Summer Bakin' - Havin' a Blast!

Summer bakin', happened so fa-ast.
As you know, the summer has been a little slow with cookies...until this past week!!  I had 4 different orders for a total of 13 dozen cookies and a cake.  I have a few pictures to show you from a couple of weeks ago too because I'm a blog slacker. 

You know I love doing the cupcakes!  I suggest them as a great way to say "Happy Birthday!" or "Congratulations!" or "Happy Friday!"  Basically, they're great for any occasion!  These were sent from one friend to another to wish a happy birthday!  I received word that they were thoroughly enjoyed!

I did another set of birthday doggie biscuits for a beautiful Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Gunner. 

Then I thought to myself and realized I never showed you a picture of the first set I did for Rowdy Roo who turned two! So, here they are!

I was requested to do some cookies for a Pampered Chef party.  I bought a chef's hat cutter for the occasion.  I think they turned out so cute!  For the photo shoot, I felt obligated to display them in a Pampered Chef batter bowl, which happens to be one of my favorite items in the kitchen.  I have both sizes and use them regularly.  They're great because they have handles and come with lids!  (Maybe I should sell Pampered Chef!)  And because I love it so much, I drew one on one of the cookies!  I hope Rebecca and Deborah had a great party!!

I did 8 dozen cookies for Melinda, who was giving them as thank you gifts for the people who helped her with her son's wedding.  Well, 6 dozen were for that and 2 dozen were iced whites so she could enjoy some Sweet B's cookies, too!

I sent some cookies to South Carolina to wish a happy couple congratulations on their recent engagement.  I love the way these turned out!

As for the cake and another 2 dozen cookies, they will be getting their own post.  They are for the annual Family Birthday Extravaganza (FBE) that will be taking place this weekend!  I'm so excited that no one has whooping cough this year and we can have the party as planned.  I'll be sure to give you the whole scoop next week!

As the summer is nearing an end, lots of changes are coming my way. CA starts school on Monday, my last day of nannying is Friday, and I start a new job next Monday.  I will be working in a for-real bakery.  I'm sooo stoked!  Also, my blog is about to get a make-over (if it hasn't already by the time you read this)!!  For Sweet B's, the times they are a-changin!  So, happy changes to me!

Here, There, and Everywhere

When I started this post, I had already had a crazy, productive day.  So, I thought, why not write a post to add to the list of the day's accomplishments.  (Just as a run down - dropped CA at cheer camp, then to Sam's, Kinko's, Michael's, Target, Wolf Camera, downtown to pick something up, the bank, home for a quick lunch, picked up CA from cheer camp, typed up my resume, glanced at a blog or 2, and now here I am seeing how much of a blog I can write while Turk and CA play!!  Wish I was this productive everyday!)  Just wanted to show you some the few orders I've done recently. 

I did 2 sets of new baby cookies. 

I think I love the brown with the baby blue or pink the most.

And I think I've found my favorite name to write on a cookie, so far. 

It starts with an "L", so of course I love it!

These were for a wedding shower.  Hot pink and black - always sassy.

And I had plenty of hot pink icing left over, so I used it for Amy's Iced Whites that she ordered. 

Well, Iced Pinks.

And I didn't forget about America's birthday - I just forgot to blog about it.  Whoopsie.

And as my brother pointed out, I only have 9 states represented on the cookies.  It just wasn't physically possible to put 50 white stars in that small space. 

My friend, Catherine, was over at the house when I was baking the states.  She started to ask me why I was making Masters cookies again.  Ha!

I have a few orders for this coming week that I need to get invoices out to!  I've been slack!
Hope you have a great weekend!  I'll be happy boating at the lake!!

Getting Jiggy With It

One of my favorite things that I use to do as a child was make Jello with my mom.  Well, we made Knox blocks.  Not sure why we always made gelatin with Knox instead of J-E-L-L-O.  I know it wasn't because we didn't like Bill Cosby.  (Because that's another childhood warm and fuzzy - watching the Cosby Show.  I imagined me and Rudy being best friends.)  Since I enjoyed making shapes out of the tasty phenomenon called gelatin, I decided to share the experience with my niece.  Now, this does relate to Sweet B's, I promise.  I just wanted to show you what my cookie cutters are doing while on summer vacation. 

They're cutting out Jigglers.  But CA said she wanted to call them "Jello cookies."  Ha!

She was obsessed with cutting out tiny circles and tiny squares.  They were her favorite.  She also cut out a cowboy hat in honor of Woody from Toy Story 3.

I let her pick out any cutters she wanted to use and so she did!  (She's never posed for a picture before, can you tell?  Yeah, right.) 

All the left overs.  Too bad you can't knead it back together and roll it out for more cut-outs like my dough!

She loved them!  I'm not exactly sure how many she ate.  Oh, well. 

You might wonder about the little one I call Turk.  Does she like Jello?

Um, no.

I believe the face says it all. 

Well, maybe she'll come around.

So, no new cookies right now.  I'm still happy nannying!

Oh, There You Are, Sweet B

If any of you out there are fellow Phineas and Ferb fans, I'm sure you recognize the title tribute.  To those of you that aren't and have no idea what I'm talking about, it's a kids cartoon on Disney that is incredibly clever and has me and my 37 year old older sister in stitches every time we watch it.  And in every episode, you hear the line "Oh, there you are, Perry" after Perry the platypus has been missing for most of the show.   (He's hasn't really been missing, he's actually a secret agent.  Don't look at me like I'm crazy, you just have to watch the show.)  And I know that I've been slack with the blog recently, so it made me think of the phrase. 

Anyways.  On to more non-cookie related things, the summer has been kind of slow for Sweet B's.  But I'm not complaining because my other job doubled the workload!  For about a year, nannying for the baby has been nice and easy.  Now that she's one, she's not quite walking yet, but she is into EVERYTHING!  I can no longer let her play in the kitchen while I bake because it's a constant battle of the baby seeing how much stuff she can pull out of cabinet before I stop her.  And then there's the 6 year-old who has swim team practice every morning and requires a snack or meal every 2 hours.  Once again, I'm not complaining because I love these girls, but if I bake, it's now at night or on the weekends.  But I have been doing a little.  Here's a few to share. 

These were sent to congratulate a newly-wed couple.  They had a small, western themed wedding.  I can't wait for another excuse to do these cowboy boots!  I love them!

These were for the annual Marietta Country Club (Ohio) Member-Guest party.  My brother-in-law's cousin lives up there and so my sister and her crew have been going up there for several years.  It was my sophomore trip and loads of fun!!!  (The shot isn't great. Sorry!)  The party colors were navy, lime green and teal.  They had koozies for party favors that I matched the cookies to. 

I've got a set of tiles on the drying table now for a new baby cookie jar and I'll be doing another next week.  I'm sure I'll throw some cookie stars and stripes together for the holiday, so I'll be sure to wish you a happy 4th then!  But mostly right now, I'm happy nannying!

Ode to Dad

I did a special post for Mother's Day, so of course, I can't leave the dads out.  (And yes, I realize I'm a day late.  I just got back from vacation, sorry!) 

My dad is nearly 58 years old and is the biggest kid I know.  The quote "Show me a day when the world wasn't new" (by Sister Barbara Hance) makes me think of him.  Always having that sense of child-like curiosity.  For example, he's funny to watch when he gets in a new car for the first time.  He has to push all the buttons, open all the compartments, check out all the features.  (Dad and I used to go test drive cars for the heck of it.  It was something we did for entertainment.  We're from a small town.  Don't judge.)  Or while he's enjoying a Sweet B's cookie, he does the dance of joy (which, he says he got his dance of joy from me, but I don't think I've ever moved like that). 

Like all dads, he definitely knows how to annoy me to the point of frustration.  (The usual dad things - stare at me while I'm eating, the age-old pull my finger, etc.)  And he laughs every time I yell, "Da-ad" or his favorite way I exclaim "Buh-dee!" (his name is Buddy).  Well, I've finally caught on.  Now, when he says something just to get a reaction, I react in the way that I know will make him laugh the hardest and we've both met our objectives.  Two can play your game, Dad.  It only took me 28 years to learn the rules. 

Well, I could spend hours telling you the fun stuff about my dad, but onto the cookies.  For years, like lots of other little girls, I gave my dad a tie for Father's Day, but since he doesn't wear that many ties anymore (just for funerals and weddings, he says) I thought he might enjoy cookies instead.  These seem right up your ally, Dad. 

And no worries.  Even though I didn't get this post out until today, I did call my dad yesterday!

Not all dad's are tie-cookie kind of dads.  Like my brother.  (Now, there's another prime example of never wants to grow up.  I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.)  My bro, Benj, is 6'4", father of four (miss them!), has a professional job, and THE biggest goof-ball you will ever meet.  If you haven't seen the Toyota Swagger Wagon video, check it out.  I swear my brother wrote this for them.  They probably didn't cast him because he was too clumsy when bustin' out his hip-hop moves - and he's got them.  (Think Kevin James in Hitch.)  Well, a few weeks ago I came across Star Wars cookie cutters.  I couldn't pass them up.  Combine Star Wars and my cookies, it might be the nicest thing I've ever done for my brother.  Unfortunately, I sent them to my brother without having a photo shoot, so I've just got my camera phone pix.

No worries though.  I'll being doing them again in August.  The cookies inspired the theme for the annual Family Birthday Extravaganza.  And I'll be making a cake to go along with!

(Now, these character cookies were done in my brother's honor.  I don't want to get into the character cookie business.  I'll just stick to my tiles and flowers!)

I know my dad and brother had a wonderful father's day.  And I hope the dad's in your life did too!

And if you've noticed that I've been a little behind on my blogging, I apologize.  Just trying to get adjusted to the summer nanny schedule.  Hopefully, I'll get it together and be back on track soon!

Until then, happy summer!!

Kicking The Summer Off - Cookie-style!

I had quite a variety of cookies last week.  Between graduation, end of school, and ladies night, I added a few more designs to me repertoire.  Here's my week at a glance.

These were for Cade's classmates and teachers.  They got some Sweet B's for Valentine's Day, too!

Katie was graduating from kindergarten and her good friend Jennifer (who also happens to be Cade's mom), wanted to give her some cookies for the special occasion!

 The neighborhood ladies have a Bunco group and my cookies were featured at that latest meeting.  I hope those ladies had fun!

Of course, Carlee Anne had to take end-of-the-year cookies to her 2 wonderful teachers, Mrs. Skelton and Mrs. Adam and her bus driver, Mrs. Painter.  She had a wonderful year and I hope they have a wonderful summer!

I finally tried the baby onesie cutter.  I think they turned out so cute!  Bonnie said she loved them because they looked like little, fat-baby onesies.  And you know we love a chunk-chunk!

I did a few cookies for brand new Baby Sutton.  These were inspired by Sutton's new room - down to the elephant.

Last but not least, Maggie (the family babysitter), graduated from high school on Sunday.  She is now an alumnus from Aquinas High, home of the fighting Irish.  I made this cake for her and her cousin to share with the rest of the family.

And I made these cookies just for Maggie!  She'll be headed to Athens in the fall - she's such a smart girl.

While I was decorating these, I was doing a little bit of the Georgia cheer -

My 1 year-old niece was catching on to the chant real quick.  I knew she was a keeper!

I won't be quite so busy with cookies this week, thankfully.  Bonnie and Stevo are going to Costa Rica, which means I have both the girls by myself for 6 days! 

So, happy aunt-ing to me!

So Many Cookies, So Little Time

I have so many new cookie cutters that I'm dying to try out, but then I get an order (or 5) so my ideas get put on the back burner - well, some of them do.  When Bonnie (my sister) orders cookies, I use her as my guinea pig.  She lets me try out new cutters or colors or ideas.  Although sometimes, she's not as excited as I am about the idea - at first.  (She can't see what they look like in my head.)  But I can't say that she's ever been disappointed with the outcome.  Her latest order was no exception.  She wanted cookies for one of her senior accountants, Kristen (if the name sounds familiar, it's because she's one of Sweet B's cookie-holics).  Kristen is a CPA and has just finished her Masters in Accounting (MAcc) from Auburn.  (Which is quite an accomplishment!)  So, Bonnie, being the good boss that she is, wanted to congratulate her, Sweet B's style.  She asked if I would make her some flower cookies with a big flower as the message cookie.  Well, I have a cupcake cutter that I had visions for.  So, I asked if I could make her some of those, too.  I decorated the cupcakes and fell in love with cookies, all over again.  They made me giddy with excitement.  I'm not even kidding.  I was gushing.  I love them. 

Here are pictures, so you can fall in love with them too.

Of course I had to put them in the cupcake dome. It was a given.

I'm kind of glad there wasn't anyone around when I got done icing these.  I might've let out a squeal or 2.

A cupcake shortstack.  Or a cupstack shortcake.  Or a cupshort cakestack.

The flowers to match.  So cute.

And if you know Bonnie, you know she can't just say a generic "Congratulations!", she has to say it with meaning behind it.  Drawing inspiration from my Scrabble tiles, she came up with this acrostic, just for kfaunce (Kristen's nickname) who is a CPA and just earned her MAcc.

So, congratulations Kristen!  You definitely earned some Sweet B's!!

 Kristen's weren't the only cookies I did last week - I did some cupcakes and flowers as a thank you for my neighbor, Kari.  She has been a huge help this past year.  Every Monday, she helped this baker-nanny out by picking up Carlee Anne and taking her to ballet with her twin girls.  So, thanks bunches, Kari!

I also did a new baby cookie jar (I love them!).  Her initials are SEW, but they call her Libby.  Her mom was in labor for quite some time and ended up having a C-section, so she definitely deserved some cookies!!  I hope she enjoyed them!

Woodson and Mercer Anne wanted to wish their teacher, Ms. Katherine farewell with some cookies (or rather Morgan, their mom, did.  Woodson and Mercer Anne can't talk yet).  I was happy to help.

 

I already got word that Ms. Katherine "LOVED" them and I'm so happy she did!

Now, if you're bored with cookies (which never happens to me!), here's a cake to break the monotony.  Ellie was having a pool party and asked for a cake themed accordingly (with flip-flops, too!).  

Hope Ellie had a splash at her party!

Well, since this post came so late in the week, I've already got pictures of some of this week's orders, but I'm saving those for next week's post!

Until then, I'm happy baking!

PS.  I experimented with neck ties and Star Wars cookies last week (for Father's Day), but you'll have to wait for those pictures too.  (I'm sure the suspense will keep you up at night.)