
Mr. Potato Head
Zorro
Capt’n Jack Sparrow
3 Musketeers
Walt Disney
Robert Goulet
Edgar Allan Poe
William Faulkner
Freddy Mercury (Queen)

I am not a huge fan of Valentines but the one thing I adore about Valentine’s day is that there are so many fun and creative ways to make sweet treats and gifts for those you love. I have created a quick collage of some of my favorite finds this year out in blog land. LOTS of talent out there and I can not wait to try a few of these sweet ideas. I most likely wont create them all (unless I want to give my hubby a major sugar rush for v-day!!) but I am sure I will find some fun ways to incorporate these ideas for Easter treats!

All of the links to the amazing creators are below, so have fun checking out there blogs! And Happy Valentine’s Day!

• Valentine Suckers from Pleasant Home
• Strawberry Sandwiches from Parents.com
• Rock Candy Valentine from Martha Stewart
• Pretzel Treats from No Fuss Fabulous
• Heartbreaker Treats from Dana
• Mini Cupcake Pops from Mandy

This year was pretty awesome for me. I made the goal of keeping a blog consistently for the entire year… and I did just that! It grew from a simple blogspot blog to this little place that I call home — created by my big bro and handsome hubby! I look forward to coming here everyweek and know that I will continue to return in 2010 :) I also grew a lot in my scrapbooking & card-making skills and wanted to recognize those newly found designers that have been my inspiration and teachers through out 2009. ENJOY & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

{Click Designer Names to go to their Personal Blogs}

Dawn McVey has a very sweet personality and her passion for color and design truly comes through in each of her projects. I love playing along with her color challenges from time to time and seeing what she creates with the Papertrey Ink products each month!

Mona Pendleton is extremely talented. Not sure how she does it, but it seems that I am always learning something new and easy to use on my projects. Her style is very detailed and lovely.

Jamie Harder has a classy style that no one can resist… not to mention her adorable little girls that are the subjects of many of her projects. She is also very innovative with different products; I have been inspired many times by her beautiful creations.

Nichole Heady is perfect. I so look forward to her monthly projects with the new stamps and products from Papertrey Ink. She is a true artist and I adore her clean style and innovative mind-set.

Dana Gustafson loves a challenge and I admire that! A lot of her creations look more like a dare to me because I would never think to do it that way or even think of it. Her mind is beyond creative… gorgeous, inspiring work — Always!

So now, I would love to share our little piece of Christmas spirit with you all…

Due to a late start, we did a lot less this year with family and friends… it was okay though, sometimes it is nice to keep things simple, right?! The weekend we decided not to move out, I broke out the Gingerbread cookie mix and got to baking the little guys! Gare helped me decorate them… such a fun little activity to get the Christmas spirit started. That weekend, we also went and got our Christmas tree (which we didn’t think we were going to have this year!) and I love it! Words can not explain how special the Christmas tree tradition is to me and I felt it more this year than any year before. We also realized that we need some more Christmas ornaments with color in them — problem is that we like the very traditional colors — no black, purple, blue, etc. We are also pretty picky about our ornaments so we need to be present together to purchase them (I know, I know… the perfectionist couple!!). Enough about the Christmas tree… on to the *new* recipes of the year!

It is my personal tradition/goal to try out at least two brand new recipes every Christmas. No leaning on the familiar, there are just too many great holiday recipes out there! The center photo above is how it all turned out — Oreo Truffles and Peppermint Fudge. Now I admit, not too challenging or adventurous, but as I said earlier, this year we had to stick to the simple stuff to stay sane :) The Oreo Truffles were a HUGE hit at both mine and Garrett’s workplaces and at our community group. I am still always amazed at how easy fudge is to make! I love it. I simply added some peppermint extract to the fudge for a minty flavor (Peppermint Mocha style!) and sprinkled some crushed peppermint candies on top. Click the links to check out the recipes… you wont regret it!

I truly hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas season with their friends and family! Many blessings to you and yours on the special day, however you celebrate!

They dont know if this is going to be a boy or girl (crossing our fingers for a girl!) so I went with a Purple, Blue and Green color theme. Peacock feathers were my initial inspiration, but I never ended up using any in the decor — mind you, I had them, just forgot to use them! Woops! I wanted the shower to be elegant, so I had some fresh flowers, crystal glasses and we even had it outside; what a blessing to have warm weather the week of Thanksgiving! Ever seen anyone use POTS as elegant decor? Well, my dear friend, Karen came up with this great idea to use them to hold the Cotton Candy Cones and the Champagne… all it took where a few extra strands of ribbon and voila! Beautiful!

I couldn’t pick just a few photos to show you, so I placed them in a slideshow below … Enjoy!

The Menu:

Lemon Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies
Cafe Mocha Creme Sticks
Cotton Candy in Paper Cones
Cherry Cordials
Grape Mike N Ikes
Blueberry Candy Canes
Sugar Plums
Champagne with Raspbrries
Sparkling Cider with Raspberries

Inspirational & Helpful Baby Shower Sites:

• Lolliblog – Sugar Spice and Everything Nice
• Hostess {with the Mostess}
• Shower Games A to Z
• Create My Event

Thanks for taking a peak at all of the fun I had this weekend! Now off to get into the Thanksgiving spirit!

Many Blessings to you and yours!