Visions of Sugarplums

Dear Santa....I've been a very busy girl. This week's major baking project was a Red & White Christmas Dessert Table. Jerry and his wife saw the wedding dessert tables I'd done for his cousin, Rachel, in June and asked me to make a fantastic (but much smaller) display of sweets for their holiday gathering. It was a lot of work, but so much fun when it all came together. I hope it provided the "eye candy" they were going for at the party last night.

Oh deer!

We had a potluck Christmas party at WSU today and I decided to bring these triangle cheese reindeer snacks. I thought they were so cute when I saw them over at ediblecrafts.com.

I used Laughing Cow spreadable cheese triangles with pretzel twist antlers, peppercorn eyes and olive noses. I originally used red M&M's for the noses because I wanted them to be Rudolphs, but very quickly discovered that M&M's lose their candy coating on cheese. They started to bleed red everywhere! So I asked myself "What would MacGyver do?" And I quickly grabbed a jar of green pimento-stuffed olives. No one wants to eat a bleeding deer head. (According to the post at ediblecrafts.com, you're suppose to use a small circle of red bell pepper, but I didn't have any. Olives were a suitable substitute.)

Addie's Room

A year ago I promised my niece, Addie, that I would decorate her room for her 7th birthday. She's now 8+ and the room is 98% done. (Aunt Sandy still has to make the cupcake headboard.)

But here's a peek at Addie's "Peace, Love & Polka Dots" room. Lots of color. Lots of fun. And all made with love.

Every little girl loves candy & cupcakes.

Addie's dad painted horizontal, aqua blue stripes on the wall.

We added some colorful, paper pom-poms in the corner.

Stuck some fluttering of paper butterflies on the wall next to the fur lamp.

Addie found these peace symbol decals and put her own touches here & there.

We put a giant, pink dog on one closet door. These were large-format, adhesive-backed vinyl posters that I had printed and we mounted them ourselves. They turned out great, even though they were a giant pain in the butt.

This is where the cupcake headboard will go. Someday. Soon.

More fun, colorful stuff.

We installed a giant, green kitty cat on the other closet doors.

No candy stand is complete without a bright, pink striped awning.

Bea and her cousin, Addie.

Addie's all smiles in her fun, new room.

Can I have one of those purple gumballs?

Vote. Now.

Bea's colorful paper quilt room has been selected for the Small Kids Big Color contest over at ohdeedoh.com. If you'd like to vote and help us win a fabulous prize, I'd be ever so grateful. (Actually, I have no idea what the prize is, but I'm sure it's awesome. Right?)


Click here to vote. (Voting is only open for the next 48 hours.)


And thanks!

Opening Soon!

I'm excited and proud to announce the opening of a new pediatric clinic in Wichita. Not only because it's Eric's cousin, but also because I designed the logo.

Rebecca Reddy, M.D., is opening Redbud Pediatrics on January 3, 2012, and is taking new patients. Her office will be located in Northeast Wichita, at 1861 N. Rock Road. Dr. Reddy has been a physician in Wichita for over nine years and is "branching out" on her own. Besides being a great doctor, she's kind, patient and a genuinely wonderful human being - everything you'd want in a pediatrician and more. Did I mention she's going to be open evening hours two nights per week? (Freakin' awesome for working parents, let me tell ya.)

I've been collborating with Rebecca for many months now to establish her logo and a "look" for the clinic - everything from interior design to outdoor signage, and so much in between. It's all coming together finally, and we got a sneak peek at the freshly-finished clinic space tonight - so cool. Believe me, kids will be excited to go see Dr. Reddy!

Stay tuned. There's so much more to share. Eric's been in on the fun too. He's currently building some kid-friendly pieces for the waiting room and patient rooms. I can't wait to show you.

My lucky day!

Look what showed up at my door on Sunday..... Ladurée macarons all the way from Paris! 

A gal from my Mad About Macarons class just got back from a spontaneous trip to France & Belgium, and I told her that she absolutely HAD to go to Ladurée and get some world-famous macarons. Little did I know I'd get to enjoy the fruits of her carry-on luggage. Even a week later, they are still delicious. And as beautiful as I imagined - nesting in their classic macaron box and bursting with color. My favorite so far is the caramel. Serious joy.

Thank you so much Jennifer..... Merci beaucoup!

Gobble 'em up! There's plenty.

The entire Denneler family is gathering in Colby for Thanksgiving this year, and I've made tons of cookies for all those turkeys to enjoy - 20 dozen pumpkin spice cookies with brown butter icing and 7 dozen assorted, fall-color macarons.

 

Traveling long distances with desserts is always tricky, but I've figured out a system that works. A few years ago, I bought these clear, plastic party platters at Party City. I use one for the bottom tray and one for a lid. (I just tape the lids on until we reach our destination.) And last night at Jo-Ann's Fabric & Crafts store, I found this plastic storage container with attached lid - perfect for my macarons.

Bea wanted to help frost the pumpkin spice cookies last night. After dotting the first couple with a big glob of brown butter icing, she decided they'd be prettier with smiley faces and random squiggles instead. Gotta love a baker that goes rogue.

Happy Thanksgiving all!