Peace, Love and Cupcakes!

A gorgeous Memorial Day weekend in California!  Just the type of weather you wish for when you plan your wedding, right?   Well, the stars were aligned when Heather and Cory picked this weekend to enter the world of marital bliss.  High in the Southern California hills overlooking lush avocado groves, the bride and groom proclaimed their love, and the warm breeze ushered in a celebratory evening of food, drink, dancing and CUPCAKES!  

On the Menu: 

• Orange Dream cupcakes with orange filling
• Chocolate cupcakes with raspberry filling
• Lemon cupcakes with chocolate filling

We were distance-challenged for this one - how do we bake, decorate and deliver 120 cupcakes  250 miles away from our home base?   Once we had decided on the menu (or I should say, our "Taste Testers" decided), we felt it was smart to bake the cupcakes before we left town.  The next morning, we packed up the cupcakes in these handy dandy cupcake trays and headed south.  We filled and frosted the cupcakes, attached the ribbons to the cupcake tower, and had a mini dress rehearsal/photo shoot in the living room of the beach house where we stayed.  Then back in the boxes and ready for delivery! 

On to the Main Event!  ;-)

Congratulations Heather and Cory!   With XOXO's to you for a lifetime of blessings!

Surprise Birthday Party!!

My good friend is turning 30 today! Her sweet sister is planning a surprise birthday party for her this evening.  We are in the process of baking cup cakes for the wedding this weekend and her sister decided she would like some made for the birthday party as well.  We have been up to our elbows in cup cake batter and icing! I took a break to join the sisters for lunch and am so happy that she really has no idea what lil sis has up her sleeve.  Happy Birthday!! ~K 

The surprise was a success! After a little bit of shock, the birthday girl enjoyed her friends, family, and a cupcake with a few candles in it.

Cupcake Display in the Works!

Just how CREATIVE is my husband?  Check out the newly renovated Cupcake Tower he has designed for the weddings we have in the next few weeks! He had made the Tower for the wedding shown in an earlier post, and since its debut, it has been used for several other happy occasions.  But one thing always bothered me. . . the Tower was always fully assembled.   Ready for action, yes.  A beast to store, YES!   

It also meant that the lucky delivery person had to maneuver this bad boy through sometimes narrow hallways, and then precariously situate it in the back of their awaiting coach.  Okay, sometimes it was a li'l hatchback - get the picture?   The result was that part of the Tower got tweaked, the wood split, and the weakened top was eventually taken off to avoid further damage.  So I got to thinking. . .  

  

What if we made a new similar structure that could be dismantled for delivery?  And further. . . 

What if we could switch it up so that for smaller events, there were only 3 levels?

Enter Tom, the wizard of wood and tools and all things hammerable.   (Seriously, Martha Stewart has nothing on this man!) It took a few prototypes to get exactly what he was after, but just how amazing is this!?    A few coats of protective coating and this baby will make its grand entrance adorned with ribbon and treats.   Just wait for the transformation!   ~ S

Let Them Taste Cake... CUPcake, that is!

We're going to a wedding!   Our cousin is getting married in San Diego next weekend, and we're looking forward to attending the reception and partying with ALL the cousins we rarely get to see!  And we are honored to be able to supply the wedding cake(s).... Heather is going to have a cupcake tree!   

She has left the details up to us (daring girl) and we want to make the best cupcakes ever, without going too far outside the box.   So for the past few weeks, I've been testing recipes.  Some have been really good, like the Orange Dream Cake recipe I found.   While the Chocolate Mint Brownie cupcakes were delicious with the Peppermint Patties in the middle, they were just too heavy for a full size cupcake.   But boy, were those li'l bite size ones a hit around the house!    And then there were the Chocolate cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting..... yowza.  Best frosting ever, but probably not a great choice for transporting 5 hours away.    Darn.   I think we'll have to eat these ourselves.   Thankfully, we have willing 'testers.'   Jessica was quite cooperative as I snapped these pictures of her enjoying her treat.  In fact, when I missed the first few pix, she happily agreed to take a second mini treat!  You know, you must have a quality control designee, and I think we've found one!   

Countdown to Wedding Day, Heather!   See you soon ~

 

Happy Mother's Day

I hope all you moms had a wonderful Mother's Day this weekend.   In celebration of the moms in our lives, XOXO Cookies made some fun photo cookies and delivered them to some special Moms and Grandmoms!   Now we just need to convince them to take a bite.   And thank you again to my own special crew for making my Mother's Day the best yet.   ~ S

Just can't get enough of the X's and O's

Cooking with wine and music

So I will admit, it is not always easy to escape from the craziness of a normal work day and switch gears to baking and connecting with my creative side.  A glass of wine and a quick crank to the stereo volume will usually do the trick. It may take twice as long if I decide I need to take a dance break with the rolling pin in hand.  I escape to whatever memories come with the song.  Today's escape was to the beaches I visited this winter in Nicaragua and Costa Rica! ~ K